T• A• G Lines!

The Newsletter of the THEATRE ARTS GUILD, INC. ~Nov., 2001~ July, 2002

TAG Nites Out

Thursday, July 11t h – *B & D ProductionsThe Music Man, 7:30 p.m. (Performing at *Chanticleer)

Thursday, July 25th – *Grande Olde Players1940’s Radio Hour, 7:30 p.m.

Please support these theatres as they generously open their doorswith your donation to the TAG Scholarship Fund!

(Write checks to TAG - it’s deductible!)

In May, we introduced this column in order to give our readershipa better understanding of how the theatre review process works lo-cally. Each month we publish one or two questions we presented tolocal reviewers, along with their answers. We asked the followingpeople seven “starter” questions:

Meg Arader - Freelance Writer, The ReaderJim Delmont – Senior Reviewer, Omaha World Herald

Julien Fielding – (former) Entertainment Editor, Daily NonpareilTimothy Schaffert - Editor in Chief, The Reader

Tim Siragusa - Freelance Writer, The ReaderAaron McNally Zavitz – Former Freelance Writer, The Reader

[Send your questins to taglines@cox.net.]

Fourth Question:If other reviews have been printed prior to yours,

do you read them before, or after(or none-of-the-above)?

Julien Fielding - I try not to be biased by other reviews, so I neverread them before I review a show.

Jim Delmont - I never read reviews before seeing a play or movieand rarely read play reviews after seeing one. I do read movie re-views for little facts or odd bits I may have missed.

Meg Arader - I love this question, because I have a very specificanswer. I read other reviews (when available) BEFORE I write myreview but AFTER I see the production. This goes for movies andbooks as well.

Here’s why. When I started reviewing films, I found that, with theInternet, movie reviews at your fingertips are legion. And I discov-ered that everybody would write about the same things. 20 reviewswould go on and on about, for example, Nicole Kidman’s skin toneor something. Seriously, the points are often valid and interesting,but I write for an alternative paper. I think it is my job to present analternative viewpoint. The thing about reviews, of course, is there isnever enough room to write about more than a fraction of the issuesand emotions raised by a piece of art. So you have to be selective, andI read other reviews so I may try to select a focus different than whateveryone else has selected. Well, the same goes for local theater. Ifthe World Herald or the Omaha Weekly has taken one tact with theirreview, I try to focus on another aspect for mine. I think people whoenjoy reading reviews read more than one, and I want to give themsomething different. I read other reviews AFTER I see the actual pro-duction to prevent other reviewers’ viewpoints from coloring my ex-perience.

Tim Siragusa - Yes, I talk to other reviewers and yes; I get the realdish on stuff from them. No, I’ll never crack and spill the things that

Ask the Reviewerget spilled when things crack open. Like beans, maybe.

(Item: Most of the reviewers I talk to hold the cultural institutionsof this town in high esteem. But it is in an actor’s best interest to thinkthat the reviewer wishes her dead, or at least sterilized. Feeling like anunderdog, I find, makes for a better performance.)

Aaron Zavitz - Yes, I read other people’s reviews and I tried toplagiarize as often as I could. Just kidding. I like to read them beforeI write, because I don’t like to repeat anything—if I have the samethought, I want to write it differently. They also help for the very factthat if I forgot to take a program for the show, I could check otherreviewer’s articles to get the cast with the correct spellings. I also readthem to know that my article will be better. Sometimes I read them fora good laugh.❧

Important Upcoming TAG Dates:

Nominations Announcement Night – Monday, July 8,REMEMBER: The Awards Nominee Announcements Night will be held at Club Joy, located at 1516 Jones in downtown Omaha, at 7 p.m. The

Cash Bar will be open. Kristi Pederson and Liz Heim will emcee the Event and make sure that we hear from two special “characters.”The Club’s projection, sound, lighting and general facilities are great

too, so come and have a fun informal evening!(The Club will be closed to the public, of course!)

Final Awards Ballots Due – Postmark by August 1Awards Banquet Reservations Due – By August 2

Don’t forget to make your reservation for the banquet during July.Please note that, with very few exceptions (such as our Scholarship

winners), all TAG members pay to attend the banquet (It helps to keepa complex event as simple as possible, and to make it pay for itselfas nearly as possible!) and payment must be sent with your

reservation card, or made on-line with a credit card via StageTix atwww.stagetix.com.

