Time Is Running Short

Just two more chances to see the show.

M*A*S*H Cast:
Supporting Characters

It’s your last chance to see MASH this weekend! Don’t miss it on July 6 or 7 at 7:30 p.m. The play is presented by the Evansville Community Theatre in the state-of-the-art Evansville Performing Arts Center at Evansville High School, 640 S. Fifth St. Tickets are all general admission and are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets are available in advance in Evansville at the Union Bank and Trust, Piggly Wiggly, Evansville Pharmacy, and Bank of Evansville. For information, contact producer Jennie Nehls at 608-882-4926 or by e-mail at nenni68@charter.net.

Last week a few of the supporting characters spoke with the play’s publicity coordinator to give you an inside look at what it’s like to be on stage in MASH.

Are you having a good time putting on this play?
Linda Draeving-Hammack/Congresswoman: I grew up military, so it’s pretty cool -- it takes me back. Most of it’s true to life. My dad was in the Air Force, so I was an Air Force brat. It was a good life, a hard life, but a very good life. We moved every two to three years. The first 18 years of my life I lived on seven different bases.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: I like how everyone is really nice and really supportive.
Cody Marenas/Crazylegs: I just like everyone and the range of ages that are here.
PJ Spears/Nyng: I’m having a great time. I’ve never done this before. I was nervous. It’s just so neat to see other people act – they’re really good!

What do you like best about your character?
Jennie Nehls/Dean Lodge: Dean Mercy Lodge tries to sound "all business" but it's obvious that regardless of the mischief Hawkeye caused her at the school, deep down she has a soft spot for him.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: I like that my character is not very intelligent and I like to play her because she’s so opposite – I don’t really consider myself that dumb! We all have dumb moments, but her life is a dumb moment so it’s kind of fun.
Linda Draeving-Hammack/Congresswoman: I’m a congresswoman. That’s cool. And she’s made fun of; that’s kind of funny. And I get to scream.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: My character feeds off the other two girls she’s with. Together the three of them are just really very blank and dull-witted! It’s so funny because of the reaction of the officers in the camp.
PJ Spears/Nyng: I like getting to pretend to be someone else and see if I can convince other people to believe the character. She’s funny. I try to make it funny.

Aside from the outright comedy, what might the audience take away from the play?
Linda Draeving-Hammack/Congresswoman: I think the importance of relationships comes shining through in the play. Any time you take people out of their own comfort zone and put them in a foreign country, personal relationships become very important because they’re dependent on each other. That’s one of the things I learned growing up military – how important your nuclear family and relationships become to you when you’re far away from your extended family. You create extended families when you’re overseas or on a military base.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: I’ve got nothing! Mitzi, Fritzi, and Agnes don’t have a lot of messages!
Cody Marenas/Crazylegs: I’m an old college buddy of Hawkeye – there are messages about keeping your friends and staying in touch with your old friends.

Why do you think people will enjoy this play?
PJ Spears/Nyng: It’s going to be so funny. You won’t believe how many people you see every day that can act so well! I didn’t know they could do this.
Jennie Nehls/Dean Lodge: I think it's a show that most people have watched and they can identify with the characters. Having watched the show for many years, I wondered if that might make it hard to get used to seeing someone else play those roles. On the contrary, each member of the cast has really embraced their character and they all have done an amazing job blending together beautifully.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: When you know the people who are in the show you see bits and pieces of them coming out in their characters and it’s really humorous how they connect.
Cody Marenas/Crazylegs: If we hit the lines right, it’ll make the audience laugh.
Jennie Nehls/Dean Lodge: I think people will most enjoy watching everyone in the cast have such a good time with their characters and the story. It's a great show with a lot of funny, and some poignant, moments.
Linda Draeving-Hammack/Congresswoman: It’s a good show…the directing, the producing, it’s just a good show.
Chelsea Schmit/Fritzi: It’s a break from reality, putting yourself in a different place and a different time. If there are actors you know, it’s fun to see the actors step out into something they don’t always do.
Linda Draeving-Hammack/Congresswoman: Come see us and have a good time – and remember that every actress loves flowers!

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