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Ole Children's Theatre
"Alice's Adventures: In Wonderland & Behind the Looking Glass"
With just a few weeks before opening night, the cast
of “Alice’s Adventures: In Wonderland & Behind the Looking Glass” are in
the middle of very productive rehearsals! With summer itself being a
challenge in working with kids due to baseball, circus, and family
vacations, Director Cari Scott says they’ve all been working hard and
are committed. Another challenge is the elaborate costumes in the show.
With kings and queens, rabbits, cards, and even a Chesire cat (played by
Courtney Swanson), many of the cast’s family members are doubling as
seamstresses. Scott said the kids are learning that they not only have
to know their character’s lines, but they really have to become that
character in the way they talk and with their body language. She told me
“We definitely have a colorful cast of characters! Their facial
expressions are enough to crack me up. We’ve also got fantastic, fun
music. I can’t say I have a favorite scene right now because I love the
whole story. My favorite character in the book was always the Mad Hatter
or the March Hare (played by Ethan Slyder), but seeing the kids on
stage, bringing them all to life, makes it tough to choose.” The lead
role of Alice is being portrayed by Avery Jackson. Board member Debby
Mullikin sat in on a recent rehearsal. “Avery is completely off book
already and she brings a realness to Alice. Watching Avery makes you
relate to Alice, makes her believable.” The annual children’s show opens
on Friday, July 25th at 7 pm at the Depot. Other show dates are:
Saturday, July 26 at 7 pm; Sunday, July 27 at 2 pm; Friday, August 1 at
7 pm; Saturday, August 2 at 7 pm; & Sunday, August 3 at 2 pm. You can
reserve tickets now by calling 472-3680. “Alice’s Adventures: In
Wonderland & Behind the Looking Glass” is adapted by Dan Roberts and
produced by special arrangement by Contemporary Drama Service.
Tickets!... get your tickets!
The Ole theatrical committee is gearing up for another
solicitation drive. This year the season ticket package is the best
value ever. The board has increased the single ticket price to $12 per
ticket at the door, however, our season ticket is still $30 or $7.50 per
show. What a deal! But we need your help. For the last few years our
season ticket sales have fallen and we need to stop that trend. We will
continue to send out season ticket brochures to our mailing list. We
need your help to expand the list. I have to believe we all know people
who have come to a show now and then and enjoyed the performance. Ask
them if they would like to be a season ticket holder. With gas prices as
they are, I am sure your friends will look for more local entertainment.
Ole puts on good shows, shows everyone should be proud of. We have a
limited advertising budget and unfortunately, we haven't used the best
advertising we have available and that is you—telling people what great
shows they are missing. Please send me names of people who you think
would like to be season ticket holders. Send me their name, address and
phone number and we will send them a season ticket form. E-mail me, Dick
Schaffhausen at:
dickanddonna2@comcast.net. We only seat 65 people in the depot with
our new larger chairs. There is no reason we can't sell out every
performance but we need your help. So talk up Ole shows. Let your
friends know there is something going on in Peru. Season ticket
information will be going out the first week of August. We have four
great shows on the slate: The Miracle Worker, See How They Run, Crimes
of the Heart, and Suite Hearts. We also have two talented seasoned
directors and two new directors, who will bring their vision to our
stage. Season tickets also make a unique gift. If you have any
questions, call 472-3680.
Wanna run the show?!
Have you thought about directing an Ole Olsen
production? If so, watch your email and the Peru Tribune for info on our
upcoming “Director’s Workshop” in August. We’ll cover all you need to
know to put on a show– choosing and breaking down a script, stage
directions, preparing a budget, auditions, blocking, set design,
backstage assignments, marketing and many other aspects of directing.
The workshop is free to members. If you know you’d like to attend, just
call Debby at 469-7052.
