Grease Paint Online - June, 2005

Our anniversary season is over, and ACT I is hard at work on our 93rd, 94th, and 95th productions. Two children's theatre productions are currently in rehearsal for performances in July, and the

first Main Stage production of the season has been cast. ACT I's Season 2005 - 2006, made up of shows with the theme You Can Fool All of the People ... Some of the Time, is off to a busy start! For the second year, ACT I STAGE! is conducting not one but two summer camps for Benton County students. Earlier this month, SECOND STAGE! camp began work on their production of Let Your Hair Down, Rapunzel at Benton Community High School in Van Horne, and this week STAGE ONE camp begins work on their production of The Princess Plays. STAGE ONE, under director Marcy Horst, serves the northern half of Benton County with primarily students from the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District; and SECOND STAGE, under director Mary Horst, serves the southern half of the county, primarily students from the Benton Community School District. Nearly one hundred-twenty-five students are participating in the two camps. Let Your Hair Down, Rapunzel will be performed in the auditorium of the Benton Community High School July 8, 9, and 10. The Princess Plays go on stage July 27 - 31. Grease Paint will publish twice in July to cover each of these two children's theatre productions.

It's a hair theme at SECOND STAGE theatre camp in Van Horne this year, and why not, when their summer production is Let Your Hair Down, Rapunzel! These middle school students perform an orientation week skit during the first week of camp before digging into the main order of business, producing their show! Director and stage designer Mary Horst, whose show last year featured an eight foot high red tennis shoe, is reportedly outdoing that achievement with this year's show. Thirty-eight students are participating.

In addition to our two summer children's theatre productions, work is underway on the first production of our Main Stage Series, Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Director Steve Arnold, Music Directors Conni Huber and Sheila Monson, Choreographer Joan Cooling, and their assistants Sue Freet and Mike Modrow are finalizing their casting. The show begins production July 7. The Music Man, created by Iowa native Meredith Willson and first performed in 1957, is the story of a con man who visits a small Iowa town in July of 1912 with the promise of giving them a boys' band. The show will be performed at the Palace Theatre September 15 - 25.

In addition to these first three shows, our season includes, in our Events Series, The Diary of Adam and Eve (performed as a Readers' Theatre dinner theatre at the Vinton Country Club on November 11 and 12) and On Broadway!, a variety show at the Palace on February 18 and 19. The Main Stage Series finishes the season with Lend Me a Tenor, March 10 - 19 at the Palace Theatre, and Love, Sex, and the IRS, May 5 - 14, also at the Palace.

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957! Keep this number handy all season and remember to call for reservations!

Even though attendance was light, audiences for Sir Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at the Palace

Theatre were treated to some heavy duty comic acting as this excellent production directed by Nancy Beckman closed our anniversary season with incredibly fine style. The small cast including Anthony Bopp, Diane Maxwell, Nancy Beckman, and Jill g. Lockard-Bopp in major roles, supported by Mike Modrow, Michelle Bookmeier, and Patti Upmeyer, managed the challenging comic material with complete ease. The production, with its picture perfect set built by Kevin Bookmeier, was sponsored by Cedar River Ink. It was the 92nd production staged by ACT I in our history, and a more than fitting way to begin our second twenty-five years!

For additional information about this production go to the Blithe Spirit show page of this website at www.act1.org/spirit.htm. For pictures and information from our original production, go to www.act1.org/blithe.htm.

