Welcome everybody to Midday Magazine for the April 30th, 2024.
Have your host James behind the mic, and welcoming to our WFHR stage, if you will,
Wisconsin Ravitz Community Theatre's production of rumors.
Their final main stage production of the season, we're going to get into the dates,
talk to some of the cast members, talk to our director here, and have some fun.
Before we start, I always like to, excuse me, I hate to be serious about this,
but I was journalistically, I think it's important to let our audience know certain things.
And journalistically, I have to let you know that I have no integrity with this interview,
because I love Wisconsin Ravitz Community Theatre. It is the second home to me.
All of these people that are joining us today and that are going to be on that stage,
I'm friends with and appreciate. There's even some cast members that I've worked with since high
school. Good to see you Beth. So we want to encourage you to not only take in this show and
take in this interview, but have some fun with it too. Thank you so much to you guys joining us.
First, I want to introduce some of the cast members. We have Andy Kleckner at that time.
It took me a second. Andy is with us. Andy, go and introduce yourself and tell us the name of your
character. Okay, thanks. I'm Andy Kleckner. This is my third show with the Wisconsin Ravitz Community
Theatre. My character is Lenny Gans. Nice, nice. And thank you for being here. Andy,
appreciate the time. And we have Beth the name Peckham with us. And at that point, that name
seems familiar. And Beth, good to see you. Good to see you to James. Beth and I, of course,
know we work together in high school and everything. Beth put up with a lot of my shows that I would
write and direct and everything. And she was such a good. Christine, I have to tell you, if Beth
has been fun to direct, a little bit over here. Only because I was so I was such a weird director
that she's got to be pretty good at taking direction by now. Yeah, yeah, she's very prepared for
that. Very prepared. Beth, can you tell us your character? My character is Chris Gorman.
She's probably the second character that I've really played on the on the WRCT stage.
Very cool. Very cool. And my first being Steal Magnolias. Oh, back in I think 2017. Yeah,
I want to say around. Yeah, yeah. I played Mulian on that one. Next time back is Chris Gorman and
Rumors. Very fun character. Been enjoying it? Yes. Very much so. Good. And we have Christine Sullivan
with us. A director of Rumors. Christine, thanks for being here. Thank you for having us.
Appreciate it. Let's start with you, Christine, right out the gate first off. How is this your first,
your hundredth show you've directed? How many shows have you directed? On the Wisconsin Rapids
community theater stage, it's my first show. Nice. Nice. Have you directed before? I've directed
some things with the church and some other theaters. I've done some stage managing. But this is first
big stage. I like that. Have you been enjoying it? I've been enjoying. I've been enjoying all of it.
The cast is wonderful. The crew is wonderful. So we've had a really good time. I released
I have. I don't know. That's fantastic. Thank you so much. Now I do think that the work in Neil
Simon is pretty well known. Most people know most of his shows. And even if you don't know a particular
show, you know his style, the kind of comedy that he would write. Rumors is if not his greatest,
one of his greatest works. It's well known. It's been done a lot with a show like this, Christine,
for you approaching it, before you even cast it or anything like that, you're looking at the script,
you're reading through it. What were one of your bigger challenges for this show?
I think one of the bigger challenges was kind of trying to find the balance between the
sarcastic humor and the likability of the characters. Because I think it's really important that
you know we're seeing both sides of the people. And so we had to find the balance. And that's one
of the things when I was casting. I was thinking about how is this character, is this person going
to be able to do both? Yeah. Bring out both. And I think we've done a really good job with that.
I'm sure you have. And it is something that on paper, it can seem very simple. And then it's
hard to actually pull off as an actor or to find an actor. So that's really cool to hear.
What was one of the things that you were excited about doing with the show?
Taking the visions of the characters from my head onto the stage. Because as I read it, I could just,
I could see them in here. And I didn't have faces to them, but I could see and hear how I wanted
them to be. So putting them on stage and making them, you know, you come out of my head.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bring it to 3D, you know, bring it into life and everything. And I appreciate
that approach too. Because especially on a level like this and everything going into a very open
mind, very, you know, blank slate, can only benefit you as a director. You just don't know who's
going to audition in some of that. Exactly. And I didn't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't watch it.
