A.C.T.
- A Brief History -

by Dale Bower
("Godfather" of ACT)

A few words about myself.the title "godfather" seems quite appropriate for me; I was there at the beginning of ACT's "life" and I have worked to encourage and nurture it as it developed over the years. This "history" of the organization you are about to read is admittedly told through my vantage point, but attempts to be as accurate as memory allows. Space does not permit listing every show, and every person who was part of the group. Certainly, while I have advised the organization through much of its existence and directed many of their shows, theatre is not a one-man art form! Nothing could have been done without the time, energies and talent of hundreds of people who have made up the body (and soul) of ACT over the years. Apologies to anyone who feels left out. Nothing was omitted intentionally. A special thanks also goes to Annette Leiber from the Addison Cultural Arts group-she has shepherded us along for many of the years we've been around.

I came to Addison in 1971 as a student-teacher at Addison Trail High School. I was hired and began full-time in the fall of 1972. In June, 2005 I retired after teaching and doing theatre there for 33 years. Over the three-plus decades that ACT has existed (in one form or another) a large number of ACT's participants were Addison Trail students or graduates. While the organization was never meant to be an alumni group, it sort of became that along the way. True-to-form, the current ACT group includes many A.T. alums (and some current students). And, along the way, it was sometimes parents who joined us (with or without their kids!).

In the summer of 1973, I was approached by several people (recent grads and current students) to serve as an advisor for them to start a community theatre group (which to my knowledge was the first such effort in the village's history). After several meetings at my apartment, we went public, and had our first "open" meeting at the Addison Public Library. It was attended by the group's organizers and a handful of people expressing an interest in theatre (a couple students, and a few adults-mostly in the 30+ age range). Later meetings drew smaller numbers, and although a production was considered, we really didn't have enough of a group to accomplish much. At least one other person from that original batch of people is back with us now (Ralph Petrella) and our current group spans a generation: his son Marcus is the current Production Coordinator of ACT.

At that point, the organization entered into the first of its many "hibernations" that took place over the years. We weren't completely "dead"-but only resurfaced occasionally. For a couple years, I designed and produced "haunted house" attractions for a park district group, and several ACT people (and then-current and former students) participated in those. One holiday season (in the late seventies), Bob Cetera (the Director of Theatre at the high school at the time) directed a community production of "A Christmas Carol" at A.T.. I portrayed "Scrooge" and another of our original ACT founders (Patrick Able) played "Bob Cratchit" in the show. Pat has since "returned" to ACT, doing the one-man show "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" in December, 2005.

Twice in the past, ACT has produced large-scale pageants for the village. For the American Bi-Centennial in 1976 Bob Cetera directed "The Song of Addison" -an original show that featured a huge cast, and traced the history of the USA (through a local perspective). For Addison's own centennial (in 1984) I participated on a committee that commissioned an original show, and subsequently directed "Not Just a Country Town" -which again featured a huge cast, but this time focused on events in Addison's own past. A cross-section of everyone in the community got involved, and several of the kids who were in the show (the cast had everyone from pre-schoolers to senior-citizens) went on to get involved in theatre at the high school and elsewhere. ACT's roster of participants over the years includes several individuals who have gone on to work professionally on-stage or backstage in theatre, film, TV, and even opera! And several members have gone into educational theatre and teach speech, drama or music.

Throughout the seventies and eighties, ACT would make periodic come-backs as an entity on its own again. Most often, these "resurrections" were undertaken (again) by former A.T. theatre grads who still had that "smell of the greasepaint" to satisfy. Along the way, we did a number of shows (several of which I directed)-but we also acquired other directors. Shows included "Ten Little Indians" and "Arsenic and Old Lace." In 1977, an artist-in-residence (sponsored by ACT's "parent," the Addison Cultural Arts Development Commission) directed a production of MUSIC MAN that "sold out" the high school auditorium and seemed to again signal a re-emergence in theatre interest, so the ACT was again "reborn!"

The "new" ACT moved into the eighties with new guidance-this time the driving force was an "older" crowd. It included some parents of former ACT members or AT theatre alumni and other community members (who got hooked after the success of MUSIC MAN ). I hadn't been involved with MUSIC MAN , but was asked to do a workshop for the "new" ACT-and again was tapped to be their production advisor. I would also again direct numerous shows.

This was probably ACT's most productive period, with many shows and an expansion to other venues. During this time we did a musical ( A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM )-that ended up being only moderately successful because it was done during a very warm summer in A.T.'s non-air-conditioned auditorium. Up to that time, all of our shows had been done in either of the two Addison Trail theatres. But now, since our musicals were generally in the summer, we sought a cooler home. Driscoll Catholic High School had an air-conditioned theatre, so our next musicals

( GODSPELL, JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and OLIVER! ) were done there. We also used the Village Hall boardroom / court room for the trial drama, "The Night of January 16 th " (on two occasions) and we used the lodge at Friar's Cove for a couple years for a holiday Madrigal Dinner show. We also produced several "murder-mystery events" as fund-raisers (most done by my company, WHODUNITS ) and performed at a local banquet facility.

But, as happened before, times changed and interests were diverted, and ACT again became inactive. Another group of former students attempted yet another rebirth, and produced several shows, including the musical NUNSENSE (done at a now-demolished VFW hall); "Tomb With a View;" and "The Spirit of Christmas" and another try with MUSIC MAN . That group died out as well and ACT was dormant again until the late eighties / and into the nineties when we tried more summer musicals at the high school ( 1776! and GODSPELL -again-- and YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN ). These were done almost independently of any "group" organization (ACT, per se , was actually inactive) -just to keep the theatre alive in the community. I became Director of Theatre at the high school in 1993 and my time became much more limited to devote to community theatre. Another group (lead by an AT alumnus, with several friends) used a new name for their group, Pure Drivel, and attempted a few shows (with some success) but again, interest waned. No actual community theatre meetings were held for several years-for official purposes I was listed and served as "acting president."

One element that was an off-shoot of ACT (and sponsored by Cultural Arts) which DID remain consistently active was a summer children's theatre program. We directly benefited from it at the high school, with many of its participants getting active in high school drama when they got to Addison Trail. It began in 1994 and has continued since then. Another program that was created for children was the Santa's Elf Workshop. It was really designed as a form of child-care service during the holidays, where parents could drop off their children for a few hours while they went shopping. ACT provided games and activities, including some simple drama-related projects. As with the children's theatre, many youngsters who participated in the workshops (held for about 5 years) went on to join the theatre program at Addison Trail.

The Cultural Arts Development Commission oversees us and serves as our "sponsor" for the Village of Addison. They have done much to foster the arts in our community. Over the years Addison has hosted numerous "artists-in-residence" and the commission has frequently brought in guest performance groups, including a special program from the Lyric Opera that has entertained and educated District 4 school children annually for many years.

Within the last few years, work has also been underway to establish a "cultural arts center" in Addison, and so again, in 2005, the newest reincarnation of Addison Community Theatre was undertaken. Our first show was "Dracula" (which had been done previously in the 80's). We hope to now establish a regular, full season of shows and keep the momentum going. In a way, our name should probably be changed to reflect our frequent efforts at resurgence. The "unofficial" mascot of Addison Trail Theatre has long been the Aardvark (a long story, suitable for another time perhaps!)-so maybe ACT should have as its emblem the Phoenix, the mythical bird reborn from the ashes of its former self. We hope this time, we're here to stay!