Awards Banquet & Program – Sunday, August 11

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On Stage News

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*The Magic of The Muse Theatre presents TheNerd, a farcical comedy about an architect,Willum, whose life is invaded by Rick, whosaved his life during the Viet Nam war. Theproblem is that when Rick shows up on hisdoorstep—they have never met—Willum re-alizes that this guy is a total nightmare! Theoutrageous twists and turns will make youlove this show, especially the ending. Theshow runs for 4 weekends, Thursday, Fridayand Saturday, from June 20th - July 13th at1316 Jones Street. The doors open at 6:30 anddinner begins at 7Pm. Show starts at 8PM.The price are as follows; $24.95 for show anddinner, $17.00 for show and desert, and $13.50for show only. Senior, student, and group dis-counts are available. Call 934-5600 for reser-vation information.❧From the writer who brought you the ac-claimed film “American Beauty” comes aplay that is as beautiful and moving as it isfunny. Five identically-clad bridesmaids joy-ously discover a common bond of friend-ship and heartache in this wickedly funny,irreverent and touching celebration ofwoman’s spirit. The *Blue Barn Theatreproudly presents Five Women Wearing TheSame Dress, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday throughSunday, June 20th through July 17th. Adults -$15. Students/Seniors - $12. Make reserva-tions on-line at bluebarn.org, or by calling345-1576. *Kevin Lawler directs a cast fea-turing the talents of Jessalyn Waldron, Jes-sica Hutchinson, Teri Fender, *DianeWatson, *Erika Hall, and Nick Jones. Cur-tain Cash Certificates accepted here!❧LOOK FOR RALSTON—IN BELLEVUE!This summer *Ralston Community Theatrepresents it’s annual summer musical at the*Bellevue Little Theatre. Summer renovationsto the RCT theatre necessitated finding a newhome for their production of Grease. The BLThas graciously agreed to lease RCT their spacefor the production: This proves that the metroarea community theatres truly support eachother—we are family. Remaining performancedates are July 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 7:30 pm; July7 at 2:00 pm AND 7:00 pm; July 14 at 2:00pm. All performances are at the *BellevueLittle Theatre. Tickets are: Adults $15, Stu-dents/Seniors $12, TAG Members $10. We arekeeping the same RCT phone # for reserva-tions; 339-5867. The Staff includes *ToddUhrmacher (Director), *Robin Klusmire(Stage Manager), *Ryan Pivonka (Vocal Di-rector), Kay M. Johnson (Orchestra Director),

(Throughout this publication, an asterisk (*) denotes a TAG member.)

and *Jerry R. Ditter (Choreographer). Includedin the cast are *Robby Valenta (Danny), Jen-nifer Miller-Buckingham (Sandy), *RyanPivonka (Kenickie), and Melanie Lampe-Walters (Rizzo), plus a supporting cast of 40members. Curtain Cash Certificates acceptedhere!❧

It’s still Neil Simon’s favorite year. In 1953Americans gathered ‘round their televisionsevery Saturday night to laugh at the zany on-camera antics of Sid Caesar. You can find outwhat kind of zany antics went on behind thecamera until July 20th as the *Circle Theatrepresents Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rdFloor. Why the “23rd Floor?” It was there inthe RCA Building in NYC, that Neil Simon,Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks and others wrote andperformed some of the best live comedyanyone’s ever laughed at...and chances are sowill you. Catch Neil Simon’s lively comedyat the *Circle Theatre in the lower level ofCentral Presbyterian Church at 726 South 55th

Street, June 27th through July 20th on Thurs-day, Friday and Saturday nights. Doors openat 6:30pm with dinner served at 7:00pm andthe show starting at 8:00pm. Tickets for din-ner and show are $20 and show only ticketsare $12. Students and seniors get a $2 dis-count. The entrees for this production includessliced baked ham with scalloped potatoes,baked chicken and veggie lasagna. Cheese-cakes, cakes and beverages will also be avail-able. Featuring: J. Michael Lee, *Jerry Longe,Rob Baker, Ben Birkholtz, *Laura Marr &Brian Barratt.❧The cabaret Starting Here, Starting Nowopened June 28 and runs through July 13 at