Curtain Call, our members' annual meeting which serves as a season wrap up and our way to

honor Gem sponsors, took place on Saturday, June 18 at 4:00 PM at the Pizza Ranch in Vinton. Board President Mary Horst gave the membership a report on the season just concluded, ACT I Take II, and reviewed some of the major purchases which have been made. The new season was also reviewed. Also on the agenda was the election of board members. Board President Mary Horst and Vice President Alex Martinez-Vasquez both finished their three year terms this season and chose not to run again. Mike Modrow and Alan Nebola were elected to fill those vacancies. President Horst also announced that board member Kurt Karr had resigned earlier this spring and that Ed Cardwell had been appointed to fill that vacancy at the April meeting. The board will hold an organizational meeting in July when officers will be elected for the new season. Other current board members include Secretary Joan Cooling, Treasurer Greg Walston, Sue Freet, and Kevin Ahrenholz. In accordance with the by-laws, this year's officers remain in their positions until new officers are elected. Best wishes to our current and new board members, we look forward to you guiding us through an exciting season of live theatre here in Benton County!

Five years ago this month at the Palace Theatre, our twentieth season was winding down when ACT I presented the comedy Life with Mother by Howard Lindsey and Russel Crouse. The play ran June 15 - 23, 2000. Life with Mother is a sequel to Life with Father, which was presented by ACT I in May of 1997. The two plays are both domestic comedies about Clarence Day, Sr., a blustery, hard nosed Republican stock broker and his flighty, irrepressible wife Vinnie, who continually gets the best of him no matter what; raising their four sons in New York City in the 1880s. Life with Mother is a direct continuation of the story begun in the first play. Both plays, based on real life characters and situations, are adapted from books written by Clarence Day, Jr.

The six actors who performed the Day family in Life with Father three years earlier all reprised their roles for Life with Mother, including Steve Arnold as Clarence Day, Sr., Cathi Calderwood as Vinnie Day, Austin Karr as Clarence Day, Jr., Matt Salger as John Day, Josh Deutsch as Whitney Day, and Ryan Calderwood as Harlan Day.

Also in the cast were Nancy Stroschein as Margaret, Ron Baldwin as Michael, Dorothy Albert as Bridget, Elise Dickerson as Hazel Willoughby, Lois Ewins as Bessie Fuller Logan, Bunny Feller as Mrs. Willoughby, Jim Hilliard as Clyde Miller, Nancy Beckman as Cousin Cora, Josie Rundlett as Kathleen, and Kurt Karr as Dr. Humphreys. The production was directed by Ray Bookmeier, who had assisted in our original production of Life with Father. Sue Freet was the Assistant Director, and Kevin Bookmeier was the technical director, creating two complete box sets for the show. One of the highlights of the second intermission was watching the crew change the set before the audience.

Life with Father was Broadway's biggest hit during World War II. The innocent domestic comedy based on stories which took place 60 years earlier, was the perfect antidote to the world crisis abroad. Life with Father opened on Broadway in 1939 and ran during the entire course of the war, closing in 1947 after 3,213 performances. Life with Mother opened in 1948, using the same set as the first play, as well as several of the original actors. Following the war, however, the public's tastes changed, and although it is a stronger play in many respects, Life with Mother ran for only one season, logging over 300 performances. To this day, Life with Father holds the record for the longest running non-musical in Broadway history.

During ACT I's first season at the Palace Theatre, Technical Director Kevin Bookmeier created these two box sets at the theatre to portray first the Day family's summer country home, and at right to portray their Madison Avenue townhouse in New York City.

For additional information about this production, including pictures and full cast and crew list, go to Life with Mother show page of this website at www.act1.org/mother.htm.

In lieu of our Member of the Month feature this month, we have our annual list of ACT I high school graduates. 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! The class of 2005 is the largest graduating class ACT I has ever had, nearly triple the number of participants from last year's graduating class, and the largest group of boys ever to participate from a single class. Participation has meant everything from playing major roles on stage to doing the most thankless, unnoticed tasks, so for all these contributions from this amazing class, we thank you. It is well worth noting that eleven of the thirty-five names on this list have participated in five or more ACT I shows: Blake Hanson, Josh Brewer and Kyle Brewer each worked on 7 shows; Megan Christy 8; Abby Hilton, Kaitlin Karrick and Matt Meyer 11 productions each; Ryan Calderwood and Josie Rundlett lent their talents to 12 shows each; Kordereau Sellers participated in 14 ACT I productions, and topping the chart is Erin Horst, who was involved in twenty-six ACT I shows, a number that few adults in this organization can match. Thank you to all our graduates, please stay involved in theatre as you move forward in your lives, even if it is just being a member of the audience. And above all else, congratulations on this recent milestone in all your lives. What a great class to be able to honor as we close our anniversary season!

