The Online Newsletter of 

Volume 6, Number 1                                   July, 1999

ACT I Celebrates
20th Season!

"Velveteen Rabbit"
Opens STAGE! Season July 30th

Main Season Opens September 10
with "A Streetcar Named Desire,"
but Palace Opening Delayed

    ACT I is busily preparing its 1999 - 2000 Season, with two productions in rehearsal for summer performances. ACT I STAGE! begins its second season with "The Velveteen Rabbit," the opening show in the McElroy Children’s Theatre Series, to be performed July 30, 31, and August 1 in the auditorium of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. A cast of 57 plus crew is preparing the children’s musical. At the same time the opening show of our main season, "A Streetcar Named Desire," is also in rehearsal for its September 10 opening. Director Larry Adams-Bowers is rehearsing a much smaller cast that includes Nancy Beckman as Blanche, Nicholas Radcliffe as Stanley, Joan Cooling as Stella, and Darran Sellers as Mitch.  Unfortunately, the ACT I board has recently been informed that the Palace Theatre will not be ready for the season opening, making the ACT I Variety Show the likely opening production of the new facility.  "Streetcar" will now be performed at Tilford Middle School in Vinton.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is now in
rehearsal for the opening of our main season.   

    "The Velveteen Rabbit," with book, lyrics, and music by Barnes Boffey and Paul Pilcher, is directed by Marcy Horst and Shirale Hanson, with April Noeller as music director and Gerald Horst as technical director, all debuting in those positions. Joan Cooling returns as choreographer. Major roles in the cast include ACT I veterans Clare Horst as the Rabbit, and Kordereau Sellers as the Boy.  Both Clare and Kordereau have appeared in numerous productions, but this is the first major role for both of them.  Also featured are Andy Hanson as the Skin Horse, and Megan Christy as the Fairy. Adults in the cast include Cathi Calderwood as Nana, Pat Lyons as the Doctor, Teri Sellers as Aunt Sally in her debut, and Darran Sellers as Uncle Fred.

Tin soldiers and other toys come to life
as a scene from "The Velveteen Rabbit"
is enacted in rehearsal.

    Among the student cast are returning ACT I veterans Kaitlin Karrick, Ryan Calderwood, Dan Greaser, Corey Cooling, Tess Noeller, Lori Strong, Megan Horst, Rob Hanson, Patrick Horst, Jason Long, Dakoda Sellers, and Kolton Sellers.  Young performers making their debut with ACT I include Dustin Kearnes, Abby Larkin, Annie Horst, Addy Rickels, Morgan Merchant, Chelsea Hessenius, Nate Horst, Megan Treloar, Rachael Larkin, David Urlaub, Laura Van Steenhuyse, Logan Merchant, Jennica Speidel, Jessica Speidel, Clare Cooling, Brinkley Gerber, Ellie Horst, Emma Horst, Katie Larkin, Jenae Long, Jenna Oldham, Danisha Pladsen, Madeline Springer, Kali Timmerman, Stephanie Waterbury, Hayley Jo Wombacher, Mike Muncton, Jacob Christy, Brady Gerber, Riley Hanson, Wesley Lyons, Blaize Oldham, Trent Payton, Jake Seidel, Joey Seidel, Gunnar Tranel, and Jackson Tranel.

    The set for the production will be created by Madonna and Matt Merchant. Kate Westergard is assistant director, and the assistant choreographer is Erin Horst. Makeup will be created by Colleen Karrick.  Becky Stravers is Stage Manager.

ACT I Presents Artist in Residence Program for 1999 - 2000 Season

    As Part of ACT I of Benton County's gala 20th Anniversary Season featuring the opening of the Palace Theatre as our permanent resident performance venue, we will host an Artist in Residence, bringing to Vinton a professional performer at mid season who will provide our audiences with a variety new experiences.  Miss Kathleen Berger, a coloratura soprano, will join us during January and February and will make exciting contributions to our program.  Miss Berger, who is originally from Phoenix and now lives in New York City, has been performing professionally for the past three years with a variety of small opera companies.

Kathleen Berger

    Miss Berger will perform the role of Lily in our production of "The Secret Garden" and will also present two recital programs.  The first, "An Evening of Broadway and Pops with Kathleen Berger," will be presented twice in the intimacy of the 4th Street Coffee Co. across from the Palace Theatre, January 15 and 22, 2000.  Featured in that program will be numerous show tunes and other popular favorites.  On January 30, Miss Berger will perform a classical concert at the Palace Theatre, featuring works of Vivaldi, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Poulenc, Stravinsky, and others.  She will also direct our children's theatre production of "Hansel and Gretel," teach a class for ACT I STAGE! entitled "Let's Make an Opera," and will be available for assemblies and master classes in the public schools.
    Miss Berger's most recent New York performance was as Dalinda in Handel's opera "Ariodante," presented by the New York Chamber Opera.