the *Dundee Dinner Theatre. It will run Thurs-day-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.A la carte appetizers, drinks and desserts avail-able. Doors open 45 minutes before showtime. Tickets are $15.00 per person (no dis-counts). The cast includes *Keith Allerton,*Beth Asbjornson and *Rebecca Noble. Di-rected by Jim Fritzler, with music directionby *Mitch Fuller. Box office phone is 558-8535. Curtain Cash Certificates acceptedhere!❧The *Shelterbelt Theatre presents ChristopherDurang’s The Marriage Of Bette And BooJune 28 to July 21, Fridays and Saturdays at 8p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Winner of the ObieAward, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, is abrilliant and coruscatingly funny dissection ofmarriage and the family in contemporary—and Catholic—America, by our theatre’s mas-ter satirist. A critical and popular success inits production by New York’s Public Theatre,the play is both devastatingly perceptive andwildly comic as it skewers its assorted vic-tims with joyfully relentless precision. As theplay begins Bette and Boo are being united inmatrimony, surrounded by their beaming fami-lies. But as the further progress of their mar-riage is chronicled it becomes increasinglyclear that things are not working out quite ashoped for. The birth of their son is followedby a succession of stillborns; Boo takes todrink; and their respective families are oddlots to say the least: His father is a sadistictyrant, who refers to his wife as the dumbestwoman in the world; while Bette’s side in-cludes a psychotic sister who endures lifelongagonies over her imagined transgressions anda senile father who mutters in unintelligiblegibberish. For solace and counsel they all turnto Father Donnally, a Roman Catholic priestwho dodges their questions by impersonating(hilariously) a strip of frying bacon. The playmoves wickedly through three decades of di-vorce, alcoholism, madness and fatal illness—all treated with a farcical brilliance. *DonNguyen directs a cast of eleven, including*Jennifer Gilg, *J. Todd Reagan, *D. LaureenPickle, *Liz Heim, *Mary Carrick, *DavidSindelar, *Andrew Mills, *Abby Gregor,*Fred Goodhew, *Mark Morello, and BarryCarman. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10for seniors, students and TAG members. Theshow runs from June 28 to July 21 for fourweekends. Friday and Saturday shows start at8pm. Sunday shows start at 6pm. We acceptTAG Curtain Cash gift certificates, too! Make

Glory’s DO’s & DON’T’sThere is a highly communicable dis-ease running rampant in Omaha’stheater community. It’s calledEgomaximus. The infested person ismost likely to say “You MUST comeand see me in my next play. I reallydon’t have time to see your show, butmake plans to see mine. I’m wonder-ful.” The infected forgets there areother fine people working theirbutts off to prepare the best the-ater possible. And we’re all in needof an audience. If you’re gettingeyes too bright with head swelling,this Doctor’s suggestion is: take twotickets and call me in the morning. [Contributed by a TAG founder—Ed.]

On Stage News

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reservations at 341-2757 or purchase ticketsonline at www.shelterbelt.org. The Shelterbeltis located at 3225 California Street.❧*The Lofte Theatre opens Bye Bye BirdieJuly 5 in Manley, NE. The show dates are inthe flyer as: July 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19,20, and 21. Curtain time: Thur., Fri. & Sat.-8:00P.M. Sun.-7:00P.M. Tickets $8.00. Res-ervations: (402) 267-5400.❧*B & D Productions, in cooperation withChanticleer Community Theater, presents TheMusic Man. *Dwayne Ibsen will direct andcostume the production. Jerry Gray will be themusic director and Bill Bohannon will be thechoreographer. Bright Spot Lighting Designs,Inc. will light the show and *Rhonda Hall willbe the props manager. *Jane Keller will be thestage manager. Production dates are: July 12– 28 with performances on Friday and Satur-day nights at 7:30 and Sunday afternoons at2:00. Thursday, July 11 has been designatedas a TAG Nite Out preview with donationproceeds going to the TAG ScholarshipFund. Tickets are $16 for Adults, $13 for se-niors and $7 for children and students.❧Princess Diana, The Musical, by KarenJavitch and Elaine Jabenis,will be presentedat the Jewish Community Center July 18 - 21.Directed by Karen Javitch and Jeanne Shelton,with music direction by Chuck Pennington,from Mannheim Steamroller, and Choreogra-phy by Ashley Pennington. Featured in the castare Lisa Kliewer-Lind, Bob Goding, OakleyGibbs, *Janet Wallace, *Deb Herrington,*Stan Widman, and Wendy Booth. The Sat-urday evening, July 20th performance is a ben-efit for the NE Foundation for Visually Handi-capped Children (NFVHC). For more infor-mation contact Norma at 393-3893 or Karenat 397-5619.❧*Stages of Omaha announces the Nebraskapremiere of Douglas J. Cohen’s musical com-edy No Way To Treat A Lady on ThursdayJuly 18, and running through August 18.LADY received great popular and critical ac-claim off-Broadway. Blending humor, ro-mance, melody and murder into an adventurefollowing the lives of New York City Detec-tive Morris Brummell and actor Christopher“Kit” Gill. Both men have much in common,dreaming of success headlined in The NewYork Times as they both contend with over-bearing mothers. Posing as an Irish priest, anArthur Murray dance instructor, and a FrenchWaiter, just to name a few, Kit unleashes akilling spree on New York City women, hop-

