Grease Paint Online, May, 2004

Repeats of Favorite Shows From ACT I's first 24 Years Highlight Silver Anniversary Season

It's a special Season of Anniversaries, three to be exact! Our new season 2004 - 2005, which

has been designated ACT I TAKE II, celebrates the 25th anniversary of our community theatre organization, which debuted in April, 1980 with a production of You Can't Take it with You. 2004 is also be a year for two very special fifth anniversaries. Our youth program, ACT I STAGE!, debuted in March, 1999, and our resident venue, Vinton's Palace Theatre, opened for business in November of 1999.

ACT I TAKE II will be a time to look back at our first 85 productions, and to recreate some of those special moments that helped make our first 24 years so special, and to take a second fresh, new look at some old favorites shows. The new season presents three revivals in our Main Stage Series, and our Events Series revisits two popular show concepts with new variations on old themes. Here, then, is our season for 2004 - 2005, ACT I TAKE II.

September 9 - 19, The Palace Theatre
Eric Upmeyer, Director
Gerald Horst, Music Director
Joan Cooling, Choreographer
Originally Presented: October 27 - November 4, 1995
The Old Creamery Theatre Main Stage

The first Broadway musical ever mounted by ACT I, this ever popular show about the von Trapp family singers returns to open our Main Stage Series for this season of revival productions from our first 24 years!

March 5 - 13, 2005, The Palace Theatre
Patrick Lyons, Director
Originally Presented: April 25 & 27, 1980
The Old Creamery Theatre Main Stage

ACT I's first production ever was an obvious choice for a season of revival shows! The show is presented near the original anniversary date of those first performances.

May 6 - 15, 2005 The Palace Theatre
Nancy Beckman, Director
Originally Presented: March 27, 28, 28, 1981
The Old Creamery Theatre Main Stage

First staged during ACT I's second season, this classic comic farce is one of the finest scripts ever presented by our community theatre!

December 3, 4, 5, 2004 The Palace Theatre
Lu Karr, Director
Previous Variety Shows Presented:
Be Our Guest: January 16 & 17, 1998 - Tilford Middle School
That's Entertainment: January 8 & 9, 1999 - Tilford Middle School
I'll Be Home for Christmas: December 3, 4, 5, 1999, The Palace Theatre
Encore! Encore! - September 28, 30, October 1, 2000, The Palace Theatre
Monster Medley Spooktacular - October 12 & 13, 2002, The Ray House

Presented on the fifth anniversary dates of ACT I's first performances at Vinton's Palace Theatre, Live at the Palace celebrates five years of live theatre in our beautiful performance space that has come to mean so much to the Vinton community for the past five years for so many reasons!

February 5, 6, 2005 The Ray House
Gerald and Marcy Horst, Directors
Previous Intermezzo Recitals Presented:
Intermezzo: January 18 & 21, 2001, The Palace Theatre
Intermezzo II: January 19 & 20, 2002, The Ray House
Intermezzo III: Silent Night - December 14 & 15, 2002, The Ray House

Intermezzo (in ter MET zo): A short musical interlude presented between larger works.

For the fourth time, ACT I presents a musical intermezzo at mid season -- a musical recital presented as a diversion from our larger staged play productions!

June 25, 26, & 27, 2004 Benton Community High School Auditorium, Van Horne
Mary Horst, Director

Although not repeating shows from our past, ACT I STAGE! will pay tribute to the first five years of our youth program with displays of past STAGE! shows' memorabilia.

ACT I STAGE! has the honor of opening our Anniversary Season, and does so with a new-to- us performance venue. This is only the second time we have performed outside the Vinton / Garrison area.

The ACT I Ticket information line and Palace Theatre Box Office number is 472-9957! Keep that number handy for our busy season coming up, ACT I TAKE II!

