Celebrating 25 Years: Dave Talken

As we approach our 25th Anniversary production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this summer, we’re celebrating by looking back through our history.

Dave has built countless sets over the years, and once even made it rain on stage! As the father of three students, he has been a part of the organization since 2009.

Dave: “I think I think it has been a good place for our family in general. The theater aspect, the building of confidence, the faith aspect of it, I appreciate greatly, and in that it was a place that was safe for you all to be kids. To have the opportunity to express yourself and to to get to do something that you really enjoyed that also helped to cultivate faith in you and to have other people around as mentors in that regard as well. It was the Christian, it was the youth and then, yeah we do theater here. So that focus on on the kids and their families and on their faith in a theater environment.”
 
Hillary: “So you made it rain on stage during Singing in the Rain, can you explain to us briefly how that worked?”
 
Dave: “Well, we had a gutter that we put across, well we had a rolling platform that was 16 feet long that we put a gutter across the front of. It had a short roof on the wall in the back that came down with a pipe at the top with a whole bunch of holes in it. Had a tank in the back that had water in it and a pump that made a lot of noise and pumped the water up into that tube with the holes in it and it just ran down off of the roof and ideally splashed into the gutter, but a lot of it didn’t.”
 
Hillary: “And there was a fun fact about the pump. Can you share that with us?”
 
Dave: “Everyone tells me it was in the same key as the song. I have no way to confirm or deny that, cause yeah, I’m tone deaf.”

What's Happening at First Act?

Nine to Five Director’s Letter

Before the 9 to 5 movie and musical we know and love, there was a movement that inspired both. 9to5 is an organization created in 1973 by clerical workers to respond to the inequities, unfairness, and outright harassment and discrimination they were experiencing in the workplace. These courageous, tenacious, and fierce women organized and banded together to advocate for themselves and for a better future for working women. 9to5 still exists today, fighting every day for equal wages, paid family leave, and a harassment-free workplace. Their work continues to advance racial and gender justice through community-led advocacy as they seek widespread, long-lasting change.

Almost, Maine Director’s Letter

Almost, Maine is a beautiful depiction of human connection. We all hope for connection and love throughout our lives - people who understand us, accept us for all of our faults, know us completely. In our journey to find it, we risk heartbreak, we fall in love, we make mistakes, we grow apart, we find each other again, we move on, and the list goes on.

The Addams Family Director’s Letter

Ever since Charles Addams first sketched this wonderfully oddball family in the 1930s, The Addams Family has captured the imagination of audiences everywhere. They’ve crept, crawled, and cackled their way from the pages of The New Yorker to television screens, animated adventures, movies, and now the stage, becoming one of the most beloved (and bizarre) families in pop culture. There’s just something about their world that draws us in: the flickering candlelight, the ominous organ music, the dark humor, and, of course, the undeniable love that holds this spooky bunch together.