Ideal Husband RCN 2007

Curtain To Rise On Cascade Community Theatre Adult Program

By Lori Varosh

Source - The River Current News - www.rivercurrentnews.com - December 6, 2007

Cascade Community Theatre may owe its existence to the naiveté and the ingenuity of its creators.

Drawing on stage experience and enthusiasm but few other resources, a small group of theater

aficionados is moving inexorably toward opening night, Dec. 7. With an abbreviated two month rehearsal time, Director Chuck Young set a tough schedule.

With no permanent performance space, volunteers are constructing sets in the Kokopelli Gardens barn of Davin Henrikson, who plays Lord Goring in the show. Rehearsals are held in the basement of Holy Innocents Catholic Church. So short is the schedule, the group has had to put off naming an advisory board and developing bylaws. They’ve had to postpone fundraisers, bankrolling the first production largely from their own pockets.

“A shoestring is even better than what our budget is,” observes producer and actor Wendy Habek. Just renting the theater costs $1,900. When the curtain rises Dec. 7 at Cedarcrest High School Performance Center, however, the show will go on with distinct advantages – professional costumes,

dedicated acting, and the wit and satire of Oscar Wilde.

“We’re seeing the excitement now,” Chuck said in mid-November. “The characters are starting to mesh. The accents are getting better. The delivery intent behind the lines is starting to appear.”

The play, “An Ideal Husband,” explores human frailty and social hypocrisy, and is filled with “a lot of innuendo and subtlety,” says Jeff Zuber, who plays Sir Robert Chiltern. “Most interesting is the energy and enthusiasm of the community,” Jeff says. “People really have a passion for doing this,” including

the director. “The man is absolutely selfless in amount of time and energy. We wouldn’t be here except for Chuck.”

From the time his wife volunteered him to help with the children’s theater program, Chuck Young wanted to create a community theater for actors of all ages. He announced the adult program at the last children’s show in June. “I put myself on the hook,” he says. Chuck wanted the first show to

be a comedy, with enough roles for everyone in the organization who wanted one. He visited the Seattle

Public Library, where a “wonderful index” catalogues plays by number of male and female cast members. He chose “An Ideal Husband,” a social comedy exploring blackmail, political corruption and Victorian ideas of perfection, on that basis.

Though their participation was assured, participants still had to audition for roles. Because the organization is so new, a certain amount of drafting took place. When violinist Jane Pattinson was the

only respondent to a call for musicians, for instance, “we shanghaied her,” Chuck says. She found herself appointed music director.

Her husband, Brian, came along to help and found himself named technical director for the adult show and, though he’s never acted in his life, holding the role of the butler, Phipps.

Cascade Community Theatre will offer two shows this year, with auditions for “The Odd Couple” scheduled for Dec. 15. Next year, they’ll do four shows, the minimum necessary to attract a core

group of patrons, Chuck believes. “To make a community theater thrive, you have to have a core group of people to be enthusiastic.” The value is two-fold, he says. “To provide entertainment for all people

who live in town and, if we do our job right, remove them from their lives for a couple of hours.” And to cater to the group of people who “are excited about being part of this.”

There were a few pitfalls. As the first show entered the homestretch, Ian King resigned for personal

reasons, leaving the production without a sound engineer, and leaving the entire youth program without a technical director. It’s a serious loss to the organization, says Chuck. “Ian is really the father of all

this, him and Ashley Dowd.”

King and then-Cedarcrest senior Ashley started Cheetah Theatah at Cherry Valley Elementary for Ashley’s senior project. That program became River View Drama Club, providing training and performance opportunities to elementary and middle school students. It attracted support from the Cascade Performing Arts Council and the Duvall Cultural Commission.

After its second year, the program has expanded to include adults and changed its name to Cascade Community Theatre. Still needed is a permanent home, where actors can rehearse and perform, and organizers can teach set-building, acting and other skills. Cedarcrest may not be available for the spring show.

“My biggest goal is to get enough people aware of the need for a true performance space,” says Chuck,

who’s hoping to mobilize all arts organizations to work together. “No one organization in this town is going to do it by themselves,” he says.

The first adult production has distinct advantages, however. Chief among them is Gina Humberstone, costumer. “Gina rocks!” declares Jane Pattinson, who plays Miss Mabel Chiltern. “She’s meticulous, both in talent and in the amount of research,” says Jeff Zuber. Gina wants the details right, from the location of buttons to the proper amount of lace, he says.

Gina finds costume components everywhere, including local fabric stores, which offer Simplicity patterns for Victorian dresses. At Jane Pattinson’s suggestion, she made perfect petticoats out of dust

ruffles for beds. She found tuxedos on the Internet.

“Thank goodness for the Internet. You can find it there and at a highly reasonable price,” says Jeff , who tracked down an 1842 London newspaper to use as an authentic prop in the show.

The play brings together occupations as diverse as Rick Greenfield, an engineer; Wendy Habek,

owner of a cleaning business; Chuck Young, owner of a floor covering business; and Jeff Zuber, Power

Point creator. Some participants have had no acting experience. Others acted in high school or college. Chuck Young typically performed in two plays at a time with Driftwood Players in Edmonds, Civic Light Opera in Seattle, Bellevue Community College or Snoqualmie Falls Forest Theater, quitting only when his children were born. He seized the chance to resume involvement. “If I could make money acting, I would,” he says.

Rick and Suzan Greenfield’s 13-year-old daughter Deidre is stage manager, following up her role as

Maria in the Cascade Community Theatre’s “Sound of Music” in June. “We’ve always loved the theater,” Rick says. “The opportunity has arisen and we’re glad it has,” Suzan says.

For others, too, it’s a family affair. Brian and Jane Pattinson are in the show, as are Wendy and Arthur Habek and their son. Costumer Gina Humberstone’s two daughters are involved.

To help with financing, participants are soliciting ads for the program. Some are researching grant

applications. They plan to sell gift wrap or cookies in January. Perhaps hold a Bingo night. Most participants wear 18 hats, but they’re eager to have the opportunities close to home. “It’s really wonderful to have something like this in the Valley,” Jeff Zuber says. “We hope this is just the beginning,” adds Wendy Habek, “Sort of like Microsoft starting in a garage, this is just the beginning of something great.”

Photos by Jim Hallas

Kira Pattinson (daughter of cast members Brian and Jane) gets a kick out of Davin Henrikson (aka Lord Goring) clowning around before rehearsal for ‘An Ideal Husband,’ which opens Dec. 7 at Cedarcrest.