Grease Paint Online; June, 2002

One of the many exciting features of the ACT I STAGE! Summer Theatre Camp is the annual guest artist appearance. This year ACT I STAGE! will sponsor songster Tom Pease of Peaseblossum Music in Amherst, Wisconsin to come to Vinton to entertain our summer campers.

Tom Pease is a one-of-a-kind performer. Through song, movement, and humor, Tom takes audience participation to a new level. From his opening song to a final “good-bye” in sign language, Tom has a singular ability to reach, teach, and just plain connect with every crowd. Children and adults alike cannot sit still when Tom performs. Everyone will sing along and enjoy his ticklish talent for making them laugh. Woven through each of Tom’s performances are inspiring themes of respect for one another and our world, the importance of community, and the power of laughter.

Originally from Iowa, Tom now lives in Wisconsin with his wife Louise and sons, Morgan and Broegy. He performs about 200 shows per year. Tom has cut five original albums, including Boogie! Boogie! Boogie! which won the Parents Choice Gold Award in 1986.

Tom will be performing a 45-60 minute concert on June 14 at 2:00 at the Palace Theatre. Campers and their families will be given first reservations, but other young patrons are welcome to attend. Call the ACT I box office at 472-9957 to book your seats.

As an added bonus, Tom will treat Benton County to another, completely different concert that same evening, June 14, at Riverside Park at 7:00 PM. This concert is sponsored by the Vinton Unlimited Concert in the Park Series. The community is welcomed and encouraged to attend.

The ACT I Events Series special, A Family Affair, first scheduled for last September at Riverside Park, has again been postponed. Due to logistical technicalities (no decent outdoor sound system), Gerald and Marcy Horst, the concert directors, decided last fall to postpone the outdoor concert until June, in anticipation of a brand new city sound system. Unfortunately the new equipment will not arrive in time for the rescheduled event on June 7^th and 9^th.

Thus, A Family Affair, ever flexible and committed to entertaining the ACT I patient and dedicated audience, has been rescheduled and adapted for the Party in the Park stage on June 29.

The many ACT I players involved in this lighthearted musical endeavor were thrilled to be given the 7:30-8:30 PM time slot, warm-up to the popular men’s a cappella group Marcoux Corner, sponsored by VU and Farmer’s Savings Bank.

There will be no charge for this concert. Please plan to load up your lawn chairs and blankets and join us at Riverside Park on June 29 at 7:30 PM. Many of your ACT I favorites will be performing songs for the whole family, including high school and elementary youth, St. Mary’s Unplugged, Sunshine, and Messenger. Notable veteran ACT I members Kurt and Lu Karr will serve as emcees for the event.

For additional information about this production, go to the Family Affair page of this website, www.act1.org/affair.htm

The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre, the theme for this year’s summer theatre camp, will feature three one act shows, each approximately one half hour in length, shown in one production.

Ogre Here, Ogre There, directed by Mary Horst, tells the story of young Prince Ty, who does not feel important. He sets out to prove his bravery by challenging the most feared Ogre in the kingdom, a broccoli-stomping bully named Bogart. What Ty discovers is that they have far more in common than either of them suspected, and that both can overcome their loneliness and anger in ways other than fighting. The play also gently addresses themes of prejudice and intolerance, while providing a framework for imaginative play. Ogre Here, Ogre There is a musical by Jerry Kraft and Charles Kenfield. The music varies from Broadway style rrazzmatazz, to a tango and a lullaby.

Once Upon a Vine, directed by Jaimie Walker and Theresa Werner, tells the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, with a twist. Jacqueline is a girl! Jacqueline is a young girl growing up on a farm. The characters that Jaqueline meets in her adventures teach her about life, human frailties, strengths, values, priorities and finally, about herself as she experiences the fantasy world above the sky and the real world below. Once Upon a Vine, written by Judith Weinstein, and Arnold Somers, with music by Elissa Oppenheim Schreiner and Sunnie Miller, is a good, old-fashioned tale that ACT I audiences, young and old will love.

Director Marcy Horst brings us The Truly Remarkable Puss-in-Boots, based on the original fairy tale classic, and written by Patricia Clapp. This musical presents an arrogant, swaggering Puss who struts through a series of adventures in a ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots. At the start of the show, Puss’s original master has died, leaving him the sole possession of young Carl. Carl is baffled to learn his father’s cat not only talks, but also knows the King, the Princess, and an Ogre! The catchy tune, “Remarkable Cat,” written in the light-hearted style of Oscar winner Randy Newman, is sung by Puss at various times throughout the show. This song and three others were written for the show by singer/songwriter Tom Jessen of Iowa City. Tom, the younger brother of director Marcy Horst, agreed to write the music last Christmas, and will be coming to Vinton in July to accompany the show on his guitar, with niece Clare Horst on the keyboard. Tom is currently wrapping up the production of his second CD, Night. Check out his website at www.tomjessen.com.