Because you can watch the show on various venues. And I refused to watch it until I had already had it
cast. Yeah. Because I wanted to stick to what I saw in my head. So I was very, and I told everybody
after they were cast, do not watch it because that's not that's not the person in my head that you
might see. So I think that's such an interesting conversation. And I've only done out of the
hundreds of shows I've done. I've only done maybe a handful that are like of famous movies or
something like that. But when I did, it's a wonderful life. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid. And
I'm like, I can't watch that. I'm never going to be able to be Jimmy Stewart, even though I am
kind of rambling and talking a little bit like him right now, what intentionally. But I went back
and watch it afterwards. And it was so rewarding. It was so cool to see. It wasn't because I felt like
I did as good of a job as Jimmy Stewart or something like that. It was just to be able to see,
oh, wow, I did that just like he did or, oh, he did this. And I like what he did there or something.
It's just kind of fun as an actor to be able to sit back and watch. So I do think that it's actually
going to be even more rewarding watching rumors afterwards if you guys choose to.
I think you tap into your own, your own perception of the character better if you're not
impounded. Yeah. If you don't have other people's opinions influenced by it. Yeah.
And it's hard not to be, you know, when we're doing these things, we want to put so much of
ourselves into this work and do such a good job. And it's, you know, what do you do? You tend to
look at people that have done the job before or something like that. So it's not too far fetched to do.
But I do appreciate the people and the approach of that. That's pretty cool. Let's talk about your
characters a little bit. Andy, I want to start with you. Tell us a little bit about your character.
Okay. So Lenny is, I think, Christine tapped right into the sarcasm. But somehow, you know,
very sarcastic and somehow likable, I think. And it's fun for me because, you know, my real
life persona is more of a nice guy. And the character is more of a jerk and sarcastic and insults
nearly everybody in the cast at some point or another. And so it's really fun to me. It's kind of
the role that a role that I wanted to do just to play a jerk. It's refreshing. And it's not me.
So it's really, really pretty fun. And I want to be upfront about the fact that when I audition,
I, you know, you have an opportunity to pick the character that you're reading for. And I wrote
down a different character. I didn't think I was going to be reading for this character. And there
was some really stiff competition up there reading. And as I watched the others reading,
I realized, I want this character. I mean, I think I like this character better. And then,
you know, later on, Christine asked me, would you be opposed to Lenny? I'm like, no, I love,
I actually like the character better. Yeah. So that's awesome, man. Andy, first off,
thank you for sharing that. I think that is something that goes through a lot of people's heads,
especially when they're auditioning for roles and everything. But we don't really share that very
often. I appreciate that you did. There's that's a very, very feeling that I think a lot of us
can relate to. And that's cool. I should mention that you're talking about being sarcastic and trying
to be likable. That hit home really quick for me. I feel like that's my whole presence on radio.
That's like all I ever try to do. So I want to know what you did to master that because I need help.
I need tips with a with a with a some like this too. You were mentioning something else that I
think is interesting too. And I think can really reach out to the audiences. We're always
encouraging more and more people to audition for local theater, be a part of the local theater
wherever you're living and wherever you're hearing us. There is something fun about doing something
that's opposite of you. My first, I'd say like 60, 70 roles I played. I was always playing villains.
I was always playing bad guys and eventually got a chance to start playing good guys in some
romantic leads and things like that. And that's a lot of fun. There's nothing more fun than playing
a villain. There's a I miss it. I have a hard time now getting cast as a villain of those things.
And I kind of miss those days. I never thought that would happen. But there is something fun about
playing something different than you, which I think a lot of people can enjoy and anybody out there
can do this. Anybody listening to this right now can act. Anybody can. You can get on out there
and have a good time. And maybe get to let out some steam or something or be something you're not.
There's also the point about the not having, he said, when you come to audition and you say,
well, maybe I'm not going to go because there are all of these other people going. You think they're
all better than you. And that is a misconception on your own because there are people in our cast
that said, I wasn't thinking about auditioning because I knew so and so and so and so and so and so
and so was auditioning. And yet they they may not fit the character that the that the director's
looking for. Yeah. So, you know, the don't be intimidated by people you've seen on stage before
coming to audition because the reality is you don't know what the director's looking for. Exactly.
You never know what can happen. One of the the best auditions I ever I was living out in California
and I walk into this room and there is about 16 or 17 white guys blonde hair blue eyes.
I don't know if you guys have noticed this or not, but I am not that. I walked in and I'm like, I don't
know what I'm doing here. Like I'm wasting my time. I could be at another audition. I don't know
why they even brought me in for this. I got that role in the heartbeat. I got the role in a second.
