Production Dates for Picnic Announced

The ACT I Board of Directors announced dates for the production of the next Main Stage production, "Picnic."

The show will be staged March 11,12, 13, 18, 19, and 20, according to the board, having approved the dates at the August regular meeting.

'Picnic,' written by William Inge (the author of the successful ACT I production 'Bus Stop' staged last May at the Palace Theatre) is a funny and dramatic play dealing with women looking for a way to escape the boredom and loneliness of their lives, and men's confusion and uncertainty of what they want.

Characters for the play include:

Flo Owens – Flo is a woman who has worked hard to keep her family alive. The father to her children is long gone, so she has to be both mother and father to her two girls. She raises them cautiously, almost overbearingly, as she tries to lead them on the right path and make sure they are more successful in life than she turned out to be. Flo has big dreams for her daughters, and seems to live vicariously through them. She is hesitant about accepting outsiders, because she is very comfortable with the way she leads her life.

Madge Owens – Madge is a beautiful girl growing gracefully into adulthood. Some call her materialistic and conceited because she spends quite a bit of time with makeup and beauty products. She is not as naive as she may seem; she definitely has some hidden knowledge about the world. Madge may not open herself to many people, but she is able to relate to others if she tries. On the outside, she wants to be wealthy and gorgeous all her life. But on the inside, she is sick of always being the pretty one, and she just wants to find her place in the world. Madge desperately wants to be loved, and at first she thinks that Alan is enough for her. But getting to know Hal changes her completely.

Millie Owens – Throughout most of the play, Millie is wild and tomboyish, yet she has a softer, more artsy side to her. Millie shows herself to the world as a tough kid, but she is really nervous about what other people think of her. She wants to be noticed, but in the right way. Millie wants to be somebody. She wants to experience city life and make a difference in the world.

Helen Potts – A bit past her prime, Helen longs for the days when she was a wild young girl. She used to love going against the conventions and challenging authority, which has given her much wisdom in her older years. She is easygoing, still loves fun and wants to share her knowledge with the young people around her.

Hal Carter – Hal is young, handsome, crazy, impulsive and has seen some harsh times. He has been to reform school, a few colleges, a part of a fraternity, been chased by the police and claims other things that may or may not be true. He is a confident fellow, and he loves attention. He is capable of crumbling though, as shown after Rosemary’s vicious words. Hal has a soft inner side that really wants to be accepted and fit in somewhere.

Alan Seymour – Alan is a rich young man looking to settle down with a beautiful girl. He loves Madge, whether their relationship is superficial or not. Alan is level-headed most of the time and tends to criticize those who make decisions without thinking them through.

Bomber – A small character in the play, he tends to reinforce Madge’s beauty as well as criticize Millie for being the oddball.

Rosemary Sydney – Rosemary is an aging schoolteacher who likes to call herself an independent. She brags about not having a man and doing whatever she wants. She tends to gossip with her friends and make eyes at Hal when he comes into the scene. She is rather unconventional for a schoolteacher, since she is not reserved and scholarly. She has a breakdown when she realizes that she is not as young as she’d like to be. Rosemary ends up begging Howard to marry her.

Howard Bevans – Howard is a businessman who is rather set in his way of life. He has accepted that this is all he can be and even decided that he may not get married and have a happy ending. He has been seeing Rosemary, but is not sure what she wants from him or where their relationship is going. He is easy to get along with but not extremely assertive of what he wants. Howard is a reasonable guy who does what he can to live each day. When Rosemary begs him to marry her, he is unsure what to say at first. He tries to tell her she is just drunk, but Rosemary is very persistent. He finally agrees to marry her and does his best to be happy about it even though he is unsure.

Irma Kronkite and Christine Schoenwalder – These two ladies are schoolteachers with Rosemary. They are slightly younger than Rosemary and definitely like gossip. Irma has known Rosemary for a bit longer, since Christine just moved to the town and started teaching there.

The movie adaptation of Picnic received two Academy Awards in 1955, and the Broadway production marked Paul Newman's Broadway debut. It has wide appeal both for its superficial charms and darker themes.

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New Board, Officers Announced

At the ACT I Annual Meeting in June the three positions were up for election. At the August meeting, the board chose the officers for the board.

Pam Primmer, who has served ACT I as president for the past two seasons, stepped down, and Sue Gates was unanimously chosen to serve as president for the 2010-2011 season. Pam stepped into the vice president role.

Also re-appoointed were Nancy Beckman as secretary and Anthony Bopp as treasurer. This will mark the third year in a row that they have served in those specific roles for the board.

Other board members for the coming season include Steve Arnold, Doug Martens and Mark Hancock.

'13' Plays to Nearly 1000

ACT I's production of '13' ended it's run Sunday, August 15 after playing to nearly 1000 patrons, making it one of the most successful shows in ACT I history!

'13' Opening Number!

Click below for a high-powered look at a clip from the opening number of 13 at the next-to-last dress rehearsal before opening day on Friday, August 6!

All Hail "The Brain"

The cast of 13 treated the ACT I membership to a sneak preview of a few numbers from the upcoming August production. Among the highlights was a song called "All Hail The Brain" which began choreography last Wednesday. Katie Hancock was Bentlee Birchansky's stunt double, as he was busy performing in Follies at the time.