Grease Paint Online; March, 2003

The Reluctant Dragon, directed by Gerald and Marcy Horst, proved a wonderful adventure for all audience members, young and young at heart. The engaging, peace-loving 6-foot by 6-foot dragon puppet was brought to life by cast members Pat Lyons, Nancy Geiken, Lois Martin, and David Canaday. Those four quick-change artists also did double duty as villagers, along with Marcy Horst, Sheila Monson, Julie Canaday, and Brian Larkin. The mighty dragon slayer, Saint George, was delightfully portrayed by ACT I veteran, Gerald Horst. Robert Glass, Washington High School vocal director, expertly played Boy, who set aside his beloved books in favor of playing mediator to St. George and the dragon.

The Reluctant Dragon was written in the operetta style of Gilbert and Sullivan, and as such, was vocally and musically challenging. However, the production company seemed tailor made for the task. The Dragon ensemble boasted a pruduction company (including accompanist, Washington High School Band Director, Laura Zamzow) of talented musicians, indeed 2/3 of the eleven-member group hold various music degrees.

One of the highlights of each show was the opportunity for audience members to ascend the stage at the end of the show for a closer look at the dragon.

The closing show on March 2, 2003 filled the Palace Theatre. As with all ACT I show closings, the cast and crew sadly dismantled the set and said goodbye to new friends. It’s always hard to let go of the special camaraderie and feeling of accomplishment that inevitably develops as a show blossoms during rehearsals and production weekends. But wait….

The Reluctant Dragon

For additional information about this production (including a full cast list and more pictures) go to the Reluctant Dragon page of this website at www.act1.org/dragon.htm.

The Board of Directors of ACT I of Benton County is pleased to announce our twenty-fourth season, Season 2003 - 2004. Each show in the season features either the color red or a story involving death, hence our season theme,

American Hysterical
ACT I STAGE! Summer Theatre Camp
Marcy Horst, coordinator
July 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 2003

An original piece created by Marcy and Mary Horst with original music by Tom Jessen, this story is a red, white, and blue salute to American history!

ANNIE
Main Stage Production
Joan Cooling and Mike Williams, directors
September 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 2003

The little orphan girl in the red dress tries to learn the identity of her dead parents in this heartwarming musical. It may be a "hard knock life," but Annie can always look forward to "tomorrow!"

The Book of Murder
by Ron Cowen
Events Series Production
David Canaday, director
November 22, 23, 2003

This suspenseful play will entertain our audiences in an on location setting similar to our 1997 production of Sleuth!

Love Letters
by A. R. Gurney
Events Series Production
Mary Horst, director
February 7, 8, 2004

Dust off those red valentine hearts for this popular performance piece, which features the reading of letters exchanged from childhood on between a man and woman whose love for each other truly survives the test of time!

Noises Off
by Michael Frayn
Main Stage Production
Ray Bookmeier, director
February 27, 28, 29, March 5, 6, 7

This laugh a minute madcap farce stars a revolving set and a group of actors whose off stage bickering is even funnier than the onstage murder mystery they are performing in this classic play within a play. We see the final rehearsals of a production where everything manages to go wrong!

I Hate Hamlet
by Paul Rudnick
Main Stage Production
Nancy Beckman, director
May 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16

Shakespeare's famous drama featuring a ghost is the subject of this hilarious comedy featuring a ghost! Andrew Rally, a popular young TV actor who has recently moved into an apartment once occupied by the late great Shakespearean actor John Barrymore, tries to reject the role of Hamlet when it is offered to him, until the ghost of his apartment's former occupant materializes to coach him in the role with results that are anything but what the Bard of Avon had in mind!

Keep watching our website and Grease Paint Online for updates and audition information for Season 2003 - 2004, Better Red than Dead!

The cast of our final production of the current season, Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers, begins rehearsals this week. And that cast is filled with new faces. With only seven members, this is the smallest cast of any ACT I show presented during the last five years. Four of the seven cast members will be making their ACT I debuts; none of the other three have appeared with ACT I prior to last season, and only one has previously played a major role on our stage.

