Grease Paint Online; July, 2003

ACT I's 24th season opens with our 81st production Friday night, July 11, 2003. American Hysterical, a comical, historical revue, is an original work written and directed by Marcy Horst of Vinton and Mary Horst of Blairstown, with music by Tom Jessen of Iowa City. The ACT I STAGE! summer camp production is the work of some 80 performers from elementary age through high school. The production runs this weekend and next, Friday and Saturday nights (July 11, 12, 18, and 19) at 7:00 PM and Sundays (July 13 and 20) at 2:00 PM. All tickets are $5.00 and seating is reserved.

American Hysterical gives a fresh look at American history from the fateful journey of Christopher Columbus to the heroes of modern day. Covering events from 1492 to 2003, this series of historical vignettes features, among other things, the Mayflower settlement and the first Thanksgiving, the Revolutionary War, the Louisiana Purchase and explorations of Lewis and Clark, the gold rush, immigration, the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad, inventions of the telephone and the light bulb, World War I, the stock market crash and the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, Civil Rights, space exploration, and developments of the compute and the Internet.

The set for American Hysterical was designed by Mary Horst and built by Allen and Bonnie Lueckenotto. Technical Director is by Gerald Horst, and the choreographer is Darci Fuelling. the stage crew is David Horst, Allen Lueckenotto, and Alex Martinez-Vasquez. Accompanying the music on the keyboard are Annie Horst, Clare Horst, and April Ahrenholz.

ACT I STAGE!'s production of American Hysterical is sponsored by Lori Smith and Expressions, and Cedar River Ink; Mike and Joyce Svoboda.

A time warp occurs on the Palace Theatre stage as we witness a meeting between
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison in a scene depicting early electronic inventions.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the
people in one of his famous Fireside Chats, while below . . .

. . . a hopeful nation sits by their radios to listen. (Radios were bigger back then.)

A trio of wholesome vocalists perform a radio commercial for Ultra Bright toothpaste.
(Hmmm. Gerald, was that voice over really in the script?)

The 50's are represented in American Hysterical by this malt shop dance number.

One giant leap for mankind quickly took Neil Armstrong right out of the view of
the Grease Paint camera during the portrayal of the historic 1969 moon landing.

Star Dancers gather on stage for a Freedom Rally during the early moments of the final scene.

Cast members gather in the Palace lobby to await their
entrances in the final scene of American Hysterical.

In the cast of American Hysterical are Jesse Bunge, Laura Van Steenhuyse, Jackson Tranel, Patrick Horst, Nate Horst, Rob Hanson, Matt Walston, Nicholas Stout, Ben Stainbrook, Trevor Walker, Gunner Tranel, Ellie Horst, Clare Cooling, Emma Horst, Maddie Springer, Ashton Vore, Annie Meyer, Luke Shafer, Wesley Lyons, Kolton Sellers, Grant Sagan, Max Nguyen, Dakoda Sellers, Aric Hanson, Kate Martin, Katie Kullmer, Ashley Kullmer, Alyssa Hanson, Mattie Walker, Jane Martin, Haley Luther, Evan Lueckenotto, Nick Hyland, Clare Horst, Erin Horst, Abby Hilton, Kordereau Sellers, Matt Meyer, Brittany Hamling, Kaitlin Karrick, Andy Schanbacher, Katie Hanson, Corey Cooling, Megan Horst, Cali Arbuckle, Courtney Summer, Lily Horst, Sydney Monson, Kylie Miracle, Bailey Lyons, Elizabeth Fischer, Allie Canaday, Kacie Struve, Kaia Monson, Anna Sagan, Emily Howes-Vonstein, Lilly Gibson, Annie Horst, Curtis Lueckenotto, Ben Hyland, Emma Clingman, Rachel Monson, Brittney Werner, Dustin Martens, Tess Noeller, Taylor Hoffman, Maria Covington, Laura Wilberg, Cailey Summers, Tonia Mauer, Zach Hyland, Brian Fischer, Sara Walston, Clayton Ender, Quinn Monaghan, Luke Owens, Matt Upmeyer, and Katie Akers.

