Front from left, Greg Simons, MaryAnna Moore, John Boyken, Erin Moore and Evan Rohlfing rehearse for JCCT's production of "It's a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play" on Monday night. In the background from left are Stephanie Sunderman in the sound room, Connie Hardaway on piano and Mariah Dillon on sound effects. Staff photo by Zach Spicer
In the first 50 years of Jackson County Community Theatre, Sarah McGill isn’t aware of a show being canceled.
None of those seasons, however, had to deal with a worldwide health pandemic.
Auditions and rehearsals for the first show of the 51st season, “It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play,” were conducted in September.
From the start, Director John Hardaway told the nine cast members it’s possible the show could end up being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But they didn’t let that stop them, going a couple of times a week to work on character and voice development one-on-one with Hardaway. Three of them had to voice a dozen or more characters in the show.
“It tells me that these people are so tired of sitting at home and not having a show to do,” Hardaway said of the cast members’ dedication.
“I think that’s true of all people who are in theater today. They are just so tired of going, ‘There’s nothing to do.’ We’re ready to do anything to get back onstage,” he said. “They knew there’s always that possibility that something could happen, but when we started, (the number of virus cases) wasn’t anywhere near this bad.”
On Wednesday, it became official: Jackson County moved up to the Indiana State Department of Health’s red level based on positivity rate. The highest color level puts a limit on gatherings at 25 people and requires mask wearing and social distancing.
As a result, JCCT’s season opener was canceled just two days before the first show. Performances were set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Dec. 11 and 12.
Anticipating a cancellation, the cast ran through a tech rehearsal Monday night ahead of a videotaping of the show Tuesday night. The plan was to share the video with cast members to show family and friends since there couldn’t be an in-person show.
Now, though, McGill said JCCT is in the process of obtaining streaming rights for a video of the show. The streaming will be available online at jcct.org on the previously scheduled show dates.
“JCCT is offering this opportunity to view the show at no cost to their fans in gratitude for all the support for their renovation projects during the 50th season,” McGill said.
More details will be available on the website as soon as they are finalized, she said.
Hardaway, who lives in Salem, has directed nearly 60 shows over the years, including about 15 at JCCT, and he said this has to head the list as the most unusual and challenging.
“This is hands down the oddest show,” he said.
First of all, radio actors don’t memorize their lines. They study the script and become familiar with it, but they don’t memorize it.
Second, in a radio studio, there is little movement, so there is little blocking to learn, and they had to be 6 feet apart, Hardaway said.
So during rehearsals, the actors developed the many characters in the show. The five main actors — Greg Simons, MaryAnna Moore, John Boyken, Erin Moore and Evan Rohlfing — portray a total of 41 citizens of Bedford Falls, New York, and two heavenly beings.
Plus, there are two Foley artists — Daniel Main and Mariah Dillon — who provide the sound effects.
“This is something that neither I nor they had ever dealt with before,” Hardaway said. “It became a research and learning experience for all three of us. I hope you agree that they have just about mastered the art.”
The other cast members are Connie Hardaway on piano and Stephanie Sunderman on sound in the control room.
McGill served as production manager and assisted with the set, while her husband, Joel McGill, handled set construction and lighting design. John Hardaway also was the set designer, Joe Reynolds did the set artwork, Erin Ortman was on the house committee and John Ortman and Luke Morris assisted with the set.
Erin Moore of Seymour said this is her third show at JCCT, and it’s one she will remember. The Lafayette native has been involved in theater for more than 25 years.
“We’ve all been expecting (a cancellation), kind of preparing in our minds that this could happen. It’s not unexpected. It’s 2020,” she said. “It’s the only time in my years of theater that this has happened. We were in Bedford one year, and during a show, the power went out and we had to stop the show but not cancel it.”
Getting to the point of dress rehearsals was an accomplishment for the cast.
“I have a lot of family and friends that are theater people, and for me, just that we got to do this much is a huge blessing because theaters worldwide have been shut down, so everybody has been trying to come up with different ways to still be able to express themselves in theater,” Moore said. “We’re blessed we get to do this much.”
Simons was active in local theater before moving to Australia. Now, he’s back in the area, and “It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play” is his first show since returning.
That’s nostalgic because one of his first stage roles 13 years ago was George Bailey in the standard version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“This time getting to do a lot of other characters — Potter and various other voices — is a nice spin on things,” he said. “It’s a nice way to go back to a show that I just absolutely loved but also have something fresh, a fresh take on it.”
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