Editors note:

Mid Summer Fair, Community Theatre of Emporia’s annual summer theatre event in Peter Pan Park will be a bit different this year. Scott Rochat, who has been single handedly responsible for penning the adaptations of Shakespeare plays as well as some other classics done by our children’s group, has returned to his roots in Longmont, Colorado.

We miss his wit and skill with words, now more than ever.

With that said, here is a post that he wrote for us shortly after his departure in October of 2007.

Jerry Garcia had it right — what a long, strange trip it’s been ….
For those of you who missed it, I am no longer an Emporian or even a Kansan. About a week and a half ago, I moved to my old hometown of Longmont, Colo. to take a job at the newspaper there. Dan Boyce, the CTE’s fearless leader, asked me to send periodic dispatches from the CTE’s Rocky Mountain Bureau,so here we are. He may even live to regret the request.

Mark Twain had it right: “Two moves equal one fire.” Moving was, as expected, a royal pain in the patookas. We spent all of Saturday (Sept. 22) and part of Sunday (Sept. 23) loading the truck, aided by family and at times by fearless friends from the church and the CTE (Thanks to Dad, Jamie, Jaimee, Tom, Theresa, Trevor, Gayle, Adam, Jake and Pastor Chad for all their hard work and help). We didn’t actually arrive until nearly midnight on Sunday by which time we were pretty well zonked.

The new house in Longmont is a nice one, in a quiet neighborhood just a block away from a nice city park with a huge lake. It’s within spitting distance of the hospital (no small advantage, given Heather’s various conditions). It’s also currently drowning in a sea of cardboard as we try to make our way through box after box, realizing all the while that we’re a little shy of shelf space for all the books we brought out. Not too bad … four or five more bookcases should do it.

We had a little unintentional excitement early on when Heather smelled gas in the house. The gas company diagnosed the hot water heater, which the landlord quickly fixed and it seemed the problem was solved … until that evening, when we smelled gas AGAIN. It took seven, count them, SEVEN hours to get a gas company man out. Supposedly, there were problems all over the Denver area, but the man who came to check our leak out at 3 a.m. said he lived in town and had been called just a half hour before. Naturally, by the time he got there, the scent had disappated. Grrr…

For now, things are settling down well. Unfortunatly, it will be a while before I can begin theater out here — a noon to 8:30 p.m. work schedule isn’t terribly conducive to rehearsals or performances. So for now, I’ll have to be satisfied with reports of the melodrama in Americus. Keep me posted on all the insanity, will you?

Heather and I will never forget all the wonderful friends we made in CTE. It didn’t really hit home until the night of the goodbye party, when several of our stalwarts presented me with a plaque, a memory book and a cake emblazoned with almost every production I had ever been part of. I’ll admit it — I started misting over. You never realize what a good thing you have until you leave it, don’t you?

I’m still glad to be here in the high country. Now I just wish I could take about 40 or 50 friends with me …..

All the best,

Scott Rochat
Transplanted Playwright

Afterword:

Scott,

If you will write more for us, I promise to be a more attentive and caring editor. I won’t let your words lie fallow in the drafts queue for 7 months ever again.

I promise.

Repentantly Yours,

Dan

Come on down and see the show. It’s a great way to spend an evening.

Tickets are an absolute bargain at $7 general, $6 for seniors, and $5 for students.
Members receive a $1 discount too!

For reservations you can go to the Reservations Page or call the hotline at 620-341-9283.

written by
Ken Ludwig

Directed by Nancy Boyce

The show has been cast, rehearsals have begun.

Actors cast in this show are:

Tonya Starr, Brian Miller, Genay Snyder, Anthony Mercer,
Jason Henderson, Yvonne Glogowski, Trevor Whitsitt,
Judy Rice, Mark Sherman, Jim Tefelski, and Audra Jenkins.

About the Production:

This delightful comedy is set in 1953, Buffalo, New York, where acting couple, George and Charlotte Hay’s small band of actors and family, mix together for a lively backstage farce. Mistaken identities and misplaced actors add to the craziness.

New to CTE for this production are Brian Miller and Yvonne Glogowski; bringing fresh faces and new talent to our spring production.

Show dates are May 8, 9, 10, and 11.

Watch for further information here on our Web site.

