This month it is our pleasure to honor two of our long time active members as our Members of the Month.

The irrepressible Cora Miller in Life with Mother. The quirky, eccentric Florence Unger in The Odd Couple, Female Version. The understated old maid Lizzie in Rainmaker. And the tragic Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. And this week in our upcoming A Christmas Carol, the calm, omnipotent Ghost of Christmas Past. Could any five roles be more diverse? The actress who has portrayed all of these so well for ACT I audiences and has been a fixture in our community theatre for over three fourths of ACT I’s history is one of the most esteemed members of our roster of performers, Nancy Beckman. Among Nancy’s other acting assignments for ACT I have been performances in Twigs, both productions of The Girls in 509, Mornings at Seven, Take a Number, Darling, and many, many more.

Nancy isn’t always front and center. She is there where ever she is needed, whether its building and painting sets, doing committee work, or working a crew. She served as Stage Manager of our first three variety show productions.  She has directed Klondike Kalamity and Dancers, and has also served many terms as a member of the board. Nancy took four years off from ACT I a few years back to serve as drama director for Washington High School in Vinton, where she directed such excellent productions as Oklahoma, To Kill a Mockingbird, Our Town, Flowers for Algernon, The Music Man, and Cheaper by the Dozen.

Nancy’s husband Dean has been equally active with us over the years as well, but he manages to make himself almost invisible most of the time. Many of Dean’s accomplishments for ACT I go unrecognized, but the have been just as valuable as Nancy’s. Dean is frequently a sound and light technician, often making tapes of intermission and pre-show music for various productions. He served as Assistant Director for "The Foreigner."  And he has appeared on stage at least once.  Dean has served on the board many times and he is noted for being able to fill a hundred little roles that almost defy job descriptions, things that need to be done that we can count on Dean to do. One of Dean’s unusual but valuable contributions was as a consultant to our production of "The Sound of Music," where his extensive collection of Nazi memorabilia proved a very valuable resource in making sure that the many historical details of the show were correctly done. Dean’s assistance on that show extended to costuming, props, and even mannerisms needed by various performers.

Dean and Nancy Beckman both have careers working with the young people of our community. Nancy is a social worker for and Dean is a juvenile probation officer. Dean and Nancy have also hosted foreign exchange students frequently, and have had students from a wide variety of countries stay in their homes while attending Washington High School in Vinton. Dean and Nancy also enjoy foreign travel. They have had the pleasure of visiting their students in their home countries, and also enjoy traveling to New York and London to attend theatre.

Our thanks to Dean and Nancy Beckman for the many years of dedicated participation they have given to ACT I, and for the pleasure their future years of involvement will bring us!