Following each name are each of the ACT I shows of which that student was a part. Non-performance assignments are marked with an asterisk.

(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Miracle Worker, The Sound of Music I, How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, The Prince and the Pauper, Romeo and Juliet)

Kyle Brewer
(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Miracle Worker, The Sound of Music I, How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, The Prince and the Pauper, Romeo and Juliet)

(How to Eat Like a Child, Life with Father, Oliver!, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Velveteen Rabbit, Hansel and Gretel, Life with Mother, Romeo and Juliet, Charlotte's Web*, Harvey*, Noises Off, The Sound of Music II)

(The Prince and the Pauper, The Velveteen Rabbit, Hansel and Gretel, Tea and Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Family Affair, Kiss Me Kate*, The Sound of Music II)

(Oliver!, The Prince and the Pauper, The Velveteen Rabbit, Romeo and Juliet)

Blake Hansen
(The Emperor's New Clothes, Romeo and Juliet, Family Affair, Ogre Here Ogre There*, Kiss Me Kate, Lost in Yonkers, Live at the Palace)

(The Miracle Worker, Oliver!, Family Affair, Ogre Here Ogre There*, Kiss Me Kate, Monster Medley Spooktacular, The Reluctant Dragon*, Lost in Yonkers*, American Hysterical, The Adventures of Beatrix Potter*, The Sound of Music II)

Erin Horst
(How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, Bye Bye Birdie, The Prince and the Pauper, The Velveteen Rabbit, I'll Be Home for Christmas, The Secret Garden, Hansel and Gretel, Charlotte's Web, Encore! Encore!, The Emperor's New Clothes, Intermezzo II, Tea and Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Family Affair, The Truly Remarkable Puss-in-Boots*, Kiss Me Kate, Monster Medley Spooktacaular, Intermezzo III, The Reluctant Dragon*, Lost in Yonkers*, American Hysterical, Annie, The Adventures of Beatrix Potter*, Intermezzo IV, Live at the Palace)

Kaitlin Karrick
(The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Velveteen Rabbit, My Fair Lady, Harvey*, The Emperor's New Clothes, Romeo and Juliet, Kiss Me Kate, Monster Medley Spooktacular, The Reluctant Dragon*, American Hysterical, The Adventures of Beatrix Potter*)

(Bye Bye Birdie, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Prince and the Pauper, The Secret Garden, My Fair Lady*, Tea and Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, The Titanic Disaster Hearings, It Runs in the Family, Family Affair, American Hysterical)

(The Emperor's New Clothes, The Red Shoes, Family Affair, Ogre Here Ogre There)

(Oliver!, Bye Bye Birdie)
Lindsey Renken
(Bye Bye Birdie, The Prince and the Pauper, Charlotte's Web)

Kelli Robison
(Oliver!, Bye Bye Birdie, The Prince and the Pauper, The Emperor's New Clothes)

Josie Rundlett
(Life with Mother, A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady, What God Tells Me When I Am Alone, The Crucible, Harvey*, The Red Shoes, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum*, Tea and Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Kiss Me Kate, Monster Medley Spooktacular)

Kordereau Sellers
(The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Miracle Worker, How to Eat Like a Child, Oliver!, The Prince and the Pauper, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web, Encore! Encore!, Harvey*, The Emperor's New Clothes, Romeo and Juliet, Family Affair, American Hysterical)

Austin Lyons
(How to Eat Like a Child)
Kassidy Lyons
(How to Eat Like a Child)

Haley Ridenour-McHenry
(The Lion the Witch and the Warrobe)
Sheldon Strimple
(Charlotte's Web)
Chloe Stuff
(The Sound of Music I, How to Eat Like a Child)

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 year's graduate list is unusually long. What an excellent graduating class this was in their contributions to ACT I! How many of our graduates can you name, based on these production photographs? All of these photographs are at least six years old, some as old as ten, and we think you'll agree that most of these kids have really changed through the years! (And aren't they just precious!)

