Stay tuned for In Our Range On The Way Next, brought to you by Westgate Nursing Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Center.
Good morning and welcome to In Our Range.
I'm your host, Mike LeBeau.
This morning we're joined by Mary Hansen, board president at Awkward Stage Drama Club here in Ironwood.
The Awkward Stage Drama Club is a non-profit organization providing theater activities for students in grades 4 through 12.
It was established in partnership and with support from the Ironwood Carnegie Library.
The Ironwood Carnegie Library and historic Ironwood Theater were instrumental in the establishment and nourishment of the club.
Now, the ASDC operates on its own as a 501C3.
Activities include learning about acting, set building, makeup, costumes, backstage management, tech, publicity, and marketing.
The club is hosting open houses on September 3rd and 8th at Zion Lutheran Church at 100 Midland Avenue in Ironwood.
The club is open to both new and returning participants, bringing together all children from across the region.
Mary Hansen is a volunteer at the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
She's an Ironwood resident and tremendous supporter of the performing arts here on the range.
Mary is a retired school psychologist and is one of the founders of the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
She's also served and volunteered at the Range Strikers Soccer Club for many years with her husband Bill and daughter Alexi.
That's where we met, right?
That's
right.
Good morning, Mary, and welcome to In Our
Range.
Good morning, Mike.
How are you doing today?
I'm fantastic.
Thank you.
Well, thanks for coming in.
Of course.
When my family and I first moved here in 2019 and I saw the Flyers for the awkward stage drama club just
so delighted by the name and the idea of it.
And I've just been excited.
I'm so glad you could come in here this morning.
Me too.
Thank you.
So with 14 years of the awkward stage drama club under your belt, what are a couple of things that really stand out for you when it comes to how this program benefits kids here on the range?
Well, I think that what first comes to mind is that when we first started this, what I noticed is that none of the school districts had a theater program in their schools.
And so that was one of the reasons that we wanted to start something so that there was an opportunity to learn about theater arts.
And then what it ended up doing was bringing those kids that were sometimes the outliers or didn't have a lot of friends that once they became a part of this group, they established the friendships they established.
Oh, I'm not the only one that kind of sticks out but has a likeness for
talking or for tech or for lighting and sound, whatever it might be.
There was a venue for them to come together and not feel like they were the outsiders.
They were their own group.
And so they could be who they were.
They felt comfortable in the group.
And so that was kind of the side benefit of that.
And now it's really become kind of the focus.
Theater can teach so much.
in so many different levels but kids can come and feel respected and supported for who they are and figure out that they're not the only ones in their schools that might be just a little bit different and it's been wonderful to watch that nurtured.
So not only do these kids get to come in and gain some skills and maybe
have an activity that they're interested in but they get to develop these skills to a deep level really nerd out on what it is that they bring to it whether it's tech or production or acting or directing and then in that they also find a safe community for themselves where they get to really develop their own character in real life not just on the stage.
When I first started back in the day and we were doing you know
hour, hour and a half productions.
There were a lot of kids in the schools that would come and participate.
And we've got into all of the costumes and the makeup and all of that.
And that a large part was due to historical and with theater who got this big grant for us.
And we were able to purchase those things.
And then they got to express themselves, build confidence in how they speak, come out of their shell, and then have
And there were some kids that you never would have expected to show up that did.
You know, sort of like high school musical, you get your sometimes the jock, right?
That comes
in and felt comfortable doing that.
And boy, we had some fun production.
So when I look back at 14 years, who's still in our community that was a part of that, the skills they learned was amazing.
Now, kids don't really know how to have a social conversation.
So working on the art of conversation, eye contact, expressing yourself verbally, not in a text with an LOL or whatever emojis that they might want.
What does it look like when you're sad?
What does it look like when you're mad?
How do you move your body?
What do you notice about what this person is doing?
So our hope is that it can perpetuate some of those skills within the schools or with their family or friends because I feel like we're getting a group of kids here that it's a lost art even to communicate.