ACT I introduces Second Stage! Summer Theatre Camp in Van Horne! ACT I STAGE! is pleased to announce our expanded summer program. We are now offering Stage! One at the Palace Theatre in Vinton, and for the traveling convenience of our southern Benton County friends, we will hold Second Stage! at the Benton Community High School Auditorium in Van Horne. Second Stage! camp will be held at the Benton Community Auditorium and include orientation, workshops, and three performances of Mother Goose Memoirs.

Mary Horst will coordinate Second Stage! with directors Lois Deerberg, Theresa Thompson, Ann Franzenburg, Kelynn Schulte, Angie Hagen, and Bonnie Lueckenotto. Orientation and workshops June 1 – June 4. Rehearsals begin June 7. Performances June 25, 26 at 7:00 pm and June 27 at 2:00 pm.

Stage! One Summer Theatre Camp, The Adventures of Beatrix Potter, will kick off on Monday, June 7, with Orientation and Workshop Week. Stage! One performances at the Palace Theatre are scheduled for July 9, 10, 11, 16 and 18. Camp Coordinator, Marcy Horst is pleased to announce our Orientation and Workshop directors - Marcy Horst, Shirale Hanson, Sheila Monson, Theresa Werner, Alex Vasquez, & Joan Cooling. Eric Upmeyer and Carolyn Kettler will be facilitating new workshops.

More on these shows next month as we go into production in Vinton and Van Horne!

Our 2003 - 2004 season closed with the comedy Noises Off by Michael Frayn, performed February 27, 28, and 29 and March 5, 6 and 7, 2004 at the Palace Theatre. The show was directed by Ray Bookmeier with Kevin Bookmeier as Technical Director, and was sponsored by Clingman Pharmacy. Featured in the cast were Cathi Calderwood as Dotty, Patti Upmeyer as Vickie, Kathy Akers as Poppy, Laura Zamzow as Belinda, Mark Noe as Selsdon, Ryan Calderwood as Tim, and Rob Glass as Frederick. Mike Modrow made his ACT I debut as Garry and Matt Machula made his debut with us as Lloyd. This fast paced, mad cap farce delighted audiences for six performances! Below we present a few candid shots of the goings on in live performance shots as well as a look at our amazing, revolving set! Sardines, anyone?

For more information and photographs of this production, go to the Noises Off page of our website at act1.org/noises.htm.

The Paul Rudnik comedy I Hate Hamlet, originally scheduled to close our season 2003 - 2004, was shelved after a lackluster turnout for auditions didn't yield a cast. The board hopes to schedule the play during a future season.

Five years ago, in March and May of 1999, the first two productions by our youth program, ACT I STAGE!, were performed. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in an adaptation of the C. S. Lewis novel by Joseph Robinette, was the opening production of our first Children's Theatre Series, and was performed four times on March 12, 13, and 14 at the Wesley Methodist Church in Vinton. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, first of Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, is steeped in Christian allegory. The show was nearly all student produced -- directed by Maggie Karr and Jessica Coulter, with technical director Austin Karr, all then students at WHS. Mark Pingenot was the lighting designer and the fiight coordinator. Featured in the large cast were Josh Deutsch as Peter, Kate Westergard as Susan, Matt Meyer as Edmund, and Haley Ridenhour-McHenry as Luci. The show also featured Morgan Horning as the White Witch, Aaron Murphy as Mr. Tumnus, Ryan Calderwood and Amy Cook as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Kaitlin Karrick as the Unicorn, Stacy Williams as the Centaur, Greg Tucker as Fenris Ulf, Jason Long as the Dwarf, Andy Hanson as the Elf, and John Westergard as the White Stag. The cast also featured two adults, Peter Shawinsky as Aslan the Lion and Steve Arnold as Father Christmas. Other cast members included Clare Horst, Megan Horst, Patrick Horst, Robert Hanson, and Tess Noeller.

The White Witch prepares to kill Edmund as the Dwarf looks on in a dramatic scene from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first ever production by ACT I STAGE!, presented in March, 1999.

For more information about this past production, visit the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/lww.htm.