Reservations are available by calling 620-341-9283
or on our Reservations Page

Using goals (what the character wants in a scene) and tactics (how we intend to reach those goals) is a good place to start. Let me say this: “Trying to be funny doesn’t work.” Comedy happens when we are trying not to be funny. Comedy happens, for the most part, when we try (in all sincerity) to achieve a goal and are unsuccessful. This can also be tragedy. Comedy and Tragedy are different sides of the same street. It is the mood of the play that determines whether something is tragic or comic.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. I want to start a discussion on this. If you wish to comment, or pose a different line of thought, I can be reached at onsredneh at hotmail dot com.

Editors note: This article by occasional contributor Jason Henderson, is the first in a series. Check back often.

Mark’s theatrical debut roll was as a sheep in a cradle in a production of The Christmas Story in Virgil, Kansas, in the early 1960’s. This experience led to other fine parts through 1979, when he participated in the Yates Center High School Productions of Harvey and Once Upon a Mattress.

From 1979, until appearing in a CTE production of Arsenic and Old Lace, nearly 20 years had passed with not a sign of his theatrical talents. It appears that during those years, Mark became an attorney and refrained from participating in theatrical arts, while managing to keep his day job, as a lawyer.

Since joining our troupe, Mark has been continually involved in productions, lending voice, paint brush, hammer, time and furniture to the continuing entertainments brought to you by Community Theatre of Emporia.

Currently Mark is cast as George in Moon Over Buffalo which runs May 8 through 11 in Emporia.

Please join us in welcoming Mark to the office.

A fabulous meal centered around Roast Tenderloin of Beef, followed by fantastic entertainment featuring Chuck Cowan, Mary Sue Wade, Don Kile, and Pat Sutton.

Sure to be an evening to remember, tickets are $40.00 per person and must be reserved in advance. Reservations can be made on the Reservations Page, or by calling the CTE hotline at 620-341-9283.

In case you missed it, CTE was in Emporia’s annual Christmas Parade on November 27th of last year. We had a great time with it but something was amiss.

It soon became apparent that, as beautiful as our red CTE banner is, very few people in the crowd knew what that ‘cte’ in the stage light logo actually stood for! This is a sad state that we are attempting going to remedy.

Just Give Us A Sign

Even though Community Theatre of Emporia has been around for over 26 years, apparently we have not been brash or bold enough to blow our own horn very loudly. This is something we are determined to change.

One of the first forays toward this end is the unveiling of the new and, frankly, pretty darn spiffy, logo at left.

Not only does it have the traditional (although updated) stage light with ‘cte’ emblazoned on it, it also includes the name of our faithful troupe of ever changing entertainers.

Yessir, right there for all to see in gen-u-wine simulated 3D chrome letters, it says, ‘Community Theatre Of Emporia’ for all who care to look. Nothing shy or ambiguous about that is there?

Guerrilla Gorilla Marketing

We are intent on becoming the 400lb gorilla about town. The thing that cannot be ignored. I know, unsubtle, but what are a bunch of struggling ‘artistes’ to do?

Being subtle hasn’t really worked for us. Genteel, sophisticated, intellectual, approaches just don’t seem to fly in this universe,

BOLD

**FLASHY**

and

WILD!

however, seem to get noticed, commented on, and talked about.

The rule of thumb here: ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity’.

All we can say is look out Emporia, here we come!

This year we’ll be featuring timeless entertainment with a line up of seasoned entertainers that will take your breath away.

As it was with last year’s great Salute to Gershwin reservations are required. Reserve early, reserve often, we want as many people as possible to partake of this singularly marvelous opportunity to see some of the great entertainers hailing from our fair city, Emporia.

To reserve your tickets go to our reservations page and sign up.

The Annual Meeting will be Saturday,
February 9th, 4:30 pm
at
Wheat State Grill
707 Commercial Street

Along with the usual business we’ll have food, fun, and an opportunity to mingle with the other members. Put it on your calendar and we’ll see you there!

Charlotte and George have always been one step away from truly great stardom and fate is giving them one last chance. Frank Capra is on his way to see their new show in Buffalo, or is he? The tension is, well… intense!

Will Charlotte run away with their agent?

Will George be sober enough to remember his lines?

Hilarious misunderstandings and madcap misadventures are what’s in store for you with Community Theatre of Emporia’s May offering, Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig. For updates and more information, stay tuned, we’ll have things out here as they gel.

Life’s Persistent Questions…

What would have happened if General Grant had been drinking at Appomattox?

Who really killed the King in Macbeth?

What is the best way to get rid of your wife? (If you attended our One Acts, you already have a pretty good idea.)

All of these, and many of life’s other unanswered questions, will be spotlighted by James Thurber in his quirky comedies from A Thurber Carnival.

These, and other irreverently funny plays, are headed your way, courtesy of Community Theatre of Emporia!