Yeah, so working in the dramatic arts allows especially young people but really anybody Sometimes you learn so much about yourself and get to develop yourself when you're pretending to be somebody else correct and When you're learning acting and you're learning this cooperative skills of putting on a production You have to communicate and you have to communicate clearly you have to work through conflict Learn how you understand and you this club offers a safe nourishing environment for these people
kids to really come out and then add in the fact that you might get these kids from different social circles different clicks that come together and there may be some pardon the phrase awkwardness around that they find that in this group all of that stuff that might exist in the halls of the school or in a classroom or somewhere else they don't exist there and it's wonderful and then that functions as you notice you still see so many of these kids who are now adults moving through the world and
The club functions almost as a pipeline of talent into theater north and all these other things.
Exactly.
And that's where we want to, especially this year, we're pulling back a little bit in that we're going to make smaller group sizes because we do want to form those relationships better and build those skills better.
When they leave here and they're looking for a group of like minds when they're adults and they leave our community, or even if they stay at theater north, they know
where they can go to find some people that.
have that same joy, that same fun, that same outlet.
They know what to look for to find their people and then they have a stronger sense of self when they get out on their own to be able to say, okay, I feel confident about this and this is what I can provide moving forward.
Correct.
And it's not just, like you were saying, it's not just the acting part.
That is a huge part.
We want to give kids confidence to speak clearly, to
think on their feet, read body language, and we'll do that with group activities.
But there's a whole other world.
There's art in the schools, but this provides another opportunity for set design.
marketing and publicity.
You design the posters for us.
You design stuff for the Facebook page for us.
We want to move in that direction now as well.
Lighting and sound.
I think theater north just got a new light and sound system.
And wouldn't it be great to have some of our kids eventually be able to learn that?
Historic Ironwood Theater has updated their equipment.
They're looking for volunteers.
Wouldn't it be great to nurture some of our kids to be able to participate in that?
And as you are learning those skills, you're also among other people who like theater art and whatever form it is.
But yes, so.
step by step, once we moved into the 501C3 status, I was held to more of
Like we have a board of directors now and we have requirements and expectations that kind of shifted whereas before it was just kind of Mary and Lynn and Bruce kind of, oh, let's put on a production, right?
So moving forward, we're really trying to give it more of an intimate look with each age group and work on learning the skills a little bit more in depth.
And we'll look at doing workshops, not just a production, but we'll do many workshops.
Like it might be a makeup workshop.
It might be how to do an audition workshop.
Angela Burla ran an audition workshop this summer.
And what do you need to know when you go to an audition?
If you've ever auditioned for different directors at Theatre North, you know they do it differently.
Yeah.
Yeah.
you know, we want them ready for that.
Wow.
So you're not, you're not just deepening skill sets with these kids, but you're also expanding the skill sets available for these kids, which invites more kids who may not be as extroverted or wanting to be on the stage, but have these skills that they can develop while remaining true to the original mission of keeping this supportive community and allowing these kids to really be themselves.
And rather than just have, okay, here's auditions and then here's our rehearsals, you have regular club
meetings and workshops that go on regardless of whether there's a production actually in work.
That's the
vision.
That's the vision.
So Angela Burla and myself are kind of the two key leaders of this right now and doing that at least for this year because of getting used to what paperwork needs to be signed, communication with parents, making sure that these kids are all in.
as far as if you're going to participate then you need to say that you're going to participate and show up
and if
you don't then we
have to let you go.
Right.
We haven't really done that in the past.
So it's going to look a little bit different
for those that are coming back.
A little more structured, a little more, yeah.
Yes.
Expectations happen when you take that status.
Right.
And so in my head, it's kind of like a five to eight year vision before we finally get
like
the whole thing running smoothly and built to a
a bigger program, but we will offer these components as we go along.
That's why I would start as workshops.
Like it might be a one day workshop, but at least you're introduced to light and sound.
You're introduced to set design.
You're introduced to make up.
So with this rearrangement, you're not only looking to expand the group of kids, but I can imagine with all the administrative work and outreach and publicity that you could use some adult volunteers as well with that help.
Yeah, we can.