ACT I Offers Season Ticket Package for New Season

    ACT I is offering a season ticket package for the new season.  We would like to encourage all our participants to become paid members and season ticket holders.  As an added incentive, ACT I will waive the membership fee for those purchasing season tickets.  Any contribution to ACT I above the cost of your regular season ticket price and membership fee is tax deductible.  The Board has designated that all membership fees and tax deductible contributions will be used for capital equipment purchases for use in the Palace Theatre.  Please consider supporting ACT I during our anniversary season by purchasing season tickets.

Regular Season Ticket
Adult ($35.00) Student ($25.00)

Benefits:

One admission to each of the following productions:

A Streetcar Named Desire ($7.00 / $5.00)

ACT I Variety Show ($7.00 / $5.00)

Kathleen Berger Classical Concert ($7.00 / $5.00)

The Secret Garden ($7.00 / $5.00)

Life with Mother ($7.00 / $5.00)

The Velveteen Rabbit ($5.00 / $2.00)

Hansel and Gretel ($5.00 / $2.00)

Voting Membership in ACT I ($10.00, grade 9 - adult only)

Discounts:

An Evening of Broadway and Pops with Kathleen Berger ($2.00 off)

Grease Paint Snail Mail Subscription ($1.00 off)

KidTix Season Ticket
(Grades K - 8) $10.00

One Admission to each of the following productions:

The Velveteen Rabbit ($2.00)

Hansel and Gretel ($2.00)

ACT I Variety Show ($5.00)

The Secret Garden ($5.00)

Plus:
   $2.00 off one student ticket to each of the other ACT I events.

Membership Levels

1999 ~ 2000 Season

---

1. Participating Membership   $10.00
9th grade to adult
Benefits:  voting membership

2. Patron Membership               $35 - $50 adults
                                                            $25 - $40 students

    The amount of your Patron Membership contribution less $35.00 is your tax deductible contribution to ACT I.

3. Supporting Membership       $50.00 - $99.00 (adults)
Benefits:  Season Ticket
voting membership
name in program
invitation to dress rehearsals

    The amount of your Supporting Membership contribution less $35.00 is your tax deductible contribution to ACT I.

4. Sustaining Membership       $100.00 - $399.00
Benefits:  Season Ticket
voting membership
name in program
invitations to dress rehearsals
invitation to opening night receptions
Palace Theatre Commemorative Book
Grease Paint mail subscription, free

    The amount of your Sustaining Membership contribution less $55.00 is your tax deductible contribution to ACT I.

5.  Sponsoring Membership        $400.00 +
Benefits:  Season Ticket
voting membership
name in program
invitations to dress rehearsals
invitation to opening night receptions
Palace Theatre Commemorative Book
Grease Paint mail subscription, free
Designation as sponsor in all advertising for one show during the season and 15 tickets to that show free of additional charge.

       The amount of your Sponsoring Membership contribution less $160.00 is your tax deductible contribution to ACT I.

To order your season ticket, pay your membership, order Grease Paint, or make your tax deductible contribution to ACT I, click the words "Order Form" below.  Print the page, fill it out, and return it with your check to:

ACT I of Benton County
Membership Subscriptions
Box 222
Vinton, Iowa
52349

ORDER FORM

Austin and Maggie share a tender moment in Life with Father.

