Welcome to the Rotary Club of Omaha

What a fun Rotary meeting we had this week! 

We got to celebrate perfect attendance for several of our members.  Larry Johansen had 200% attendance last year with his makeups.  That was pretty amazing. 
We also had a lovely presentation from our Rotary Exchange Student Loan Jobert from France.  She was delightful! Thanks to Todd Carnes for bringing her and for his work with the Exchange program. 

We also introduced a new way to get to know our members by starting the Mystery Rotarian minute.  Deb will read off information about someone in the group and the first one to name the person is exempt from a fine…everyone else has to fork out some dough! 
 

The program for this week was a presentation by Katie Broman of the Omaha Community Playhouse.  She started by giving us some interesting history of the OCP.  It was founded in 1924 and they are in their 95^th season. OCP was founded by a group of Omahans that were missing live theater, which had become popular across America.  Some notable founders were Sarah Joslyn, Dodie Brando (mother of Marlon Brando) and Herbert Fonda.  The famous actress Dorothy McGuire also got her start at the OCP and starred alongside Henry Fonda.  The first permanent theater was on 40^th and Davenport Street in Sarah Joslyn’s cow pasture.  With no backstage space the actors had to go outside to get from stage right to stage left…winters must have been interesting. On August 6, 1959 a fundraiser was held to build a new building, which is the current building that underwent more renovations in 1986.
 

Along with their professional staff there are many volunteers on stage and back stage and in the box office and ushering.  These volunteers usually give a 2 and a half-month contribution of their time.  There are two theaters, the smaller Howard Drew Theater that mounts more dramas and more contemporary pieces and the main theater is the Howard and Rhonda Hawks where you’d see larger shows such as Les Miserables and Mama Mia.  The Nebraska Theater Caravan, which has been in existence for 40 years, is the professional touring wing of the organization where actors and crew are hired from around the country and tour Christmas Carol.    There is also an educational program, a directing fellowship, the Henry Fonda Theater Academy for children and adults.   OCP has a partnership with Metro Community College, called the Theater Technology Apprenticeship Program for students to come and learn and also earn college credit.  Code Word:  Paul Harvey
 

As a non-profit they rely heavily on donations, ticket sales, rentals and corporate sponsorships. Katie also explained the process of acquiring royalties to be able to present the shows.  Some can take up to 30 years to acquire depending on the Broadway run and national touring shows.  Diversity is a must regarding people, cultures, musicals, dramas, comedies etc. 

The presentation ended with Kimberly Hickman giving a snapshot of the season and an excellent musical presentation by Jay Srygley who is playing Daddy Warbucks in Annie their first show of the season; Jim Boggess accompanied him. 

 

Fun meeting!