And I anybody that's
interested in doing that can certainly contact the website on the Facebook page or whatever you know it's
here reach out to you through Gmail right we'll give out later and then the Facebook page
yes I mean I want them to come in and be able to see what we're about
So come and talk to me.
Let's see what could happen.
So with that, you have these open houses coming up for people to come visit, check out the community, see whether and how they can get involved on Thursday, September 3rd and on a Tuesday, September 8th from 6 to 8 PM at the Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood on Midland Avenue over there.
They'll be having a possibilities and registration opportunity
for all the kids who will be in fourth through twelfth grade in school or homeschooled and parents can come in and check out the club.
What would you like to share about that event coming up?
What can folks expect?
Well, first of all, before I say that, I do have to say like the hugest shout out to Zion Lutheran Church who has donated their space now for the last two years.
for us to have a home so that I don't have to live out of my shed and my front porch.
And so we actually have a costume area and we have a props area and we have a working area.
And then we also have a place to perform when we're ready to do a show.
So this wouldn't be happening at this level with without them.
So from six to eight and it's an open house, you don't have to be there the whole time.
You come in
We'll be there to talk about the age of your child, what the expectations are for that age group.
What I will say is that for our fifth and sixth grade group and our seventh and eighth grade group, you have to commit to both Tuesday and Thursday.
Fifth and sixth grade group will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 345 to 515.
And the seventh and eighth grade group will be from 6pm to 730pm on Tuesday and Thursday.
In order to really make this a cohesive group and form this team of people for what we're doing in the fall, you have to commit to both.
And we hope to be done.
We will be done by December 10th.
We can't tell you which production we're doing until we see how many kids.
we have in the group.
And then when we know how many we have in the group, then we'll look at the production date.
So we'll work that out with the parents.
Yes.
So there's a new structure, which also needs to go with the flow, depending on what happens.
And the commitment is an important part of that character development that we were talking about earlier.
It's the best way to ensure that everyone gets
their needs met and develop skills and then the community thrives.
I like to think of it as a team.
If you're playing on the football team or the softball team, you're required to be there for
your
practices and you can't produce a team if you're gone from every other practice.
We're going to max it out at 12 per group.
So if your kids are interested, please come and sign up because we are going to cap it at 12.
so that both Angela and I can handle the group, communicate with the group and not feel overwhelmed ourselves.
The kids are gonna have so much fun with the different games that we do while they probably won't even know that they're learning skills because
they're gonna
be have fun doing the games.
And then one of the things that I learned from this resource that I never even considered was that for every one minute that your production says it is.
So let's say it's a 45 minute.
production.
You need one hour of rehearsal.
Yeah, so if you want it to go well, you need to spend an hour on for that many minutes.
Well that's so we're looking at a 20 minute production but those that have come in the past or those that have come and seen productions, my expectation is is that you're going to be like
Oh my gosh.
They all had their lines memorized.
Their body movement was different.
They watched each other.
Their emotions matched what they were saying.
This was incredible.
That's where we want to be.
Excellent.
So I want to give that a try.
Yeah, so there's a real vision of development.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Is there anything else you'd like to add before we get out of here
today?
No, just that
Please come and talk to us.
The sky is the limit.
If you come in and your child really wants to draw this type of stuff or learn about this, we want the ideas just as much as we want the commitment to a Tuesday, Thursday, or how are we going to do workshops?
How many people do we have doing this?
Well, then we need to do a workshop.
So even if you have been a past participant, no, you can't do the two days.
Come in anyway.
because we want to make sure that we do have something for you.
That sounds excellent.
Mary, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Thank you, Mike.
We really appreciate it.
Good luck to you and the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
Thank you.
We really appreciate the work you do here.
Thanks, Mike.
I'd like to thank Mary Hansen for joining us this morning and sharing about this tremendous opportunity for young folks on the range with the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
The club is hosting open houses on September 3rd and 8th at Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood.
Kids and adults are all welcome to come learn more and see how they can get involved.
More information can be found on the Awkward Stage Drama Club's Facebook page, or you can email them at awkwardstagedramaclub at gmail.com.
Thank you for joining us this morning on In Our Range.
I'm Mike LeBeau, and we'll be back next week.