As brothers Jay and Artie Kurnitz, the boys who watch the secrets of their father's dysfunctional family unfold before them, are Blake Hansen and Jordan Graham. Blake, a sophomore at WHS in Vinton, plays Jay, his first major ACT I role. He has had roles in previous ACT I productions of Kiss Me, Kate, Romeo and Juliet, and The Emperor's New Clothes. He also played the role of Nathan Detroit in this fall's WHS musical Guys and Dolls. Jordan, a fifth grader at Center Point/Urbana who lives in Vinton, makes his debut with us as Artie.

In the role of Grandma Kurnitz, we welcome Cedar Rapids attorney Linda Merritt. Linda completed a run of performances of Neil Simon's Jake's Women earlier this month at Starlighter's II in Anamosa, where she is a regular performer. She also has acting credits with Theatre Cedar Rapids and the Iowa City Community Theatre. As Aunt Bella, Julie Canaday returns for her second role. A music teacher at Tilford Middle School in Vinton, Julie made her ACT I debut in the ensemble of The Reluctant Dragon.

John Blix, back for his third ACT I role (including his debut as Hero in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) plays Eddie Kurnitz, the father of Jay and Artie. John also serves as assistant director. Making his debut as Louie Kurnitz is WHS senior Chris Braden. Chris appeared in Guys and Dolls at WHS earlier this year. Rounding out the cast will be Judy Burkle of Cedar Rapids in her ACT I debut, as Gert. Judy has appeared previously with Startlighters II in Anamosa.

The production is directed by Steve Arnold and sponsored by Farmers' Savings Bank and Trust.

ACT I thanks the Natalie Grubb estate for the generous donation to our community theatre organization!

ANNIE
Saturday, April 12 at the ACT I Studio
(Above Clingman Pharmacy, 106 East 4th Street)

1:15 - 4:30 PM Child Orphan Auditions
*Girls must be at least 7 hears of age and no older that 13 as of July 1, 2003
Height limit 5'0"
*Must be able to attend the entire audition, latecomers may not be accepted
*Limited number of roles available
*Girls will be asked to read, sing, and dance
*Parent must attend to register child

4:30 - 5:30 PM Adult / Teen Auditions
Multiple acting, singing, and dancint roles available for men and women.
Everyone is encouraged to audition!

Orientation/Workshop Week: June 9-13, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Performance Dates: July 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20

Registration Forms now available at the Palace Theatre or by contacting Marcy Horst, Camp Coordinator, 472-5518.

ACT I member Matt Meyer, a sophomore at WHS, made his debut at Theatre Cedar Rapids (above) in the one act play Once Upon a Summertime, directed by fellow ACT I member Steve Arnold, which was part of the Director's Showcase program of one acts presented at the theatre February 22 and 23. The five shows were directed by members of the TCR directors' academy classes and none had directed at TCR before. In the 40 minute, two person show, Matt played the role of Robin, a changeling elf who falls in love with a blind mortal girl, played by Allyson Hovda of Cedar Rapids. Also at Theatre Cedar Rapids this month, Steve appeared in the Main Stage production of Inspecting Carol through March 30.

On March 8 a new ACT I member was born, a young lady that has come into the world related to more ACT I members than anyone else whose last name is not Horst. Emma Jean Arnold was born into an ACT I family that involves both of her parents and relatives on both sides of her family.

In celebration of Emma's birth, we are honoring all of her ACT I relatives as our Members of the Month for March, 2003. Emma's parents, David and Sara Arnold, met at Luther College where they were both music majors. They were both very involved in college musical activities, including a concert band tour to Japan. David was also active in the Luther jazz band. Sara (the former Sara Yedlik) is a Vinton native. After they married in the summer of 1999, they returned to the Vinton area to live. Since that time both David and Sara have been active in recent musical productions.

Sara is a graduate of WHS in Vinton and currently in her fourth year as elementary vocal music instructor for the North Linn Community School District, serving attendance centers in Walker and Coggon. She also served as choir director for the Vinton Presbyterian church for three years. Sara made her ACT I debut in the role of Ruth St. Martin in our 1995 dinner theatre murder mystery production Said the Spider to the Spy when she was a high school senior; a production directed by her uncle, Ed Yedlik. (Sara had the dubious distinction of playing the killer.) Returning to ACT I after graduation from Luther, Sara was in the ensemble for The Secret Garden in 2000, and last season she portrayed the role of Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Sara Arnold (right) as Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, joined by two reasonable look alikes.

