The Cain Company Performers began musical theatre productions at EV Cain Middle School when Jacqueline Shimonauff was hired in 1986 as a teacher. The administration was anxious to get theatre arts started at EV Cain so they allowed her to schedule some of the chorus rehearsals during the last two periods of the school day for the six weeks of rehearsals. The leads rehearsed after school. 

     The first production, Music Man, opened in 1987 and was a huge success. This helped the program grow in the following years. 

     Shimonauff worked hard to keep all her productions in the black. The district helped the program financially for a few years.  But then budget cutbacks made it impossible for the district to contribute anything and the program had to once again be completely self-funded.  This was accomplished through a number of grants and the installation of a participation fee from the students and by using as many volunteers as possible.

     To help finance the large scale musicals, a smaller lesser known musical in the fall was started. A parent group then formed a steering committee and assisted Shimonauff in producing the musicals.

     Musicals that were produced by The Cain Company Performers included Music Man, Peter Pan,, Oliver, Wizard of Oz, Barnum, Teen, and the one that made the most impact on the community, African Jigsaw.

     Shimonauff continues to be involved in theatre by performing in productions at Magic Circle in Roseville . She has done shows like Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha. Shimonauff recently retired from CSUS from the teacher education department.

     In 1995 the Cain Company Performers changed its name to Cain Company Players. Then in 2002, the group decided on another name change to the present day name of EV Cain Theatre Company.

     Almost twenty years since the beginning the EV Cain Theatre Company, continues its long standing tradition of bringing quality youth theatre to Auburn .

We are committed to bringing performing arts to Auburn