Stay tuned for In Our Range On The Way Next, brought to you by Westgate Nursing Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Center.
Good morning and welcome to In Our Range.
I'm your host, Mike LeBeau.
This morning we're joined by Mary Hansen, board president at Awkward Stage Drama Club here in Ironwood.
The Awkward Stage Drama Club is a non-profit organization providing theater activities for students in grades 4 through 12.
It was established in partnership and with support from the Ironwood Carnegie Library.
The Ironwood Carnegie Library and historic Ironwood Theater were instrumental in the establishment and nourishment of the club.
Now, the ASDC operates on its own as a 501C3.
Activities include learning about acting, set building, makeup, costumes, backstage management, tech, publicity, and marketing.
The club is hosting open houses on September 3rd and 8th at Zion Lutheran Church at 100 Midland Avenue in Ironwood.
The club is open to both new and returning participants, bringing together all children from across the region.
Mary Hansen is a volunteer at the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
She's an Ironwood resident and tremendous supporter of the performing arts here on the range.
Mary is a retired school psychologist and is one of the founders of the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
She's also served and volunteered at the Range Strikers Soccer Club for many years with her husband Bill and daughter Alexi.
That's where we met, right?
That's
right.
Good morning, Mary, and welcome
to In Our Range.
Good morning, Mike.
How are you doing today?
I'm fantastic.
Thank you.
Well, thanks for coming in.
Of
course.
When my family and I first moved here in 2019 and I saw the Flyers for the awkward stage drama club just
so delighted by the name and the idea of it.
And I've just been excited.
I'm so glad you could come in here this morning.
Me too.
Thank you.
So with 14 years of the awkward stage drama club under your belt, what are a couple of things that really stand out for you when it comes to how this program benefits kids here on the range?
Well, I think that what first comes to mind is that when we first started this, what I noticed is that none of the school districts had a theater program in their schools.
And so that was one of the reasons that we wanted to start something so that there was an opportunity to learn about theater arts.
And then what it ended up doing was bringing those kids that were sometimes the outliers or didn't have a lot of friends, that once they became a part of this group, they established the friendships, they established, oh, I'm not the only one that kind of sticks out, but has a likeness for
talking or for tech or for lighting and sound, whatever it might be.
There was a venue for them to come together and not feel like they were the outsiders.
They were their own group.
And so they could be who they were.
They felt comfortable in the group.
And so that was kind of the side benefit of that.
And now it's really become kind of the focus.
Theater can teach so much.
in so many different levels but kids can come and feel respected and supported for who they are and figure out that they're not the only ones in their schools that might be just a little bit different and it's been wonderful to watch that nurtured.
So not only do these kids get to come in and gain some skills and maybe
have an activity that they're interested in but they get to develop these skills to a deep level really nerd out on what it is that they bring to it whether it's tech or production or acting or directing and then in that they also find a safe community for themselves where they get to really develop their own character in real life not just on the stage.
When I first started back in the day and we were doing you know
hour, hour and a half productions.
There were a lot of kids in the schools that would come and participate.
And we've got into all of the costumes and the makeup and all of that.
And that a large part was due to historical and with theater who got this big grant for us and we were able to purchase those things.
And then they got to express themselves, build confidence in how they speak, come out of their shell, and then have
fun and there were some kids that you never would have expected to show up that did you know sort of like high school musical you get your sometimes the jock right that comes in and felt comfortable doing that and boy do we had we had some fun productions when I look back at 14 years who's still in our community that was a part of that the skills they learned was amazing
Now, kids don't really know how to have a social conversation, so working on the art of conversation, eye contact, expressing yourself verbally, not in a text with an LOL or whatever emojis that they might want.
What does it look like when you're sad?
What does it look like when you're mad?
How do you move your body?
What do you notice about what this person is doing?
So our hope is that it can perpetuate some of those skills within the schools or with their family or friends because I feel like we're getting a group of kids here that it's a lost art even to communicate.
Yeah, so working in the dramatic arts allows
especially young people, but really anybody.
Sometimes you learn so much about yourself and get to develop yourself when you're pretending to be somebody else.