The Lofte Theatre, located at 12704 Hwy 1 (2miles from Manley, NE), will host auditions forthe Ira Levin suspenseful play, Deathtrap, at 7p.m. July 8th and 9th. No experience necessary!(We’re always looking for actors, actresses,builders and crew people, too.) Call the reserva-tions number (402) 267-5400 and leave a mes-sage to be forwarded if you have questions aboutthe show or casting needs.❧*SNAP! Productions is holding auditions for TheLaramie Project. This play is scheduled to runAugust 29 to September 22. The play deals withthe attitudes and emotions surrounding the Mat-thew Shepard hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming.The show contains a large cast with roles formen and women ranging in ages from early twen-ties to late seventies. The play also has roles fora Muslim woman in her twenties, an AfricanAmerican man in his thirties and a Hispanic manin his twenties. Auditions are July 15 and 16 at7pm at the SNAP! / Shelterbelt Theater, locatedat 3225 California Street. For more informationcall *Todd Brooks, Director, at 968-5543. You canalso leave a message at the theater 341-2757.❧Auditions for The Elephant Man will be held atthe *Omaha Community Playhouse July 15 andJuly 16 at 7:00pm. The Elephant Man will runin the Howard Drew Theatre September 13 -October 13, 2002. *Kevin Lawler will direct.Cast needed: 8 men ages 20-60 and 4 womenages 20-40. Scripts are available for checkout.For more information, please call 553-4890.❧Auditions will be held at *Bellevue Little The-atre at 7 pm on July 21 (Sun) and July 22 (Mon)for the musical, Camelot. *Lara Marsh is ourstage director, and Allen Barnard, musical di-rector. Diane Turner-Parker is choreographer.Those auditioning are asked to bring a preparedsong—an accompanist is provided—and willalso be asked to dance. Production dates are Sept.13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, and 27, 28, and 29. Forinformation call the producer, Karin Hogston at291-3040.❧

ing to grab those elusive headlines. Mean-while, Detective Brummell is always just one-step behind, chasing the elusive “strangler,”while trying to please his Mother and fuel abudding romance. The cast features ChrisFoss, *Pegi Georgeson, Leanne Hill and TimReilly. Directed by *Jerry R. Ditter, with mu-sical direction by John Croghan and orches-trations by Brock Besse. Shows are Thurs-Satnights at 7:30pm and Sun afternoons at2:30pm. Reserved tickets at 345-8166 or on-line at www.StagesofOmaha.com (Adult -$15; Senior, Students & Military - $12; TAG- $10). The Millennium Theatre is located at601 S. 16th St in the Union Plaza Building, 2blocks south of the Orpheum. Curtain CashCertificates accepted here!❧The *Omaha Community Playhouse presents“Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” July 18 -August 4. Come watch the classic film, nowwith subtitles so everyone can sing along!Come as you are or come in costume as yourfavorite character! Nightly prizes for best cos-tume and free interactive fun packs for every-one. Show times are Thur - Sat. at 7:30pmand Sundays at 2:00pm (please note: there isno show on Thursday, July 25). Friday, July19 is a special benefit showing for the Ne-braska AIDS Project: Charmian Carr (Liesl inthe film) will be at the Playhouse to meet andgreet patrons prior to show time! It’s liberat-ing fun... boo the Baroness, hiss the Nazis,cheer for Maria! Reserve your tickets todayby calling the Box Office at 553-0800.Ticketsare $15-Adults and $10-Ages 12 & Under.. Cur-tain Cash Certificates accepted here!❧Joseph and The Amazing TechnicolorDreamcoat, opens July 19th at the *DundeeDinner Theatre, 5021 Underwood, and runsthrough August 31st. Mark Barta, JaneNoseworthy, *Jonathan Wilhoft, Terra Keiser,John Curran, Tim Marsden, Kirk Monismith,Trevor Kern, Roderick Leon Cotton, AaronWilhoft, Chad Sagera, Jesse Cozad, RobertWilliams, Darech Gaskill, Lindsay Van Horn,Lena Cigleris, Nicole Evers, *Sarah Hernandez.Brandon Higdem directs with *Mitch Fullerproviding music director and Jen Curran do-ing choreography. Performances are Thursdaythrough Saturday at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. dinner) andSunday at 2 p.m. Call 558-8535 for reserva-tions. Curtain Cash Certificates accepted here!❧The *Grande Olde Players will present 1940’sRadio Hour, a 1940s musical review, to bedirected by *Rob Saladee. The show opensJuly 26th as a special summer offering for the

