Grease Paint Online - July, 2004

25th Anniversary Season Continues with Stage! One Summer Camp Performances . . .

The Adventures of Beatrix Potter, written by Joseph Robinette, with music and Lyrics by Evelyn Swenssen, the second installment of this season's Children's Theatre Series, opens Friday, July 9, and is our opening production of the year at the Palace Theatre in Vinton for our twenty-fifth anniversary season, ACT I TAKE II. The show is directed by Marcy Horst and Shirale Hanson. Music Director is Sheila Monson and the choreographer is Joan Cooling. Pianists for the production are April Ahrenholz and Clare Horst, with Sheila Monson on the flute. The lighting and technical crew includes Greg Walston, Jesse Bunge, and Gerald Horst. The production is sponsored by Kevin and April Ahrenholz. The play runs Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10 and Friday July 16 at 7:00 PM and Sundays, July 11 and 18 at 2:00 PM at the Palace Theatre. Tickets are $5.00, and $2.00 for children five and under.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) was a lonely spinster whose childhood interests in animals and drawing, coupled with her great talent as an illustrator, made her one of the most important authors of children's books ever. Miss Potter was born in London, the daughter of wealthy parents who kept her and her brother under their strict domination throughout much of her life until her marriage at age 47. Miss Potter and her family summered every year in England's lake district, an area she particularly loved for its great natural beauty. Bored with her life as a member of the wealthy upper middle class, she developed her interest in drawing into a profession, and began to sell illustrations for greeting cards. In 1902 she published her first children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The book was an immediate success and in 1905 Miss Potter bought Hill Top, the first of fourteen lake district farms she would eventually own. She continued to publish children's books at a very prolific rate. Her first chance for marital happiness ended abruptly when her publisher to whom she was engaged, Norman Warne, died unexpectedly, but in 1913 she married solicitor William Heelis and lived the rest of her life as a wife and farm owner in the lake district. For a more complete story of her life, including many pictures of her farms and other places of interest, click the picture of Miss Potter below.

This children's musical tells the story of the life of Beatrix Potter, intermixed with dramatizations of many of the books written by her, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, Jemimah Puddle-Duck, The Tailor of Gloucester, and others. It also tells the story of Noel Moore, a young boy who corresponded with Miss Potter for many years. The cast for the production is headed by Emma Clingman as Beatrix Potter. Kenny Feller is Noel Moore, and Dustin Martens and Alyssa Hanson are Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Also in the cast are Marissa Eldred, Patrick Horst, Jacob Bunge, Kaia Monson, Sydney Monson, Abby Gloede, Annie Meyer, Brinkley Gerber, Tess Noeller, Rachel Monson, Aric Hanson, Brittney Werner, Luke Shafer, Ivy Huber, Erin Randall, Ben Hyland, Jane Martin, Jackson Tranel, Matt Walston, Rob Hanson, Noelle Noe, Bristi Gerber, Faith Pladsen, Hannah Haisman, Katie Hancock, Lauren Tandy, Maci Griffith, Skyler Vore, Anna Sagan, Lily Horst, Allison Canaday, Ben Stainbrok, Emma Horst, Maddie Springer, Max Griffith, Willow Huber, Brian Fischer, Will Hancock, Max Nguyen, Matthew Upmeyer, Jordan Yessak, Nick Hyland, Alec Feller, Chandler Noe, Nolan Sagan, Kelsey Kremer, Chelsea Hessenius, Clare Cooling, Katie Boddicker, Jacey Cummings, Nicholas Stout, Danisha Pladsen, Jessica Olson, Corey Cooling, Justin Nelson, Gunnar Tranel, Grant Sagan, Ben Akers, Ashton Vore, Luke Owens, Katie Akers, Jennifer Akers, Bailey Lyons, and Elizabeth Fischer.

