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Published 3/27/2009 in Features : Area coverage

LEOTI — The community sign announcing Leoti and Wichita County events sits at the four-way stop in Leoti's business district.

The sign calls the attention of anyone stopped at the intersection — and who takes the time to look at it — to the announcement of the community play, a murder mystery this weekend at the First Presbyterian Church.

Vehicles continually stop at and pass through the intersection. It was Tuesday evening. And the sun was setting over the town as a group of 15 or so people practiced inside the church.

Four days until production.

'Stay as Dead as You Are'

On Tuesday night, there were some missed lines, added lines and moments of silence and confusion during rehearsal, but that's all part of practicing before the big production of "Stay as Dead as You Are."

Play performances are 6:30 p.m. today and 3 p.m. Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church in Leoti. Today's performance is a carry-in dinner, and Sunday is carry-in dessert. The cast describes the play as a murder mystery without the murder. Admission is a $5 suggested donation that goes to benefit the Wichita County Arts Alliance.

For about two hours tonight, and then on Sunday afternoon, according to Janelle Downs with the Wichita County Arts Alliance, people will walk through the church's doors with a wonderful home-cooked casserole, meal or yummy dessert — a good way to start off any gathering.

They'll sit down at the round tables. The cast is around from the very beginning, Downs said, trying to stay in character.

"We like to work the audience a little," she said, just to get them in the mood and be a part of what the cast is doing. "They're a part of it with us. We need them, and they need us to make this whole thing work."

Downs believes the community just enjoys watching people they know — but who they're used to seeing in different settings — come together and share in some creativity, let loose and just have a good time with the meal, play and skits.

It's Wednesday night, during another rehearsal as Downs talks by phone. In her mind, she can see the kids sitting close to the stage at production time and then walking up to tease the actors during intermission. The older people are just there with smiles, she says.

"It's just fun to see all ages like that come and enjoy the same thing," she said.

To Downs, community theater is defined "as the eclectic mix of people, be they farmers, ministers, teachers, retirees, children ... who share a love of this performance art to the extent that they volunteer hours of their time to make it happen. But the definition must include the community of people, without whose patronage there would be no community theater."

The history

There have been two groups or time periods for Leoti and Wichita County community theater, Downs said.

This is the second go-around, with productions such as "Stay as Dead as You Are," "Dress Rehearsal for Murder" and "Here Come the Cows (or Never Say 'Moo' in Mesa)."

"We're in our revival period," Downs said.

Originally, more than 20 years ago, community theater was a big hit in the county, Downs said. Productions included a melodrama, a Woody Allen play, and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," she said.

But the effort just kind of faded away. Downs said people got busy with their lives.

According to Charlie Ayers, who plays Detective Mamet, "a private eye, 1940s-style detective," there was a drama/debate coach who got the community theater effort going back then. The group did quite a few shows, including some musicals, which is how Charlie's wife, Joan, got involved. The coach left, though, and the effort lost a lot of its continuity.

That all changed in 1999 when the Wichita County Arts Alliance formed as a project of the Wichita County Enterprise Community, Downs said, which came as the county was increasing its efforts with economic development.

The arts alliance started a more active promotion of arts and cultural activities in Leoti, Downs said, including the Spring Fling on the courthouse lawn, various presentations from the Kansas Arts Commission, Fourth of July Kids' Art Blast, quilt shows, art lessons and children's theater camp. The group has received grants from the Finnup Foundation that help pay for a part-time instructor in the local grade school. The school previously had no art instruction and cleaned out a storage classroom that students now proudly call "Our Art Room," Downs said. The alliance also applies for grant funding from the Western Kansas Community Foundation, Midwest Energy and Cargill.

Ayers said the community theater returned in the form of productions at the church. And it made sense for Ayers and his family to get involved again, since they'd been with earlier community theater efforts in the county.

The first production that was part of the "revival" occurred in 2006. The group's done two melodramas and two "murder" mysteries that don't actually end up having murders.

Attendance

Downs said the group's happy with about 100 people attending the productions. Everyone's welcome.

The earlier productions were done during times of severe drought and money pressures, Ayers said, and people seemed to come more for "escapism" rather than the arts. The productions provide a place to go for entertainment, to have a good time and for a release, Ayers said.

The shows have had pretty much the same audience, Ayers said, and there's never been a practice or rehearsal where the entire cast has been together before the performances.

"I don't know how we get it together," Ayers said jokingly.

The message, though, he said, seems to be "it takes a community to make this work," explaining the cast doesn't just invite the community to come and watch. They need the community to attend to pull it off.

Downs is hoping the newly revived community theater effort will continue and thrive by also involving children in the productions and with skits before the shows and during intermission.

"You get it in your blood," she said of community theater.

The process

Downs was noticing some red eyes and tired faces with the cast practicing every day this week.

Play Director Carol Laws said the group found the play in January and then started practicing a couple times a week. The cast brings their own props and costumes, Laws said, and everyone pitches in where needed. And Downs, Laws says, fills in the holes backstage.

This year marks the first time the group has had a full-time director — someone who isn't also acting in the play. Basically, Laws says, directing the group means sometimes getting people to talk louder or guiding an actor with stage direction.

For the most part, though, she said, those in the play are "all kind of natural hams so to speak." Laws got involved after sending her husband, Terry, to rehearsals. He came back after the first meeting and told Carol she was in it, too.

And every year, she said, there's always some panic by the cast about whether they'll pull it off. And every year, they always do.

When your "back's against the wall, you do what you have to do," she said.

"It always comes off."

The cast

Hallie Hasel, who plays Sharona Pinter, got involved with the productions to support the arts and because she enjoys theater. It promotes cultural awareness, art appreciation and literature in a smaller community, she said of the alliance and theater effort.

And for Hasel, who did a little acting in high school and college, she enjoys the interaction with the cast and just being able to express herself in a way she's normally not able to.

"It forces you to step outside of the box," she said.

Hasel was part of the cast rehearsing Tuesday.

"It always goes a little rough," until the very last day, Hasel said, because everyone has other responsibilities.

"But then we'll be ready," she said, adding that when there's an audience, everything else comes together.

This is Willard Sanders' first production. There was an open spot in the cast, and being a relative of Laws, Sanders was asked to join. As Laws puts it, he was "drafted."

"It's been a blast," Sanders said. "I've really enjoyed it."

Sanders describes his character, Melvin Wedgewood, as "an everyday dork-type person." Someone who's a former nerd, chess club president and audio/visual guy who is now the vice president of a computer software company. In the play, Sanders wears suspenders that say "Bill" on one side and "Gates" on the other.

On Thursday, Sanders was a little nervous about Saturday's show. He's never been much for getting in front of people. But, he said, he can overcome that.

"I'm ready for it," he said.

Because, as they say, the show must go on.

For information on the Wichita County Arts Alliance, contact Downs at cjdowns@wbsnet.org or call (620) 874-1091.

Found 1 comment(s)!

Leoti's Community Theatre

Wichita County is proud of our Arts Committee. Some people never get out of Leoti very often. This affords those people and the rest of us to get to go and watch a good, CLEAN, funny performance. It really bonds people here. Thanks to you for such a wonderful article!

Posted by: Lynn Elder-Blau on 3/28/2009

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