I killed that audition. I have had few experiences like that. But as I walked into that room,
if I was just listening to the voice of my head, I'd walked right out. I'd never had that
experience. I'd never been able to play Rome a Mercutio in some of these things. There is
something too that's so important that I think I hope comes across in this. And I really appreciate
you taking the time to say that, Christine. That is really noteworthy. And it is also noteworthy too.
We're all usually our own harshest critic. Creatives are the worst at that. Creatives are much,
much harsher on themselves than most others are. So chances are that audition that you think is
going badly or you don't think you have a chance for this. You might be just too close to it. You
might just be seeing it with a harsh set of eyes or something. Encourage you to go for it. Go for
any of these roles. Whoever it is. Beth, let's hear a little bit about your character. My character,
Chris. She is kind of a, I think she's rather a straight-laced kind of personality. She's been
thrown into a crazy scenario that she gets frazzled trying to deal with and then finds her own
way to get through the evening. That leads to some fun play and some opportunities for me,
which has been really fun to go with an act. Have you found, like, likenesses with this character,
like personality like you guys have in common or is it a little more, like for Andy, a little more
opposite for you? Some more things that I find in common with myself, I think. Maybe less of the
straight-laced bits. Sure, sure, sure. But those are fun to do too and to be able to show,
you know, I've been working hard to try and show that dynamic and that change that she goes
through the play and doing well at it. Thank you. Thank you, Beth. Thank you for that.
So I wanted to talk about and get the audience a little behind the curtain look here, a little
in the audition. They rehearsal process. How often did you guys rehearse Christine? How many
times a week did you guys rehearse on what time frame did you guys do? We started rehearsals in March.
I don't know what that day was. Early March. Yeah, yeah, early March. And they rehearsed while we had
auditions and we had them read through the night. Read through that same week. So and then the
following week, Monday through Thursday evenings from 630 to 830, sometimes a little earlier and as
time goes on and you do dress rehearsals and you have your tech there, we end up being a little
later. But we were pretty, pretty diligent about keeping time and starting on time and stopping
no later than the promised time. So we were all very, the cast was all very respectful about
being ready to start on time and they worked very hard. So it's been about seven weeks of
of Monday through Friday, Monday through Thursday. So in that, they had the weekends Friday through
Sunday off and to forget our lines again. That's how it goes. I have breed this up in part because I
know for me I've never been able to go to a show and not watch what's going on on stage and not
thinking the back of my mind of all the rehearsal and all the grinding it takes and learning your
blocking and getting your lines down and all of that. And we appreciate so much of that. Like I
feel that way when I'm seeing live theater, no matter where it is, but especially community theater
where our actors are out there before the love of the game. They're out there for the passion
of this and everything. That it just adds another layer to it for me and makes it even more
exciting and more enjoyable. One of the things I also want to encourage, as I mentioned before,
is if we're talking to people out there and encouraging them to be a part of these shows and stuff,
what is some of the things that might hold them back? We're trying to counter those as we've
done throughout this conversation and one of them will rehearsal time. Do I have the time to put
towards that? It's not a lot of time. It really isn't in the scheme of things and everything.
And it is a commitment. I don't make light of that. But it is a fun commitment. You go that these
rehearsals and it's a good time. You enjoy yourself. You're getting to do something fun.
You're getting out of the house. And if you have kids, you're away from your kids for a little
amount of kidding. I'm joking. But it is something that is a release. It is a lot of fun. And
in not a huge time commitment, not a lot is asked of you. I think and I think that it's something
that everybody can do. Just reminding everybody, this is something fun.
Well, part of keeping our time slot schedule was to keep it fun because I was really trying to
hold to that because I've acted in various different ways in locations and that schedule wasn't always
as tight. I mean, there was a little going on where people couldn't always be there or they
were always late. It could get difficult. And it makes it harder for the actors. I think when
you're sitting there waiting to start the rehearsal so that can be grudgingly for the actors.
So I was really trying to keep it like we promised you. I admire that. That's not always easy to
do. I appreciate that you're able to do that. Christine, I also am going to put you on the spot. I
mean ask you. If you wouldn't mind reading the other cast members that are not with us today so
we can shout them out. Ken Gorman is Bethany's on stage husband. He's played by Phil Hartley.