Rehearsals for The Adventures of Beatrix Potter began in early June. Cast members were participants in our ACT I STAGE! summer camp, Stage! One. Our orientation directors were Marcy Horst, Shirale Hanson, Sheila Monson, Theresa Werner, Alex Martinez-Vasquez, Joan Cooling, Mandy Peterson, and Erin Horst. Eric Upmeyer and Mandy Peterson facilitated The Life of Mime workshop, Shirale Hanson and Theresa Werner facilitated Award Winning Mr. Caldecott (Beatrix Potter was strongly influenced by the artwork of Caldecott), and Art Studio was facilitated by Carolyn Kettler. Sheila Monson and Joan Cooling directed our camp song, "Talk to the Animals," from Dr. Doolittle. Orientation and Workshop week culminated on Friday, June 11 with an Open House. Campers received their parts in the main production and rehearsals began Monday, June 14.

ACT I TAKE II Anniversary Statistics for The Adventures of Beatrix Potter: This play will be ACT I's 87th production, and our 24th production in the Palace Theatre. The opening night performance for this show will be our 124th at the Palace Theatre, and our 379th performance altogether.

For additional information about this production by ACT I STAGE!, go to the Adventures of Beatrix Potter show page of this website at www.act1.org/beatrix.htm.

For additional information about our youth program, go to the ACT I STAGE!, page of this website at www.act1.org/stage.htm.

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957!
Make your reservations now for The Adventures of Beatrix Potter, and keep our number handy for the rest of our busy season, ACT I TAKE II!

Those of you who are old enough to remember television's "Ed Sullivan Show" will inevitably remember the way the peculiar accent of that show's host made his weekly pronouncement of a "really big show" sound like "a really big shoe." And those of you who saw the movie Holes remember how that film's plot turns on the fate of a pair of over-sized basketball shoes. But Holes and Ed Sullivan have nothing on the big shoe created by director Mary Horst as the centerpiece of her set for the ACT I production of Mother Goose Memoirs, written and directed by Mary with music by John Hayden, which ran July 25, 26, and 27 at the Benton Community Schools auditorium in Van Horne. The shoe was a twelve foot long, eight foot high structure which moved on and off the set as needed, and which dazzled the eyes of the audience. Mary's fast paced, witty script, along with Mr. Hayden's tuneful and ear-catching score, plus the enthusiasm and talent of the largely inexperienced cast, created a delightful evening of theatre to usher in ACT I's 25th season and to observe the fifth anniversary of our youth program, ACT I STAGE! The production, sponsored by Coon Creek Telephone Company and Benton County State Bank, featured a cast of thirty-nine. Congratulations to Mary, her cast and crew, for a really big "shew!"

The Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe gets updated quarters in Mother Goose Memoirs with a flashy red tennis shoe.

One of the musical and comic highlights of the show occurs during the Humpty Dumpty scene as the King of Hearts goes into hysterics while all the king's horses and all the king's men fail to put Humpty together again. The pint-sized king brought down the house with his excellent comedic skills.

The Muffin Man, The Dame, The Master, Little Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue, The Three Little Kittens and their Mother help spread the rumor of Mother Goose's impending new book.

Paparazzi eager for a story surround the cow who jumped over the moon, and the cat with the fiddle.

The show ends with a lively production number, "Give Us a Rhyme, Mother Goose."

A close-up of the eight foot high, twelve foot long shoe reveals eyelets made from pie plates and shoe strings made from the webbing of an old lawn chair.

For additional information about this production go to the Mother Goose Memoirs show page of this website at www.act1.org/goose.htm.

The Rogers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, originally presented by ACT I in late 1995, opens our Main Stage Series of revivals of past ACT I shows for ACT I TAKE II at the Palace Theatre in September. Director Eric Upmeyer is pleased to announce his cast. In the leading role of Maria Rainer, created on Broadway by Mary Martin and in the film version we have Jodi Nekvinda in her ACT I debut. Jodi is the new vocal music teacher at Washington High School in Vinton. She has just completed her third year as the vocal music instructor at Vernon Middle School in the Marion Independent School District. Featured in the role of Captain von Trapp is David Canaday, who was featured last year as Daddy Warbucks in Annie. The seven von Trapp children include ACT I veterans Abby Hilton as Liesl, Jesse Bunge as Freiderich, Brittney Werner and ACT I newcomer Molly Ternus alternating as Louisa, Jackson Tranel as Kurt, Megan Owens and Ivy Huber alternating as Brigitta, Clare Cooling and Tess Noeller alternating as Marta, and Katie Hancock and Alli Canaday as Gretl.