ACT I STAGE!'s production of American Hysterical is sponsored by Lori Smith and Expressions, and Cedar River Ink; Mike and Joyce Svoboda.

For additional information about this production (including many more pictures and a full list of scenes and characters) go to the American Hysterical page of this website at www.act1.org/hysterical.htm.

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957. Call now for reservations for American Hysterical, our ACT I STAGE! summer Children's Theatre for 2003!

Rehearsals for this season's Main Stage musical, Annie, are already in progress, but the production calendar officially gets underway July 19, co-director Joan Cooling recently told Grease Paint. The full cast will have a kick off picnic and read-through on Saturday, July 19, from noon to 4:00 PM at the Hesson Shelter in Riverside Park. In addition to the picnic and read through, cast members will get the opportunity to play Hooverball, a volleyball-like game played with an overweight ball, the favorite sport of President Herbert Hoover. (The story of Annie begins during the Hoover administration and continues into the Roosevelt era.) Joan also told us that three additional members of the production company, not previously announced, will be working on the show. Lori Ferguson, who has played and sung in several previous productions for ACT I and also appears regularly with Theatre Cedar Rapids, will be at the keyboard. Sandy the Dog will be played by Maggie, a member of the Jeff Peterson family. Ed Cardwell will be in charge of set construction. Ed joined us last year, and was previously was property master for Kiss Me, Kate; he also built the set and served as stage manager for Lost in Yonkers.

For additional information about this production go to the Annie page of this website at www.act1.org/annie.htm.

An important figure from ACT I's early years left life's stage June 29. In recognition of his contributions to 19 of our first 24 productions, we honor the memory of David J. Nolte as our Member of the Month for July, 2003.

David Nolte, 86, was a loyal and steady contributor of his time and talents to ACT I throughout the 1980s, taking his place in the limelight as well as taking his turn at offstage assignments. David and his wife of 58 years, Mary Zoe, lived in Vinton from 1963 until December of 2000, when they moved to Cedar Rapids. He was a long time employee of Hawk Bilt Manufacturing in Vinton until his retirement, and Mary Zoe taught third grade at West Elementary in Vinton. Their family includes two sons, David and Ted, and a daughter, Anne, as well as two grandchildren.

David Nolte's ACT I debut role was as the sheriff in Deadwood Dick in 1981

David Nolte made his ACT I debut in our fourth production, the musical melodrama Deadwood Dick, in December of 1981, when our fledgling community theatre was only a year and a half old. He returned in March of 1982 for the role of Hannibal in The Curious Savage. After serving on the prop crew for The Murder Room, he returned to the stage as Krojack, the hilarious role of the head of the communist secret police in Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water, in 1983. He next appeared for us as the Intruder in See How They Run in 1985. For The Mousetrap, David took on another off stage assignment, working the box office and serving as House Manager before going back onstage for the role of Mac in the Skeet Powers musical Lovingly Yours in February 1986. He was back onstage in April of that year as Henri Trochard in My Three Angels, and again in our next production, The Girls in 509, in which he was featured in the dual roles of Winthrop Allen and Francis X. Nella, the national chairs of both the Republican and Democratic parties. Going offstage again, David worked on set construction and publicity for our next production, The Rainmaker. In 1987 he portrayed the role of Roger Crosby in The Cat and the Canary, returning to the publicity committee for Take a Number Darling. For our next production, the melodrama Klondike Kalamity, David appeared as Chief Wapakoneta, a show for which he also worked set construction and publicity. David appeared on our stage for the last time in 1989 in the role of David Crampton in Morning's At Seven, but he continued to do crew work for several more ACT I shows, working publicity and box office crews for In 25 Words or Death, Play On, Daddy's Dyin, Who's Got the Will, Cheating Cheaters, and his final show, Dancers, in May of 1992. David's wife Mary Zoe also did crew work for Morning's at Seven, Cheating Cheaters, and Dancers.