It was in Forum that her husband David made his ACT I debut, as the drummer in our pit band. David returned to the pit, again on the drums, for our production of Kiss Me, Kate this past fall. David, originally from Grinnell, is a musician par excellance, with his main instrument as saxophone but also able to play any wind instrument as well as drums. (He declares that Emma will be a saxophonist.) David is a jazz specialist, and for his last two years in high school was a member of the jazz band for the State Fair Singers, now known as Celebration Iowa. David is currently an instructor and a member of the sales staff at West Music in Cedar Rapids. David and Sara lived in rural Vinton after their marriage until this past summer, when they built a house in Walker and moved to that community to be closer to Sara's job. Sara and David also share a music studio in their home where Sara teaches piano and voice and David teaches wind and percussion. In addition to Emma, their family includes a cat, Samantha, and a shih tzu named Bartok.

Another ACT I relative for Emma is her cousin Steve Arnold. (Steve's Dad and David's grandfather are brothers.) On her mother's side, Emma's grandmother, Marilyn Yedlik, has frequently donated many hours to us sewing costumes. Marilyn is the elementary school nurse for the Vinton-Shellsburg school district. Marilyn's sister-in-law, Linda Greaser, has helped ACT I backstage with makeup and other tasks, and Emma's cousin, Dan Greaser, (Linda's son) has appeared in our productions of Oliver!, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Prince and the Pauper, and Romeo and Juliet. Dan is in tenth grade at Washington High School in Vinton and has also appeared in school theatre and competed in Mock Trial.

Emma's great uncle Edwon Yedlik, a former professional actor who was with a theatre in Leadville, Colorado for many years, has been active with ACT I as both an actor and director. He first appeared with us as Pa in Twigs in 1994. Following his performances in that role, he directed our three dinner theatre productions, Said the Spider to the Spy (1995) Knock 'Em Dead (1996) and The Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders (1997).

Ed Yedlik (center) as Pa in Twigs in our production at the Old Creamery Theatre in 1994.

In addition to theatre, Ed's many interests include organic farming, coffee farming in Hawaii, traveling to such faraway locations as China, and reading. He was an independent candidate for Benton County Supervisor in 2000. A long time student, Ed has a PhD in metaphysics. He also once served in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan.

Besides those already mentioned, Emma will be picking up two more ACT I relatives in a couple of months. Her Aunt Carrie, Sara's sister, is engaged to Mark Pingenot, who has been active with us for some time, both in technical work, as a musician in Bye Bye Birdie, and as the fight coach for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And Mark's brother Aaron was a member of the pit band for Kiss Me, Kate.

In addition to her local ACT I relatives and other relatives who live in Iowa, Emma has cousins, aunts, and uncles who live variously in Washington DC, Maryland, California, England, Switzerland, and Bolivia; and who have also lived in at various times in Cameroon, Nigeria, and Kenya.

David and Sara, congratulations on your new arrival, and to Emma, welcome to ACT I! We hope you and all your family members continue to be a part of our community theatre!

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

As we look forward to our upcoming season, we look back at pictures of props used on stage in one or more productions. For each of the following props, name at least one ACT I show in which it was used.

1. The Reluctant Dragon is not the first play we’ve staged to feature a dragon. In which past production was a dragon also portrayed on stage?
Bridge to Terabithia (1994)

A dragon (center) was a featured element in the fantasy scene of
Bridge to Terabithia

2. Our summer, 2002 children’s theatre productions all featured what sort of creature? Each featured an ogre

3. In which play did a man see a unicorn, though unseen by either his wife or the audience?
A Thurber Carnival (1982) in the "Unicorn in the Garden" sequence

4. In which production did we see a part human / part goat creature known as a faun? The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1999)

5. In which past show was a Celtic mythological creature known as a “pooka” a central part of the action? Harvey (2001)

6. In which production was there an appearance by a centaur?
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1999)

The next meeting of the Board of ACT I of Benton County will be Monday, April 14, 2002, at 8:30 at the Cooling Dance Center.

Members and visitors are always welcome at board meetings!

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

It's alway an exciting time when ACT I is able to announce a new season! Our thanks to the play selection committee, including chair Alan Nebola and members Marcy Horst, Rob Glass, Blake Hansen, Sue Freet, as well as our board and next year's directors for their time and comittment to the continued artistic health of ACT I!

The Reluctant Dragon

The Reluctant Dragon

Orientation/Workshop Week: June 9-13, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Performance Dates: July 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz