L- R : Art Anderson, Heidi Elkins (Laura Grissom) & J. Clay Lawson
“Hello Reppies! It was AWESOME to see so many old (!) friends at the reunion! Geez, where has the time gone?” says Heidi Ho Elkins (AKA Laura Grissom) whose oldest son, Keith, just turned 13 (gulp). “This last year has been a huge transition for me... after 20 years (OMG) in banking, I am now actually putting my theatre background to use! My Well of volunteering in community theatre paid off; last summer I became the Children's Musical Theatre Director at Gotta Dance Studio, Academy of Performing Arts in Granada Hills, CA. So far, I have directed Oliver!, Sound of Music and Alice in Wonderland. We are now rehearsing for our next show, Willy Wonka Jr., and I'm getting ready to direct Beauty and the Beast and Schoolhouse Rock this summer. I LOVE it and so do my kids...both Mariah (11) and Zack (9) inherited my love of theatre and have been in all my shows. Mariah also keeps busy with dance classes and volleyball, while Zack plays both baseball and basketball. My husband Michael still coaches all of Zack's teams (it keeps him off the couch). Keith keeps busy with anything electronic. Meanwhile, I still schlep all three kids to their auditions and jobs (mostly commercials and print work). Last summer we managed to squeeze in a family trip to Yosemite and a nice Thanksgiving in Pismo Beach with my folks.”
April Grenot
In the past year Kitty April Grenot was accepted to and is attending Humboldt State University pursuing her MFA in Scenography. She has designed makeup for Winters Tale and costumes for two dances for In Between Floor and Flight. Her 10 minute play was accepted and performed for HSU's Annual 10 Minute Play Festival and she performed in another play in the series. She now permanently resides in Arcata, CA and is working on her costume designs for HSU's musical in Fall 2009, City of Angels. “I look forward to starting my second year this Fall and to attending ACTF at UNR.”
Steve Gordon picked up and moved the family from Los Angeles to Ithaca, N.Y. Got his Masters Degree and is now teach screenwriting, television production, and film / television project development at Ithaca College. “One of my life highlights was playing Pharoah in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Reno in 1980. Jim Bernardi was and is the best director!”
From L to R: Brenda Beck, William (Lumpy) Durkin, Barbara Hancock and Joan Hathaway.
After this picture (above) was taken Joan Hathawayand the gang walked down the block to attend the play "The Bird and Mr. Banks" starring Barbara's husband Sam Anderson (from LOST). “Wonderful production and a really fun evening!”
Violet E Horvath doesn’t have any wild adventures or juicy gossip. . .yet. . .but the year is still young. “The biggest news has been my health, which has been pretty bad for the past 3-4 years. Long story short, a few years ago I was diagnosed with end-stage osteoarthritis in both knees. I was also diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea. I was treated for the sleep apnea (didn't help), and tried to lose weight by switching to a healthier diet. I inexplicably began to gain weight and weighed more than ever in my life. (The pictures from the reunion show me at my heaviest.) The pain in my legs and knees was so bad, I could hardly walk or stand. I hadn't gotten past stage 2 sleep in several years, so I was exhausted. Desperate, I started the Atkins Diet last May (high protein, low carbs). The good news is, I have lost 54 pounds to date, on my way to losing at least 100 pounds. Also, within 3 days of starting the diet, I started sleeping again. Apparently I had undiagnosed food intolerances that were slowly killing me. Your food isn't supposed to attack you. The osteoarthritis will never go away, but with less weight, walking and standing are easier. (Stairs are still a challenge.) Sleep is vastly underrated. I now have energy to get through the day. I finally have my life back. Next week I leave for a lengthy trip - first to a conference in Phoenix, then to visit a friend in Belfast who is working on a Fulbright Scholarship, capped off by a few days in London. I am very glad to be back among the living!”
Sue Klemp
This summer, Sue Klemp had a great time at the Voice and Speech Trainers Association annual conference held in Ashland, Oregon. Of course, many of the workshops included exercises with a Shakespeare slant but also enjoyed a Laban Shape workshop and panel discussion on casting and diversity. The conference included seeing four shows followed by talk backs with actors and vocal coaches. “After the official conference, I caught two other shows which were my favorites--A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (included excellent dialect work) and THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HEDDA GABLER, a great comedy.” Spent a bit of time in the Pacific Northwest later in the summer. Collaborated with Damon Stevens on an Nevada Chamber Opera production of H.M.S. PINAFORE and coached Irish dialect for the Theatre Works of Northern Nevada production of THE WEIR. Got back to visit family and friends in Chicago area, Madison, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis. “In Chicago, I saw a store front theatre group production my niece was assistant costume designer for. In Minneapolis, got to wander with my son through part of the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Art)--fabulous Asian art collection. We also ate at some great restaurants including Ethiopian and Russian cuisines. This spring I directed THE FOREIGNER for Nevada Rep.” It received a very positive response including from responders from the Kennedy Center-American College Theatre Festival.