In addition to his involvement with ACT I, David was very active with the Masons from 1943 until his death, holding all offices at the local lodge as well as holding state wide office. He was also an active member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Vinton.

In Don't Drink the Water, David Nolte's character
Krojack (center) was the butt of many of the play's jokes

David's involvement in ACT I is remembered fondly by the many members who had the opportunity to work with him both onstage and off during the twelve years that he was active with the group. ACT I member Linda Radcliffe recalled that David was always very nice to work with, very quiet but with a lot of good ideas. She praised his loyalty to the organization, saying he would always do what ever needed to be done and would always distribute the posters for our shows. She added that Mary Zoe was always very supportive of his involvement.

Dorothy Albert is another ACT I veteran who quickly spoke of David's loyalty to the group. "My first introduction to Dave Nolte was in the fall of 1982, when I tried out for my first ACT I play," she said. "Dave was already an established veteran of ACT I. I soon discovered he had a strong stage presence, not only from his physical stature but also from his deep, gravelly voice. With those distinctive assets he could play an assertive lawyer or a Russian mobster - complete with accent!" Dorothy went on to recall that Dave also had a great sense of humor offstage, "and sometimes, to the director's dismay, onstage as well!" Dorothy said that Dave was always ready to help any way he could in the production of a play, if only to boost morale. "We could count on a good audience if Dave was in the cast, as he had a loyal following, and a great PR manager in his wife, Mary Zoe." Dorothy also said that Dave loved cast parties, "because he loved to interact with people offstage as well as onstage; and people onstage, backstage, and out front, loved Dave Nolte!"

View the past articles in our Member of the Month series! All previous Member of the Month features (beginning with September, 1998) have been archived and can be accessed in one convenient place. Older articles have been updated to make the members' accomplishments current! To visit the Member of the Month Archives, go to www.act1.org/mom.htm.

American Hysterical provides a child's eye view of American history with an original script by Marcy Horst and Mary Horst. Below are several other plays featuring events or characters from American history. Some have been produced by ACT I, others have not. How many can you name?

1. Like the piece written by Marcy and Mary, this play covers the complete history of America, but in a much more irreverent and humorous manner. It was seen last year at Theatre Cedar Rapids and can be seen in September at the Waterloo Community Playhouse.

2. This Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about the American navy during World War II featured Mary Martin in its original Broadway run.

3. This popular musical about the creation of the Declaration of Independence was performed outdoors last summer at the Brucemore Historic Site in Cedar Rapids.

4. Taking place on the other side of the Atlantic about ten years after the play in question #3, this is the story of the man who "lost the colonies" and the insanity that overtook him.

5. Produced by ACT I as a readers theatre production, this Arthur Miller drama portrays one of the darkest incidents of American history.

6. Produced by ACT I in 1995, this play portrays the incidents in the early life of Helen Keller. (Extra credit: Name Helen Keller's real life Vinton connection.)

7. This intense drama is a fictional retelling of the Infamous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1924, portraying the confrontation of two giants of early 20th century thought, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan.

8. Our American Cousin, an otherwise forgotten play, is itself a piece of American history because of the role it had in a very historic event.

9. This ACT I production was a readers theatre adaptation of an actual congressional hearing.

Answers to Last Month�s Quiz

A Year in Review: It's Not Easy Being Green

How many of these uses for the color green last season can you remember from our season just concluded?

