CAT Opals Million Dollar Duck Program

by John Patrick

Directed by Susan Dearing

March 7 - 16, 2025

Central Alberta Theatre CentralAlbertaTheatreRedDeer.com

Studio Theatre 4214 58 Street Red Deer, AB

ABOUT CENTRAL ALBERTA THEATRE

Formed in 1970, Central Alberta Theatre is a registered Canadian Charity providing live theatre experiences for the residents of Red Deer and the surrounding area. CAT operates the Red Deer Memorial Centre, a 700 seat venue, offering live music, theatre, speakers and other entertainment events on behalf of the City of Red Deer.

CAT’s mission is to maintain an active not-for-profit organization dedicated to the production of first-rate performances and learning opportunities for the love of live, local theatre. We sustainably operate a Performing Arts space to facilitate cultural expression and community engagement.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) gratefully acknowledges that the Indigenous traditional territories upon which we live and tell stories are represented by Treaty 6 (north of the river) and 7 (south of the river.) It is also a Métis gathering site. We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people whose footsteps have marked these lands since time immemorial. We are grateful for their respectful stewardship that enable us all to enjoy the riches of this territory.

CAT Box Office: 4214 58 Street, Red Deer, AB T4N 2L6 Phone: 403-967-1769 CentralAlbertaTheatre.ca

For more information or to rent any of the spaces for your next event, please call 403-347-8111

AUDIENCE INFORMATION

Important Notes The play runs approximately 60 minutes for Act 1 and 2, and 45 minutes for Act 3. There will be a 15minute intermission.

Please note that disruptive or abusive behaviours will not be tolerated in our theatre. This is a safe space for our performers and volunteers who are bringing the show to life for everyone's enjoyment, and we will ask anyone disrupting that experience to please remove themselves.

Recording Devices We kindly ask you to please turn off cell phones and electronic devices for the duration of the performance. The use of cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited.

by John Patrick

THE CAST ROXZANE ARMSTRONG DEBORAH VAN DELDEN DUSTIN FUNK NICOLE ORR

Opal Rosie Desmond Queenie

THE CREATIVE TEAM JOHN PATRICK SUSAN DEARING LACEY OLESON-RINEHART CATHRIN PARKIN GWEN MCCAGG ALICE LEBIRK JEREMY ROBINSON

Playwright Director Stage Manager/ Lighting Designer/ Assistant Costume Designer Set Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Artistic Producer

SETTING

Opal’s junk shop modern day Appalachia

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DIRECTOR NOTES & BIO “I was really drawn to Opal as it is a whimsical comedy, that will have your cheeks sore from laughter. This is my first directing experience, and I want to thank the cast and crew for all their hard work in bringing this wonderful play to life. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I loved watching it all come together.”

Susan has been involved in theatre for over 20 years and has filled multiple roles. She is excited to bring you Opal’s Million Dollar Duck as her directing debut. She hopes you enjoy watching the show as much as she enjoyed watching it come together Susan Dearing, Director Opal’s Million Dollar Duck

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT John Patrick Goggan was born on May 17, 1905, in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of John Francis and Myrtle (Osborn) Goggan. Abandoned by both of them, Patrick spent his childhood in a variety of foster homes and boarding schools. A drifter during much of his teen years, Patrick landed a job as a radio announcer for KPO Radio in San Francisco, California, at the age of nineteen. Changing his name to John Patrick, he wrote over eleven hundred radio screenplays for the "Cecil and Sally" show, which was eventually broadcast by NBC between the years of 1929 and 1933. He continued to write for NBC from 1933 to 1936, and in 1940 Helen Hayes performed his adaptations of the classics, also on NBC. John Patrick is best known as the author of TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, which was awarded a Pulitzer, a Tony, and a New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Patrick also wrote more than two dozen screenplays, including "Teahouse of the August Moon," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," and "Les Girls," which earned him an award from the Screen Writers Guild. He died November 7, 1995.

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THE CAST ROXZANE ARMSTRONG Opal

Roxzane studied Theatre many moons ago and since then has done many shows with many companies and is working on adding enough Film to her resume to also be called ‘Many’. Her most recent appearance on CAT’s stage was lasts year’s The Birds and the Bees. You can also find her giving improv a go with BullSkit and doing cartwheels on social media.

She hopes you find a friend in Opal.

DEBORAH VAN DELDEN Rosie

Deborah is thrilled to be performing with CAT again. She performed in the Charitable Sisterhood Christmas Spectacular last year and The Vagina Monologues in 2020. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and co-worker; she thanks everyone for their support and patience.

DUSTIN FUNK Desmond

Dustin is no stranger to the acting scene.

After attending Red Deer College for acting in theatre and film, he has performed in many shows with Central Alberta Theatre, Innisfail Town Theatre, Prime Stock Theatre, and Sylvan Lake Theatre. He has appeared in several short films and has done some work on both film and television. Opal’s Million Dollar Duck will be Dustin’s 9th show with Central Alberta Theatre.

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THE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM

(Continued...)

NICOLE ORR Queenie

Nicole is pleased to be returning to CAT. Previous endeavours include The Love (Row) Boat, Looking, Cinderella Dances With The Stars, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, My Three Angels and Booster McCrane, P.M. among others. Nicole spends the majority of her time as a junior high and high school English teacher (although drama creeps in now and again). She has worked previously as a group spin instructor and a former competitor. She is more than happy to be on the stage with CAT again and she looks forward to this and future performances.