theatre. The cast includes *Erika Hall,*Therese Rennels, *Jamie Godby, *SheéCovarrubias, Larry Wroten, *Tim Herrington,*Ed Baye, *Gary Wallace, Leni Hester, *TeddSerflaten, *Mark Wegener, Homero Vela, *J ToddReagan, and Shane Olson. Thurs., July 25 has beendesignated a TAG Nite Out preview with dona-tion proceeds going to the TAG Scholarship.❧*Brigit Saint Brigit will be holding its annualfree SEASON PREVIEW at 7:30 p.m. onSaturday, August 24th. Watch for more infor-mation in the August TAG LINES. ❧

(Check with theatres to be sure information is current!)AUDITIONS

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Is the Theatre Major Really a Square Peg in the Business World?

The Prospective Employers Guide to the BusinessThe Prospective Employers Guide to the BusinessThe Prospective Employers Guide to the BusinessThe Prospective Employers Guide to the BusinessThe Prospective Employers Guide to the BusinessBenefBenefBenefBenefBenefits of Theater Tits of Theater Tits of Theater Tits of Theater Tits of Theater Training and Experienceraining and Experienceraining and Experienceraining and Experienceraining and Experience

Behave in a manner that is appropriate to myassignment.Present a professional appearance.

DIRECTINGThe director is the prime interpreter of the author’s vision andgenerally is responsible for melding the creative work of theproduction designers, actors, backstage crew and front officestaff to successfully bring the work before an audience. First,the director must select the right cast and production staff forthe work to be produced. Generally, this is a diverse crew withstrong personal concepts and opinions. The director must pro-vide a clear interpretation of the work and then allow the pro-duction staff enough free rein to exercise their creative talents.Differences of opinion must be identified, discussed and re-solved in a limited period of time. The director must also un-derstand the economics of the business and work with the busi-ness staff to produce a financial success as well as an artisticsuccess.I would put my directing skills to work to help me:

Communicate clearly with all those that need myinput and listen well to others.Be an effective leader or a self-motivated follower asrequired.Try to identify the best people and help them bringtheir talents successfully to bear.Learn our customers’ perspective, needs andexpectations.Understand the financial ramifications of ourbusiness and manage my responsibilities to staywithin budget and contribute to the company’sprofits.

STAGE MANAGEMENTThe director and stage manager plot out the rehearsal and per-formance schedules. They develop a plan to follow so that allof the creative and technical steps that must be accomplishedare identified and scheduled in logical order. The stage man-ager is then responsible for keeping all the involved individualsmoving successfully through the timeline and managing per-sonnel issues while the director focuses on the creative aspectsof the production. When the show opens, the director leaves theproduction and the stage manager assumes full control…dealingwith all of the normal crises that occur during the run of theshow.My stage management background is transferable to businessproject management to:

Create and communicate effective plans andschedules.Keep projects on track and report status promptlyand accurately.

ACTINGAn actor is expected to quickly grasp the vision of the author byintensely studying the script, the setting and the characters.Using this information along with the concepts and feedbackprovided by the director and the talents of the other cast mem-bers, the actor creates his/her own character to convey theauthor’s vision to the audience. Daily in the rehearsal process,the actor and the director communicate to clarify expectations.Live theater is an adventure and each performance of the fin-ished piece is different, so the actor must always be prepared toad lib through any disaster. Further the actor receives publicperformance reviews from the news media and they aren’t al-ways kind.In a business environment, I would use my acting skills to:

Assimilate a company’s vision, goals, culture,business plans and procedures.Study the requirements of my job and learn toperform them successfully.Adapt quickly and flexibly to new assignments andnew teams and to cope well with change.Learn the expectations of my supervisors, customersand associates.Accept direction and feedback in a positive way.