     Both Austin and Maggie have had numerous high school appearances at WHS, where they have both also been active in chorus, speech, and cross country.  Maggie has also made her mark on band, and is becoming quite expert at mime.  Maggie will be a senior at WHS this fall, and her career goal is to be a pediatrician.  She keeps herself busy with volunteering and taking classes -- this summer studying genetics at Ames.  Austin, a 1998 graduate of WHS, is now employed in the family businesses, Karr Tuckpointing and Apex Office Supply.  He continues to be very active in ACT I and to sing with the Methodist Quartet.
    Their children's involvement with ACT I meant that Kurt and Lu's own participation was not far behind.  Lu soon found herself serving three terms on the board and being involved in hundreds of other ways, frequently as house manager or in numerous backstage capacities.  Her one onstage role to date has been a maid in Life with Father.  Working with Julie Zimmer to get the theatre project off the ground, she has devoted extended hours to the project.  Giving up her career as a realtor a year ago in hopes of having more time to relax and garden, Lu has ended up devoting much of that found time to the Palace. Together, Lu and Julie have worked tirelessly, including such efforts as organizing the Palace Arts auction.  Like every other aspect of the Palace Project, the auction far exceeded expectations, bringing in over $24,000 when $10,000 had been projected.
     For Kurt, the pressure of running Karr Tuckpointing, which works in seventeen states, could have provided an easy excuse to pass up involvement with the theatre, but that has not been the case.  Two acting roles during the past two seasons not withstanding, Kurt has donated hundreds of hours to ACT I in his capacity as general contractor to the Palace Theatre.  Drawing on his considerable expertise in the construction field, Kurt has guided the project all the way from the earliest planning stages.  The effort has been a real labor of love for him, nourished by his interest in the arts and his desire to bring them to his home town in a first class facility.  Kurt is also a member of the Vinton Library board.
    Also involved in ACT I and the Palace Project have been Lu's parents and next door neighbors, Claudette and Mert Alpers.  Claudette is the treasurer of the Palace Project and Mert helps frequently with set construction on ACT I productions, as well as contributing hours to working on the Palace itself.
    Kurt and Lu, joined by their good friend Julie Zimmer, have been at the center of the project from the time several years ago that it was just an idea that seemed barely attainable, let alone in the incredible manifestation that will open its doors next month.  From planning to making public presentations to soliciting funds to meeting with countless vendors and subcontractors, it has been a gargantuan volunteer effort for Kurt and Lu, but one that will always be remembered and enjoyed by future generations.
    Our heartiest thanks to the Karr family for their involvement in ACT I and for their gift to the community in the realization of the Palace Theatre.

    One of our younger members had a close call last week, but the near tragedy had a happy ending.  Britt Roster, who played Mrs. Canty in our recent production of "The Prince and the Pauper," was involved in a freak accident when her car went off a country road at a T intersection and became lodged between two utility poles, three feet off the ground.  Britt, who was unconscious and trapped in the burning car, was pulled to safety by the quick action of 67 year old Lenard Geater who lived nearby.  Britt, ACT I celebrates your rescue!  
       

    ACT I is looking for committed volunteers to fill three very important, unpaid staff positions.  The first is that of Volunteer Coordinator.  This person should be able to keep records of each participant's work for ACT I and to maintain a file of volunteers and the types of things they are available to do so that volunteer crews can be assembled quickly when work needs to be done.  The second position is that of Property Manager.  This person is in charge of our storage sheds and the LaGrange apartment where properties and costumes are stored.  The third position is Costume Custodian, who will maintain our costume inventory housed in the LaGrange apartment.  If you are interested in any of these positions or would like more information, please contact Steve Arnold, 472-5308 or sarnoldia@aol.com.   

    In our opening production of the new STAGE! season, "The Velveteen Rabbit," the title character is a stuffed rabbit who longs to be real.  This month, we take a look back at animals who have been featured in ACT I productions of the past, both real and otherwise.

1.  Buster, a Yorkshire Terrier belonging to Steve and Linda Wood, made his ACT I debut playing a puppy who was given as a Christmas present.  Name the show.

2.  The following year, Buster played a return engagement for us in which, during one of his scenes, he broke free of his leash during a performance and bolted from the theatre, causing cast members who were not on stage at the time to have to chase him through Garrison.  Name the play in which he was appearing at the time.

3.  In which ACT I production was a china collie dog a crucial prop?

4.   In "The Velveteen Rabbit," a play dominated by animal characters, Kordereau Sellers plays the boy who owns the Rabbit.  In which past production did Kordereau play a dog in a play dominated by human characters?

5.  Name the animals portrayed by each of the following performers in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
        a.  Ryan Calderwood
        b.  Tess Noeller
        c.  Greg Tucker
        d.  John Westergard     

Submit your answers to act1ofBC@aol.com, or by snail mail to

ACT I Trivia Quiz
Box 222
Vinton, Iowa, 52349

1.  Agnes Brownlow was the mother of Oliver Twist in Oliver.

2.  Phil Madison and Sidney Unger were the estranged husbands of Olive Madison and Florence Unger in The Odd Couple, Female Version.

3.   Drum was the husband of M'Lynne in Steel Magnolias.

4.  Marguerite Wycke was the third part of the deadly love triangle in Sleuth, which featured the characters of her husband and boyfriend.

5.  President Cleveland was often criticized in Life with Father.

6.  President Roosevelt was even more severely criticized in The Girls in 509.

7.  King Henry VIII died at the end of the first act of The Prince and the Pauper.   

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