Not long after this article was written, April married Waterloo attorney Kevin Ahrenholz.  They have since made their home in the Vinton area.  April and Tess continue to be active in ACT I, April coaching and playing the piano for children's productions, and Tess appearing onstage.  She will be featured in the role of Marta in our upcoming production of The Sound of Music.

As the ACT I STAGE! production of our triple bill The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre comes to production, this month we feature our ACT I STAGE! music director, April Noeller, and her daughter Tess, who appear this month on the stage of the Palace, as our Members of the Month for July.

We have seen this mother / daughter musical duo many times in the past; currently, April is both Music Director and Property Mistress for The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre.  Her daughter Tess, who has ACT I credits as a singer, dancer, and actress, is an incoming third grader, and is appearing as the Princess in The Truly Remarkable Puss-in-Boots, the third of the three one acts that make up our Ogre triple bill.

April and Tess live in Mount Auburn where April does bookkeeping for her family's farm.  She also operates Song Space Studio in downtown Vinton where she gives piano lessons.  She has been a part of our children's theatre program for the past three years. 

During our September, 1997 production of Oliver!, we made note of the wrapt attention given the show by one of our youngest patrons, three year old Tess Noeller.  Tess was completely absorbed in the nearly three hour long show, even to the point of wanting to name her baby brother, born shortly after the run, Dodger.  (Her parents wisely opted for Sean instead.)  Seeing Oliver! left Tess hooked, and the next year, at the ripe old age of four, she made her ACT I debut as a Sweet Apple Dancer in Bye Bye Birdie.  Yet that same season, she appeared in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a skunk, one of our many animal characters in that production.

April, following the pattern of so many ACT I families, became involved in ACT I after her daughter became active.  She began her involvement as part of the makeup crew for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- one of largest makeup crews ever, as much of the cast was transformed into animal characters.  She created her daughter's makeup for her skunk role.

Tess Noeller in her second ACT I role, a skunk from the mythical kingdom of Narnia, portrayed in our 1999 production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

 As well done as Tess's makeup for that show proved to be, April's talents were not going to destine her for our makeup crew.  April, known in the area as an excellent pianist and a very sought after piano teacher, would soon make her impact on our children's theatre in a totally different area.  In July of 1999, April made her performance debut with as music director for The Velveteen Rabbit, rehearsing all the musical numbers and playing the piano for that enchanting musical.  In addition to taking charge of the musical elements of that show, she also worked with costume design for that production.  Tess was on hand for that show as well, playing the Baby Doll, one of the many fellow toys to the Velveteen Rabbit.

Music Director April Noeller (right) rehearses a vocal number at St. Mary's Church with actors Ryan Calderwood, Dustin Kearnes, and Dan Greaser, who played a trio of very hip bunnies in our 1999 ACT I STAGE! production of The Velveteen Rabbit.

Just a few months later, in November, 1999, came a very memorable and momentous event for ACT I -- the opening of the Palace Theatre.  Tess and April were on hand together, and the honor fell to five year old Tess, appearing in her fourth ACT I production, to be the opening act in ACT I's opening production in the new facility.  Tess played a piano solo for our Variety Show, I'll be Home for Christmas, and was joined by her mother to perform the closing act in that production as well.

At the age of five, Tess Noeller became the first ACT I performer to ever take a bow upon the stage of the Palace Theatre in Vinton with a piano solo at the top of our variety show production, I'll Be Home for Christmas.

Tess and April were back at the Palace in March of 2000 for our third Palace production, our children's theatre musical version of Hansel and Gretel.  April wa on hand as our pianist and also served as a member of the prop crew, while Tess was a member of our corps de ballet.  April also worked on publicity for that show and helped paint the set.

Tess (left) slugs it out with Brook Swift in a stage combat class sponsored by ACT I STAGE! held at the Palace two years ago.

In the Summer of 2000, ACT I put its largest cast ever on the Palace stage, the ACT I STAGE! musical Charlotte's Web, in which April was back as Music Director and Property Mistress.  (She was wielding a paint brush again as well!)  Tess once again danced in that production, as one of our baby spiders.  April was then featured as a pianist in Encore! Encore!, our variety show for Season 2000 - 2001.  Last summer, when ACT I STAGE! performed its "two shows in repertory" summer series in July of 2001, April w as Music Director for the season opener The Emperor's New Clothes as well as for two of the three one acts in our triple bill that alternated with Emperor, Henny Penny and Stone Soup.  Tess appeared as a Dancing Jester in Emperor and in an acting role in our one act The Red Shoes, which completed last year's triple bill.  And brother Sean (whom Tess wanted to name Dodger) made his ACT I debut as a member of the small children's ensemble in Stone Soup.  Most recently, prior to The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre, Tess and April Noeller once again appeared behind the keyboard for our Intermezzo II classical recital in January of this year at the Ray House; and both appeared in our recent production of Family Affair.

We are very pleased that April and Tess are willing to share their talents with our audience in our children's theatre and musical programs and hope for their long term involvement in ACT I STAGE! for years to come.

Tess and April continue to be active each year with ACT I STAGE! and our summer productions.  April's husband Kevin has now also become active in ACT I, appearing as a dancer in The Sound of Music, and then moving on to the leading role of Paul Sycamore in You Can't Take it with You.  He was also appointed to a vacancy on our board during the 2004 - 2005 season and will appear in our September, 2005 for production of The Music Man.

Kevin Ahrenholz in You Can't Take it With You. 

                                                                                                                    Photo by Julie Zimmer

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