by Steve Arnold

Patrons of our Events Series have come to recognize a very familiar face appearing regularly in these small scale productions.  Edgar Dickerson made his debut with ACT I in December of 2000, playing several characters in our readers' theatre production of A Christmas Carol.  Ed's debut came shortly after his daughter Elise first appeared with us in June of that year as Hazel Willoughby in Life with Mother.  During the past two years many of our productions have featured their talents.  In Intermezzo III: Silent Night, they perform together in an ACT I production for the first time, and this month we feature Ed and Elise as ACT I's Members of the Month.

Edgar Dickerson of rural Garrison is a very unique individual in every way.  Ed is by profession an educator, a minister, and public speaker.  On stage for ACT I, he is a natural in clerical roles.  Twice for us he has played clergy (Reverend Samuel Parris in The Crucible in April, 2001); and later he played a character that was both clergy and educator, Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet.

Edgar Dickerson as Shakespeare's Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet

In addition to the three dramatic productions that have been graced by Ed's characterizations, his deep, warm velvety voice has gently caressed the English language in other elegant readings for ACT I.  He participated in our poetry reading in 2001, he played the role of Titanic survivor Col. Archibald Gracie in The Titanic Disaster Hearings, and in October of this year he was a featured reader in our recent Halloween production, Monster Medley Spooktacular.  Intermezzo III marks Ed's first performance in a musical presentation for ACT I.

Originally from Texas, Ed has lived in the Midwest most of his life.  He is a long time teacher and principal, serving in the profession for eleven years in Illinois before coming to Iowa, and he has taught every grade level from kindergarten to graduate school (including a stint teaching in a Hungarian seminary in 1999.)  He has lived the past twenty-one years in Garrison and served for seven of those years as the Home / School Coordinator for the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District.  A firm believer in home schooling, all three of his children were home schooled through high school.  Ed actively lobbied the Iowa legislature for the passage of the Home Schooling bill and received as a gift from then Governor Terry Branstad the first pen used to sign the bill into law.

In addition to being an educator, Ed is a lay pastor for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, serving a congregation in Marion.  He frequently travels in Europe, New Zealand and Australia for speaking engagements, and will travel to Britain in January.  He has also written numerous articles published in magazines, most of a religious nature.

Ed made his ACT I debut playing a variety of rolls in our readers' theatre production of A Christmas Carol, performed in December of 2000 at the Ray House.  Above left, Ed is seen as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Ed is an intellectual in the truest and best sense.  Thoughtful, well read, articulate, and very knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics, Ed can effortlessly converse in just about any situation.  And whether he is discussing the finer points of Shakespeare, educational philosophy, religion, or his very conservative political views, Ed's true personality belies the somber poses in which he is seen above.  Those in ACT I who have had the privilege of working with Ed know him for a gentle, whimsical sense of humor which despite his ever calm demeanor is still always outrageously funny.  In particular, Ed is an expert and continuous punster.  (Example:  During a particular witchy sequence during the final dress rehearsal for Monster Medley Spooktacular, Ed was heard to playfully mutter "Eye of Newt, Tongue of Gephart."  Okay, just think on it, it may take a minute to get it.)  It is certainly true that as entertaining as Ed is onstage, he is equally entertaining off stage as well!

In the soft glow of candle light at the Ray House, Edgar Dickerson spun Halloween tales both quietly chilling and charmingly humorous during Monster Medley Spooktacular in October.

Married to his childhood sweetheart Mavis at the age of eighteen, the couple has three children, Benjamin, Shoshanna, and Elise.  Benjamin (a graduate of Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska) and his wife have also given the couple their first grandchild, Jonathan.  This young family currently lives in a rennovated corn crib in rural Dysart, a structure on which Benjamin has done all the work.  Daughters Shoshanna, a recent graduate of Mount Mercy College and Elise, a student at Kirkwood community college, live at home.

Ed says "Because I love the language so much I treasured the opportunity to play the role of Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet.  It has been on of the highlights of the last few years.  It was a blast."

Elise, Ed's youngest child, was the first member of the family to appear with ACT I, making her debut in Life with Mother in June of 2000.  She went on to appear in our variety show Encore! Encore! in the fall of that year, performing several vocal numbers while Shoshannah accompanied her on the piano.

Elise next appeared in the chorus of My Fair Lady; then, while her father worked on ACT I's poetry reading and readers' theatre production of The Crucible, Elise appeared in a production of Playboy of the Western World at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.  She rounded out that theatre season back on the stage of the Palace for the role of Mrs. Chauvenet in Harvey.

Elise Dickerson (right) is in a daze as Ethel Chauvenet in Harvey, immediately after being introduced to the invisible white rabbit by Elwood P. Dowd as the embarrassed Myrtle Mae and Veta (Kari Douma and Cathi Calderwood) look on.

For her next ACT I role, Elise went from a dowdy old matron to a seductive courtesan, playing Titanabula in our production of A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum.  This character gave new meaning to the word "ding head."  (You had to see this show to understand.)  Elise has also assisted behind the stage in such technical areas as hair, makeup, set construction, and stage management for shows in which she has appeared onstage as well as for Romeo and Juliet.

Elise Dickerson (directly right of columns) played a bell encrusted courtesan in our 2001 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Last winter, Elise journeyed to Honduras where she worked with a mission team from Massachusetts.  Her principal duties involved teaching Spanish sign language to a deaf child living on the remote island of Guanaja in that country.  She is planning a similar trip to the Dominican Republic this coming February.  Last  October, she was back at Kirkwood theatre doing hair and makeup for the musical Company.  In addition to theatre she is also involved in the Kirkwood Concert Chorale.  After completing her studies at Kirkwood Community College she plans to transfer to Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska to earn a B.A. in religion with a possible minor in music / theatre. and following that she would like to take a position with the Seventh Day Adventist Church as an Associate / Youth pastor.

Elise also has an interest in a modeling career.  She has prepared for this with the Crown Royal Model Management of Chicago, and is currently represented by the Association of Working Talent of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Elise says,  "ACT I has really given me a lot of opportunity to grow in my late teens.  After Life with Mother I was hooked and told my dad we had to do a show together. My Dad has been a big influence on how I approach performing and how I can learn from it. I'm happy that he has had such a great time with  ACT I. There are so many people in ACT I that I am glad to know. I feel very blessed to be so young and yet have had so many wonderful opportunities and experiences. Thanks ACT I!"

We congratulate the Dickerson family on their participation with ACT I and wish them many more happy years with us.

Home
Grease Paint Online    Current Season    Scrapbook
Palace Theatre Virtual Tour    ACT I STAGE!   Gems
E-Box Office    Auditions and Calendar   All About Us    Links