And Then There Were None… Again

And Then There Were None opens on Friday at Waukesha Civic Theatre. I’ve been so busy lately that I hadn’t realized that I hadn’t posted an entry about it yet. As you may remember I appeared in this show in September, 2007 when the Village Playhouse of Wauwatosa and the Brookfield Players staged it. At that time, I played Rogers, the butler. I love murder mysteries and I liked that show so much that I suggested the show to the WCT Play Advisory Committee last year. It was recommended by them and approved by the board of directors and it found its way into the current season.

Hoping to try my hand at a different role, I auditioned for the show but, alas, I must possess those quintessential butler traits. I am again playing Rogers. I must admit that learning lines is much easier when all you are doing is refreshing them in your memory. On the other hand, it is harder to give the role a different look as you tend to fall back into old habits.

I am lucky to have the opportunity to work with a few people that I have never worked with before, many of them veterans of Soulstice Theatre. I am also pleased to able to work with three individuals that I worked with on the first show I ever appeared in, Arsenic and Old Lace. Hopefully, I’ve grown as an actor since then. One of my cast-mates, Jenny Kosek, and I have appeared on stage in three separate shows now. I’m sure that Jenny is getting sick of doing shows with me. I really enjoy working with her; she is such a fine actress.

I am again privileged to have Mark E. Schuster as my director for the second show in a row. Mark can add to the dubious honor of being my only male director to being my only repeat director. He obviously has a larger threshold of pain than many others. Kidding aside, he is great to work for and makes the rehearsal process as enjoyable as it can be.

Please come out and see the show if you have a chance. It runs October 23rd to November 8th. Check out this great cast:

Justice Lawrence Wargrave: Scott Allen

Vera Claythorne: Kelly Simon

Philip Lombard: Andrew Lien

Dr. Edward Armstrong: Joel Marinan

William Blore: Michael Endter

Emily Brent: Mina Miller

Thomas Rogers: Kurt Magoon

General John Mackenzie: Jim Volden

Ethel Rogers: Jenny Kosek

Anthony Marston: Kyle Konetzke

Fred Narracott: Jeffrey Berens

Marlene A. Magoon – 1937-2009

My mom, Marlene A. Magoon, passed away on Wednesday. She was a wonderful wife, mom, and grandma and she will be missed by many. She shaped the lives of my sisters and me in ways that cannot be described. She pushed me to do well in school and in scouting. I don’t know if it was because I was her baby or maybe because I was a bit of a mama’s boy, but she and I shared a special bond for a long time. When was in the Marine Corps, she and I would have long talks on the telephone (which I’m sure didn’t please my Dad when the phone bill arrived).

Mom was always a fighter and she battled many medical issues throughout her life. She survived quadruple bypass open heart surgery at 37 and an angioplasty at 47. She conquered cervical cancer just after I was born and breast cancer later in life. About five years ago, she suffered a stroke that left her wheelchair-bound, but even that didn’t slow her down much. Although her mind and will continued to remain strong, her body just couldn’t keep up. She fell and broke her hip on Sunday and she body couldn’t recover from the trauma of hip surgery.

I will never forget the fun we had playing scrabble, yahtzee, or solitaire long into the night. Nor will I forget the artistic passion that she had when it came to flower arranging and decorating our home. Because she was a full-time stay-at-home Mom, she was always there for us. She did more for us kids than we will ever know. And when it came to doting on her grandchildren, she was the best. She had great love for all of us.

Goodbye, Mom. I Love You!

Letterboxing At Boxacon 2009

The Dramagoons have discovered a new hobby that has become a fun activity for our entire family. Back in August we started Letterboxing. What is Letterboxing, you ask? I could try to explain it in my own words but here is the definition that is posted on Letterboxing.Info.

Letterboxing is growing hobby that combines elements of hiking, treasure hunting and creative expression into an activity that the whole family can enjoy. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by following clues that are posted on the Internet, and then record their discovery in their personal journal with the help of a rubber stamp that’s part of the letterbox. In addition, letterboxers have their own personal stamps which they use to stamp into the letterbox’s log book.

Since mid-August, we have gone out and found boxes on six separate occasions. This is a really fun way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and get some exercise without feeling like you are just going on a boring hike. A.J. and Erin really enjoy tramping through the woods and hunting for the boxes. We actually have to make them take turns looking for the boxes.

Normally, letterboxing is a fairly solitary hobby. The person that creates a letterbox doesn’t meet the people that search for their box. Their interaction takes place via stamps and trail names in each other’s log books. Occasionally, however, letterboxers will get together to meet, exchange stories, and do a little letterboxing together. On Saturday, we attended our first letterboxing gathering, Boxacon 2009.

The event was held at Minooka Park in Waukesha. The event organizer, with the help of several others, placed dozens letterboxes all over the park. Upon arrival, we were given a packet of clues to follow. Most of the boxes followed a SciFi theme, thus the name Boxacon. Unfortunately Kristi had to work and couldn’t join us but the three of us had a really great time. The kids enjoyed meeting, talking, and exchanging stamps with the people that had created some of the boxes that we had found in the past. Plus, we got to go out and find more boxes. We ended up spending almost five hours at the park.

If you are interested in checking out letterboxing as a hobby, visit these two websites: Letterboxing North America and Atlas Quest.