Frequently Asked Questions
About ACT I of Benton County

Many individuals new to Benton County or who have only recently discovered ACT I often have many questions regarding our organization.  We hope this page can help answer some of them.  We will add new questions and answers to the page as we receive them.

Q.  What does ACT I stand for?
A.  ACT I is an acronym for Area Community Theatre, Inc.

Q.  What kind of organization is ACT I?
A.  ACT I is a non profit tax exempt corporation dedicated to producing live community theatre and fostering interest in all the fine arts.

Q.  Is participation in ACT I limited to residents of Benton County?
A.  Absolutely not.  Although most of our participants come from the Vinton area, all communities in Benton County have been represented in our casts, and in addition, participants have come from Center Point, La Porte City, Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Waverly -- even as far away as New York City and Australia!  We are open to all who love theatre and want to participate.

Q.  Who can be a member of ACT I?
A.  All participants (including patrons) are considered members of ACT I.  However, to be a voting member who can participate in quarterly meetings and cast ballots for the board of directors, a participant must have paid the membership fee and be of high school age or older.  Currently, this means becoming a gem sponsor at any level.

Q.  Who is in charge of ACT I?
A.  ACT I is operated by a seven member Board of Directors.  Members of the board of directors are elected by the membership at the annual meeting held every June.  Board members serve three year terms.  At the beginning of each fiscal year, the board elects officers from among its members.  It is the responsibility of the board to select the season, appoint the directors, and to make sure that our productions happen.  The board also appoints several staff positions to assist in making sure everything gets done.

Q.  How long has ACT I been around?
A.  ACT I of Benton County was incorporated in the spring of 1980, organized by local citizens who realized Benton County needed a community theatre, assisted by members of the Old Creamery Theatre Company.

Q.  Who owns and operates the Palace Theatre?
A.  ACT I owns the Palace Theatre in downtown Vinton, our resident performance facility.  The facility is maintained by a separate corporation, Palace Inc, which operates the movie business.  Palace Inc. handles all facility concerns and all bookings into the theatre, so that ACT I is free to focus entirely on live theatre.  Palace Inc. is operated by a six member Board of Trustees, each of whom serve three year terms.  Each year, one member of the Trustees is appointed by the Board of Directors of ACT I and another member is appointed by the Trustees themselves.  Palace Inc. appoints managers for the Palace Theatre as well as paid technical staff who operate the movie business as well as giving technical assistance to ACT I and other organizations who use the facility for live theatre.

Q.  What was done to the Palace Theatre in the remodeling?  How was it paid for?  How long did the renovation take?
A.  At a cost of close to $600,000 -- all raised locally by private donations -- the Palace Theatre was completely gutted on the inside and an entirely new facility was built within the old shell.  By the time ACT I purchased the building in December of 1997, nothing remained of what had once been a theatre.  The floor had been leveled, the stage and proscenium removed, and the space had been converted to a gym with sauna, locker rooms, and a separate store front where the lobby had once been.  All these things had to go, and all the needs of a modern theatre had to be built in the same space.  The building, built originally in 1915, had also been gutted twice by fire.  ACT I began the renovation soon after the facility was purchased and the Palace reopened as a combination performing arts center / public cinema in November, 1999.

Q.  Why is the backstage at the Palace Theatre called the Green Room when it isn't even green?
A.  The term Green Room has nothing to do with color.  Most theatres that produce live performances have a space designated as a "green room," no matter what color it is actually painted.  This is actually a theatrical term, referring to the room within a theatre where actors await their entrances and receive visitors after the performance.

Q.  Why doesn't ACT I do all of its shows in the Palace Theatre?
A.  ACT I does its Main Stage and children's theatre productions at the Palace, but likes the variety of using other, small venues around Vinton for small scale shows that are of interest to fewer patrons.  We feel a variety of venues makes the season more interesting.  Some of our alternate venues include the Riverside Park Band Shell, the Ray House, Benton Community High School, the Vinton City Hall, and the Fourth Street Coffee Company.