Correct.
And when you're learning acting and you're learning this cooperative skills of putting on a production, you have to communicate and you have to communicate clearly.
You have to work through conflict, learn how you understand and you this club offers a safe nourishing environment for these kids to really come out and then add in the fact that you might get
these kids from different social circles, different clicks
that
come together and there may be some pardon the phrase awkwardness around that they find that in this group all of that stuff that might exist in the halls of the school or in a classroom or somewhere else they don't exist there and it's wonderful and then that functions as you notice you still see so many of these kids who are now adults moving through the world and
The club functions almost as a pipeline of talent into theater north and all these other things.
Exactly.
And that's where we want to, especially this year, we're pulling back a little bit in that we're going to make smaller group sizes because we do want to form those relationships better and build those skills better.
When they leave here and they're looking for a group of like minds when they're adults and they leave our community, or even if they stay at theater north, they know
where they can go to find some people that have that same joy, that same fun, that same outlet.
They know what to look for to find
their people and then they
have a stronger sense of self when they get out on their own to be able to say, okay, I feel confident about this and this is what I can provide moving forward.
Correct.
And it's not just
Like you were saying, it's not just the acting part.
That is a huge part.
We want to give kids confidence to speak clearly, to think on their feet, read body language, and we'll do that with group activities.
But there's a whole other world.
There's, you know, there's art in the schools, but this provides another opportunity for set design.
marketing and publicity.
You design the posters for us.
You design stuff for the Facebook page for us.
We want to move in that direction now as well.
Lighting and sound.
I think theater north just got a new light and sound system.
And wouldn't it be great to have some of our kids eventually be able to learn that?
Historic Ironwood Theater has updated their equipment.
They're looking for volunteers.
Wouldn't it be great to nurture some of our kids to be able to participate in that?
And as you are learning those skills, you're also among other people who like theater art and whatever form it is.
But yes, so.
step by step, once we moved into the 501C3 status, I was held to more of like, we have a board of directors now, and we have requirements and expectations that kind of shifted, whereas before it was just kind of Mary and Lynn and Bruce kind of, oh, let's put on a production, right?
So moving forward, we're really trying to give it more of an intimate look with each
age group and work on learning the skills a little bit more in depth and we'll look at doing workshops not just a production but we'll do many workshops like it might be a makeup workshop it might be how to do an audition workshop Angela Burla ran an audition workshop this summer and what do you need to know when you go to an audition
If you've ever auditioned for different directors at Theatre North, you know they do it differently.
Yeah.
And, you know, we want them ready for that.
Wow,
so
you're not just deepening skill sets with these kids, but you're also expanding the skill sets available for these kids, which invites more kids who may not be as extroverted or wanting to be on the stage, but have these skills that they can develop while remaining true to the original mission of keeping this supportive community and allowing these kids to really be themselves.
And rather than just have, OK, here's auditions and then here's our rehearsals, you have regular club meetings and workshops that go
on regardless of whether there's a production.
Correct.
That's the vision.
That's the vision.
So Angela Burla and myself are kind of the two key leaders of this right now and doing that at least for this year because of getting used to what paperwork needs to be signed, communication with parents, making sure that these kids are all in as far as if you're going to participate
then you need to say that you're going to participate and show up.
And if you don't, then we have to let you go.
Right.
We haven't really done that in the past.
So it's going to look a little bit different for those that are coming back.
A little more
structured, a little more,
yeah.
Yes.
Expectations happen when you
take that status.
Right.
And so in my head, it's kind of like a five to eight year vision before we finally get like the whole thing running smoothly and built to a
a bigger program, but we will offer these components as we go along.
That's why I would start as workshops.
Like it might be a one-day workshop, but at least you're introduced to light and sound.
You're introduced to set design.
You're introduced to makeup.
So with this rearrangement, you're not only looking to expand the group of kids, but I can imagine with all the administrative work and outreach and publicity that you could use some adult volunteers as well with that help.
Yeah, we can.
And anybody that's interested in doing that can certainly contact the website on the Facebook page or whatever you know it's
here.
