I'm Charity Nebbe.

And this is Greetings from Iowa.

Theater is one of the few art forms that is immediate, evolving and always different.

That shared space of seeing an artist perform helps us connect with one another.

And in communities across the state, people participate, support and enjoy live theater.

Coming up on this episode we will visit the town of Emmitsburg and get a behind the scenes look at their community theater program.

Then we'll meet a costume designer who seamlessly helps actors bring characters to life.

And finally, we'll meet a student who fell in love with the theater at a young age.

It's all coming up next on Greetings from Iowa.

Funding for Greetings from Iowa is provided by: With our Iowa roots and Midwestern values.

Farmers Mutual Hail is committed to offering innovative farm insurance for America's farmers, just as we have for six generations.

Farmers Mutual Hail America's crop insurance company the Pella Roll Screen Foundation is a proud supporter of Iowa PBS Pella Windows and Doors strives to better our communities and build a better tomorrow.

[music] Iowa is filled with unique towns, but each have their own personality and quirks.

But if you are ever driving along Highway 59 in western Iowa, you might notice one community that has a very particular theme and welcome to Ida Grove, Iowa.

You know, Midwest Industries is one of our industries here in Ida Grove and our founder, Byron Gobberson loved castles.

He loved everything castle like.

Starting, I believe it was in the seventies.

The castle started coming to town, and it seems like no matter which way you enter Ida Grove, you're going to see, for instance, on the east end of town, a castle that says, welcome to Ida Grove.

So that's your first impression.

And if you go down to the shopping center and Ida Grove, you're going to see knights that welcome you into those areas.

You made the Courier building what you see right down the street, which is a castle.

Lake Lajune is Midwest industries test plot for our products.

We make marine products.

So there's an airport hangar out there, there's a chalet out there and also on the hill, there's a residential area he named after his wife Lake Lajune estates, where there's all kinds of private homes that are shaped like castles.

So, you know, you see a lot of different images that basically scream Castletown USA, which, you know, that is our trademark.

And a big part of it was having this idea of a balcony where people could look down at the stage or at the movie and just enjoy a unique experience for northwest Iowa.

We're in the King Theater, you know, every castle town's got to have a king.

And we were lucky enough that in 1917, Frank King built this theater.

We're so happy to have a community that's been incredibly involved with us.

They did all of the wood work, they did all the staining, volunteer labor that that installed all of this.

So that was a big part of what this became.

It became kind of a it's a resurgence of the heartbeat of Ida Grove in a lot of ways because it's one of those hallmarks of downtown.

We're here at the Skate Palace in Ida Grove, and this is a significant building for me as Mayor of Ida Grove, as a child, I grew up coming here on the weekends.

Our parents would take a skating.

This is a great building that reminds me, as a kid brings out imagination and dreams.

You walk into this castle and there's a beautiful skating rink in there and they're playing good music and just a good family fun on a Saturday and Sunday growing up and enjoying the castle here.

There's just a lot of potential in Ida Grove, and there's a lot going on.

There's a section here of antique boat motors, but there's also areas where there's antique ski equipment and antique golf clubs, toy cars, you know, just a wide variety of Americana.

If you look, there's always something to do.

I think Ida Grove has something for everybody.

You know, I live here for a couple of reasons.

Of course, we're all raised to be productive, interesting people, but we also hope that's reflected in the towns that we're in.

First of all, when I came to town, there was that charm.

You talked about the Castle Town charm that it had.

It had the theme again, the King Theater.

We have a, you know, car museum, we've got a skating palace.

So for me, when I came here in 89, it was like hitting the jackpot in a way not only was wonderful at the time, but there was there's places to grow and things we can do.

My dad always said that every person should have an opportunity to volunteer in a small town to take part in becoming either what it is or what it can become, and Ida Grove gave me a chance to do both.

And that's the reason.

I mean, Ida Grove.

While Broadway may be the most notable theater district in the United States, it's by no means the only one In fact, local community theater is just as vibrant.

Community theater allows aspiring actors and lifetime theater hobbyists to come together and hone their craft.

It creates a sense of accomplishment and develops a community spirit as cast and crew work toward a common goal One of the things that makes for a well-rounded community is the opportunity both to participate in this kind of activity, but also to see this activity.

You need to out earlier.

Right as they're ending like they're continue talking.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

One of the things that I hear from the audiences and from community members is they like seeing people they know on stage.

The kids like seeing their teachers on stage.

The other adults like seeing their friends on stage.

There is a sense of community pride in the community at large for this theater and the productions that they've done for the last 40 plus years.