One other notable fact for this season’s summer theatre triple bill production: Mary Horst has designed one set that works for and adapts to all three shows. Mary, with her set-building cohorts, Allen and Bonnie Lueckenotto, has almost finished the construction, complete with castle, cottage, and fantastical forest and fields, in Lueckenotto’s garage.

As always, there will be lots to learn and experience at the ACT I STAGE! Summer Theatre Camp. More than sixty area youth will be participating this year. This year’s summer production is sponsored by Expressions! Lori Smith, owner of Expressions! and generous ACT I diamond GEM sponsor, will create more than 80 t-shirts for summer campers and their supporters.

The annual meeting of ACT I of Benton County, which occurs each June, will take place at Pizza Ranch on June 15 at noon.

The membership will elect two new board members to fill the positions currently held by Steve Arnold and Kari Douma, whose terms expire this month. Board members serve terms of three years. The board will also elect one member to the Palace Theatre Board of Trustees, filling the term currently held by Dick Kerdus. Officers for Season 2002 - 2003 will be elected by the board from among themselves at a later time.

Please come and join us at the Pizza Ranch as we take care of ACT I's business of a delicious buffet!

A Face Only a Mother Could Love -- Matt Meyer, center, played the featured role of bad boy punk Leslie Tate in our recent production of Ray Cooney's It Runs in the Family that concluded May 19 at the Palace Theatre. Matt is flanked by his two mothers -- Bunny Feller, left, as his on-stage mother, Jane Tate, and his real mother, Cheri Meyer, right. Matt's outrageous attire included black leather with red, white and blue spiked hair, punctuated by a liberal dose of faux body piercings.

ACT I's hit production of Ray Cooney's It Runs in the Family closed June 19 after performances for five very enthusiastic audiences. The production proved to be the perfect dessert to our Main Stage Series this year, following the sophisticated wit of our series opener A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and the somber drama of Romeo and Juliet. The plot revolves around Dr. David Mortimore, who is informed by his ex-girlfriend Jane Tate that he had fathered a son with her eighteen years earlier. That son turns out to be Leslie, a punk with a more than volatile temperament, intent on meeting his father. Dr. Mortimore, who is minutes away from delivering an important lecture, attempts to persuade his friend Dr. Bonney to pretend to be the boy's father until he can finish delivering his lecture, but his scheme backfires a hundred times over.

"Mummy!" -- When the hospital Matron attempts to give Leslie an injection with a potent tranquilizer, he retreats to a fourth floor window ledge with Matron (Diana Cumberland Lamphier) and his mother following after him. Before everyone has been rescued, Leslie has wrestled the syringe away from Matron and she has gotten the injection. The "window ledge" scene had to rank as one of the comedic highlights of the play.

"Nobody told me, either, that you'd be questioning the OTHER Matron!" What British farce doesn't end up with one or two guys in drag? It Runs in the Family is no exception! Here, Dr. Bonney (played by Jim Hilliard) and Dr. Mortimore (played by Rick Murphy), are each surprised to find the other impersonating the Matron to the Police Sergeant so they can answer questions about the incident on the window ledge and send him on his way before the real Matron's tranquilizer wears off.

Slapstick and visual comedy abound in It Runs in the Family. Here, Bill, played by Greg Kilberger, nails the Police Sergeant (Rob Glass) yet one more time with a well aimed squirt from the seltzer bottle, captured in performance by a well aimed camera shot taken by Angie Nebola!

For additional information about this production, go to the It Runs in the Family page of this website, www.act1.org/family.htm

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957.

Season Tickets on Sale Now for Season 2002 - 2003 - A Cast of Outcasts

ACT I of Benton County is now selling season tickets for the upcoming season, A Cast of Outcasts, which opens in July with our ACT I STAGE! production of The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre. Season tickets cost $28.00 for adults and $20.00 for students, which gives admission to all six of next years shows, which also includes our Main Stage series of Kiss Me, Kate, The Reluctant Dragon, and Lost in Yonkers. Regular admission to the children's theatre and Main Stage Series are $9.00 for adults, $6.00 for students, and $3.00 for children under six. Also part of the season ticket package is the Events Series, performed at the Ray House, consisting of Monster Medley Spooktacular and Intermezzo III, for which the regular admission is $2.00. Another bonus for season ticket holders is the opportunity to make advance reservations for any show in the season at any time, as well as getting one's paid membership in ACT I with the ticket.

