The Nineteen Eighties
1984-85
The University Theatre livened things up by presenting Alan Ayckbourn’s spoof of sexual morals Taking Steps in the fall. Directed by Nancy Ehrhardt and designed by Tom Thatcher, this production toured to St. Cloud as our ACTF entry. Six Characters in Search of an Author haunted the Thrust. The fall workshop was The Waltz of the Toreadors.
Alum Eric Brogger’s new play Copperhead opened winter quarter in the Arena. Its setting in western Pennsylvania was very familiar to director Lee Adey – he hailed from that part of the country. Robert 
Moulton did his usual bang-up job on The Music Man in February with John Seibert in the lead. And Mother Hicks was the YPUT production for the year. Winter workshops: He Who Gets Slapped and American Primitive.
The venerable Everyman opened spring quarter, directed by Nancy Silva and given a wonderful timelessness by designer Kathy Schuetz. The delightful Lady Windermere’s Fan directed by guest Richard Russell Ramos was the final production of spring. Les Brelsford directed Charlie the Chicken Plus Two and Marguerite Folger did Johnny Shades, Rock n’ Roll Private Eye written by local playwright David B. Kunz on the spring workshop season.
Girl of the Golden West, adapted and directed by Charles Nolte with olios by Robert Moulton, was the Showboat offering for the summer
of 1985. Charles dared Gino to reproduce Belasco’s 20-minute sunrise from the original production – she did, in 2. Summer of 1985 also marked the first time we sponsored a 4-week workshop for high school students called Honors Institute in Theatre (H.I.T.) under the direction of Lee Adey. This four-week long theatre camp featuring classes in acting and technical theatre culminated in a public performance in the Proscenium.
After 44 years, 1985 marked the final year of Young People’s University Theatre production. With Kenneth L. Graham’s retirement in 1980 and retrenchment at the University, there were no longer faculty teaching in the creative dramatics/children’s theatre area. The department was forced to make choices for the future and this one was quite unpopular with several of the alumni who had completed their degrees in this field and carried the banner forward to many other universities and producing groups in the country, not the least of which was The Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis.
1985 also marked the retirements of Professors Virginia Fredricks and David W. Thompson after remarkable careers as teachers, authors, administrators, colleagues, and friends. How fitting that two careers which complemented each other so beautifully should change together at the same time.