Surprisingly not. When *Kate Wiig, a graduate of the St. Louis Uni-versity Theatre program, was developing her resume for non-theatrerelated job applications, she realized her experience in college, com-munity and professional theatre had given her the opportunity to de-velop a wide range of skills. She needed to be able to communicatethose skills into the language of the business person. So, she and herfather, *Bill Ross, an executive at CSI, developed an attachment torelate theatre skills to those required in a corporate environment. Wethought that the form and concepts might be helpful to our member-ship as they strive to act AND eat.[Perhaps you, too, would like to submit a similar piece: How has yourexperience in costuming, set, light and sound design, producing, etc. helpedyou? Send it in!—Ed.]

The Cover LetterDear Sir:I’m enclosing my resume for your review. While I know that resumesshould be brief, I also realize that most potential employers will beunfamiliar with the theatre profession. Since theater is the source ofmost of my training and experience, I’m concerned that my backgroundmay not appear immediately applicable to your opportunity. Becauseof this, I’ve taken the liberty of including some supplementary infor-mation that I hope may help clarify the underlying foundation of myexperience.

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Adjust the plans as needed to cope with surprisesand still meet the objectives.Handle human relations issues positively.

TECHNICAL, MARKETING AND FRONT OFFICETheater is technically intense, although the audience is oftennot fully aware of it. Costumers, lighting and scenic design-ers, electricians, carpenters, painters, stagehands and other pro-fessionals and technicians all contribute to the finished pro-duction in important ways. The front office staff runs the the-ater, cares for the audience, keeps the records and managesthe money. The marketing staff helps create the season andpromote the individual shows.Because of my training and experience in these areas, I amable to:

Perform a variety of crafts and safely use the toolsassociated with them.Use a wide array of computer based tools effec-tively including Word, Excel, Page Maker, PhotoShop, CAD and others.Create marketing brochures, signs and otherpromotional materials.Sell and provide excellent customer service.

TOURINGTouring professionals take theatrical productions on the road.The process involves creating a production, making it portableand then successfully performing it to audiences around thecountry. Touring is a much more intense experience than manyother theater activities. Members often do several jobs. Itregularly requires spending many hours in trucks and vans formonths at a time, living in close quarters. It is physically de-manding because scenery, costumes and equipment must beunloaded, set up and then reloaded, often in a single day. Longdays with multiple performances are routine. Days off areunusual.My touring experience has taught me to:

Get along well with my associates.Travel well and handle routine irritants withoutcomplaint.Pitch in wherever needed.Work hard for as long as it takes.

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During my four years on the TAG board, we of the Teen Com-mittee have tried to put together a theater message board on theTAG website and, with the help of the webmaster, Tom Bertino, thecommittee has done that. However, like anything else, some thingsare slow at getting off the ground. So if anyone has any topics theywish to discuss concerning theater, any question at all, please go tothe TAG web page and send either Matt Fowler or myself a mes-sage and then we will get on and answer it. Have a great summer!❧

— Fran Sillau

TAG TEENs Corner

In the Next Issue....❐ Ask The Reviewers - More Answers❐ TAG Awards Nominees Announcment❐ Theatre Calendar - Aug/Sept❐ On Stage News❐ Auditions❐ Teen Corner (Paid Advertisement)

Omaha Arts Grants To Be Awarded August 11Omaha Arts, assisted by the Theatre Arts Guild, is providing two

$1,000 grants for 2002.The first $1,000 grant will be awarded to a liveperformance theater in the metro area. The second $1,000 grant willbe awarded to a high school or university drama program. Applica-tions were sent out at the end of May requesting a simple 300-wordstatement describing how the grant would be used and what benefitswould be derived from it. Michael Poyner from Omaha Arts stated,“Omaha Arts is interested in supporting and encouraging the arts inthe metropolitan Omaha area. We hope the two $1,000 grants are justthe beginning of future endeavors with TAG that will promote the livetheater art form.” Look for the grant presentations at the TAG AwardsBanquet! Logon to Omaha Arts at www.omahaarts.com.

— Scott Jackman

SNAP! Productions Announces Auditions

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Tom Bertino, Jo Gaver, Tim Herrington, Melissa Jarecke, MickKasher, Michael Krohn, Amanda Link, and Denny Maddux have allagreed to actively serve a three-year term on the TAG Board of Direc-tors, if elected this month. Your election ballot will be mailed to you(with your invitations to the annual TAG Awards Banquet) in mid-Julyand must be returned separately by mail to the President-Elect, SteveAdair, by August 2nd. Following is biographical information for eachcandidate.