Sound of Music Director Eric Upmeyer (Center), Music Director Julie Canaday, Set Designer Kevin Bookmeier (right) and actor David Canaday (Captain von Trapp) work on a variety of technical and scheduling issues in the lobby of the Palace Theatre while family members in the cast of The Adventures of Beatrix Potter rehearse onstage.

The cast also features ACT I veterans Lois Martin as The Mother Abbess, Steve Arnold as Max Detweiller, Shelly Haisman as Baroness Shrader, Greg Walston as Herr Zeller, Sheila Monson as Sister Margaretta, Bill Owens as Franz, and Sherry Stout as Frau Schmidt, and David Urlaub as Rolf. Two cast members, Cathi Calderwood as Sister Sophia and LuAnn Urlaub as Sister Berthe, reprise their roles from our original production. Additional adult characters are played by Gina Lahue, Julie Cannaday, Donna Coulter, Julie Pladsen, Beth Owens, Kim Shafer, Kathy Akers, Theresa Strong, Megan Christie, Arlene Carls, Kate Martin, Jane Martin, Ron Baldwin, and Alex Martinez-Vasquez.

Children's Folk Dancers are Katie Hanson, Felcia Hertle, Ashley Strong, Katie Langstraat, Danisha Pladsen, Brinkley Gerber, Jake Milroy, Noel Noe, Marissa Eldred, Hannah Shafer, Megan Ternus, Rachel Monson, Stephanie Lash, Willow Huber, Lexi Hicock, Will Hancock, and Luke Owens. The Guards are Kordereau Sellers, Ryan Calderwood, and Joseph Smith.

Other members of our original who are involved in our current production of the show include Director Eric Upmeyer, who played Franz, Donna Coulter and Ray Bookmeier, who played Frau Schrader and the Captain, and Steve Arnold, who directed. Kevin Bookmeier, Rolf from our original production, is the set designer. Judy Mitschelen, who was our keyboardist in the original show, returns for that job the second time around. Joan Cooling also repeats her role as choreographer.

For additional information about this production go to the Sound of Music show page of this website at www.act1.org/sound.htm. For pictures and information from our original production, go to www.act1.org/som.htm.

Five years ago this month ACT I presented the children's musical The Velveteen Rabbit with book, lyrics, and music by Barnes Boffey and Paul Pilcher, based on the book by Margery Williams. The production was presented in four performances on July 30, 31, and August 1, 1999. The show had the distinction of being ACT I's 50th production.

The Velveteen Rabbit was directed by Marcy Horst and Shirale Hanson and presented on the stage of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. April Noeller was the musical director and Gerald Horst was the Technical Director. The set design was by Madonna and Matt Merchant and the Choreographer was Joan Cooling. The production was the third by our then fledgling youth program, ACT I STAGE!

The cast featured Clare Horst as the Velveteen Rabbit, Kordereau Sellers as the Boy, Cathi Calderwood as Nana, Darran Sellers as Uncle Fred, Pat Lyons as the Doctor, Kaitlin Karrick as the Narrator, Andy Hanson as the Skin Horse, and Megan Christy as the Fairy. The cast was rounded out by a large number of children playing toys and rabbits, most of whom were appearing with ACT I for the first time.

For more information about this past production, including pictures and a complete cast list, visit the Velveteen Rabbit show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/velvet.htm..

"Do you want to know what my grandpa's doing? He's going all the way to Peru just to see an eclipse. Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard of?"

The above comment, overheard during a rehearsal of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ten years ago, was spoken by a talented fifth grader, Dan LaGrange, who was about to appear in his first ACT I production. And Grandpa? That would be Bob LaGrange, one of the very important members of our community theatre group during its early years.