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June 30, 2008
The 2008-2009 governing boards of the Ole Olsen
Memorial Theater have been selected by our membership. The Board of
Directors will be:
President - Dick Schaffhausen
Vice President - Jeff Carnagau
Secretary - Cheryl Jaquay
Financial Officer - Dave Zehring
Legal Advisor - Alan Burke
Marketing - Nila Love
The theatrical committee board will be:
President - Rosemary Burke
Vice President - Alan Myers
Secretary - Cathy Converse
Treasurer - Tammy Hileman
Publicity - Debby Mullikin
Tickets - Pat Piper
Producer - John Hileman
Hospitality - Carlota Eagley
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"Miracle Worker" cast
Director Debby Mullikin has cast the 1st show of next season and they'll
begin rehearsals over the summer. "Miracle Worker" by William Gibson
will be presented Oct 1-4 and 10-12 at the Peru Depot. After making her
stage debut in last season's "Laugh-a-Go-Go" Kristen Milroy will portray
Helen Keller in the story of a young girl who is both blind and deaf.
Playing her teacher, Annie Sullivan, will be the multi-talented Sammi
DeTurk. Rounding out the cast as Captain Keller will be Ole veteran Dick
Schaffhausen. Tammy Hileman portrays Helen's mother, Kate. James Keller
will be played by Bill Crawford. Other supporting roles are: Jayne Kesler as Aunt Ev; Twanna Jiles as the Keller's
maid; newcomer Steve Leonhardt as
Annie's professor; Dan Brown as the doctor; Jessi Ireland as Martha; Constantine Dordoni as Percy;
playing Annie's deceased
young brother Jimmie will be Blair Brown; Anne Loy will be the
assistant director; Courtney Swanson will be the
student director. Swanson will direct the scene where Annie leaves
the blind school to take her position as Helen's teacher. Playing the blind children
will be four Ole newcomers: Katie Milroy, Carrie Smith, Bryanna
Snow, & Danielle Brown.
Annual Meeting
The annual meeting to vote
for next season's officers will be held at 6:30pm on Tuesday, June
17 at the Peru Depot. Those running on the business board include:
Those running on
the theatrical committee are:
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Rosemary Burke or Kelly Voss - Chairman
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Alan Myers - Vice Chairman
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Cathy Converse - Secretary
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Pat Piper - Ticket Chair
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Debby Mullikin - Publicity Chair
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John Hileman - Producer
Only paid members are allowed to vote in the election and must be
present.
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April 16, 2008
Ole Banquet This year’s banquet
theme will be "The Best of Ole Olsen!" Ole member Shannon Robison came
up with the idea for attendees to come attired as their favorite
character from any Ole Olsen show. Naturally, we don't just mean you
should represent a character you have played. You may choose any role
and we know everyone has a favorite character they’d love to bring to
life again at the banquet for all to enjoy! The banquet will take place
on May 17th at the Maennerchor here in Peru. Mark your
calendars! The banquet committee will provide delectable baked meats,
while asking all attendees to bring a favorite dish. There will
also be a cash bar. Cost is just $10 per person. Call Carlota to make
your reservation at 765-475-0238 or email at:
florida_jane@yahoo.com
The festivities will begin at 6 pm. Don’t miss it—reserve your seat now!
“Night & Day: A Soapy Cole” will be the title
of Ole Olsen’s 4th annual original Cole Porter revue.
Following the tradition of the previous shows, the music of Porter is
again being placed in a modern day setting, this time in a daytime soap
opera. In the last three years Ole’s Cole Porter revue has become a
highlight of the Cole Porter weekend festivities, including its opening
night premiere dinner and performance. The show will again be written &
directed by Kurt Schindler. Schindler is in negotiations with Ivy Tech
for use of their stage this year. This would allow for more seating and
all the shows could be performed in that location. Performance dates
are: Sat, June 14 at 8 pm & Sun, June 15 at 2 pm Fri, June 21 at 8 pm &
Sat, June 22 at 8 pm. The show is “provided with support from Arts
United of Greater Fort Wayne, the Indiana Arts Commission, & the
National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.” Call now to reserve
your seats!
Thanks!
A
great big THANK YOU to all of the Ole members who came to help us with
this year’s most successful Children’s Theatre Workshop. Over 121 Miami
County children experienced a great two days - learning about theater,
and preparing and performing their one-act plays. The 3rd-5th graders
traveled to Tipton and to Beef & Boards to see Charlotte’s Web and talk
to the cast. 6th-8th grade participants experienced the dinner theater
excitement of West Side Story at Beef & Boards and meeting the cast.