Get a sink from a local hair salon and I managed to plumb it up, so I now have water on stage.

So I'm a volunteer for Main Street Community Theater, which is an all volunteer organization in Emmetsburg, Iowa.

I was like, I was studying my script today, and I have this thought.

I'm like, I just don't like the way this works.

It's a small, small town community theater that has a very big impact on the community.

We have been in existence now, I believe, for 43 years.

Emmetsburg Main Street Community Theater has provided a safe space where you can, I guess, express yourself.

We don't take the whole intermission.

They've found positions for people to help out with shows, whether that be backstage, you know, in the booth.

On stage.

Musically.

You name it, though, somehow there's a there's a way for everyone to get involved in the theater.

You got to find that out of.

Let's get ready for next scene.

And but we've always put these up.

We have this like this is a local artist that's done work for us here.

He did.

He designed that.

This one came with the show.

This is me.

We started this community theater in 1978.

Tickets were three dollars.

I think we've done about one hundred and thirty nine productions, all told.

So I've been doing a lot of theater for a long time.

You know, I was the little sexy mama, so my character started out in the middle of the stage alone.

And I remember thinking, my knees are shaking.

I wonder if it shows.

I was very nervous.

I'd say I'm a student of the theater.

I attend a lot of theater and I think about theater.

To me, that's the whole point of the prop, was that you didn't have it at first.

Now you're prepared.

As Wynton Marsalis said.

Arts are great.

They make your life better and they're fun.

I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun.

What is it that a volunteer doesn't do here.

As a few of the others have said it's not about the one thing you do, but it's what you don't do.

Yeah.

I've never had long or short hair before.

So my hair has always been the length that it is..

I'm like a whole new person.

I was working for the newspaper here in town, and Jackie called me on my office phone and said, hey, I'd like you to try out for this part.

I think you'd be perfect.

Are the boys home yet?

Yes.

Jonathan loves his... Oh, it absolutely depends on the day.

It really, truly does.

Some nights someone might end up in tears.

Other nights we might just be, I mean, giggling our way through the entire thing.

Mama didn't approve of me twirling fire baton.

One thing about Emmetsburg is it's very tight knit community.

I know almost everybody or almost everybody knows me.

It's really small, but I think that helps with being tight knit and a good community feel.

Being able to cast an entire show can be hard.

Sometimes you're you're begging people like, oh, please come, come audition.

And this is my first time doing this for community theater.

See, I'm talking to you in my southern accent and I don't even need to.

Some of the benefits is that you have some really dedicated people.

I think people here work hard at no matter what they do.

I think, the arts, most importantly, it just brings you outside of yourself, it allows you to connect with strangers, it allows you to strengthen relationships that you already have.

That's not true, momma.

And it brings important topics.

It brings new topics to town, to individuals.

It just broadens everyone's horizons.

I think that the relationship with the community is such a gift.

A few years ago, we had some financial woes and we sent out a letter to our supporters and community members and businesses, and we just we were honest.

We were like, we need some help.

And the response was amazing.

I mean, beyond beyond what we thought we would get.

We are extremely lucky.

I think that the Emmetsburg community theater is supported as strongly as it is.

Yeah.

All of this was donated where they were going to throw it away.

Oh, it's creativity.

It's just everything is about creating something, making something out of nothing.

It's what I live for is creating something.

I've been playing make believe all my life, so.

♪♪ Ashley, request from the director, by the time we get to the party can you lose the big rose in your hair?

Yeah.

And then for the rest of the show.

Yes.

Okay.

♪♪ Angie Lampe: I've done almost 300 shows in my life.

Yes, I've been at this a long time.

♪♪ Angie: What makes good costuming is if it brings the character to life and if you don't think about the costume.

It's not a compliment if someone leaves a show and says, oh the costumes were good.

It's a compliment to everyone involved if someone leaves the show and says, that's a good show.

♪♪ Angie: We found lots of bits leftover from other shows, which was perfect for this sort of scrappy hodgepodge approach to cabaret.

So it just looks like bits of things found around an old theatre brought together.

I dyed this because I'm trying to do sort of a fragile look for her.

Angie: Sort of faded, sort of been around the block.

Sally Bowles is a night club performer who is down on her luck, she's not very talented.

It's also in Germany in between World War II.

And so it's really about that country, what is going on at that time.

♪♪ ♪♪ This need lingerie straps up here because it's going to fall off her shoulders and then think with the weight of this it will roll back or forward.

Angie: Sewing is too confining a word, so we say build.

And I really think that comes from the fact that we don't just sew things, we do millinery, we make hats.

