Perrysburg troupe ready to sing for ‘Joseph’
1st of 4 shows at PHS begins on Thursday
6/18/2013
Lindsey Denham rehearses with the cast of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ which will be presented by the Perrysburg Musical Theatre Company. Ms. Denham will be the narrator.
THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT
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Lindsey Denham rehearses with the cast of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’ which will be presented by the Perrysburg Musical Theatre Company. Ms. Denham will be the narrator.
Four years ago, Katie Sanderson was 9 years old when her mother, Carrie Sanderson, drove her to one of her plays in Monroe.
Mrs. Sanderson said that’s when Katie asked why they had to drive so far for it from their Perrysburg home, and that’s when the idea behind the Perrysburg Musical Theatre Company began. Now the nonprofit organization in its third year will present Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Thursday at Perrysburg High School.
Mrs. Sanderson, a speech teacher at Fort Meigs Elementary, will be in the off-stage orchestra. Her two daughters have roles.
“School ending was a godsend,” Mrs. Sanderson said, detailing how busy she and her girls have been with rehearsals four hours every night. “My husband is not a theater person. He works on the construction set because he likes to be where our children are. And he has to hold down the fort at home.”
Director Clark Ausloos and art director Michael Kadin Craig, both professional actors from New York who work for Next Stage Studios in Perrysburg, are directing Joseph.
“Carrie’s kids are very talented, the whole family knows musicals and are born performers,” Mr. Ausloos said.
He said the show is full of family connections with husbands, wives, and children working together.
Fund-raisers and sales from last year’s Sound of Music play by Perrysburg Music Theatre helped cover the show’s costs. Mrs. Sanderson said the organization has a five to 10-year plan to get its own facility and bigger sponsors.
“We have grown more and more, and not just in audience but behind-the-scenes help too,” she said.
Mrs. Sanderson said each year the amount of people helping in the production has about doubled with volunteers and sponsors. At 7 p.m. Aug. 21 the organization will have its annual board meeting to renew or elect board members and talk about goals and finances.
Doug Cook, left, who plays Jacob, and Rick Saunders, who plays Joseph, hug during a rehearsal. There will be four shows, with the first at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
“Our community has so much talent, and we can teach kids and adults so many life lessons through theater as I did as a kid,” Mrs. Sanderson said. “You have to be able to take criticism, memorize, and learn.”
Mr. Ausloos said there are about 20 different songs in Joseph, and it is more of an opera because there is no dialogue.
“Carrie is focused on bringing a place for the community to perform, and also a step above the average community theater, we’re trying to be as professional as we can be,” Mr. Ausloos said. “We’ve brought on board people with degrees with set designs and technical theater.”
Performances for Joseph will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Perrysburg High auditorium. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.