In May of 1999 we presented the second of our two children's theatre productions, performed in what was then called our McElroy Children's Theatre Series. The Prince and the Pauper was also performed at Wesley United Methodist Church, performed four times on May 8 and 9. The play was an adaptation of Mark Twain's novel by Anne Coulter Martens. In this piece of historical fiction, young Prince Edward, the only son of England's King Henry VIII, becomes involved in an identity mixup with a poor look alike boy from London's worst slum, Tom Canty. When King Henry dies, the helpless young prince must try to prove that he is really the new king. The nearly all student cast featured twins Josh and Kyle Brewer as Prince Edward and Tom Canty. Kate Westergard played Lady Gwen, and Megan Christy debuted as Lady Jane Grey. John Westergard played Lord Hertford, Aaron Murphy was Miles Hendon, and Kordereau Sellers was Bumble. The cast featured two adults, Darran Sellers and Alex Vasquez, and the remainder of the performers included Greg Tucker, Jake Fowler, Derek Ferguson, Jared Helms, Britt Roster, Erin Horst, Lisa Elliott, Kelly Robison, Cody Robison, Dan Greaser, Bree McClenning, Josh Deutsch, Lindsey Renken, Tasha Kauten, Meghan Owens, Matt Meyer, Dakoda Sellers, Kolton Sellers, and Lori Strong. The production was directed by Steve Arnold, assisted by Morgan Horning. Kevin Bookmeier was technical director.

The joys of computer enhanced photography allowed us to place Kyle Brewer and Josh Brewer
on location at the Tower of London for this publicity photo for The Prince and the Pauper, presented
at Wesley United Methodist Church in May of 1999 by ACT I STAGE!

For more information about this past production, visit the Prince and the Pauper show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/pp.htm.

ACT I STAGE! (an acronym for Student Theatre, a Great Experience!) was born from a proposal accompanying a grant application to the McElroy Foundation during the construction of the Palace Theatre. McElroy donated $30,000 to the Palace Project with the understanding that a youth theatre program would be formed which would use the facility, and a portion of the McElroy money was set aside to fund the program. A student committee was appointed by the ACT I board which designed the original concept and gave the group its name. The student committee, called the Youth Board, consisted of Maggie Karr, Jessica Coulter, Kevin Bookmeier, Megan Williams, and Josh Deutsch. They planned and carried out the first season, reading dozens of plays before selecting the final two which were presented five years ago this spring.

In an elaborate fantasy scene, Jesse and Leslie imagine themselves as King and Queen of
Terabithia, battling with a dragon with their woodland subjects in our 1994 production of
Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, staged at the Old Creamery Theatre.

In April of 1994, ACT I presented its first production in which all of the leading roles were played by students. Bridge to Terabithia, a musical adapted by author Katherine Paterson of her Newbery Award winning novel. The play began making the rounds of community theatres soon after it premiered at Stage One Children's Theatre in Louisville in 1990. The ACT I production was performed April 15 - 24, 1994 at the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison, which included special daytime performances for Vinton-Shellsburg students in grades 3 - 6. A massive multi-level set, created by Technical Director Mary Phillips, portrayed both the various interior settings as well as the mountainside retreat that became the kingdom of Terabithia for two precocious pre-teens.

The three young stars of the production were fifth grader Burns Mossman as Jesse Aarons, sixth grader Megan Williams as Leslie Burke, and kindergartner Kim Hanneman as May Belle. Patty Swift portrayed Mrs. Aarons and Orin Calhoun was seen as Mr. Aarons. Others in the cast, all of them in their debuts, were Danielle Richards, Rachel Hagge, Melissa Hanneman, Megan Hanneman, Katie Klosterman, Natalie Hagge, Heidi Husnik, Tiernie Garbers, Tessa Teutken, Shawn Usher, Josh West, Matt Husnik, Kevin Bookmeier, Forest Isbell, Stacy Williams, Shelly Usher, and Heather Shannon. Buster, a Yorkshire terrier, appeared as Prince Terrian. The show was directed by Steve Arnold, assisted by Lee Tjelmland. Eric Upmeyer was stage manager and Patti Upmeyer was Property Mistress. The choreographer was Joan Cooling.

