COLE! To Play At Totem Pole Playhouse, 8/14-8/26

Totem Pole Playhouse, in its 62nd year history, has always had the mission to bring Broadway quality theatre to the South Central Pennsylvania region. To this end, many of the actors and designers are drawn from talent pools in larger cities like New York and Washington, DC. But the big cities by no means have a monopoly on talent, and Artistic Director Ray Ficca is always eager to mix local actors into a season's line up.

"We're a part of the community," says Ficca. "And it’s important that we reflect the community not just in the type of plays we pick but whom we hire as well."

In the final offering of the 2012 season, a spectacular review based on the life and songs of Cole Porter, two local actors get a chance to shine. One, Catherine Blaine of Shippensburg, is no stranger to the Totem Pole stage, having appeared in many productions over the years. Another, Shippensburg University senior Ethan Goldbach of Greencastle, gets his first taste of professional acting in the show, which runs August 14th through the 26th.

"I first saw a show at Totem Pole when I was 15, I think," says the Greencastle native. "And this is an exciting opportunity. I've done some dinner theater down in Hagerstown, but this is my first real professional job."

The fact that a professional theater operates in the area is certainly a boon to local actors, and it's an opportunity that is becoming increasingly rare in other parts of the country. "In the 50's, there were something like 150, 160 summer stock theaters all over the country, I think," says Ficca. "Today, there are ten theaters that operate under the same contract we have with the union."

In addition to Blaine and Goldbach, Gettysburg's Bob Brown and Carlisle's Jon Liebetrau and his daughter Victoria have appeared in plays this season for Totem Pole. In seasons past, Greencastle resident (and Shippensburg University professor) Paris Peet has also been a company member. Most are members of the professional performer's union, Actor's Equity, and as such can usually only perform at an Equity theater. Katrina Yaukey of Mont Alto has appeared on the Totem Pole stage many times. Currently she is appearing in War Horse on Broadway where she has appeared in several other shows throughout the years.

"The benefit of an Equity Theatre to the community is immeasurable," says Peet. "I am always surprised when local audiences are unaware that the artists working in their community have regional and national credentials and that this has been the case every summer for sixty some years."

Some, like Brown, have enjoyed The Playhouse from both sides of the curtain. "I remember attending my first show at Totem Pole the summer of 1984," he says. "I immediately fell in love with the place and can remember thinking, 'I am going to perform on that stage some day!'"

"It's definitely a two way street," says Ficca. "We benefit from all the talent in the area, and we're certainly not settling. All of the actors we hire would do fine in New York - they just choose to make their lives here. We always try to choose the best actors available for our shows, and we're really lucky that some of the best actors available live right here in the area."

COLE! plays at Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville Aug. 14-26 and is sponsored by the Franklin County Visitor's Bureau. For ticketing information, call the box office at 888-805-7056 or visit www.totempoleplayhouse.org.

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