Temple High School Theatre Art's first production of the 2008-09 school year, Picnic, opened on Thursday, September 25 at 8 p.m.. Additional performances were Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Because of renovations to the main auditorium, the show was being performed in the 9th Grade Cafeteria at Temple High School.

Because of the performance space, seating for each performance was limited to around 140 persons, and every performance was almost completely full.

The show opened three weeks from the day of the first read-through.

The play, by William Inge, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When it opened on Broadway, it received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season and the Tony Award for best direction. It was Paul Newman's Broadway debut. CLICK HERE to read the Wikipedia article about the play.

Performances: Thursday-Friday-Saturday, September 25-26-27 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 28 at 2 p.m.
Location: 9th Grade Cafeteria at Temple High School (limited seating)
Tickets: Sold by performance, $7 in advance, $10 at the door (if available)

Here are some photos from the Temple Daily Telegram publicity shoot on September 16.
Click the small photo to see a larger version

Cast of Characters

Helen Potts, lives with her mother = Stephanie Scherer
Hal Carter, college friend of Alan = Joey Jaworski
Millie Owens, Madge's younger sister = Shannon Graham
Bomber, a teenage newsboy = Tyler Winkler
Madge Owens, Alan's girlfriend = Emily Kleypas
Flo Owens, mother of Madge and Millie = Alexandra Tolleson
Rosemary Sydney, unmarried school teacher, rents a room from Mrs. Owens = Shalyssa Wright
Alan Seymour, wealthy young man, Madge's steady boyfriend = Scott Ray
Irma Kronkite, teacher and Rosemary's friend = Corrie Hermans
Christine Schoenwalder, a new teacher in town = Sarah Jo White
Howard Bevans, Rosemary's boyfriend = Trenton Schneiders

Production Staff

Director = Natasha Tolleson
Technical Director = Rachel Aker
Production Assistant = Brooke Bennett
Sound & Publicity Consultant = Jody Donaldson

Stage Manager = Chris Burrow

Set Foreman = Nathan Graham
Assistant Set Foreman = John Patterson
Set Crew = Cassi Anderson, Jake Bayley, Curtis Clifton, Brad Hickey, Michaela Hill, Immanueli Mwaura, Earl Pope, James Roeder Morgan Sorley, and Kristina Templeton

Costume Crew Chief = Stacy Henderson
Costume Crew = Regan Allen, Sydney Barton, Stephanie Ewing, Brooke Fader, Meredith Howell, Elizabeth Pasichnyk, Amanda Pulte, and Grace Rosa

Hair & Make-Up Crew Chief = Amy Greene
Hair & Make-Up Crew = Alex Anderson, Alison Clifton, Ashley Fritz, Allison Henderson, Ravin Jackson, Suzann Shultz and Mikah Young

Properties Crew Chiefs = Anya Godigamuwe and Sam Sheffer
Properties Crew = Katelyn Hill, Gloria Matthews, Emily Roeder, Rachel Stonestreet and Cami Woodruff

Lighting Designer = John McSpedon
Sound Designer = Morgan Crozier
Sound and Lighting Crew = Ashlee Burrow, Shelby Davis, Victoria Hanks, Joel Williams and Evan Wright

Publicity Crew Chief = Kara Kasberg
Publicity Crew = Chelsea D. Heitman, Nisha Pillai, Emily Roeder and Josh Wilder

House Manager = Lance Zaremba
Front-of-House Crew = Chelsea D. Heitman, Kathryn Pasichnyk and Joshua Zepeda

(Please report any misspelled names to Stage Manager Chris Burrow)

Changes to Production Staff: Deleted Moriah Land from set crew. Kristina Templeton moved from costumes to set crew. Deleted Chelsey Jackson, Jessica Lee and Schanai Mills from set crew. Deleted Kacy Cotham from hair and make-up crew. Deleted Sabryna Sulak from properties crew. Deleted Chelsey Jackson from front-of-house crew.