FHSU University Relations

Four acts. Four different locations – Figaro’s quarters, the countess’s boudoir, a banquet hall, and a garden. A cast of 27, not counting stage manager and crew.

All of this in a theatre with limited wing space – that’s the space off to the sides, where actors and scenes wait their turns to be rolled onto the stage.

And a kicker: “We have an unusual challenge with this year’s opera – a three-week turn-around. We usually have six,” said Debra Holmes, assistant professor of music and theatre and technical director for Felten-Start Theatre in Malloy Hall, where Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” will be performed on three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and a Sunday matinee.

The three week-six week window is the time between tearing down the set for one production – in this case, “Barefoot in the Park” – and building all the scenery and props and designing the lighting for the next one.

Holmes has a Master of Fine Arts in scenography design from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. That encompasses scenery, lighting and costumes. She is in her first year at Fort Hays State and is also the set designer and chief builder for FHSU Theatre.

“When I was considering the design,” she said, “I needed to include a window for an actor to jump out of, three doors, and some levels, meaning different levels of the stage, to make it interesting, all while keeping the majority of the space clear for bodies.”

Twenty-seven people, plus stage manager and crew, are a lot of people for a stage the size of Felten-Start’s.

“The challenge to this design,” she said, “is to indicate the grand Mozart spaces inexpensively and take up minimal floor space.” She emphasized the “grand” nature of the scenery required for Mozart’s opera.

“We have a newly renovated fly system, so I wanted to use that to create each unique location,” she said.

In a fly system, scenery is lifted and lowered from the ceiling.

“Initially, I thought about using China silk to indicate locations, but the estimate was more than $2,000, so I had to look for another alternative.”

The solution she found was a material called Tyvek®, 600 yards, two feet wide, for $99. It is normally used as a building wrap in construction. It is available without lettering, and it can be glued and painted. For Holmes, it is theatre.

“I designed some screens made from Tyvek to fly in to indicate each location, and my student workers carefully cut the pieces, glued them together, painted them a base color and stenciled the designs.”

The fourth act, set in a garden, has trees, which Holmes and her students cut out, painted and hung, which they will “fly” in and out, as with the rest of the location scenery.

“I’m already using stock wall units for the doors and the window and using stock platforms to add the levels,” said Holmes. “I’m very pleased with the result.”

“I couldn’t have done this without the support of my department chair, my colleagues and the student workers,” she said.

Performances are all in Malloy Hall’s Felten-Start Theatre. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 4, 5 and 6, the curtain opens at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s matinee, April 7, begins at 2:30 p.m.

Admission is $15 for the public and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets will be available at the door, but can still be reserved online at https://webapps.fhsu.edu/theatreonlinereservations.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 785-628-4533.

By GUY WINDHOLZ

There is the old adage that, “Life begins at 50.” But it should ring true, for many, that the fun can really start at 60 — or even 80.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s 2017 report, “Pickleball currently has 2.815 million players in the US alone.” Now one might not be sure if that included the 38 mixture of male and females that came eagerly to the Hays Recreation Center on a crispy Saturday morning, preceded by an over-night light blanket of snow. So much for spring being here. Even the nesting Robins and other birds that moved in are likely miffed at why they came back to central Kansas.

Pickleball patrons present were a variety of ages, mostly seniors, which is generally anyone 55 and over that might also be carrying a membership card from the AARP. They would test their skill of the game before those of same experience and those millennials having the advantage of drinking from bottled water drawn from the “Fountain of Youth.” This would be their day to shine and school their elders in the meaning of speed, endurance and of being in top physical condition. Would there be blood, sweat and tears? Yes there was sweat. No injuries, no tears because everyone was on a high of fun.

It is quite gratifying to see those individuals older than one’s self swinging the paddle but when they turn the table on you, leaving your final point total at 1 out of the 15 points they chalk up to win, a split second of depression can result. Oh well, take another shot of Geritol and onward to the next contestants. Can it get worse that that? Oh yes it can and your team-mate is looking at you as to why we allowed a shut-out on the next match. Time did reward with some glory moments and some professional looking shots , otherwise known as accidental luck.

While avoiding the question of what and how pickleball is played, it would just be easier for those with iPhones and Androids to google the information and a pleasant sounding lady will be happy to make all this information known.

Perhaps you might enjoy seeing your locals in these photos and videos and see how the game is played. It was great to see new people, now becoming friends from towns like Ellis, Great Bend, Stockton, Wichita and Bazine. What started with the orientation of rules of play at 7:30 A.M. and bracket line ups, it kicked off at 8:00 and ended at 1:30 P.M. wherein a dozen of us hit Professor’s sandwich shop and raised their water consumption bill for the month. It was evident that all those at the table were obviously more fit than this writer and declined the offer of ibuprofen tablets.

But in all seriousness, the event was so well enjoyed by the players and observers that appeals were made to the Hays Rec Commission to have another tournament sooner than later. This first one in Hays, was organized, staffed for the occasion and exceeded all expectations. The variety of programs for all ages makes this venue a draw to Hays and Ellis County and gives the community a big example of the quality of life we enjoy here and our tax dollars well spent.