by Steve Arnold

When Cathi Calderwood was asked whether she would be willing to take on the role of the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet to replace an indisposed cast member, she replied that she’d have to think about it as she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to do a show at that time or take on a Shakespearean role.  But when son Ryan, already a member of the R&J cast, encouraged his mom to take the role, she agreed saying “If my son still wants to be in plays with me then I’m not going to turn it down.”

Ryan and Cathi are typical of so many families with multi generational membership in ACT I, for whom participating in community theatre is truly a family affair.

Romeo (Brandon Jolly) confers with the Nurse (Cathi Calderwood) to make arrangements for his secret marriage to Juliet while her servant Peter (Ryan Calderwood) waits behind in our recent production of Romeo and Juliet.

The Calderwoods began their involvement with ACT I in 1995, when Cathi first appeared with us as Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music.  Ryan came along the following August, as a member of the acting ensemble for our children’s musical, How to Eat Like a Child.  Since then, Cathi and Ryan have become two of our most visible performers.

Cathi and Ryan ride in a golf cart in the 1999 Party in the Park parade to promote Life with Mother, a featured production for our opening season at the Palace Theatre with Cathi and Ryan as Lavinia and Harlan Day.  Driving the cart is the show's director, Ray Bookmeier.

Cathi has two distinct fortes as a performer; she is one of our most important singers, and she is also an exceptional comedienne.  In addition to The Sound of Music, Cathi’s musical roles with us have included Mrs. Corney in Oliver!, Doris MacAffee in Bye Bye Birdie, and Nana in The Velveteen Rabbit.  She also had a repeat shot at the convent, playing a nun for a second time during our 1999 variety show, Be Our Guest, when she was part of the Sister Act chorus.  Her straight comedic roles include the major Veta Louise Simmons in Harvey. Taking on the role of the Nurse gave Cathi two firsts; her first Shakespearean role, and her first dramatic role, as the Nurse is both a comic and dramatic character; and Cathi gives us the hope that more dramatic roles will follow in her future.

Following his appearance in How to Eat Like a Child, Ryan has been seen as one of Fagin’s boys in Oliver!, a hip rabbit in The Velveteen Rabbit, and Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as dual roles in Romeo and Juliet as Peter (The Nurse’s servant) and a Montague retainer.  Besides these roles with ACT I, Ryan played the major role of Michael Darling in Peter Pan at Theatre Cedar Rapids in December of 1996.  Peter Pan was a very special experience for Ryan, giving him the opportunity to experience onstage flight first hand.  He was also an assistant director for Charlotte’s Web.  In the highly competitive world of ACT I youth theatre, Ryan has proven himself a highly dependable and first rate actor, whether his role is large or small one.

Ryan Calderwood takes flight as Michael Darling in Peter Pan at Theatre Cedar Rapids in 1996.

Yes, we’ve left something out.  Three times, Mother and son Cathi and Ryan have appeared together on our stage playing mother and son.  They first took their offstage relationship before the footlights was when Cathi played Lavinia Day in Life with Father to Ryan’s Harlan Day in 1997, roles they reprised three years later when ACT I presented that play’s sequel, Life with Mother.  Cathi and Ryan also appeared together as mother and son in our Children’s Theartre musical adaptation of Hansel and Gretel in 2000, with Ryan as Hansel and Cathi as the mother.

A Day Family Portrait -- Cathi and Ryan Calderwood are seen at left in this photograph of the principal cast members of Life with Father taken at the Ray House

For the past eight years, Cathi has been a part time secretary at West Early Childhood Center in Vinton.  Prior to that, she’s worked for engineers, doctors, lawyers, and was also and EMT.  She really enjoys medicine and states that if she had been aware of the Physician’s Assistant program before she got so old, that’s the path her career would probably have taken.

Ryan is a freshman at WHS, where he is active in football, choir, and band, and played the doctor in the recent Theatre WHS production of Rest Assured. The third member of the Calderwood family, who remains in the audience, is husband and father Will, a civil engineer.

Besides performing for ACT I, the Calderwoods enjoy traveling as a family. Ryan enjoys anything even remotely connected to the computer.  He also enjoys learning about medieval times.  Paintball is also a favorite.  Cathi’s favorite is shopping till she drops!  Also, horseback riding, the beach, and giving her husband a never ending supply of “honey-do” projects.

Cathi would also like to thank Will for his support.  Even though he has absolutely no desire to be on stage, he encourages Cathi and Ryan to actively participate and enjoys the shows.  Cathi adds, "We are very fortunate to have ACT I in our community.  It is a wonderful venue for both children and adults.  I have met so many wonderful people since I have been involved in ACT I.  The caliber of talent never ceases to amaze me.  I am a firm believer that you take something positive away from every experience and that certainly has been true with the ACT I shows in which I have been involved.  As children grow, it becomes difficult to find common interests.  I am so thankful that Ryan and I share theatre as an interest and will be forever grateful for the memories of performances in which we have been involved.  I hope this is something Ryan will remember fondly as well."

Our many thanks to the Calderwood family for their years of dedicated involvement with ACT I and for the many ways they have contributed to us with their time and talents.  We wish them many more happy years with ACT I!

Update:

Cathi Calderwood as Dottie/Mrs. Clackett in Noises Off in 2004.

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