1983-84

GLIMPSES, a group of scenes, dramatic monologues and short playlets written as part of a playwriting/producing workshop at the Walden Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, was our Fall Play is 1983. GLIMPSES had a cast of 24. It was notable for the fact that if one went to both performances, one would have seen two different presentations. Eight of the selections were presented both nights, but Friday’s performance had seven selections which were not seen Saturday, and Saturday’s performance had five selections which were noT seen Friday. The order of performance was different each night. Got it? Rehearsals for GLIMPSES were more like acting classes than traditional rehearsal sessions. Some selections were humorous, some dramatic. The fact that each night’s program included a dozen monologues and only two or four multiple character selections meant that each actor had his or her moment in the spotlight. One of the things I believe was true about GLIMPSES was that every member of the cast walked away proud of what they had done as individuals as well as as a group.

The musical (our 15th) for 1984 was LI’L ABNER, a satiric comedy based on the long running (and still missed by many) comic strip of the same name by Al Capp. LI’L ABNER was not as well known as most of our previous productions and one could stump a good many musical comedy fans by asking them to hum (or even name) any song from the show. However, the staff decided it was time for a comedy, and LI’L ABNER is one of the broadest of comedies.

In picking this show we knew that we would have to rely on the reputation of The Guilderland Players rather than the fame of the show as a box office draw. I think of LI’L ABNER as being fun. The entire staff was back and Paul Krauss even allowed his name to be printed on the back page of the program. Chuck Ciaccio joined the stage crew and became a GP, the only former high school principal to do so. He had been very supportive when he was principal and proved his commitment when he retired.

As I stated, LI’L ABNER is based on a comic strip. Thus, everything visual was in comic strip style. The scenery was in bright colors with heavy black outlines. The plans provided by ScenoGraphics were very adaptable to our main stage and both side stages. The scenery was fun to paint and was outstanding - so outstanding that we won the national ScenoGraphics photo contest. The costumes were also in the comic strip style. Again, bright colors abounded and black trim appeared around pockets and patches. And there were lots of patches. In short, the scenery and costumes looked just like those in the comic strip.

LI’L ABNER has more than 30 named characters, and the cast numbered nearly 60. The cast was fine - a brawny Abner, a lovely Daisy Mae, lots of strange and wonderful people like Earthquake McGoon, General Bullmoose, Moonbeam McSwine, etc.

However, whenever I think of the characters in LI’L ABNER, there are two whose images are sure to make me smile. Mammy and Pappy Yokum (Jen Richman and Scott Burns) got so many laughs in rehearsals, that at times I wished we had started in August. When they added their costumes and makeup, they got laughs without doing anything. All in all, LI’L ABNER was a very even show with lots of laughs. After every show I got lots of notes from various people regarding the just completed production. The correspondence I got regarding LI’L ABNER reveals a great deal. After we announced the show selection for 1984, I got a note, unsigned and on school letterhead, which simply said, “LITTLE (sic) ABNER???!!!!!”. After the show was over, I got a letter from someone who saw the show and who was not related to anyone in the show, It said, in part, “To be honest, I wasn’t greatly enthusiastic about seeing (LI’L ABNER) since I knew very little about it and was unfamiliar with the music. However, after seeing the production Saturday night, I was completely satisfied and entertained. Every aspect of the show was carried out very well and (the) casting was superb!” The transition from the first letter to the second, from skepticism to enthusiasm, was something of which we all could be proud. In the “Notes” section of the program it was mentioned that three staff members had been with the Guilderland Players for all 15 years. Other than myself, they were Bev Harrington and Ellie Vickery.

It is said that 90% of an iceberg is not easily visible. The same might be said of the staff of a musical production. It is people like Bev and Ellie who make theatre possible from behind the scenes. Every year Bev would order and number all the tickets for the musical. She kept the seating charts, thereby ensuring that there would be only one person per seat with almost 100% certainty. She was in the box office every night. She did innumerable jobs which caught us, the planners, by surprise.

Ellie did the makeup without any muss or fuss. She just did it and did it right. A month before dress rehearsal she would come in and look at rehearsals, collect character information sheets, take inventory and then, about two weeks before opening, she would train her “girls” to make the characters in whatever show we were doing come alive.

As I said earlier, it is not possible for me to thank each and every person individually, but 15 years deserves special note. The orchestra for LI’L ABNER numbered 22, three of them being adults. Ticket prices rose to $4. The program was 60 pages long. You may wonder why I keep mentioning the length of the program. The first program in 1970 had 14 pages (one was blank). Some of those pages were ads. Right from the beginning we knew that the program was a source of income. We insisted that it at least pay for itself and that it be of high quality. We also knew that there was profit to be made beyond the cost of the program. Asking the school district for money was a very uncertain business. Raising ticket prices was also uncertain. We wanted to keep ticket prices less expensive than movies in order to sell seats to students who did not have a lot of ready cash.

Somewhere along the line, the speculation about possible profits from ad sales drove us to develop the system we have today. The ad sale has always been difficult for many reasons. It takes valuable time from rehearsal. It takes a tremendous amount of secretarial work. It’s difficult to lay out. And most of all, it’s difficult for many students to summon the courage to go from door to door soliciting ads. Notice that the program for LI’L ABNER was 50% larger than that for BRIGADOON. This was the beginning of the push to sell ads. We later raised the price of the ads which resulted in more income per page. The money we have raised over the years selling ads has contributed much to the ability of the GP to produce first class musicals.

The summer theatre production for 1984 was I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT THIS OLD HOUSE IS REALLY HAUNTED.