FORT ATKINSON COMMUNITY THEATRE

Updates from FACT:

Tickets Now Available!

FACT is excited for our upcoming production of Hello, Dolly!

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This Tony Award-winning musical follows the story of Dolly Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, NY to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder.

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Directed by Jason and Holly Teeter, you can catch this comedic classic at Fort Atkinson High School on July 21-24.

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Show times:

Thursday, July 21, 7 pm

Friday, July 22, 7 pm

Saturday, July 23, 7 pm

Sunday, July 24, 2 pm

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Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for seniors/students.

Buy at the door or online:

Call for Reader's Theater Actors!

Join our upcoming production of the radio play You Can't Take It With You!

Rehearsals: July 29, Aug. 24, Sept. 1, 8, 11, 12, and 15

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Performance: September 17 at 2 pm

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We are looking for actors of any experience level who can speak in accents (Russian, Italian, Irish, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Rhode Island, etc.) or who can do multiple distinctive voices (meek, snooty, gruff, mobster, etc.). There is also one non-speaking role with visual antics and/or physical comedy.

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Interested?

Contact Benjamin Whitcomb by email or phone to set up an informal audition (read a few lines, demonstrate some accents). 

We hope to have all roles filled by June 30, 2022.

Cast Announced for Hello, Dolly!

We had an amazing turnout for auditions in April! Thank you to everyone who came to sing and read for us. We are so excited to be back together and doing what we love.

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Our cast for Hello, Dolly! includes:

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Dolly Levi  - Sarah Johnson

Horace Vandergelder - Jason Teeter

Irene Molloy - Amy Lothary

Cornelius Hackl - Matt Johnson

Barnaby Tucker - Matthew Sell

Minnie Fay - Bronwyn Daly Bond

Ambrose Kemper - Jackson Sitkiewitz

Ermengarde - Valorie Schamens

Ernestina Money - Niina Ajango Konz

Rudolph Reisenweber/Coachman - Norm Goeschko

Mrs. Rose/Cook/Police Officer/Ensemble - Linda Harned

Stanley/Ensemble - Tessa Fitzsimmons

Fritz/Ensemble- Jill Winters

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Harry/Ensemble - Annie Sitkiewitz

Louie/Ensemble - Penny Kinsman

Danny/Ensemble - Liesl Howard

Manny/Ensemble - Naomi Schemm

Hank/Ensemble - Mary Beth Klietz

Judge/Waiter/Ensemble - Aidan Howard

Waiter/Ensemble - Anne Grover

First Cook/Horse/Ensemble - Paul Wydeven

Cook/Horse/Police Officer/Ensemble - Karen Wydeven

Second Cook/Ensemble - David White

Cook/Court Clerk/Ensemble - Ellen Latorraca

Waiter/Paperhanger/Ensemble - Catherine Wilson

Waiter/Ensemble - Kai DeRubis

Cheryl Stedman 

Fort Atkinson is still grieving the loss of a very special lady. Cheryl Stedman passed away on December 23, 2020, after a battle with Covid-19. Cheryl’s memory will remain strong in our community, however. She never sat still for long, and was involved with many local organizations and groups. Cheryl was active with Fort Atkinson Community Theatre (FACT) for nearly three decades.

Cheryl discovered her passion for theater in the mid 1980’s after meeting her husband David at UW-Stevens Point. They became involved in community theater in Wisconsin Rapids and Cheryl was bit by the acting bug. After moving to Fort Atkinson in 1988, Cheryl and David joined Fort Atkinson Community Theatre. Cheryl’s list of acting credits is long, and includes shows such as Harvey, Auntie Mame, Wyrd Sisters, The Torch Bearers, We the Jury, Oliver!, Christmas Belles, and It’s a Wonderful Life, to name a few.

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David recalls the time he and Cheryl played a husband and wife in Rumors by Neil Simon. “I had the most fun with her in that show. We would run lines together,” he smiled. “I was always trying to get the accuracy of the line, and she was okay with the jist of it.”

Cheryl’s theater experience was not just in front of the curtain. She also enjoyed volunteering backstage with props, make-up, stage management, and even directing. Theater was a pasttime she shared with her husband. “If one of us was in a show, the other one would help out in other ways,” David stated.

Cheryl loved acting in both comedies and dramas. She performed in musicals too, but wasn’t interested in singing solos. “She much preferred character acting,” David said. “If the character had a really memorable line, she enjoyed that.”

In 2007, Cheryl joined the FACT Board of Directors. She actively participated for many years and served as Secretary during that time. Fellow Board members and friends, Breck and Laurie McHenry, remember Cheryl fondly. “Cheryl was committed to the parts she played, but always had fun during productions. She welcomed everyone and especially liked helping young people,” they recalled.

Eventually health issues and a kidney transplant caused Cheryl to step away from acting and the Board. But she remained a strong supporter of the performing arts by attending shows in Fort Atkinson and the surrounding communities.

Cheryl gave so much of her time and talents to Fort Atkinson Community Theatre. To honor her memory, the FACT Board of Directors has established a fund in Cheryl's name to be used for the purchase of wireless microphones. Donations to the Cheryl Stedman Memorial Fund are accepted through the donation link or by mail to FACT, P.O. Box 95, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538.

COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grant

November 2020 - Fort Atkinson, Wis.— Governor Tony Evers announced that $15 million in COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grants has been awarded to 385 cultural organizations across Wisconsin. Fort Atkinson Community Theatre received a grant of $1,872.89.

“Just like small businesses, cultural organizations have taken a major financial hit,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “We’re all in this together. We hope that these funds will make it possible for us to be able to enjoy the museums, theaters, and music from these organizations once it is safe to do so again.”

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Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), the COVID-19 Cultural Organizations Grant program provides grants to nonprofit organizations whose primary missions are to produce, present, or exhibit cultural disciplines such as music, dance, theater, literature, and the visual arts, or items of environmental or scientific interest. Grant awards can be used to cover pandemic-related impacts such as lost revenue, increased workers' compensation costs, cleaning and sanitization, and purchases of services or equipment to facilitate telework by employees.

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More information regarding the COVID-19 Cultural Organization Grant Program is available HERE.  A full list of grant winners is available HERE.