Wheaton Drama

STUDENTS “ACTING IT UP” AT WHEATON DRAMA

Classes for Grades 1-8;
Fall session: Sept. 5 through Oct. 10
(Make-up date, if necessary: Oct. 17)

This six-week workshop is designed to strengthen acting “muscles.” Through acting games and exercises, students will work each week on a different aspect of acting technique including: movement, voice, characterization and pantomime. Teamwork, focus and listening are added benefits that youngsters can derive from this workshop.

To apply the skills they’ve learned, students will also rehearse a short 15-minute skit to be performed at the end of the final class.

New sessions will be posted throughout the year as registration opens (roughly a month before the class starts).

All sessions will be on Tuesday afternoons at these times:

Grades 1-4: 4 p.m. to 4:55 p.m.
Grades 5–8: 5 p.m. to 5:55 p.m.

Tuition: $100 per session per child

Note: Classes are subject to change based on enrollment. Registration for each class will be open one month before the class begins. If there are not enough students enrolled in any given session, the class may be canceled. Notification of a canceled class will be sent out one week prior to the start of class; all money will be refunded.

Staff: Cindy Bolds is excited to join us again this year as our after-school instructor. Cindy is a longtime WDI member who taught most of the after-school classes last year. She is a certified teacher’s aide.

All instructors undergo an extensive background check.

For more information, please contact Elyse Willis at wdieducation@wheatondrama.org, or call 630.260.1820 and leave a message about registration.

The 2016-17 Colby Award show was held at Wheaton Drama on Saturday, June 24, 2017. Named for life member Colby Jones, the Colby Awards honor the contributions of backstage volunteers throughout the season.

Awards were presented to the following:

Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits
Jean Austin (Music Director)
Ben Dooley (Sound Design)
Charmaine Jones (Costumes)
Andy Kanturek (Video Effects)
Peter Lemongelli (Sound Design)
Sara Malloy (Choreographer)
R.J. Ogren (Set Design)

Shrek – the Musical
Dave Amato (Sound Design)
Amy Brockman (Music Director)
Andrea Kaman (Hair/Makeup, Costumes)
Allyn Marshall (Hair/Makeup, Costumes)
Christine Pfenninger (Assistant Director)
Penny Salvesen (Set Designer)
Katy Smith (Choreographer)

A Christmas Carol
Ben Dooley (Sound Design)
For other winners, see Frequent Fliers, below.

The Elephant Man
Paula Rada (Sound Design)
Jody Gosain (Assistant Director and Set Decoration)
Lisa Wallace (Props)
Edgar Gonzalez (Set Construction)
R.J. Ogren (Scenic Design)
Suzanne Ogren (Assistant Director)

Outside Mullingar
Julie Dotin (Scenic Artist)
Jackie Haiser (Stage Manager)
Jacob Plant (Sound)
Jim Quan (Assistant Director)
Teresa Reinalda (Costumes)
Lisa Wallace (Props)

The Producers
Kathy Heinze (Assistant Director)
Andy Kanturek (Video Effects)
Randy Knott (Set Construction)
Joni Kotche (Music Director)
Katy Smith (Choreographer)
Linda Spadlowski (Assistant Director)
Ben Vargas (Costumes)

Also:
Ken Beach (Starboard Photos)
Alan & Cindy Bolds (Fourth of July Float)

Frequent Flier Awards
These are for volunteers nominated for their work on three or more shows:
• Bruce Ebner (Stage Manager/Crew – Shrek – the Musical, Outside Mullingar, The Producers
• Craig Gustafson (Programs, Starboard) – Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits, Shrek – the Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Elephant Man, Outside Mullingar, The Producers
• Susan Hajny (Costumes) – A Christmas Carol, The Elephant Man, The Producers
• Michelle Ho (Stage Manager) – Shrek – the Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Producers
• Amy Johnson (Props, Set Dec) – Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits, A Christmas Carol, The Producers
• Jim Martin (Puppet Master, Scenic Artist, Hair/Makeup) – Shrek – the Musical, The Elephant Man, The Producers
• Jim Van de Velde (Lighting) – Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits, Shrek – the Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Elephant Man, Outside Mullingar, The Producers

The following members were honored with special awards:

Jim Van de Velde Award: Bruce Ebner
Candlelight Award: Lisa Wallace
Bill Hamilton Award: Becky Poole
Rookie of the Year: Allyn Marshall
Icon Award: Dee Hicks
Past President Award (presented by incoming president Stan Austin): Mike Boyna
Alice Burnham Award: Elyse Willis

The 2016-17 Colby Committee was: Craig Gustafson (chair), Andy Dameron, Sara Malloy, Sande Ogren, Sean Ogren, Julie Rodgers-Baker, Lori Skubich, Pam Turlow.