Thomas BertinoTom served previously on the Theatre Arts Guild Board of Direc-

tors from 1993-1997, including service as President-elect, 1994-95,President 1995-1996, Ex-officio 1996-97 and Chairman of the AwardsCommittee 1994-1995. He was awarded the TAG Board of DirectorsSpecial Recognition Award in 1997. Tom was appointed TAGWebmaster in 1999 and continues to serve in that capacity today. Hehas served 5 times on the TAG Scholarship judging panel and, duringhis term as President, led the effort to create TAG’s Endowment Fund.He has served on the Boards of the Chanticleer Community Theatreand SNAP! Productions. A six-time TAG Award winner, Tom’s workas a director, playwright, lighting designer, set designer, stage man-ager, producer and actor has been seen on most stages in the area.

Jo GaverJo has been an active member of TAG for 6 years. She served pre-

viously on the TAG Board as Corresponding Secretary and RecordingSecretary. She is a member of the Awards Committee and the Waysand Means Committee. She has worked in several theatres includingthe *Omaha Community Playhouse and *Stages of Omaha in variouspositions including House Manager and backstage – props, scene shift,spotlight, and also Stage Manager. Jo is employed at Union PacificRailroad in the Health Services Department. She says, “I would like tohelp TAG continue to grow — to increase the awareness of live the-atre in our community and increase the support of our local theatres.”

Tim HerringtonTim was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and graduated

from UCLA in 1968. Previously a high school math teacher, for thelast 20-plus years Tim has been working as a computer progammer/analyst. Tim has been involved in theatre for about 2 years, perform-ing at the *Shelterbelt and *Grande Olde Players Theatres. He servedbriefly on the GOP Board of directors and, although he resigned fromthat position, he maintains a good relationship with the people at GOPand continues to appear in GOP productions. He created and contin-ues to maintain the GOP web site. He says, “My wife and I are TAGmembers and have many friends in TAG. We contributed our servicesas karaoke DJ’s at the SNAP!/Shelterbelt renovation party last year.We try to help out the theatre community where we can. A few weeksago we recorded the “karaoke singing” that was part of the Love IsStrange production at the Shelterbelt.” Tim adds, “I’m interested incontributing more to the Omaha theater community and I think be-coming a member of the TAG board would be a good way to do that.”

Melissa JareckeMelissa began acting in grade school with the then Omaha Junior

Theater. In high school and college she performed with the Kingsmark

Players. Her first show at the OCP was in 1965, but then she took a 23-year sabbatical while she raised her family. Melissa majored in Speechand Drama and English at Peru State and taught Speech and English atBellevue Jr. High for 4 years after graduating. She has 4 children and6 grandchildren. Melissa has been selling real estate over half her life.She loves performing and the many friends she has made by sharingthe stage with them.

Mick KasherMick has been active in local theater for more than a decade as

both a performer and technician. He received two TAG awards — Fea-tured Actor in Comedy/Drama and Supporting Actor, Comedy/Drama.Mick served previously on the TAG Board as Education Chair, Presi-dent-elect and President. Presently, he works in Lincoln but lives inOmaha. Currently working as a Practice Administrator at Lincoln Pe-diatric Associates, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Ne-braska Medical Group Management Association for the past three yearsand is currently serving as President (Term ends October 1, 2002).

Michael KrohnMichael has been in ten shows since moving to the Omaha area in

1998. Plays include The Man Who Came to Dinner and Gross Inde-cency at the *Omaha Community Playhouse; Love, Sex & the IRS andTowards Zero at the *Grande Olde Players; Blood Brothers at the*Stages of Omaha; Vixenville at the *Circle Theatre; On Golden Pondat the *Bellevue Little Theatre; Twelfth Night at Creighton Universityand Equus at *Brigit St. Brigit. Presently employed at Sign Solutionsas a graphic artist, after work Michael divides his time as a head coachfor a KWAA PeeWee football team and assists his wife in coaching theOur Lady of Lourdes girls’ softball team. On Sundays, he teaches 7th

grade Sunday school at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church. Michaelholds a BFA degree in commercial art from Concordia College inSeward, Nebraska. Michael is interested in working on the awardscommittee and lending his professional expertise in publicizing TAGevents around the metro area.