Please contact Linda Radcliffe, Marcy Horst, or plan to buy your season ticket during The Good, the Bad, and the Ogre!

On Sunday, May 12, following the matinee performance of It Runs in the Family, the ACT I board held a reception at the Ray House honoring our Gem sponsors. In addition to the delicious hors d'oeuvres catered by 4th Street Coffee Co., attendees were treated to a brief performance of highlights from the current season.

ACT I president Joan Cooling welcomes GEM sponsors at the Ray House Reception.

As part of the performance, GEM sponsors enjoyed this recreation of a dramatic moment from this year's children's theatre production of Henny Penny.

We hope all of our GEMS will continue their support for another season by matching or exceeding last year’s contribution. If you or your organization have not yet become a Palace Gem, please see the list below detailing the sponsorships and benefits, and consider becoming a supporter of our ACT I organization. Contact Joan Cooling, 427-4551, or Marcy Horst, 472-5518, of the ACT I Development Committee with your donations and questions.

We still have one performance left in Season 2001 - 2002, but already work is underway on Season 2002 - 2002: A Cast of Outcasts! Our children's theatre production which opens the season is already a work in progress, and auditions will be conducted later this month for the opening production in our Main Stage Series. That show will be the delightful 1948 Cole Porter musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate. The play features a quarreling divorced couple, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, playing opposite each other as Kate and Petrucchio in a musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

An ensemble of about 20 adults (high school students are welcome to try out) will be needed for the show. The four major roles include Fred Graham (baritone with a wide vocal range), Lilli Vanessi (soprano), Bill Calhoun (tenor), and Lois Lane (sporano). Many other good roles are to be had as well.

Auditions will be held Sunday, June 23 at 2:00 PM at the ACT I Studio and Tuesday, June 25, at 7:00, also at the Studio. If you are unable to attend but wish to audition, please contact the director, Steve Arnold, at 472-5308 or SArnoldIA@aol.com. Music Director for the production is Rob Glass. Sue Freet is the Assistant Director / Stage Manager.

For additional information about this production, go to the Kiss Me, Kate page of this website, www.act1.org/kate.htm

Youth participation is a very valuable component of ACT I. We happily extend our congratulations to the following recent high school graduates who have participated in ACT I during their school years! Following each name are the ACT I shows of which that student was a part. An asterisk* indicates a non acting assignment.

Angie Brand
(The Sound of Music, How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, Be Our Guest)

Jake Fowler
(Bye Bye Birdie, That's Entertainment, The Prince and the Pauper, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Secret Garden)

(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, Be Our Guest, Bye Bye Birdie)

(Bye Bye Birdie, That's Entertainment, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Prince and the Pauper, I'll Be Home for Christmas, An Evening on Broadway with Kathleen Berger,* Kathleen Berger Classical Concert,* Hansel and Gretel*, A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady, Intermezzo II, Tea and Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)

(The Prince and the Pauper, The Emperor's New Clothes, Romeo and Juliet, The Titanic Disaster Hearings)

(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Miracle Worker, The Sound of Music, How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, Be Our Guest, Bye Bye Birdie, The Velveteen Rabbit, Romeo and Juliet)

(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Oliver!, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Prince and the Pauper, The Secret Garden)

Our recent production of It Runs in the Family brought back an old, familiar face, absent from us for far too long. Mary Phillips, long time technical director, director, actress, graphic artist, past president, past Grease Paint editor, past webmaster, and past board member, returned to the fold to create the set for our recent hit show.

Currently, Mary spends her time working for her family at Phillips Funeral Homes, Inc. (remember how we all used to call it the "fun home" when ACT I activities were scheduled there?), volunteering as an EMT for North Benton Ambulance Service, and spending time with her family. Family right now includes brother and sister-in-law Mike and Kristy Phillips and their sons Robert, who will be entering third grade this fall and Jack, who recently turned 1, and her parents, Bob and Sharon, who now reside in Keystone. Mary, who lives above the funeral home in Vinton, moved here with her family from Davenport when she was 7. Except for a stint in Iowa City during her post high school years, she has lived here ever since.

Mary graduated from WHS in Vinton in 1982, where her activities included theatre (what else?!) and Girls' State (she served as governor). She earned a B.A. in theatre design and production from UNI in 2000, and served for several years on the board of the Old Creamery Theatre, including a year as president.

Mary's unit set for The Sound of Music (1995) was a simple yet elegant creation that served as an excellent backdrop for the entire show, eliminating time consuming scene changes.

