After a 2-month Hiatus

I don't know if anybody even registered the absence of my regular rants on this blog, but anybody who came to the The True Story of John Yates Beall probably knows why I have been apparently unaccounted for the past 2 months. However, the task of adequately thanking everyone is not only daunting but an object lesson in the “cost” of theater. 

Yes, Julia Kaye Rohlf (Margaret Chew) is being paid, but the amount is inadequate to the spectacular demands of the part.  Most audience members were genuinely amazed and freely acknowledged the obvious difficulty. As director, I am more impressed with the subtler aspects.

But even the youngest members of the cast had plenty to remember, spent lots of time in rehearsal and were exhausted by late Saturday.

The real cost of theater is the minutia. I do not believe the set would have had the impact it did without the donation of the use of three valuable antique pieces: a desk (the McGuires), a chair (Mary Green) and a Victorian table (Bob & Bernadette Staner). The authenticity they lent is incalculable.

How much Sister LaDonna Manternach’s superb song choices and the musicians’ renditions of that part of our cultural legacy is likewise immeasurable. Ditto, Connie Simon (Maggie’s dress), Jackie Trumm (Ada’s) and the other seamstresses.

Perhaps the only people being paid what they are worth are tech folks who brought the equipment to project the images ($300+) up from Davenport.

Back in the depths of winter, Steve Otting donated the first draft of pix from the archives of Tri-Museum Nora Brown and husband Rob, who have both the equipment and sophistication, created the final power point. My New Mexico computer geek nephew is even as I write refining the film to submit to Galena.

We hope to have another performance Labor Day weekend, which will aid in paying this deserving group.

Of course, this doesn't even mention generous donations that will allow us  to pay the above-mentioned, not what they deserve. Theater isn't a profit-making proposition. 

And you don't need even half a critical eye to see that!

S. Keyron McDermott