Bob's 1994 trip to Peru -- to see a full solar eclipse, as well as the ruins of Machu Picchu -- prevented him from accepting the role of the Fire Chief in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever when it was offered to him. (Which seemed a more than logical offer to make, considering Bob was a 36 year veteran of the Vinton Volunteer Fire Department, including 32 years as secretary.) However, Grandfather and Grandson would have the chance to appear together later in an ACT I production, The Sound of Music, a year later. And since both Bob LaGrange and Dan LaGrange last appeared with us in that first ACT I production of The Sound of Music, our issue announcing our second cast of that show seems like a good time to feature them in our Member of the Month article for July, 2004.

Bob LaGrange, 74, is well known in Vinton as the longtime owner of LaGrange Pharmacy. But he, his wife Jane, and the rest of his family are known and respected in the community for far more than their business, for they have long been active in civic affairs. So it wasn't surprising in 1983 when Bob, who had already been active from the very beginning as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Old Creamery Theatre company, that he would eventually become an active member of the fledgling community theatre that the professional company had helped to establish.

Bob's first role for ACT I was Ambassador Magee, a cold war era diplomat and Republican gubernatorial candidate in the Woody Allen cold war comedy, Don't Drink the Water, who leaves the stage in the first scene and doesn't return until the end, and Bob's character returns just in time to be shot by a caterer. The play is set in an American embassy behind the iron curtain, and in the ambassador's absence everything that could possibly go wrong does. Bob also recalled another anecdote about Don't Drink the Water. His first piece of business in the role was to stroll to the window, look out, and say "Geez, look at all those communists!" He told how when doing so, other cast members would gather by the window, unseen by the audience, and make faces at him as he looked out, just as the line was to be spoken.

Bob said he "had more fun doing Don't Drink the Water. Some casts were better than others," but the Don't Drink the Water cast meshed especially well. "We had weekly pizza and beer parties. We'd go over the the Hitchin' Post" (the only watering hole in Garrison) "and close it up!" Bob enjoyed his first show so much that he was back for the next ACT I show, A Thurber Carnival ("I hated that show!") in which he played a variety of roles. He recalls another anecdote about fellow actor Dan Campbell had difficulty remembering lines. Bob played a scene - "Casuals of the Keys" - with him, with Boy as a reporter and Dan as a a beach bum living on a remote island. Bob had all of Dan's lines hidden in his reporter's notebook. (We then shared together a few other memories of times and places where other actors had hidden difficult lines in discreet places. Seems a certain witness box in a certain ACT I courtroom show had more than one actor's lines word for word pasted inside and a certain actor playing an attorney had more than a few lines concealed with in his notes on a legal pad...)

Bob LaGrange and Dan Campbell in the "Casuals of the Keys" segment of A Thurber Carnival, 1983.

Bob had high praise for the two Creamery staff directors who he worked with in those early years, Tom Cunliff and Steve Shaffer. They were both really enjoyable directors. "The Creamery people didn't make much money, so we paid them $300 for each show, which wasn't a lot of money for all that work, but they needed it." Shaffer, who directed Don't Drink the Water and Thurber Carnival, "was one of the funniest people I've ever worked with." Following Thurber Carnival, ACT I presented the comedy Never Too Late in 1984. For that show, he was cast in the small role of Mr. Foley. "Dorothy Bliss Albert just made that show," he commented, referring to Dorothy's assumption of the role of a middle age woman who is also an expectant mother. "That was a great show." For that show, Bob also did publicity and was on the set crew.

Back again in 1985, Bob was onstage in the role of Seargent Towers in See How They Run, a show for which he also did publicity, and for our next show, The Mouse Trap, Bob stayed off the stage entirely to work the publicity committee. In 1986 he was off stage again for The Girls in 509, doing publicity, stage crew, and set crew. "I got to drop the net!" he said, referring to the final scene in which that show's shifty lawyer character is ensnared in a booby trap net which drops from the ceiling.

Attorney Aubrey McKittridge, played by Ron Baldwin, is caught in the net of the booby trapped apartment of The Girls in 509. Bob LaGrange, who dropped the net from offstage as a member of the crew, attests to how much fun back stage assignments can be.

In 1987, Bob went back onstage for the role of Sheriff Thomas in The Rainmaker. He praised that show's cast and script. "I really enjoyed Rainmaker. Lots of good lines." But Bob added a special complement for the show's leading lady. "Nancy Beckman is one of the finest actresses I have ever worked with," he declared.