Costuming is one of the last places in the world where people are still making hats.

And so we're keeping old skills alive.

We make corsets.

We make any period of costuming whatever it takes.

♪♪ Angie: This room going all the way back is costumes.

So these are my hoard of suits and vests and pants, women's pants, Western wear, uniforms, so like bellhops, priests, military, waiters, lab coats, we use lab coats a lot.

This is where all of our period stuff is, and period is what we call Victorian and earlier, we call that period clothing.

So like anything Victorian, Elizabethan, Edwardian, that sort of stuff is down that aisle.

♪♪ Angie: Theater is very collaborative.

It starts with the director who has a vision for how we're going to tell the story.

We all start with the same script, we all read the script.

And from the director it goes to the designers, the scenic designer, the lighting designer, the costume designers and any other designers, the choreographer.

And then it kind of goes out from there.

I have my team whether I have a hair person, I have a costume shop full of people.

This particular show I'm doing right now has a dresser and so I will teach her how to do the quick changes and make sure everyone gets dressed and looks good.

(laughs) Theatre is so glamorous.

♪♪ Angie: And then we have dressing rooms.

Each of them have their spot so we have our emcee right here with all of her lovely things and then we have I think three of the Kit Kat Girls.

They'll set up their makeup and get ready in here, do their hair.

Then they go up the back stairs to backstage and perform.

♪♪ Angie: Everybody needs art, everybody needs theater.

Yes, New York City is the mecca for theater.

Everybody dreams of being on Broadway but not everybody can and maybe not everybody wants to.

Here we go!

Angie: And that is why community theater has thrived for over 100 years is because there are people who want to try that, who want to have a taste of it.

♪♪ Angie: And it's really wonderful to watch people experience that and have an opportunity to step out of their regular lives.

♪♪ Angie: I'm a very visual person and it's fun to be creative.

I just -- I just love looking around at all the stuff or I love looking at the world and thinking, how can I tell that story?

And how can I create that?

And how can I make that?

And how can, you know -- so it's a big part of my life.

♪♪ Nora Engstrum fell in love with live theater at a young age.

But it's her expertise behind the scene that has helped her find her path and step into her own spotlight.

I am Nora Engstrom and I am a theatre student.

After that, it was really my dad because he he went to school.

He was part of the construction of theatre.

And he had always talked about how solid of a memory it was fo And so his attachment to theatre really pushed me to try in high And initially, what really kept in the high school drama depart was how welcoming and close knit all of the drama family was.

So this is our scene shop.

This is where we make all of our and set for the stage productio I really didn't like the spotlig I wasn't super comfortable in it The stage crew was really where I found my place and my purpose and I felt like I best benefited my team there.

Where I felt most comfortable and where I felt I did my best work was behind the curt and it was really helping people find their spotlight.

Senior year, the fall play, I started out as the student dir for the first time ever, and I had actually taken a summer theatre program.

That was really what piqued my i being more involved in the creative processes.

Being a part of that program really pushed me to discover what more I could do with the vi that I had in my head.

One of the most important things a director can have is good communication skills.

It's like the grout between bric And so, I mean, if you want to b anything, you've got to be able to have that stuff that keeps people together.

I got a ten thousand dollar scho for technical achievement from the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards.

I was actually very, very shocke when I found out I couldn't sta I'm flying!

Being backstage is one of those things where you aren't in it for the recognition.

And so being the only one in the is such a huge honor to be recog for something this, this huge.

This has been a one of the bigge most influential parts of my of my life so far.

So, yeah, I'm definitely going to miss this place.

I hope to be a theater director and so I will be studying theatre arts at the University I am double majoring in theatre arts and psychology.

And I think they actually really My mother is a therapist and she has always brought all of our attention to the peop we might look over and issues t surround mental health specifica I think those people really need to see themselves represented o The stories that I really want t to tell, our stories that encourage people to think.

One of the coolest things that I have always experienced when I'm in a theater is this giant sense of communit Theatre gives kind of a door to to explore those issues and not feel alone in them.

Thanks for joining us, as we explore the arts culture, and stories of our state.

we'll see you next time for another Greetings from Iowa.

[music] Funding for Greetings from Iowa is provided by: With our Iowa roots and Midwestern values.

Farmers Mutual Hail is committed to offering innovative farm insurance for America's farmers, just as we have for six generations.

Farmers Mutual Hail America's crop insurance company the Pella Roll Screen Foundation is a proud supporter of Iowa PBS Pella Windows and Doors strives to better our communities and build a better tomorrow.