Mary's credits with ACT I are as long as anyone's who has participated with us during the past twenty-two years. Mary first hit the ACT I stage in April of 1986, when she served as assistant technical director, stage manager, and lighting person for our production of My Three Angels. Seven years went by between her first and second shows with us. (Insert those Iowa City years here!) She returned in June of 1993 when she did set construction and lighting for The Odd Couple, Female Version. At this point, Mary's involvement with ACT I snowballed. She worked the next sixteen consecutive shows, serving as Technical Director for twelve of them. She did six more shows with us before taking a long break, finally coming back with It Runs in the Family. An unprecedented record, Mary has a career total of 16 shows with us as Technical Director! In The Night of January 16th, (fall of 1993) Mary made her acting debut as Defense Attorney Stevens. Poster design, lighting design, lighting operator, sound operator, publicity, program layout, and Stage Manager were all credits that Mary earned during that period in addition to Technical Director. Her other major acting credits include Ida Gormley in Said the Spider to the Spy, Roxie Barn in Knock 'Em Dead, and Queenie "Mad Woman" Malone in The Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders. Her acting cameos include a firefighter in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Viney in The Miracle Worker, and Fraulein Schweiger in The Sound of Music. In September of 1995, Mary made her directing debut with Same Time Next Year, and she later directed our production of Steel Magnolias in 1998. Some of Mary's more unusual assignments include music transcription for How to Eat Like a Child (scanning the score for the show into a computer so that it could be played back by computer (great software, that!) and creating the eerie laughing sailor for Sleuth.

Mary was a long time member of our board and served two terms as ACT I president. She also created ACT I's first website in the fall of 1997.

Mary created a multi-leveled mountain on the stage of the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison for our 1994 production of Bridge to Terabithia.

For our 1998 production of Sleuth, performed at the Ray House, Mary created the all important prop of the laughing sailor mannequin, which lent an ironic creepiness to the show.

Mary's work schedule makes it difficult for her to accept ACT I assignments on a regular basis of late but it was good to see her working with us again!

A new feature has been added to our website beginning this month! All of our past issues of Grease Paint Online have always been archived and can be viewed with the touch of a mouse; we have now archived our Member of the Month articles as well! The articles have been reformatted and now appear separately in an easy to find form in addition to being part of each back issue of GPonLine. In addition, older articles are having updates added to the end of each to bring their accomplishments with ACT I up to the current time! To visit the Member of the Month Archives, go to act1.org/mom.htm.

Late 30's vintage or older, make and color unimportant; stock condition -- nothing customized. Convertibles desirable but not necessary. Needed for photo shoots and at least one for occasional live appearances (owner driven) to promote next season's two 40's era shows, Kiss Me, Kate and Lost in Yonkers. Needed between now and mid September, and again between April, 2003 and mid May. Terms negotiable. If you or someone you know has such a vehicle that might be available, please contact Steve Arnold at 472-5308 or SArnoldIA@aol.com. Thanks!

Here are some little known facts about the season that is about to come to an end! Did you know that . . .

1. Nine combat ready stage swords were rented for Romeo and Juliet at a cost of $530 and would have cost over $500 a piece to purchase. (The swords were obtained from a company in Colorado that specializes in arming productions of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.)

4. One hundred thirty-five pounds of flour were used in the construction of the set for Romeo and Juliet.

6. The October 12, 2001 performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was sold out two years in advance.

7. From the "But We've Never Even Done Nunsense" Department: It Runs in the Family made Traci Higgins the 28th performer in ACT I history to portray a nun. Nancy Beckman, Cathi Calderwood, and LuAnn Urlaub have all been nuns twice. (Nunstwice? What's that, the latest Nunsense musical?) Ron Baldwin to date has been our only male nun. (Now who would want to date a male nun? Don't ask, it was a weird show.)

8. Our upcoming Family Affair will be ACT I's seventy-fourth production during our twenty-two season history.

9. A total of 216 volunteers contributed their time to putting the current ACT I season on stage. This number does NOT include ushers, committee members, or parents, other family members, or other assorted drivers and moral support providers whose contributions may not have been measured and recorded but are certainly no less appreciated.

So much for what we're going to tell you, now it's your turn! With the upcoming performance Family Affair, our Season 2001 - 2002 will come to a close. What do you remember about ACT I's busiest season ever?

1. Adaptations of two different stories by Hans Christian Andersen were presented by ACT I this season. Name them.

2. Including our final show which has not yet been performed, how many different performance spaces have been used by ACT I this season?

