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<DIV>Personal Thank You from David Van Gaasbeek</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> The curtain came down on Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys on December
20, 2009. This production, which was presented at the Community
Connections Theatre, started in late October, 2009, and continued non-stop
either in the artistic area or the production area from that date to its last
performance. At the end, over twenty people were involved as either a
cast, stage crew, production staff, and/or directorial member. Through
everyone’s efforts, The Sunshine Boys was seen by 207 people over a six night
time period.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Major thanks goes to Director Mary Mahoney, who was doing her first
directorial with this play. Mary worked exceptionally hard with a cast of
eight people to produce a play about two old vaudevillians, who are attempting
one last hurrah. Her work was exceptional with the cast and this producer
is exceptionally grateful for her efforts in producing a very good presentation
of this play. Her work also allowed this producer to free up his time and
concentrate on building a portable stage which enhanced the atmosphere at
Community Connections. Also, her ability in informing this producer of a
possible opportunity for the theatre to expand was greatly appreciated and
spawned a meeting with several people in the community who wish to expand the
arts in Canal Fulton. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Mary’s understanding of the outer and inner conflict experienced by
the main characters of the play made this production more than just a slap stick
comedy. It was an exploration of the actions of two men who know that time
has passed them by but are not yet ready to accept the inevitable, which is that
it is time to pass the torch to a new generation. Not only did the
audiences leave laughing but they also left discussing the very issue that
confronts all of us, aging.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Mary’s exuberance and enthusiasm brought a great deal out of the
cast, which gave very multidimensional characterizations to the audiences.
Even the caricature, Nursey Nurse, performed very brilliantly by Sarah Price,
was presented as a character and not as a passing fantasy. Mary’s work was
outstanding in this area.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> On the whole, this was an excellent first time effort by a person who
had never directed a play prior to this one. This producer thanks Mary for
all of her work and effort and wishes her the best of luck in all of her future
endeavors. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> As for the cast, this producer had to walk a fine line for the first
time in the entire history of the Canal Fulton Players. For twenty one
productions, this producer was also the artistic director and had close
relationships with the actors and actresses that he directed. This was the
first time that he was not the artistic director, which meant he had to let the
director do her job without interference from the producer. Thus, this
producer kept his distance from the actors as much as possible. Even a
simple statement of “Good job” could cause a problem between an actor and the
director, especially if the producer did not know all of the facts that occurred
between the two.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Now that the play is done, my hat is off to Steve Ryan who gave an
absolutely wonderful performance as Willie Clark, the man who held a grudge
against his co-star simply because the co-star retired eleven years
before. Steve was absolutely on point with his rage over being forced into
retirement by Al Lewis’ retirement since Willie and Al were a team for forty
three years. Steve managed to give Willie that lovable feature in which
the character may not be very likeable but you could not wait to see him get
back on stage. Many thanks to Steve for his efforts in presenting a
tremendous performance.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> The same can be said for Ken Hehmeyer’s wonderful presentation of Al
Lewis, the man who realized eleven years prior that he was losing it and decided
to bow out gracefully, not realizing that he was also retiring Willie.
Ken’s low key performance was the perfect contrast to Willie’s rage. It is
not hard to believe that Ken, who never acted prior to 2008, has presented some
of the most memorable characters that have graced our stage. His hard work
and willingness to grow as an actor makes him very easy to direct and a valuable
asset to this theatre group.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> And what can be said about Matt King, who at the age of twenty two,
had everybody believing that he was thirty two with two children and a
mortgage. Matt is an excellent upcoming actor who has given some great
moments on stage. His efforts have been greatly appreciated and there is
not doubt that his hard work is going to pay off in the future.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> The remainder of the cast was equally good. Josh Rowe was a
delight as Eddie, the beleaguered television assistant. Even though he was
on stage for a short period of time, Josh’s reactions to the constant feuding of
Willie and Al and the tyrannical authority of the unseen director caused comic
delight. The same can be said of Sarah Price, who humanized a caricature
and made that caricature something more than window dressing.
Irene White, who played the Nurse, who cared for Willie after he is taken ill,
was greatly understated and when she had to show the rash of anger to Willie, it
caught the audience by surprise. And last but not least, Duane Acker, who
mystified all of us, by traveling a great distance to appear for a grand total
of thirty five seconds on stage as the Man in the Doctor’s sketch, gave a
memorable performance. There is no doubt that two lines and thirty five
seconds can have a great impact on a play. Duane’s efforts are greatly
appreciated.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Behind the scenes were the efforts of Ken, Josh, Duane, Matt, Gary
Nelson, Gary Linknes, George Dorer, Jon Neumann, Ray Olivera, Jack Yoak, Ron
Martin, Sue Martin, Karl Blanding, Joanne Ballbach, Carol Van Gaasbeek, Kathy
Orlando, Jamie Orlando, Lisa Van Gaasbeek, Josh’s numerous friends, Rick White,
and the staff of Community Connections. Ken, Josh, and Jack spent three
Saturdays hanging off a ladder placing hooks into the ceiling so we could hang
drapes and curtains from the ceiling to the floor in an effort to kill the echo
which had hindered casts in previous productions. Matt spent time along
with Josh and his friends hanging those drapes and curtains so the theatre no
longer had an echo. Further, Gary Nelson and George worked hard to get the
lighting in a position so shadows disappeared and to anchor the doors which were
very much a part of the play. Duane was involved in the voice over
prepared by Mary Mahoney and in the preparation of the actors’ photo board which
stood next to the box office at every production. Gary Liknes, Ray
Olivera, Gary Nelson, and George Dorer spend hours building six four feet by
eight feet by thirteen inch platforms which were used as the portable stage
extension. This was done to improve all site lines that the audiences
had. One of the biggest problems that we encountered in previous
productions was the inability of some of the audiences not being able to see
everything. This portable stage solved that problem. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> As for the box office and the concession stands, there is no doubt
that the efforts of Carol, Kathy, Jamie, Joanne, and Rick and his staff made the
stay of the audiences at Community Connections an enjoyable experience.
One of Rick’s staff members, Ron White, was very helpful in making sure that all
of the facilities were clean. The Community Connections’ staff themselves
moved a considerable amount of the tables and chairs, which are used by the
clients of Community Connections during the weekdays, for performances making
life easier for the crew that assembled the theatre every Friday
afternoon.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> As for directing and parking the patrons’ cars, the efforts of Ron,
Karl and Jack were greatly appreciated. Karl went so far as to donate
flood lights that lit the signs that directed patrons to this new site for our
productions. These men never complained about standing in cold weather for
forty five minutes to an hour making sure that all patrons were directed to the
correct site.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> A production is a team effort. Everyone performs a task that
makes the productions live. One of my favorite Biblical characters is the
Apostle Paul, who I am convinced predated the philosophies of Vince Lombardi,
Red Auerbach, David Merrick, Steven Spielberg and Pat Riley. There is no
“I” in team according to Paul and these fine gentlemen. As can be seen
from the efforts of Mary Mahoney right down to Ron White, this production was a
success because everyone performed their duties and talents in concert.
The Canal Fulton Players are a small but growing theatre troupe in Northern
Stark County. We are looking for people who want to make theatre and the
arts grow in the Greater Stark, Summit and Wayne Counties area. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> As the New Year approaches, this producer wants to thank everyone who
made this particular production a success. There is no doubt that with the
cooperation that was exhibited in this production that the remainder of the
productions of this season’s schedule and for upcoming years will be highly
successful.</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>