Kathleen Dooley – musician, Peter Lemongelli – sound, Karin Kramer – lights. Tony Abrego was the event’s photographer. Special guest performers – Carla Mutone, Margie Gustafson.

Congratulations to everybody!
The 2016-2017 Colby Committee

At the monthly meeting on May 16, the membership in attendance unanimously elected a new president, vice president, sales governor and marketing governor. The new board, as of July 1, will be:

President: Stan Austin
Vice President: Jay Pauer
Past President: Mike Boyna
Secretary: Christine Cloutier Pfenninger
Treasurer: Eileen Gilligan
Facilities: Randall W. Knott
Marketing: Rob Reinalda
Sales: Barb Giblin
Education: Elyse Willis

WDI CHILDREN’S SUMMER WORKSHOP

Do you know a child who enjoys theater and wants to learn more about performance or technical skills? Wheaton Drama workshops will help build confidence by giving the attendees firsthand experience in creating a live production. Your child will learn how teamwork works in building a theatrical presentation—in addition to having fun and making new friends. The place to be this summer is Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111.

Registration is now available: wheatonDrama.org/order-tickets

July 10–15, 2017

Performance Theater

Grades K–5* morning session: 8:30 a.m. to noon

Grades K–5* afternoon session: 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

(Choose one session only)

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July 12–15, 2017

Technical Theater

Grades 6–12*

July 12: 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

July 13–15: 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

(Please bring a sack lunch.)

Choose an area that you would like to study:

• stage managing/backstage crew
• sound design
• costume design
• lighting design

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July 17–22, 2017

Performance Theater

Grades 6-12* full-day session 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

(Bring a sack lunch)

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July 19–22, 2017

Technical Theater

Grades 6-12*

July 20, 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

July 21-22, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

(Bring a sack lunch)

Choose area in which you would like to study: Stage managing/back stage
crew, Sound design, costume design or Lighting Design

*Please note that the grade level is indicated as to which grade they just
completed

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Saturday Performance

Grades K–5 morning class: July 15, starting at 10:30 a.m.

Grades K–5 afternoon class: July 15, starting at 2 p.m.

Grades 6–8 and high school: July 22, starting at 10 a.m.

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Tuition

$100 for grades K–5 (half days)

$100 for Technical Theater (per week)

$200 for grades 6–12 (full days)

Staff

All staff members are certified teachers and have gone through an extensive
background check. Specific staff is TBA.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at workshop@wheatonDrama.org. 

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Wheaton Drama is excited to announce next season’s shows and directors.

The season will open with the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” a
story of maintaining traditions and transitions in an ever-changing
sociopolitical climate—a message as important today as when the show was
written. “Fiddler” will be directed by Carrie Dabelow, who has directed
productions for Steel Beam Theater, Riverside Theatre, and Woodstock
Musical Theatre Company, as well as in public schools in Illinois and
Minnesota.

Next on the schedule is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic romance
“Sense and Sensibility,” in which we follow the Dashwood sisters, Elinor
and Marianne, as they seek love and happiness in 1790s England. This
promises to be a show for families and Jane Austen aficionados alike and
will be directed by WDI veteran Randall W. Knott, who last directed “Play
It Again, Sam” and “Amadeus” for Wheaton Drama and “One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest” at Woodstock Opera House.

Wheaton Drama will continue its tradition of holiday radio plays by
presenting that childhood classic “The Cinnamon Bear.” This old-time radio
show was first produced in 1937 and became popular nationwide, particularly
in Chicago when it was broadcast on WGN radio. It will be directed by Ben
Dooley, who has done numerous radio show reproductions with his own
company, Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, and who directed the Christmas
classic “Miracle on 34^th Street” for Wheaton Drama.

Kicking off the new year, WDI will present a modern farce, “Sex in the
Title” by local playwright George Zahora. It concerns two playwrights whose
shows always have the word “sex” in the title, though their shows have
nothing to do with sex. This farce involves doors and windows—and lots of
people coming and going through them. It will be directed by Jay
Fontanetta, a newcomer to WDI who has directed extensively at North
Riverside Community Theatre, at Circle Theatre and in numerous area high
schools.

Following up in stark contrast, WDI will present a searing drama, “A Piece
of My Heart,” which tells of the role women played during the Vietnam War.
Like many of their male counterparts, their service went largely
unappreciated and unrecognized. This show will be directed by WDI veteran
Mike Boyna, who last directed the hilarious and successful “Shrek: The
Musical.”

The season will conclude with the perennial Stephen Sondheim favorite
“Company.” Though it debuted on Broadway in 1970, its theme of coping with
cultural changes and social upheavals remains relevant today. “Company”
will be directed by Pam Turlow, who has directed “A Christmas Carol” and
“Mad Mid-Mod Musicals” for Wheaton Drama.