LACEY OLESON-RINEHART

Stage Manager/Lighting Designer Lacey is excited to be helping this talented team as the Stage Manager and Lighting Designer. With degrees in both fields, it’s nice to bring it all to the show.

Huge congratulations to Susan for her first time Directing. She was a wonderful Stage Manager for Dracula and I am thrilled to return the favor. Break a leg, everyone!

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CREATIVE TEAM

(Continued...)

GWEN MCCAGG Costume Designer

Gwen took the costume-cutting program at Red Deer College in 1997. She has been involved with costumes at her children’s schools and became Treehouse Youth Theatre’s costumer in 2009 to 2024. In 2010 she was invited to costume for Prime Stock Theatre in 2010 and continued working with Prime Stock until 2023. Gwen volunteers for CAT in the costume bank and has done so since 2016 to present.

She could not have done all this work without her husband David Robidoux and her demon seed Vahn McCagg, both who have cut, sewed, carried costumes, acted as human manikins, and offered advice.

CATHRIN PARKIN Set Designer

Cathrin is a recent addition to the CAT team, and holds a diploma in Stagecraft and Special Events from Douglas College.

She specializes in Paint and Props, and is never afraid to take on a new artistic challenge. In her spare time you can find her painting, singing and reading. She's excited to be a part of the crew and hopes you enjoy the show.

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CREATIVE TEAM

(Continued...)

ALICE LEBIRK Sound Designer

Making her debut in sound design debut outside of school theatre, Alice is very excited to have worked on such a great show. Never before has she had to research outside of her comfort zone to explore other avenues and genres of music. Regardless, the challenge was welcome and rewarding. Nonetheless, she hopes you enjoy the show!

PRODUCTION TEAM/ RUNNING CREW Set Construction: Barry Lockwood, Bruce Barss, Monica Bolin Set Painters: Elena Rousseau, Hannah Sanson, Robyn Jeffrey, Debby Allan, Don Robinson, Colleen Biggar, Katie Keener & Cathrin Parkin Sound Operators: Alice Lebirk Lighting Operators: Lacey Oleson-Rinehart CAT Executive Director: Cassidy Crawford CAT Operations & Technical Manager: Darrel Dixon CAT Artistic Producer: Jeremy Robinson CAT Front of House Manager: Cathrin Parkin CAT Stage Technician: Chris Walker CAT Marketing: Karli Kendall

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SPECIAL THANKS Special thank you to Jerawyn Dearing for creating our million-dollar duck. Thank you to Judy Jackson of Central Alberta Photographic Society for taking photos! Thank you to Habitat for Humanity Restore for donating set items. Thank you to all the actors who auditioned for the CAT season. We wish to thank any volunteers, including our Front of House team, who may have been missed by our printing deadline.

We deeply appreciate the time and effort you have committed to Central Alberta Theatre!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Volunteers Make It Happen Thank you to all our volunteers for being a part of the 2024 - 2025 theatre season. Our success starts with our community, and our volunteers are our true leaders in it. There are many ways to get involved if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer. We have many volunteer roles (onstage and off!) available and we would be happy to work with you to find a great fit.

Sponsors Make It Possible We appreciate the community leadership of local businesses and organizations supporting CAT’s endeavours each year. There are a variety of sponsorship opportunities available and we would be happy to discuss these with you. You can support a performance, a season, or even becoming a signature sponsor, we would love to work with you during the 2004-2025 season. For more information, please visit our website or, of course, call us anytime.

Find out more on our website at:

CentralAlbertaTheatre.ca or call: 403-347-8111

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UPCOMING MEMORIAL CENTRE SHOWS March 26 Walk Right Back - The Everly Brothers Story April 6 Carroll Baker - “One Final Tour” April 8 Glass Tiger - This Island Earth April 19 Jesse Cook May 7 Take It To The Limit - A Tribute To The Eagles June 18 Tina The Ultimate Tribute to the Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll June 19 Shania Experience with opening act The Country Divas September 14 ABBA Revisited

Call the Box Office at 403-967-1769 to get your tickets today!

Box Office Open Weekdays 9:30am - 2:30pm 10

Dinner & a Show This year we are happy to announce that CAT is partnering with the Downtown Business Association for our 2024-2025 season.

CURRENT SEASON SPONSORS Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) would like to extend a special thank you to the following organizations.

GOVERNMENT FUNDERS

SPONSORS & PARTNERS Media Sponsor

DONORS/PATRONS Arun Mishra, Cynthia Edwards, Irma Francis, Clem Nadon, Gary Pottage, Dave Perry, Lois Caron and Border Paving.

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Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) has been a community theatre organization for over 53 years. Our vision is to be the community leader in engaging Central Alberta in Arts and Culture. Central Alberta Theatre offers our community the opportunity to experience the Arts by encouraging creativity, nurturing new relationships, providing learning opportunities and stimulating experiences, and fostering appreciation and involvement. Please consider a donation to ensure Central Alberta Theatre can continue to create exceptional and fun entertainment experiences.

CENTRAL ALBERTA THEATRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Cynthia Edwards Vice-President: Michael Sutherland Treasurer: Wanda Bornn Secretary: Robyn Jeffrey

Director: Wanda Oler Director: Susan Dearing Director: Lacey Oleson-Rinehart Director: Haley Weninger