Players prep sets to open Steel Magnolias

“That blue is from Girls of the Garden Club,” she says. “That brown is from last year’s Rumor’s. And see that red with the outline of the phone cord? That was the red telephone from Get Smart several years ago.” Drop cloths have been spread across the generous workspace of Charlie Rate’s Ferndale shop in preparation for painting the set of the upcoming performance of Steel Magnolias. Michele Shapero gives a walking tour of the paint splotches.

Shapero has, as is evidenced by the paint on her coveralls, earned her stripes with the Bigfork Community Players.  Board member, actor, director, set designer, and crew foreman, she has literally done it all. And by doing so, she epitomizes the philosophy of the Players organization that there are no stars on stage. Regardless of how good anyone may be in performance, there’s more to theater than acting.  And actors are expected to do it all. Acting in a Players performance is a privilege, and with that privilege comes certain responsibilities.

Steel Magnolias opens on October 23, and last weekend most members of the all women cast were hard at work finishing pieces that will form the set for the play. Jodie Thole, who plays Truvy Jones in the productions, painted flats and moldings. “I’m a nurse in my day job and can empathize with the story. But in the play, I also have the opportunity to cut loose in ways I don’t get to at work. And the painting, well I like that too. I find it relaxing.”

“We have quite a collection of stage pieces in our storage locker right around the corner,” says Shapero. “But that’s just a starting point.  Invariably we have to repaint every piece we use to make it appropriate for the current production. And sometimes we have to build or re-build some of the pieces. We’re a small theater company staffed entirely by volunteers. We get help wherever we can find it. Fortunately, most of the cast recognizes the importance of what we’re doing here and enthusiastically join in the effort.”

Despite the fact that the play deals with death, Players President David Vale assures us that it’s a comedy. “Yes, the story has real substance to it and most of the audience will cry,” he acknowledged. 

Another trip to Lowes or Home Depot. Another coat of paint. And the show will go on.