Bob LaGrange (right) played Sheriff Thomas in The Rainmaker, pictured here in a scene with Bob Fischer, Jim Hilliard, Tony Bopp, and Brian Beresford.

The Rainmaker was followed by The Cat and the Canary in 1987, which found Bob on the prop crew. In 1988 Bob went back onstage to play the role of Justice Dunn in Klondike Kalamity, in addition working on the prop and costume crews. Klondike Kalamity, a melodrama with corny musical numbers interspersed into the action, offered Bob his one and only chance to sing in an ACT I production. He described doing a duet with Brenda Hackbarth, claiming that neither of them could sing the number well at all. He recalled how the number was announced as "being in the key of Z."

Bob then took a five year sabbatical from ACT I before returning in Night of January 16 for the role of private investigator Homer Van Fleet and work on the set construction crew. Two years later Bob gave us two cameo roles which rounded out his ACT I involvement. First he appeared as the doctor in The Miracle Worker -- a role which was finished during the first two pages of the script -- and Admiral von Schriber in The Sound of Music. "One time during The Miracle Worker we had some people over, so I left right after my scene, saying 'I won't be back for curtain call!'" He had high praise for the young actresses in that show (Emily Zimmer and Jessica Coulter) for their roles as Annie and Helen.

In The Miracle Worker (1995) Bob appeared in only the first five minutes of the show, playing the doctor to young Helen Keller as her parents, played by Darran Sellers and Le Cox, discover that an illness has left her blind and deaf.

In 1994, the year before Bob's two final roles, he retired from the Pharmacy, which had been founded by his father, Arthur LaGrange, in 1922. Bob had begun working in the business in 1944 as a soda jerk, and in 1954 took over the store's management. In 1989, his son Mike took over the Pharmacy. Bob continued to work filling in around the area in various pharmacies until 1994, when he earned his certificate for being a practicing Iowa pharmacist for fifty years. The certificate was received on the couple's 50th wedding anniversary.

The year of Bob's retirement, another LaGrange made his debut with ACT I. Bob's grandson Dan, then in fifth grade, was cast in the role of Charlie Bradley in our hit production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The role of the fire chief was offered to Bob, but with the Peruvian trip in the works, the travel plans took precedence. As it ended up, Mike LaGrange instead of Bob who went onstage in the fireman's uniform, (Mike's one and only appearance on our stage) thus making three generations of the family performing for us. And the Peruvian trip, complete with a trip up the mountain to see Machu Picchu and a spectacular solar eclipse, was something Bob and Jane enjoyed very much.

Carrying on the family tradition, Bob's fifth grade grandson Dan LaGrange made his ACT I debut in 1994 playing the major role of Charlie Bradley in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. He is pictured with Beckie Stravers, who played his sister Beth.

In 1995 Dan was back, this time along with his grandfather, playing another major role, that of Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music on the stage of the Old Creamery Theatre. Dan and Bob appeared together in one scene, the party scene in which the von Trapp children sing "So Long, Farewell," to their father's party guests. "So Long, Farewell" would prove to have a great deal of irony for that show, since four of the titans of ACT I's early years were saying "so long, farewell" to our stage with that production -- besides Bob, Becky and Keith Mossman and Dottie Anthony all gave farewell performances to ACT I in The Sound of Music. Dan LaGrange graduated from Washington High School in Vinton in 2002, where he was active on the swimming and golf teams. Currently, he is a student at Kirkwood Community College.

Pictured during his dance solo with Annette Williams as Maria, Dan LaGrange had the role of Kurt in our 1995 production of The Sound of Music, performed at the Old Creamery Theatre, a production in which his grandfather Bob LaGrange had the role of Admiral von Schreiber. This was the last time that a member of the LaGrange family appeared on our stage.

One more member of the LaGrange family has been a part of ACT I productions, though strictly in an off stage capacity. Diane LaGrange -- Mike's wife, Dan's mother, has made costumes for The Sound of Music, The Velveteen Rabbit, Life with Mother, and Charlotte's Web.