Reach out to you through Gmail,
which
we'll give out later, and then the Facebook page.
Yes.
I mean, I want them to come and be able to see what we're about.
So come and talk to me.
Let's see what could happen.
So with that, you have these open houses coming up for people to come visit, check out the community, see whether and how they can get involved on Thursday, September 3rd and on a Tuesday, September 8th from 6 to 8 PM at the Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood on Midland Avenue over there.
They'll be having a possibilities and registration opportunity
for all the kids who will be in fourth through twelfth grade in school or homeschooled and parents can come in and check out the club.
What would you like to share about that event coming up?
What can folks expect?
Well, first of all, before I say that, I do have to say like the hugest shout out to Zion Lutheran Church who has donated their space now for the last two years.
for us to have a home so that I don't have to live out of my shed and my front porch.
And so we actually have a costume area and we have a props area and we have a working area.
And then we also have a place to perform when we're ready to do a show.
So this wouldn't be happening at this level with without them.
So from six to eight, and it's an open house, you don't have to be there the whole time.
You come in
We'll be there to talk about the age of your child, what the expectations are for that age group.
What I will say is that for our fifth and sixth grade group and our seventh and eighth grade group, you have to commit to both Tuesday and Thursday.
Fifth and sixth grade group will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 345 to 515.
And the seventh and eighth grade group will be from 6pm to 7.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday.
in order to really make this a cohesive group and form this team of people for what we're doing in the fall, you have to commit to both.
And we hope to be done.
We will be done by December 10.
We can't tell you which production we're doing until we see how many kids we have in the group.
And then when we know how many we have in the group, then we'll look at the production date.
So we'll work that out with
the parents.
Yes, so there's a new structure which you also
need to go
with the flow depending on what happens
and the
commitment is an important part of that character
development
that we were talking about earlier.
It's the best way to ensure that everyone gets their needs met
and
develop skills and then the community thrives.
I like to think of it as a team.
If you're playing on the football team or the softball team, you're required to be there for your practices and you can't produce a team if you're
gone from every other practice.
We're going to max it out at 12 per group.
So if your kids are interested, please come and sign up because we are going to cap it at 12 so that both Angela and I can handle the group, communicate with the group and not feel overwhelmed ourselves.
The kids are going to have so much fun with the different games that we do while they probably won't even know that they're learning skills because they're going to be have fun doing the games.
And then one of the things that I learned from this resource that I never even considered was that for every one minute that your production says it is.
So let's say it's a 45 minute production.
You need one hour of rehearsal.
Yeah.
So if you want it to go well, you need to spend an hour on for that many minutes.
Well, that's so we're looking at a 20 minute production, but
Those that have come in the past or those that have come and seen productions, my expectation is, is that you're going to be like, oh my gosh, they all had their lines memorized.
Their body movement was different.
They watched each other.
Their emotions matched what they were saying.
This was incredible.
That's where we want to be.
So I want to give, I want to give that a try.
Yeah.
So there's a real vision
of
development.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Is there anything else you'd like to add before we get out of here
today?
No, just that please come and talk to us.
The sky is the limit.
If you come in and your child really wants to draw this type of stuff or learn about this.
We want the ideas just as much as we want the commitment to a Tuesday, Thursday, or how are we going to do workshops?
How many people do we have doing this?
Well, then we need to do a workshop.
So even if you have been a past participant, no, you can't do the two days come in anyway, because we want to make sure that we do have something for you.
That sounds excellent.
Mary, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Thank you, Mike.
We really appreciate it.
Good luck to you and the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
Thank you.
We really appreciate the work you do here.
Thanks, Mike.
I'd like to thank Mary Hansen for joining us this morning and sharing about this tremendous opportunity for young folks on the range with the Awkward Stage Drama Club.
The club is hosting open houses on September 3rd and 8th at Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood.
Kids and adults are all welcome to come learn more and see how they can get involved.
More information can be found on the Awkward Stage Drama Club's Facebook page, or you can email them at awkwardstagedramaclub at gmail.com.
Thank you for joining us this morning on In Our Range.
I'm Mike LeBeau, and we'll be back next week.