And you know him. He's on the radio. Shout out to Phil. Shout out to Phil. And his
character is like Chris is kind of thrown into an awkward situation and he's trying to figure out
how to deal with this uncharted territory. So Claire Gantz is Andy's stage wife. And she's played
by Andrew Zinski. This is her first WRCT stage production. So this is her first time acting
with us. I know she's been in the studio before because of the grace dinner. And she and Lenny
have quite the relationship and they like to. But you know watching them interact is very fun.
Ernie Kusak is played by Dick Antonosia. And you've seen him on WRCT.
I mentioned many of times. Yeah. I mentioned that it's a wonderful life earlier. Dick and I work
together in that incredible actor. Wonderful man. And just the only thing that's better than his
acting is him as a person. Dick's just a great guy. You can't be around Dick and not enjoy yourself.
He's a good guy. Yep. And he can do. I've seen him playing many various roles. And I think he's
really enjoying this one. I think this is a little different for him too. Cookie Kusak his wife
is played by Heather Sayers. And we all know her. She's been on the stage a number of times.
You either if you don't know Heather from the stage by now. She shouldn't add it for a while.
From the community. From the community. Heather worked here for a while. I mean yeah she's
literally bit everywhere. We love Heather. I appreciate her. I'm so happy to see you know Heather
was like a lot of our listeners out there for a long time. Looking at like wanting to do this but
just oh no not yet. No not yet. And she jumped in and now she can't get out. Now she's there now.
She's there. I think she's got male delivered there now. I think we pick it up every now and then.
Glenn Cooper is played by Jeff Friday. He is also a resident.
Wisconsin Rapids community. Seen Jeff many times. Big fan of Jeff. Yeah. And Cassie Cooper,
Cassidy Rinker. This is her first time at WRCT. There he is. And she hasn't been on stage since
she was in middle school. And she is just doing a wonderful wonderful job. She's a natural. So
it's just like I would imagine she had done a lot of theater but she doesn't.
More encouragement to people out there. And you know what Heather was in that situation at one
point where she hadn't done anything since high school. And look at her now. She's done a
billion shows. She's done more acting than I have in the last years. Yeah. Yeah we've got a
couple of new ones and a couple of returning. And then Officer Welch is played by Chris Williams
another familiar face at the theater. Yes big appreciation. And Officer Pudney is played by
Evelyn Shinaki. Shinaki. Yeah. One of my best friends is Shinaki. And she's been with the theater
for Ben on stage in a few times down there. So she's not new. But she does a really good one.
She does great young actor. Yeah. You got a really nice cast here Christine. I drew the luck.
It's one of those things too. And you hear all these names. You hear all these personalities
together. And you hear these guys. You can hear the excitement. The passion and their voices.
How much fun they've been having together and how much fun they are getting ready to do with this.
But I also hear something else in your guys' voices. And that's you're ready to go. Like you
want to get to the on stage. It's go time. You want to get to this now. And I'm very excited for
you to be able to do this. Christine, is there anything you want to touch on that we didn't get a
chance to? Well, let's touch on how we can get our tickets. You can call the theater 715-421-0435.
You can purchase your tickets at the box office Monday, Tuesday through Friday from 10 until 2.
Or you can go on the website WRCT Theater. And that's spelled with T-H-E-A-T-R-E dot org.
So it's the traditional, the spelling of theater. Keep in mind if you're if you're not able to
find it just type in your search bar with cons or abs community theater. We'll pop right up.
I tested all the time that way or wrc theater dot org. And keep also in mind if you're listening to
this on the 30th here. We have one night left of auditions for Disney's June newsies juniors.
Go ahead and check that out. Bring the kids down to audition 5 to 8 at the Wisconsin Rebs Community
Theater. While you're there, pick up your tickets for rumors. Otherwise, you can get them at WRCT Theater
dot org or right at the front desk on the night of the show. May 3rd is when this show kicks off.
Everybody this Friday. Be sure to check it out. And get it. There's the 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 10th.
And 11th, all 7 o'clock shows. The 11th, they will have a 2 o'clock matinee to go along with that.
We will be talking about this on our morning shows. We'll be promoting it. We're going to make sure
that you guys have a great crowd. Do me a favor. Enjoy yourselves. Break a leg. Have a great time.
Thank you. Thank you guys. Say hi to the rest of the cast for me too. Enjoy yourselves.
Again, you can find out more and get your tickets at wrc theater dot org. We'll be back with more midday
magazine tomorrow right here at 975 FM 1320 AM WFHR. We are locally grown radio.