ACT I has not been the LaGrange family's only contribution to our community. Complimenting Bob's involvement with the Vinton Volunteer Fire Department, ACT I, and the Old Creamery Theatre, his wife Jane served for twelve years as a member of the Vinton City Council. And in 1994, the year of his retirement, Bob and Jane were part of a small group of Vinton residents who eyed an abandoned railroad corridor running from Vinton to Dysart, and asked themselves "why not?" Money was raised and the following year the land was purchased for development of the line into a bicycle trail. As the former railroad ran directly past the former Old Creamery Theatre building in Garrison, the trail was named in honor of the professional theatre company which had helped ACT I into existence. Over the next ten years the committee, which also includes ACT I members Ron and Nancy Baldwin, Lois Banse, and Eric Upmeyer, has steadily, on a shoestring budget with no tax dollars whatsoever, turned the trail into a great recreational asset to the community. Bob says the trail is currently in the tenth year of his five year plan for completion, and although the trail has been rideable for about three years, a grand opening has yet to take place. He said that a grand opening will be happening soon, now that the completion of the trail is within sight. He hopes that a major event will help raise money for the work which remains to be done on the trail.

Bob has many pleasant and interesting reminiscences about the Old Creamery Theatre, both as a board member of the professional company and as a member of ACT I. "It was always interesting to go into the Creamery for the spring show," he said. "You never knew what you'd find." (The theatre was not used during winter months. Poor insulation made proper heating during the coldest months impossible. ACT I would therefore use the theatre after the professional company was done in the fall and again in the spring before the company began it's season.) "The old stage was fun." Recalling how the roof leaked badly, Bob described coming into the theatre to find "a big pile of ice on the stage, as big as my dog." Bob served on the Old Creamery Board through many financial crises, during times when the company failed to make pay role on a regular basis. "Often, we'd hope we could have enough money to make payroll after just one more performance!"

It's not like that, by the way, anymore. Today the Creamery is in the best financial situation ever.

Bob also recalled a time in the distant past when he, as a board member, got up on a ladder to assist in the repair of a roof beam that had cracked. Then, quite recently, he was riding t he bike trail, going past the theatre which is now a partially demolished ruin. "I looked up at the building and saw that same beam hanging out in the open, and I said, 'there's that beam I worked on all those years ago!"

Sally Ludden as a sultry secretary entices her leering boss, Bob LaGrange, in the "Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife" segment of A Thurber Carnival, 1983.

Bob and Jane have three children. Daughter Connie Schuelka, the oldest, lives with her husband and two children, Matt and Amada, in Rochester Minnesota. Matt, he says, really enjoyed theatre in school. Middle son Mike, of course, lives in Vinton and is the third generation owner of the pharmacy, and besides Dan has a daughter, Sarah, who lives in Denver with her husband, a police officer. Younger son Ted lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he is the Director of Wetlands for the Nebraska Game and Parks, the Nebraska equivelent of the Iowa DNR. Ted and his wife have two children, Ben and Jill. Ben has been active in children's theatre productions and Jill is in pre-med at the University of Nebraska.

Bob and Jane now winter in Orange Beach, Alabama, staying in Vinton during good weather. He speculates that he might again become involved in theatre with a retired group in their vacation community that get their scripts in the spring, have their parts to learn through the summer, and perform the show after everyone returns for the winter. They'll be a lucky group if they pick up Bob's involvement!

We wish Bob and Jane continued happiness in their retirement and hope they can make it back for at least some of our anniversary year performances! Thank you, Bob, for your years of dedication to ACT I (and the bike trail, and the fire department . . . ) and we hope the day will come when once again the LaGrange name appears in our program!

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 in this archive section have been updated to bring the members' accomplishments up-to-date! To visit the Member of the Month Archives, go to www.act1.org/mom.htm.

This week we open our children's theatre production of The Adventures of Beatrix Potter. This quiz is a potpourri of ACT I trivia that relates in some way to our current production.

1. July seems to be Rabbit Month for ACT I. We are currently running The Adventures of Beatrix Potter, featuring the story of Peter Rabbit, and we are also observing our production five years ago this month of The Velveteen Rabbit. But ACT I has also staged another very famous rabbit show, but not in July. Name that show.