Thanks to Angel Mumaw for helping to arrange our trips. We also brought
in the Children’s Theatre Institute from Indianapolis to perform
Treasure Island for 3rd – 8th graders in all three county schools. Two
very talented actors represented nine different cast characters in the
production. The committee is now busy setting up next year’s workshop
which will be bigger and better then ever. In addition to continuing
last year’s format, we are adding 1st and 2nd grades next year. Here are
some other upcoming events: Riverwalk
Art – On July 12th in conjunction with the Miami County Community
Foundation, CTW kids will put on three one-act plays. They will build a
portable set and paint canvases so that the sets can be transported and
reused. Shakespeare Is Here – Jayne Kessler will conduct a four day
workshop studying the history of Shakespeare’s time and preparing “All
the World’s a Stage” to be performed. They will also complete an
Elizabethan craft project. Date TBA Readers’ Theater – we are creating a
club in each school system to stage a readers’ theater and perform in
the school. Playwright’s Workshop – several CTW kids expressed a desire
to explore play writing in depth so we’re planning on bringing Dexter
Brigham, a very experienced and talented artist from Illinois to help
each create a play. These plays will then be showcased in a Miami County
Children’s Playwright Festival. We’ve received many wonderful comments
from parents and visitors. Thanks to all of our volunteers and helpers,
both from Ole and from our community. Our kids are blessed to have so
many people helping them discover the joys of theater. Members of the
CTW committee are: Pat Piper, Tammy Hileman, Angel Mumaw, Cari Scott,
Jayne Kesler, and Jenni Marsh.
New Season slate
Submissions are in and the theatrical committee has
chosen four unique shows for the slate of Ole Olsen’s 45th season. The
membership will be asked to vote on these plays at the annual banquet on
May 17th.
The first show of the season will be the classic “The
Miracle Worker” written by William Gibson. This stirring dramatization
of the story of Helen Keller is one of the most successful and warmly
admired plays of the modern stage. Blind and mute, nobody knows what
Helen's fate might have been had she not come in contact with teacher
Annie Sullivan, an Irish woman who had also been born blind. The cast
includes: two girls age 8-12 to portray Helen & Martha; a man in his
early 20’s to play her half brother James; two men age 40-60 as Captain
Keller & the doctor, one boy age
10-14 to play Percy, five women 30-70 in the roles of Kate Keller, Annie
Sullivan, Annie’s confident, Aunt Ev, and the maid Viney; and several
elementary age students to play blind children. Debby Mullikin will
direct and hopes to enlist a parent of the girl cast as Helen to serve
as her assistant director. The show will be cast early in June with
rehearsals to begin in mid August.
The second show on the slate will
be the comedy “See How They Run” written by Philip King and codirected by
Tammy Hileman and Pat Piper; assistant director Carlota Eagley. The cast calls for six men and three women. This rib
tickling farce centers on an American actor and actress (he is now
stationed with the air force in England), a cockney maid who has seen
too many American movies, an old maid who "touches alcohol for the first
time in her life," four men in clergyman suits presenting the problem of
which is which, for disguised as one is an escaped prisoner, and a
sedate Bishop aghast at all these goings on and the trumped up stories
they tell him Assisting Hileman will be assistant directors Pat Piper
and Carlota Eagley. Auditions will be
held in August.
Making her directorial debut, Carlota Eagley takes on
the 3rd selection for the season, “Crimes of the Heart” by Beth Henley.
The scene is in Mississippi, where the three Magrath sisters have
gathered to await news of the family patriarch, their grandfather, who
is living out his last hours. Lenny, the oldest sister, is 30,
unmarried, and facing diminishing marital prospects; Meg, the middle
sister, is back home after a failed singing career on the West Coast;
while Babe, the youngest, is out on bail after having shot her husband
in the stomach Assisting Eagley with the cast of 4 women and 2 men will
be Rosemary Burke. Auditions will be in early December.
Rounding out the year will be Bryan Bertoline
directing “Suite Hearts” a romantic comedy written by Billy Van Zandt
and Jane Milmore. A young couple from Pennsylvania checks into a posh
New York hotel to fill their weekend with bliss, only to have it filled
with strangers. Timothy and his wife have inadvertently booked the same
honeymoon suite as Frankie and Wanda, an older couple from New Jersey.
After they scuffle over the accommodations, no one is where or with whom
they should be. During the course of the evening, Timothy grows into a
man, Elizabeth learns about trust, Frankie learns to respect women and
Wanda learns to respect herself. The cast is 3 men and 2 women.
