Palace Theatre Featured
in Public Open House

Vinton  --  On Saturday, March 6, the public was invited to inspect the progress on the Palace Theatre which will be completed during the coming months. The Palace, which will serve as ACT I’s resident performance facility as well as a public cinema, was open to the public for three hours and a steady stream of future patrons toured the building and saw first hand how over $400,000 raised privately from within the community is being put to use as this exciting project approaches completion.

Jared Helms (left), a cast member of our upcoming production
of The Prince and the Pauper, stands on the lobby staircase of
the Palace Theatre at an open house held March 6 at the theatre.
The center door looks into the light booth, used for live productions.

    The Palace Theatre will essentially be a totally brand new facility constructed inside the 120 foot by 40 foot shell, originally constructed over 80 years ago. Patrons entering the theatre through the two story art deco lobby are met by an attractive staircase leading to the balcony and technical booths for both live theatre and cinema. The second level of the lobby nicely increases floor space in the room, offering additional areas for patrons to mingle during intermissions.   At the mezzanine level, the light booth for live productions looks onto the stage, and above that the cinema projection booth stands behind the balcony. The auditorium offers seating for 160 patrons on the main floor and an additional 60 in the balcony.   The auditorium walls will be covered with pleated fabric in alternating shades of gray and hunter green, while seats will be upholstered in burgundy.

The Palace Theatre auditorium, seating 220 patrons, will
be decorated in shades of burgundy, gray, and hunter green.

    At the side of the theatre is a narrow passageway on both levels which allows both handicapped access to the stage as well as convenient cover for passage by actors moving between the lobby and stage.  The stage provides ample performance space in the intimate auditorium, with a large apron in front of the proscenium arch.  The screen for cinema will fill the proscenium and will completely disappear while the theatre is being used for live performances.  Behind the new stage will be the green room, in the space which was originally the stage of the old theatre, where Helen Keller once lectured. The space will now include two small dressing rooms to one side.  The remaining space doubles as green room and scene shop, with storage above the dressing rooms. A large garage door in the back of the building allows easy access from the alley behind for bringing set components. The fire wall between the green room and stage will have high double doors for each access to the stage for set construction.

The former stage becomes the green room for live
productions at the Palace Theatre.  For additional
photographs of the theatre renovation, please
refer to the Palace Theatre page of this website.

    According to the book "The Opera Houses of Iowa," published in 1993 by the Iowa State University Press in Ames, which chronicles hundreds of live theatre venues constructed throughout Iowa, the Palace was originally constructed in 1914 as the Vinton Opera House, seating 500 patrons. In 1921 it became the Palace Theatre, seating 650. During its later years as a movie house, the theatre was gutted twice by fire and eventually closed in the 1970s. The floor was leveled and the building was converted into a gym before being purchased by ACT I in December of 1997 for the current renovation.

The new Palace Theatre stage

    A target opening date has not yet been set, so it is not yet known whether either of ACT I’s remaining productions this season will be performed on the new stage. The children’s theatre production of The Prince and the Pauper will be performed May 7, 8, and 9, and Marvin’s Room is scheduled for June.  The Palace Theatre Project is supervised by ACT I member Kurt Karr, serving as general contractor in a voluntary capacity, and by the ACT I facilities committee.

Lion / Witch Gears up
for Four Performance Run

The White Witch (played by Morgan Horning, a junior at WHS)
strikes down Edmund (played by sixth grader Matt Meyer) after he
destroys her magic wand in the climactic scene of The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe produced March 12, 13, and 14 by ACT I STAGE!

    Our children’s theatre production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe produced by ACT I STAGE! is given its run this weekend. Opening Friday night, March 12, at 7:00 PM, the run continues with Saturday performances at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM and closes Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM.   All performances will be at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 516 2nd Avenue in Vinton. Tickets for the production are $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for students.   Directors Maggie Karr and Jessica Coulter stage the show with a cast of 21. Austin Karr is the technical director, with sets designed by Sarah Zimmerman, and Mark Pingenot designing the lighting and coordinating stage combat. For a complete cast list and more details about the production, please refer to the February issue of Grease Paint.

Ryan Calderwood becomes Mr. Beaver with the help of makeup artist Lori Kerwin.

Auditions Announced for final ACT I
production of 1998-1999 Season

    Director Larry Adams-Bowers has announced audition dates for Marvin’s Room, to be performed June 11-13 and 17-20 at the Palace Theatre.  Open auditions will be held March 23 and 25 at 6:30 PM at the Mercantile Bank Community Room. The cast calls for three men, four women, and 2 boys.   Please contact Larry at 472-4637 for more information.

Cooling Instructs on Carnival Cruise

    Joan Cooling, a member of the Board of Directors of ACT I of Benton County and director of the Cooling Dance Center in Vinton, will serve as a dance instructor on a cruise ship for the Carnival line later this month.  The cruise, sailing from March 25 to 28, will take her from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas and her shipboard responsibilities will include teaching a two hour dance class for on board studios, and along with one of the ship's professional performers she'll also be adjudicating the dance competition showcase for the studios on board.   All we can say is with the current March weather, we wish we were all going along!  In addition to serving on the ACT I board, Joan has choreographed four ACT I musicals and appeared as Rosie in "Bye Bye Birdie" earlier this season.

Members of the Month

The Bookmeier Family

This month, Grease Paint features the Ray Bookmeier family of Vinton. Ray, Barb, and Kevin have long been active in ACT I and their contributions to the organization can be found in every area of the community theatre program.