1. Jealousy, the green eyed monster, reared its head in Kiss Me Kate when actor/director Fred Graham learns that his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi plans to marry Republican politician Harrison Howell, played by Alan Nebola. What political office did Alan's character hold in that show? Senator from Georgia

2. In our Halloween production, Monster Medley Spooktacular, Alan was pursued by a most unusual yet animated inanimate object, a green pair of pants with no one inside them. Name the author of this piece that Alan so delightfully performed. Dr. Seuss

3. What sort of green horticultural monster was featured in the Once Upon a Vine segment of that The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre? A beanstalk

4. In the first segment of the show, Ogre Here, Ogre There, we featured a green character that was so large that it took five puppeteers to operate it! What was the name of this large green ogre? (Hint: the name is derived from a word for ghost in common usage in northern England.) Bogart the Ogre

5. Name the actor who portrayed the head of Alistair, our green dragon from The Reluctant Dragon, and performed his spoken lines. Pat Lyons

6. The halls were decked with boughs of holly and plenty of other green things at the Ray House for Intermezzo III, Silent Night. Our Christmas vocal recital took time to honor the beloved Christmas Carol "Silent Night," with Gerald Horst and Rob Glass recreating its first performance 1818. For what musical instrument was this carol originally written? guitar

7. Name the young ACT I performer who debuted at Theatre Cedar Rapids this season in an all green costume, complete with green makeup. Matt Meyer

8. What part of the Palace Theatre was exposed to the audience for the first time ever to be used as part of the playing space for Kiss Me, Kate? The Green Room

9. In Lost in Yonkers, how much green stuff did Aunt Bella want for the purpose of opening a restaurant? $5,000

Congratulations to Jessica Rundlett, who answered eight questions correctly, and to Ruth Arnold, who answered four questions correctly!

The July meeting of the Board of ACT I of Benton County will Sunday, July 27 at 5:00 PM at the ACT I Studio.

Members and visitors are always welcome at board meetings!

Minutes of meetings of the ACT I board from July, 2000 on can be accessed from a link on the "Everything You Need to Know About ACT I" page, or on the "Minutes" page of our website, www.act1.org/minutes.htm.

Welcome to a new ACT I season, our 24th, and welcome to a new volume of Grease Paint! It's hard to believe that ten years have gone by now since the name Grease Paint was first given to our newsletter, and on a personal level, ten years since my own involvement in ACT I began.

No doubt a great deal of time will be spent this year planning next season's observance of our 25th anniversary, which also will be the 5th anniversary year for Vinton's Palace Theatre, our resident venue. Our 24th season is an excellent time to look forward -- but it's also imperative that we look back on the 23 years that have already passed for ACT I. During those 23 years, nearly 1000 volunteers have produced 80 shows for Vinton audiences, and many of those volunteers are still actively giving of their time to produce live theatre for the local audience. Last season alone was the work of 180 volunteers of all ages. Many volunteers have devoted years to ACT I. Three members of the company of our first production are still actively involved with ACT I and/or the Palace Theatre. Ron Baldwin and Linda Radcliffe are both members of our board of directors and both continue to appear regularly in our productions, and both are regular volunteers at the Palace. Julie Zimmer is active in publicizing the offerings of the Palace Theatre. Colleen Stufflebeam and Nancy Geiken have both appeared in ACT I productions during the past two seasons. Another of ACT I's original members, octogenarian Keith Mossman, returns to us after an eight year absence for a cameo as Justice Brandeis in Annie this September.

ACT I volunteers like the ones just mentioned from the early years built a vital foundation for community theatre in Benton County, a foundation upon which our current ventures rest. Without the work of volunteers like David Nolte, who was a builder of ACT I in the very truest sense, we would not have an organization with the vitality and diversity that we enjoy today. I never had the opportunity to know or to work with David Nolte, as ironically my involvement began with the show that immediately followed his final one. (I did, however, get hold of an old video this week of an ACT I show with David in a featured role and watched a portion of it, thus seeing him onstage for the first time.) The longer I am involved in ACT I, the greater my appreciation grows for those who loved live theatre enough to take on the difficult task of making this organization happen in the first place.

So on the eve of our quarter century observance, we look back and forward at the same time. But there is also our current season, and for now, revel in that present moment as we enjoy the play Marcy, Mary, their adult assists, and their 80 member cast of young people, have produced. Congratulations to you all and best wishes for a successful production!

Answers to Last Month�s Quiz A Year in Review: It's Not Easy Being Green

Answers to Last Month�s Quiz

A Year in Review: It's Not Easy Being Green