For more information about this past production, visit the Bridge to Terabithia show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/tera.htm.

Five sisters, four of them with husbands, are the subject of Mornings at Seven,
presented by ACT I in April, 1989 at the Old Creamery Theatre.

Fifteen years ago on the stage of the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison, ACT I presented the warm hearted comedy Mornings at Seven, by Paul Osborn. The show, directed by Jillian g. Lockard, is the story of middle aged sisters who live next door to each other and have more than their share of conflict. The show featured Jim Hilliard, Jill Roberts, Nancy Beckman, Richard Paulus, Robert Fischer, Nancy Stroschein, and three of our departed and fondly remembered members -- the late Geneva Bridge, Elizabeth Young, and David Nolte.

The crew for the production included assistant director Dean Beckman and Stage Manager Faith Brown, and a large behind the scenes crew.

For more information about this past production, visit the Mornings at Seven show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/mornings.htm.

Dorothy Albert played a 40s-plus expectant mother in our 1984
comic production Never Too Late, presented at the Old Creamery Theatre.

Twenty years ago this spring ACT I presented the domestic comedy Never Too Late, in which Dorothy (Bliss) Albert and Orin Calhoun portrayed a middle couple who discover they are expecting a second child. The show ran April 13, 14, and 15, 1984, at the Old Creamery Theatre. Also in the cast were Anna Bess Rice, Marsh Berry, Brent Rolland, Bob LaGrange, Milt Jensen, Kyle R. Paulson, and Richard Paulus. The show was directed by veteran Old Creamery Actor Steve Shaffer, with Jerry Bickel as Technical Director. Anna Fiedler served as Assistant Director and Deb Fowler was the Stage Manager.

For more information about this past production, visit the Never Too Late show page on this website by clicking this link or by going to act1.org/never.htm.

For a look at a loot at all ACT I's past productions, go to the Scrapbook section of our website at act1.org/scrapbook.htm.

FYI~ ACT I is in the market for a new, larger storage space. We have seriously outgrown the Karr sheds. Please let Marcy Horst, 472-5518, g.horst@www.mebbs.com, know if you know of any other available storage.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of our youth program, ACT I STAGE!, which after nearly a year of planning opened in March of 1999 with a student directed production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. How many of these questions about the first five seasons of our youth program can you answer?

1. What was the first ACT I STAGE! production to be presented at the Palace Theatre?

2. What was the first musical to be presented by our youth program?

3. All of the early ACT I STAGE! shows had at least token adult participation as members of cast. What was the first production by ACT I STAGE! in which no adults appeared at all?

4. What earlier show by ACT I, produced before the conception of ACT I STAGE!, also feature no adults at all in the cast?

5. In recent years, ACT I STAGE! has frequently presented original material, either in the form of scripts or music, most notably last year's American Hysterical. What was the first original script presented by ACT I STAGE!?

6. What event appeared at the very end of the stories of each of the first two ACT I STAGE! productions?

How many of these past ACT I productions that have featured a play within a play can you name?

1. A family of juvenile delinquents turn a church program into something utterly unique.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2. Although this play within a play -- referred to as a Boxing Day Pantomime -- is never actually performed as part main play, its madcap rehearsals provide the backdrop for the even more madcap carryings on of the characters. It Runs in the Family

3. A third rate radio musical program is interrupted by murder in another madcap romp.
The Boardwalk Melody Hour Murders

4. This past show featured a community theatre group not unlike our own, producing a show written by a local author, where everything possible goes wrong. Play On

5. This show is about an acting company producing a musical version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Kiss Me, Kate

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!

Minutes of meetings of past ACT I board meetings 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.

ACT I TAKE II will be a year to look back, and a year to look forward. It still amazes me how hard our little community works to produce live theatre, and how valuable the results are to the community. Congratulations to all who have made the first 24 years so successful!

Answers to Our Last Quiz