Q.  How many shows does ACT I do during its season?
A.  In the early years, ACT I staged only two plays a year.  Now, ACT I generally produces three Main Stage shows, two children's theatre productions, and two Events.  Our Main Stage series always includes a well known musical and two straight plays.  Generally at least one of our children's theatre shows is also a musical.  In addition to fully staged plays, The Events Series productions are small scale programs during the year such as music recitals, readers theatre, and poetry readings, which take considerably less work to produce than a play.

Q.  How many productions has ACT I staged?
A.  ACT I recently staged its 100th production, Calamity James, as the season opener for our 27th season in July, 2006.

Q.  Which ACT I show had the biggest cast?  Which had the smallest?
A.  Over 90 children and adults appeared in Charlotte's Web.  Same Time Next Year (1995) Sleuth (1997) Love Letters (2004) and The Dairy of Adam and Eve (2005) each had a cast of two.

Q.  How much does it cost ACT I to produce a play?
A.  Budgets vary from show to show.  Musicals are very expensive to produce, costing close to $2,000 for the rights and materials alone, with another four to five thousand dollars added to the budget for sets, costumes, and other expenses.  Straight plays generally cost three to four hundred dollars for the rights and materials, with an additional one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars for production costs, although over $6,000 was spent on production of Romeo and Juliet, rivaling the cost of a major musical.  Generally, our small scale events are staged with a very limited budget, spending just a few hundred dollars at the very most.

Q.  How do you get to be a director?
A.  Directors are chosen by the board.  Individuals wishing to direct must prove their competencies either with successful past experiences elsewhere or else by working their way up within our organization, generally serving as an assistant director at least once.

Q.  Does ACT I have a newsletter?
A.  For the past seven years, ACT I has produced a newsletter called Grease Paint.  Originally a quarterly publication, Grease Paint went to monthly publication in 1997.  In 1999, Grease Paint went to a dual version format, with a print version as well as an expanded online version housed on act1.org.  All of our online editions are archived on the website and can still be accessed.  The first Grease Paint Editor was Faith Brown, and since Faith the editors have been Mary Phillips, Julie Zimmer, Steve Arnold, and Marcy Horst.

Q.  What is ACT I STAGE! ?
A.  STAGE! is our youth program, which produces our children's theatre productions and offers theatre classes for students of all grade levels.  (STAGE! is an acronym for Student Theatre, A Great Experience!)  The philosophy behind STAGE! is to give student participants a quality experience that matches their interest and ability level, under the mentorship of well qualified adults.  It operates as a separate organization within ACT I, and is operated by a director appointed by the Board of Directors.  Currently, the co-directors of STAGE! are Marcy Horst and Shirale Hanson.  During season 2004-2005, ACT I has expanded STAGE! to serve the southern part of the county as well, with the creation of Second Stage, which takes place in Van Horne at the Benton Community High School auditorium.

Q.  What volunteer opportunities are there with ACT I?
A.  There are a thousand jobs involved in putting on a play!  There is acting, directing, vocal and instrumental musicians, set construction and painting, stage crew, properties, costume construction and maintenance, ushers, clean up crew, publicity crew . . . the list goes on and on and on!

Q.  How are the plays selected?
A.  The board appoints a committee each season to plan for the following year.  Prospective directors can submit proposals for shows they would like to direct and the committee also chooses plays it feels are worthy for consideration.  The committee then puts together a season based on available directors and the plays the directors and committee have selected.  The proposed season is then submitted to the board for approval.

Q.  What are the Palace Gems?
A.  Anyone can be a Palace gem.  These are people who contribute financially to ACT I to assure that there is enough money to stage plays for the patrons of Benton County.

Q.  Are financial contributions to ACT I tax deductible?
A.  Absolutely!  Because of our non profit tax exempt status, you can deduct your contributions to us from your income tax.

Q.  How much does it cost to sponsor a production so I can have my name on the Marquee with the show title?
A.  One thousand two hundred dollars.

Q.  Was that Matt Meyer's real hair in It Runs in the Family?
A.  Yes.

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