Tecumseh Players to stage free, one-act plays in Adams Park
TECUMSEH — The Tecumseh Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with the Tecumseh Players theater troupe for its new “One Act Wednesdays” program.
Three free, one-act plays will be performed, starting June 14 with “Superhero Sanitarium.” The next two will be “Hubbub on the Bookshelf” on July 12 and “Bremen Town Musicians" on Aug. 9. Each will be at 7 p.m. and last approximately 45 minutes live on the Elizabeth Wilson Stage in Adams Park at 309 E. Chicago Blvd., according to a news release.
“With a beautiful new stage and venue came the need to program it,” parks and recreation director Sarah Gilmore said in the release. “I talked with community members and approached the Tecumseh Players.”
The Tecumseh Players group was formed in 1960 by community members who were interested in having a small-town theater group. Ready for a new project, the troupe got to work on the new one-act plays, holding auditions and filling the roles for three plays.
Typically, a play is comprised of multiple acts, much like chapters in a book. While not an entire play, a one-act play is still an undertaking.
Kimberly Van Camp is the director of the first play, “Superhero Sanitarium” by Scott Haan. This play features a big-city journalist researching a hospital populated with a group of quirky inmates who imagine they are crime-fighting superheroes.
No stranger to the local theater scene, Van Camp has a degree in musical theater from Siena Heights University. Her last directing gig for the Tecumseh Players was the dinner theater production “All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
Cleon Broussard will direct the July play, “Hubbub on the Bookshelf” by Alice Wooster. This play is centered on poor little bookworms who are looking for a safe, new home. On their journey they get to experience a whole different personality because of something they ate.
Broussard said that she wants the audience to come away with a renewed interest in books and the many adventures that they have in store. It is a fun and whimsical story appropriate for children and adults alike.
To round out One Act Wednesdays, Nona Bennett will direct “Bremen Town Musicians” by the brothers Grimm. Originally published in Grimm’s Fairy Tales in 1819, this story follows four farm animals past their prime who leave their homes and set out together. Headed for the town of Bremen to become musicians, they encounter a band of robbers and must work together to thwart the thieves.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on. President of the Tecumseh Players Heather Hardcastle-Harris said she hopes the one-act plays will be “lots of fun and family-friendly,” the release said.
For additional information on One Act Wednesdays, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 517-423-5602 or via email at sgilmore@tecumsehmi.gov. Those interested can also contact the Tecumseh Players at thetecumsehplayers@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh Players to stage free, one-act plays in Adams Park
