Nancy Perillo

March 24, 2008 - 10:53 AM

Volunteer of the week Nancy Perillo sews costumes for The Acting Company, a community theater group in Yuba City.
Chris Kaufman/Appeal-Democrat
Volunteer of the week Nancy Perillo sews costumes for The Acting Company, a community theater group in Yuba City.

• Name: Nancy Perillo

• Age: 67

• Family: Husband of 47 years, Skip; four grown children; 10 grandchildren

• City of residence: Yuba City

• Occupation: Retired

• How long have you lived in the Yuba-Sutter area? 40 years

• Hobbies, interests: Sewing, naturally; reading; and most importantly, spending time with my grandkids

• For what groups do you volunteer? I sew costumes for The Acting Company and I've helped a few times for the Yuba City High School blood drive. Back in 1996, a lady who was very involved with The Acting Company asked me to shorten some drapes for her. Later, when she was directing "Snow White," I found myself sewing costumes, and from there, one thing led to another.

• Awards/Recognition: Won an Elly Award, sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance, for Costume Design: Drama, for The Acting Company's production of "Romeo and Juliet"; nominated seven times

• How do you fit it into your schedule? I'm retired, so I work at my own pace. But with costumes, it's feast or famine. You either have four actors who don't need costumes, or you get many actors with four costume changes. I've been lucky to have help with that, but I'll be happy to never see a western shirt again.

• Words of advice: If you're into sewing, call The Acting Company. It's all volunteer.

• Positive and negative points about volunteering: I work with a lot of very nice people. The negative aspect of it, though, is when there's an overabundance of costumes to be made in a short period of time.

• Quote: "When my kids grew up and left home, The Acting Company kind of became my other family."

Volunteer of the Week runs Mondays on the Local page. To submit the name of a volunteer to be featured, send it to Volunteer, c/o Leticia Gutierrez, Appeal-Democrat, P.O. Box 431, Marysville, CA 95901. You also may call 741-2400.