Theater provides shows, outreach programs

Cardinal Stage Company seeks to not only provide quality shows but to enrich the community with educational programming and providing free tickets to underserved members of the community.

“Cardinal Stage Company is dedicated to establishing a regional theater in Bloomington,” said Katie Becker, Cardinal Stage Company’s director of administration.
They use not only local talent, but professional actors from across the country who are members of Equity, the actors’ union.

“There’s just a really great quality of actors coming here for the first time,” said graduate student Michelle Ford. “Last semester, we used Equity actors for the first time.”

They also offer opportunities to students looking for experience. Becker said the company has several IU students working as administrative interns and design interns.
Ford is one such employee.

“It’s like a fellowship, but it’s part of getting our degree,” said Ford, who is pursuing her master’s degree in arts administration. “As a student, it’s been great for me to see the process of how it all works.”

As for the subject matter, Becker said they try to have an eclectic range in their productions.

“We really try to do a variety of shows that will interest people in Bloomington and the region,” she said. “We also do some second-stage productions that are a little edgier, called Cardinal Sins.”

This season, the Cardinal Stage Company will have four plays at the John Waldron Arts Center and one at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

“We perform in the venue that works best for the production we’re doing,” Becker said.
Its next play, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” will take the stage Thursday at the Waldron Auditorium.

Between productions, the company focuses on outreach and educational programs directed at getting people to come to the theater who otherwise might not, Becker said. One of these is Cardinal Reads, a program for students grades two through eight.

“It is a citywide read-a-thon,” Becker said. Last year, the book was “Oliver Twist,” with a production of “Oliver” as the program’s grand finale. This year, they will be doing “Treasure Island,” Becker said.

“As part of the program, Bloomingfoods donated food to Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, and that’s being continued this year for ‘Treasure Island,’” she said.

Bloomingfoods contributes more food for each book that is read, Becker said, adding that the goal is to encourage healthy minds and bodies in the community through literature, food and plays.

Volunteers like Bloomington resident Melinda Seader are always welcome, Becker said.

Seader said she is involved in part because her daughters, Aubrey and Kate, are very active in the theater.

“The icing on the cake is that they’re reaching out to younger audiences,” Seader said. “Many times, children may not want to sit through a show.”

She said that for its level of quality, the Cardinal Stage Company is the most economical option for her family.

In the big picture, the company is only one facet of the unusually large theater scene in Bloomington.

“I try to tell the kids, ‘Living in Bloomington is a charmed existence,’” she said. “I told them, ‘This is not normal.’”

Becker agreed that each theater group in town adds its own style to the community.
“There’s a lot of theater available, and we all have our own niche,” she said.