2. Our current production tells the life story of the author of Peter Rabbit, one of the classics of children's literature, published in 1902. Name another children's literature classic previously staged by ACT I which was first published in the first decade of the 20th century.

3. The Adventures of Beatrix Potter is the biography of a real author. Name one of two more act one shows that were also biographies of real women authors.

4. The show performed this weekend was written for stage by Joseph Robinette, who has written many plays suitable for child actors. Name another classic of children's literature previously performed by ACT I which was adapted by Joseph Robinette.

5. Animal costumes abound in this and most ACT I STAGE! productions. What was our first show to feature animal roles?

1. Prior to this season, ACT I had only performed one production out of the Vinton-Garrison area. What was the show, and where was it performed?
Said the Spider to the Spy, dinner theatre performed at Tara Hills Country Club in Van Horne in 1995.

2. When you go to Mother Goose Memoirs this weekend, you will note that a major construction project is underway at the school, which is being re-roofed. This is not the first ACT I venue to have roofing issues. The Old Creamery Theatre roof in Garrison leaked profusely. (Patrons of the professional company may remember the "Jesse Helms Memorial Seat," on the end of the third row left center -- so named for the North Carolina Senator who advocated reducing the National Endowment of the Arts -- a seat which was always leaked upon when performances occurred during a rainstorm.) But even the Creamery was not the worst roof we have ever performed under. Name the venue whose roof caved in just days after the conclusion of a run of ACT I performances. (Hint: the title and subject of the show was a darkly ominous foreshadowing of this disaster to come.)
The roof of the Vinton City Hall collapsed just after ACT I used to council chambers there to perform our readers theatre production of The Titanic Disaster Hearings.

3. On what stage has ACT I presented the MOST performances?
The Palace Theatre (123 performances up to opening night of The Adventures of Beatrix Potter.)

4. What is the OLDEST stage on which ACT I has performed?
The stage of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton

5. What was the first ACT I show NOT performed at the Old Creamery Theatre, and where was it performed?
Lovingly Yours by Skeet Powers was performed at Tilford Middle School in 1986.

6. The Ray House has become, during recent years, almost our second home. What was the first show to be performed in that space? Sleuth

The next meeting of the Board of ACT I of Benton County will be held soon. Check back to this box for the exact date.

Members and visitors are always welcome at board meetings!

After doing an away show last month, we're back on our home stage for opening night of The Adventures of Beatrix Potter. Please don't miss this beautiful show as we continue our anniversary celebration with the work of our youth program!

Nearly six years ago I wrote an editorial which I called an obituary for the Old Creamery Theatre building, which appeared in our August, 1998 edition of Grease Paint Online. (Click that link in the last sentence to read it.) In it I wrote of the fond memories of that building all of us who worked in that space have. I have very much enjoyed interviewing individuals who were around for the early days of ACT I. Individuals like Marsh Berry and Bob LaGrange, to whom we owe so much for our ACT I traditions, are telling me fascinating and entertaining stories about those early times in the unforgettable old building. In my editorial six years ago I wrote that "The day will come when we will look upon our new home with all the fondness than we now hold for the Creamery."

We have now had nearly five years in the Palace Theatre and by now it has it's own history, the memories are there, and it's own traditions are unfolding. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the reopening of the Palace, what fond memories do our members have of our new home? I would invite you to think about this and write up your fond Palace memories, which I can publish in Grease Paint during the coming months. (Hopefully no one is ever going to recall finding a big lump of ice on our stage of THIS theatre...)

And a plug for what's onstage at the Creamery right now . . . . In July, the professional company opens two very different shows about two very different musicians, musicians who were truly the greatest of the great in their respective genres, and who very unfortunately died way too young. Always, Patsy Cline opens tonight on the Price Creek Stage in Amana for it's third consecutive season in the Creamery's bill, and runs through August 15. Trio for Two continues at the depot stage for the first part of the month, then on July 22 the company opens one of my all time favorite plays at the depot, Amadeus, about the life of Mozart. Don't miss them, and don't miss The Adventures of Beatrix Potter!

Answers to Our Last Quiz