Amanda LinkAmanda graduated from Hastings College with degrees in Elemen-

tary Education and Special Education. She was involved in all of thecollege theater productions while attending and was an active memberand secretary of the forensics team, as well as involved in the Society ofCollegiate Journalists and many other activities. Upon graduation, shereturned to Omaha and became active in the theatre community. Shehas performed in numerous *Shelterbelt productions and with *SNAP!Productions and the *Omaha Community Playhouse. Amanda is a spe-cial education teacher at Millard North Middle School, where she di-rects the school plays and runs the drama and forensics clubs. She isalso an active member of the “Assisting Our Kids” drug preventionprogram, the Millard Intervention Team, and serves as a “Partners As-sisting Youth, Business and Community” liaison. Last summer, Amandareceived her Master’s Degree in Learning Disabilities from UNO.Currently, she is working with Hope Presbyterian Church to find waysof implementing drama in church services, discussion groups and youthclubs. Amanda is eager to become more active in the theater commu-nity and hopes her experience in community theater, along with herinvolvement with youth drama, will benefit the Guild.

Meet Your TAG Board Election Candidates

Etcetera

Page 7

Denny MadduxDenny has been an active member of TAG and the

community theatre scene for the past four years. Heholds an undergraduate degree in Theatre and Com-munications from Truman University and a MastersDegree in Curriculum and Instruction from DoaneUniversity. A teacher of high school speech and dramafor 15 years at Lewis Central Community Schools,Denny is currently an Instructional Strategist for thesame school system. Most of his stage experiences havebeen with the *Chanticleer Theatre as a past BoardMember and a performer. He has also performed atthe *Shelterbelt, and directed *SNAP’s production ofA Song at Twilight. “One of the areas that I am reallyinterested in developing is an increased participationin the Tag Night Out program. It is such a great pro-gram that not only helps our scholarship efforts, but italso provides encouragement to the casts and crewsthat work so diligently to put together a top notchevening of entertainment. I also am interested in waysto keep our youth actively involved with the perform-ing arts so we can cultivate the fine tradition of com-munity theatre that has been created in the Omahaarea.”❧

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Tom LieferJeremy Lubash

Andrew MillsPatrick O’Connor

Maggie OpalPlatteview High School

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Page 8

PRESORTED STANDARDU. S. POSTAGE

PAIDOMAHA, NE

PERMIT NO 1024

Theatre Arts Guild, Inc.P.O. Box 24008Omaha, NE 68124-0008 www.theatreartsguild.com

November, 2001TAGLINES!July, 2002

visit our website at www.theatreartsguild.com

Inside This Month Page❐ On Stage (Info. about current/future shows) 2-3❐ Glory’s Dos & Don’ts (Theatre Etiquette) 2❐ Is the Theatre Major Really a Square Peg? 4-5❐ Important TAG / TNO Dates 1❐ Ask The Reviewer Column – Questions 4 1❐ Board Election Candidate Bios 6-7❐ Theatre Planning Calendar 7❐ Auditions 3❐ Teen Corner 5❐ Omaha Arts Grants To Be Awarded August 11 5

The Postal Service will not forward your newsletterbecause it is sent to you as “bulk mail,” so

KEEP YOUR ADDRESS CURRENT ON THE TAG DATABASE!

Send Changes to:TAG c/o Barb Ross

9035 Raven Oaks DriveOmaha. NE 68152

barb_ross@compuserve.com

Planning a move?....

Your 2001-2002 TAG Board of Directors

Steve Adair ....... 402-551-5687 President-Elect, Publicity ChairTom Bertino ....... 402-345-8948 Ex-Officio - WebmasterJerry Ditter ......... 402-991-3309 Awards ChairMatt Fowler ....... 402-455-3918 Teen Rep, Teens ChairScott Fowler ....... 402-455-3918 Chair, Programs/TAG Night OutJennifer Gilg ...... 402-551-6284 Corresponding Secretary Scholarship ChairRhonda Hall ....... 402-551-4904 CoChair, Progr./TAG Night OutLiz Heim ............ 402-552-9326Scott Jackman .... 402-554-8668 Ex-Officio Past PresidentJane Keller ......... 402-556-0977 Treasurer

Robin Klusmire ...... 402-738-1510 Chair, Ways & MeansConnie Jo Podendorf..712-322-7504 Recording SecretaryJan Reardon ........... 712-323-7065 President, Newsletter Chair/Ed.Therese Rennels ..... 402-391-3944 Curtain Cash CoordinatorBob & Rosalee Roberts .............

Historian ............... 402-493-4490Barb Ross ............... 402-571-8311

Membership ChairFran Sillau .............. 712-328-3599

Teen Rep/ReporterTodd Uhrmacher .... 402-331-0233 Co-Chair, AwardsDon Wieczorek ...... 402-558-3465

Theatre Services Chair

Want to be involved in the work of one or more committees?Just contact any of the people listed above!

The Info. Deadline for August TAGLINES is 4:30 p.m. July 17.