Darran and Teri and their sons, Kordereau, Dakoda, and Kolton have been active in ACT I for several years. Darran, a roofing engineer for Howard R Green Company in Cedar Rapids and a member of the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School board, has been on stage many times in a broad variety of roles. He excels in comedy (Said the Spider to the Spy, The Girls in 509 and Twigs,) drama (The Night of January 16, The Miracle Worker, The Sound of Music,) and we discovered during Oliver! that he’s a pretty fair singer as well. Darran has served on the ACT I board in the past and has also lent us his professional expertise as a member of the Facilities Committee working on the Palace Project.

The new home of Darran and Teri Sellers
and their three sons on the edge of Vinton.

    Son Kordereau (and here we offer the obligatory pronunciation guide - Core DARE oh) is a sixth grader with several acting credits, including appearances in Oliver!, How to Eat Like a Child, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Kordereau’s most important and most unique role was that of the memory of Jimmy Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, in which he died onstage three times each performance. His younger brothers Dakoda, in third grade, and Kolton, a second grader, also both appeared in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Teri, although she’s never appeared on stage, helps with makeup and props. Teri works at First Trust Bank in Cedar Rapids and likes to do ceramics.

Four year old Dakoda atop Mary Phillips following a performance
of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, his debut show.

    The boys’ names were selected by Teri with Darran devising their rather unique spellings. Darran says he decided to let Teri name the boys and he would name the girls. Needless to say, Darran never got to name any babies!

    Darran and Teri think ACT I is a wonderful opportunity for their family to participate in activities that not only benefit themselves but also the entire community. They feel "ACT I will grow dramatically after the Palace Project is complete. ACT I has had excellent attendance over the past years in facilities that are less than comfortable for the audience and cast. A new, modern facility will not only give our directors and stage workers a wonderful venue, it will keep our audience comfortable. We all know a comfortable audience is a happy audience."

    The Sellers family has been absent from ACT I so far this season due to working on their new home, which they will move into sometime before November 25. The home will be quite a contrast from the much more modest residence they are leaving. Built on a two acre lot, the home’s striking roof line is only the first of many dramatic elements. Inside, the living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, and foyer merge into one large, open space with an eleven foot ceiling and three sided fireplace at the center. The south wall of the home is almost entirely windows, including three sets of French doors. A large master bedroom suite is secluded at the opposite end of the home from the boys’ wing. An especially unique element of the home is the all steel framework for both the interior and exterior walls and the roof.

    Drawing on his own considerable building skills, Darran is doing much of the work on the home himself, but this has had its drawbacks, including several minor injuries. Darran injured his hand as the very last interior bolt was fastened, and Kordereau required 4 stitches recently.

    We wish the Sellers family every happiness in their new home and a speedy completion to their project so that we can get them back onstage once again!