Our twenty-fifth anniversary has been observed with revivals of past shows and events with both our Main Stage and Events Series productions. What do you remember about the season just concluding as well as the rest of our first 25 years?

1. In the revivals of our three Main Stage productions, three individuals took on the same assignment this year as they did when the shows were originally presented. Name them.
Cathi Calderwood (Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music) LuAnn Urlaub (Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music) and Joan Cooling (choreographer, The Sound of Music.) Nancy Geiken, our Assistant Director for You Can't Take it with You in 1980, co-directed that show in 2005, which is pretty much the same thing as her original assignment! Also, Donna Coulter sang in the nun's chorus in both productions of The Sound of Music, so saying there were only three is not totally accurate.

2. Which two actresses performed in all three of the original productions of the three Main Stage shows presented this season? Dottie Anthony and Becky Mossman

3. Our revival of The Sound of Music featured numerous costume pieces made for our original production. Name the costumer who created over 50 costumes for our original 1995 production. Ida Higgins

4. Prior to this season of Main Stage revivals, only one play had ever been produced twice by ACT I. Name that show. The Girls in 509

5. All of this season's Main Stage productions take place within a very few years of each other. Identify the single era of these three shows by naming the American president who was in office during this time - a president who has been portrayed twice on our stage. Franklin Roosevelt

6. Especially this year, ACT I is all about the people who have brought our community theatre to life. One of the pleasures of this season has been the return of many performers to our stage who have been absent for far too long. Which of these performers who came back this year was absent from our stage the longest? Julie Zimmer, who appeared in our first production in 1980, waited 25 years to come back, before appearing in two shows this season. Anthony Bopp comes in second with a seventeen year absence.

Congratulations to Lu Karr, who answered five questions correctly, and to Jim Hilliard, who answered four correctly!

Lu added this paragraph to her entry: "The years at the Creamery were memorable. Worrying about children falling thru the floor, rain on patrons, wrapping ourselves in sleeping bags during rehearsals, the ghosts of the Creamery, dodging deer on the road from Garrison after midnight rehearsals of The Sound of Music. Austin, Maggie and I made great friends on stage and off and continue to hold ACT I memories very near to our hearts. Here's to another 25!"

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!

It was a great anniversary season, full of rich highlights and fond memories. ACT I has come a long way. Twenty-five years, 92 productions, 407 performances, a beautiful theatre, and fine traditions. What a great year for ACT I we have enjoyed! Thanks to all who made it so special. And our final production certainly is a challenge to our coming season, to "top that!" This was one of the finest productions I have ever seen ACT I bring to life. What an all around excellent work to end the year with! I hope that future play selection committees will take a close look at more plays by Sir Noel Coward. The intelligent wit with which he writes has nearly vanished from the works of contemporary playwrights. Let's hope that works like Private Lives, Hay Fever, and Relative Values earn consideration for future seasons!

And let's not forget our mentoring organization, The Old Creamery Theatre. Without Tom Johnson and the others from the Creamery that helped us get started, ACT I could never have gotten off the ground as it did twenty-five years ago. Iowa's only Equity theatre is only 40 minutes away in Amana, and they have a great season underway. Nunsense is currently running on the Price Creek Stage, and on the Depot stage you can see Grant Wood, Prairie Rebel.

On to Season 2005 - 2006, You Can Fool All of the People ... Some of the Time!

Answers to Our Last Quiz