3. Identify in which country the following 2001 - 2002 productions were set:
                a. Stone Soup
                b. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
                c. Romeo and Juliet
                d. The Titanic Disaster Hearings
                e. It Runs in the Family

4. Identify in which show each of the following props played an important role:
                a. a ring with a gaggle of geese
                b. an acorn
                c. a wheelchair (two shows!)
                d. a rope
                e. an invisible bolt of cloth (now THAT was an easy find!)

5. Each of our Main Stage shows this year was by an author or composer whose works have never before been performed by ACT I. Name those three well known creative talents that gave us this season's material.

6. Every year, our Palace Gems and production sponsors deserve hearty thanks for their contributions to us. Name the company (or the individual behind that company) that sponsored the following productions:
                a. Our summer camp and two summer children's theatre shows
                b. The four productions in our Events Series
                c. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
                d. Romeo and Juliet
                e. It Runs in the Family

7. We know it's not always what we see that moves a story along. Sometimes, characters who never appear in a show still have profound impact on plot. Identify the show from this season in which the following unseen characters played a role.
                a. Rosaline
                b. The King of Transylvania
                c. Edward Smith
                d. Napolean
                e.  A mother-in-law who can't stand the sight of anyone in good health.

8. How many "bad boys" (characters, not actors) can you name from this past season?

1. Gerald Horst played Archibald Craven, Matt Meyer's last onstage dad in The Secret Garden.

2. Larry Adams-Bowers played Miles Gloriosis, the long lost son of Erronius, portrayed by Ron Baldwin in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

3. Greg Walsten played Senex, the father of Hero, played by John Blix, in Forum.

5. The four sons of Clarence Day, Sr in both Life with Father and Life with Mother were Clarence Jr, John, Whitney, and Harlan. (Played in both shows respectively by Austin Karr, Matt Salger, Josh Deutsch, and Ryan Calderwood.)

6. Adam Frederick’s father in The Miracle Worker (Captain Keller) was played by Darran Sellers.

7. The two sons of Ray Bookmeier (Captain von Trapp) in The Sound of Music were played by Brian Hanneman and Burns Mossman who alternated as Freiderich, and Dan LaGrange and Josh Deutsch, who shared the role of Kurt.

10. Orin "Kelly" Calhoun portrayed the father of Burns Mossman in Bridge to Terabithia.

In Bridge to Terabithia (1994) Mr. Aarons, played by Orin Calhoun, comforts Jesse, played by Burns Mossman, in one of the final scenes of the play.

11. The father of the character played by Josh Brewer in The Prince and the Pauper was England's King Henry VIII.

The Next Meeting of the Board of ACT I of Benton County will be Sunday, June 15, 2002, at noon at the Pizza Ranch. This is our annual membership meeting. Everyone please come!

Members and visitors are always welcome at board meetings!

Minutes of meetings from the current year can be accessed on the Board page of our website.

Two hundred sixteen volunteers powered the ACT I machine this season, from actors to costume crews (what a big season it was for THAT department!); set crews, the lighting crews, and on and on, not to mention the countless hours of support from family members, neglected pets, and those driving under age actors back and forth between home, the Studio, the Palace; those who baked cookies for intermissions, and of course, our loyal patrons who came and made it all worthwhile. And every show we did this year, no matter how small the production company, enlisted the aid of at least one new volunteer. Though we can be impressed by the extensive contributions of volunteers like our member of the month Mary Phillips, we also remember that each and every contribution to the efforts of ACT I is appreciated and worthwhile and makes our product that much better. ACT I is an organization that has succeeded because each of those 216 volunteers made the choice to give of themselves in order to make a show happen. The beauty of an all volunteer organization is that everyone shares in the effort, and everyone shares success.

Another group of volunteers very worthy of mentioning are those who help keep the cost of running the Palace Theatre down by giving their time to the many volunteer jobs available there. These people also are vital to ACT I by keeping our resident performance facility in good condition, both physically and financially. But volunteerism doesn't stop with the arts.

Driving home every night after rehearsals and performances of It Runs in the Family, I would come home to find my back yard lit up brightly by the lights from the high school baseball field a block away. Every single night those lights would be on, lighting my yard, sometimes running very close to midnight. For on that field, working quietly and diligently, another group of volunteers, just as dedicated as our ACT I volunteers, was busy on another project to benefit our community -- the construction of a new concession stand and dugouts for the baseball field. It gives a very warm feeling to know that we live in a community that supports a wide variety of valuable community projects, not only with their checkbooks, but with their time, their labor, and their dedication to whatever they are passionate about. Volunteerism is a vibrant part of this community. Thank you to all who have given of themselves this year to make Vinton a better place.

Season Tickets on Sale Now for Season 2002 - 2003 - A Cast of Outcasts

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz Fathers and Sons

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz

Fathers and Sons