    Kevin, now a senior at WHS, was the first member of the family to become involved in ACT I, as a seventh grader when he appeared in our production of Bridge to Terabithia. Since that show, Kevin has lent his talents to nearly 30 productions for ACT I, Tilford Middle School, Washington High School, Theatre Cedar Rapids, and The Old Creamery. Some highlights of his seven years of theatre experience include playing the role Rolf in The Sound of Music for ACT I, playing the lead in Anything Goes for WHS last fall, and serving as Stage Manager for ACT I's productions of Life with Father and Oliver! He also served for two seasons as a member of the ACT I Board of Directors.  Kevin is primarily known, however, for his backstage expertise, and he can usually be found working set construction or on the stage crew, as he is doing for our current The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  He has also held crew positions for several productions at Theatre Cedar Rapids, including Hello Dolly! and The Secret Garden. Currently, Kevin serves as technical director for our upcoming production of The Prince and the Pauper, is Property Manager for ACT I (in charge of maintaining our inventory of set components, props, and costumes stored in various locations) and is a member of the ACT I youth board.  He also works with the Facilities Committee on the Palace Project.  In addition to theatre, his activities at WHS include chorus, Ambassadors, and National Honor Society.

    Kevin’s involvement in ACT I soon drew his parents, Ray and Barb, into the group and they have also made significant contributions to us. Ray, who is custodian at West Early Childhood Center in Vinton, is a member of the Facilities Committee and is currently the ACT I archivist. He has served on the Board of Directors, including two terms as secretary. Ray can always be found lending a hand where ever one is needed.  On stage, Ray has appeared as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, the father in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and also played a major role in The Foreigner.  Ray also served as Assistant Director for Life with Father.  Ray is also involved in the community choir.

Rolf (Kevin Bookmeier) confronts Captain von Trapp
(Ray Bookmeier) after discovering the family in hiding at
the convent during the dramatic final scene of The Sound
of Music stage by ACT I in late 1995.

    Although Barb Bookmeier vows she won’t ever appear on stage, she has contributed frequently to ACT I on crews, for costume construction, and for innumerable other tasks that help ACT I carry out its program. Barb works for the Benton County Title Company.

    Rounding out the Bookmeier family is daughter and sister Anita Yessak, who has just completed a degree in Elementary Education the University of Northern Iowa, and is currently working as a preschool teacher in Waterloo.   Her husband Jason is also completing a degree in Elementary Education and will be student teaching next year.  Jason and Anita are expecting their first child later this year.  Anita was active in theatre while in high school at WHS.

    ACT I is very grateful to the Bookmeier family for their many contributions to us and we hope for their long continued involvement, and give our best wishes to them as they anticipate the new arrival to their family!

ACT I Trivia Quiz

ACT I and Religion

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an allegorical story based on Christian theology.
This month’s quiz looks at other ACT I shows which have contained religions elements.

1. Which play produced many years ago was set in an eastern European country with 4,000,000 inhabitants, including 3,975,000 atheists, 24,000 agnostics, and 1,000 Jews?

2. In which ACT I show was baptism central to the plot?

3. Name the show in which Eric Upmeyer spoke the line "I don’t belong to any organized religion, I’m a Presbyterian."

4. Which portrayal has NEVER occurred in an ACT I show?
            Casey Cooling as a Catholic priest
            Casey Cooling as an Episcopal priest
            Casey Cooling as a Baptist minister

5. Of the following, which has also NEVER been portrayed on our stage?
            Nancy Beckman as a nun
            Brenda Hackbarth as a nun
            Dottie Anthony as a nun
            Ron Baldwin as a nun

6. Which ladies have appeared as a nun twice in ACT I productions?
            Rhonda Westergard and Cathi Calderwood
            Nancy Beckman and Dottie Anthony
            LuAnn Urlaub and Cathi Calderwood
            Annette Williams and Rhonda Westergard

7. Name a minister who has appeared on our stage as an undertaker, a reporter, and a Shriner, but never as a minister.

8. Name a minister who has appeared on our stage as a doctor, a mayor, and a Shriner, but never as a minister.

9. In which production did a wedding occur onstage?

10. Name the religion depicted in each of the following shows:
            The Sound of Music
            The Foreigner
            Twigs
            Life with Father
            The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Remember, you don’t have to have all the correct answers to win!
Submit your entries to Act1ofBC@aol.com
or by snail mail to
ACT I of Benton County Trivia Quiz
Box 222, Vinton, Iowa 52349

Answers to Last Month’s Quiz

(Memorable lines from ACT I shows)

1. "Please, sir, I want some more."
spoken by Keith Kriz / Kyle Brewer as Oliver in Oliver!

2. "You are evil and must be destroyed!"
spoken by Nancy Strochein as Truvy in Steel Magnolias.

3. "That’s not spaghetti, it’s linguini!"
spoken by Nancy Beckman as Florence in  The Odd Couple (female version)

4. "Hey! Unto you a child is born!"
spoken by Kim Hanneman / Mandy Peterson as Gladys Herdman in
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

5. "Wa-wa"
The only line spoken by Jessica Coulter as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker

6. "Cigars, cigarettes, nuts . . . "
Spoken by Austin Karr as Sophie Davenport in The Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders

7. "No one here, sir!"
Spoken by Kevin Bookmeier as Rolf in The Sound of Music

8. "Going Down!"
Spoken by Darran Sellers as Old Jim in The Girls in 509

Congratulations to Kevin Bookmeier for submitting the winning entry!