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January 14, 2008
1) Director Harry Morrow has set the dates for
auditions for Ole’s last production of the season, Neil Simon’s
“Barefoot in the Park.” The auditions will be Sun, Feb 24 and Mon, Feb
25 at 7 pm each night at the Depot. The cast calls for a young couple in
their 20’s, the mother-in-law, two men 35-55, and a delivery person of
any age or gender. Show dates for “Barefoot in the Park” are May 1-4 and
May 9-11. Morrow is ready to get started, saying after working backstage
the last few years, he’s anxious to direct again.
2) Ole Olsen’s Children’s production isn’t until
summer and as far away as that seems, the committee is already hard at
work making preparations. They have chosen “Alice in Wonderland” for
2008. The cast for “Alice in Wonderland” will require 16-18 children
ages 8-18. Committee president Cari Scott will not only oversee the
committee in the coming year, she will also be directing. “I chose this
show because it is my personal favorite fairy tale. We can all relate to
Alice in some way...wanting life to be adventurous sometimes, yet all
the while not wanting to be too far from home. Lewis Carroll is my
favorite author.” Scott and her committee members are hopeful that any
children interested in being a part of “Alice in Wonderland” will attend
the Children’s Theater Workshop later this month. “The workshop will
give them a taste of what it will be like to actually be on stage,”
Scott said. Other members of the committee include: Jerry Butler, Jayne
Kesler, Nancy Bender, and Devonna Gould.
3) Guilty or Not Guilty? That is what you’ll be
asked to decide in Ole Olsen Memorial Theater’s next production set to
open at the Miami County Courthouse next month. “Night of January 16th”
is an interactive murder trial and the 12 jurors will be chosen from the
audience in attendance at each show. This comedy/drama will keep you
guessing right up until the last witness.
The show was cast in November and rehearsals began just before
Christmas. “I have a remarkable cast and have put a new spin on the
original script written in 1938. I’ve even enlisted the help of local
attorney, Jeff Sinkovics, to update some of the language and legal
procedures to make it more understandable,” Mullikin said.
The main players include: Kate Hinman as Judge Wilma Heath; Pat Piper as
the court bailiff; Kurt Schindler as DA Fred Flint; Tammy Hileman as
Defense Attorney Elle Stevens; and Samantha DeTurk as the Defendant
Karen Andre. Mullikin says that Schindler, Hileman, and DeTurk will
really showcase their acting talent as they adjust their characters for
each show to help influence the verdict. “It’s like playing it two
different ways,” she said.
Portraying witnesses are: Jerry Butler as the medical examiner, Kelly
Voss as the custodian’s wife, Alan Myers as the detective, Matt Swanson
as a police officer, Mary Holland as the deceased’s widow, Stu Sullivan
as her wealthy father, Tina Foust as a handwriting expert, Twanna Jiles
as an exotic dancer, Christy Sullivan as the Swedish housekeeper, and
Bill Crawford as the foreign bookkeeper. Others appearing in the show
are: Carlota Eagley as the DA’s assistant, Blane Holland as the defense
attorney’s assistant, Laura Stroud as the matron, and Harry Morrow as
the court clerk. Mullikin is pleased with every single choice she made
in casting. She says newcomer, 16 year old Matt Swanson, has been the
biggest surprise. “He is such a natural. Audiences are going to love
him,”
she said.
To add to the realism of the trial, Mullikin added media reporters to
the show who will pass out programs in the form of a newspaper page
before the show and will also talk with audience members during the jury
deliberations, which will be limited to 15 minutes. Reporters will be:
Erin Tomlinson, Courtney Voss, Dan Pearson, Jerra Moreland, and Rob
Stanley.
The trial opens on Thursday, Feb. 21 with dinner theater at the Siding.
All performances will be staged in the Miami County Courthouse’ Circuit
Courtroom. Other evening performances are Fri, Feb 22; Sat, Feb 23; Fri,
Feb 29; and Sat, March 1; all beginning at 7:30pm. Matinees will be held
on Sun, Feb 24 & Sun, March 2 at 2pm. Mullikin is very excited that a
tour group from Indianapolis has already made 47 reservations. So make
yours now by calling 472-3680.
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