As ACT I celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary and prepares its current production of The Sound of Music, another twenty-fifth anniversary is being celebrated by ACT I member.  Judy Trygstad, who prepared the orchestra for both our current production of this show and our previous presentation nine years ago, is celebrating her twenty-fifth anniversary as band director at Tilford Middle School in Vinton.  Judy's daughter, Beckie Stravers, an ACT I regular during her school years, was a member of our original cast.  With our revival of that show in honor of our 25th anniversary now in rehearsal, we honor Judy Trygstad's own twenty-fifth anniversary as well as her family's involvement in ACT I by celebrating her and Beckie Stravers as our Members of the Month for August, 2004!

Judy Trygstad, conducting a musical number during a recent rehearsal of The Sound of Music

Judy Trygstad, band director at Tilford Middle School in Vinton as well as the Vinton Community Band, and her husband Tom Stravers have three children, sons Joe and Jason, and daughter Beckie.  Like so many ACT I families, participation for the Trygstad/Stravers household began with the younger generation before working up to the adults.  Ten years ago this November, Beckie Stravers, then a fifth grader, made her ACT I debut in the role of Beth Bradley, the central character in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, performed at the Old Creamery Theatre in Garrison.  Now bitten by the acting bug, in the spring of that same season, Beckie returned to our stage for the role of Martha, a servant girl in The Miracle Worker.  In the fall of 1995, Beckie auditioned for ACT I's first major musical production and was cast in the role of Louisa in our first production of The Sound of Music.  Beckie's mom, Judy Trygstad, volunteered to take on the role of building the orchestra for the production.  She both directed the orchestra and played the flute, an assignment identical to the one she is taking on in the current revival.  And the production also featured one more member of the family, Jason Stravers, in his one and only ACT I role as a guard.

Beckie Stravers made her ACT I debut in 1994 playing the major role of Beth Bradley in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  She is pictured with Dan LaGrange, who played her brother Charlie.  (If you have been watching very closely, you'll remember this photo was in last month's Grease Paint as well when we featured the LaGrange family!)

Beckie was decidedly hooked.  Her next role came the following fall, when the ACT I musical was How to Eat Like a Child, a small scale show and our first show with an all student cast.  For that show Beckie worked a backstage crew in addition to being in the onstage ensemble.  In the fall of 1997 she was back again as a member of the singing and dancing ensemble in our production of the musical Oliver! in 1997.  She also appeared that season in our January, 1998 variety show, Be Our Guest, in which she appeared as part of the "Charlie My Boy" dance quintet.  For our next musical, Bye Bye Birdie, presented in September of 1998, the versatile Judy returned to orchestra pit, this time to play trombone, making it their second mother/daughter ACT I experience.  Beckie was onstage as a member of the singing/dancing teen ensemble, and acting the role of Ursula Merkle.

Beckie Stravers onstage in ACT I's 1996 children's musical, How to Eat Like a Child

The mother/daughter duo rounded out their ACT I experiences to date when in the summer of 1999, Beckie served as stage manager for the ACT I production of The Velveteen Rabbit.  Finally, in February, 2002, Beckie appeared as a dancer in our production of Romeo and Juliet.  In 2001, Judy played the flute in our production of My Fair Lady, and in October of 2001 she was again the flute player in the orchestra for our production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  In September of 2002, Judy was back in the director’s role for Kiss Me, Kate; a show which offered its conductor not only a line but a piece of the action as well!  Finally, last fall, she played the synthesizer for Annie.

Judy Trygstad (center) and her very cool orchestra for Kiss Me, Kate

Beckie, now a dance major at Oklahoma City University, where she is a member of American Spirit Dance Company.  She has appeared there in a production of Kiss Me, Kate.  Beckie also   She began her dance studies at the age of eight with the Cooling Dance Center in Vinton, and she was a teaching associate at Cooling Dance Center for two years.  She was also a singer/dancer with Celebration Iowa, a touring show choir / jazz band of select Iowa high school students which tours each summer.  Beckie was a member of the group the summers following both her junior and senior years.  Beckie was also active in music and theatre while a student at WHS, where she appeared in three high school musicals, beginning with Anything Goes as a freshman.  As a junior, she played the title role in Calamity Jane and as a senior she played the role of Snoopy in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.      

Beckie Stravers (front row, right) onstage at Riverside Park in Vinton during the summer of 2003, when she was part of the state wide high school show choir group Celebration Iowa.

Beckie's brother Jason, whose only ACT I role was as a guard in The Sound of Music in 1995, went on the play football and baseball for Luther College and is currently seeking a degree in Forensic Science at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Beckie Stravers (center) onstage in Calamity Jane.  At left is fellow ACT I member and Celebration Iowa cast member Aaron Murphy.

"Each show has left so many memories of the trials of rehearsal, the thrill of performance, the camaraderie of cast members, and the emptiness when a show is over," says Judy of the seven musicals she has done with ACT I.  "We have put together some incredible musicians in the pit orchestras; it has been a privilege to work with such talent over the years."

"The shows involving children are always rewarding for me as I see current, former, and future students in a stage role.  It is also great to see young actors learning from the adult role models in each show.  ACT I has always provided a healthy, caring, creative environment for its cast members.  I know that Beckie absorbed so much from the adults in the various productions she was involved with and that love of live performance is still with her today."

"Over the years I have seen the interest in ACT I grow tremendously.  As families move into Vinton, news has spread, and it is not long before they want to become a part of this theatre group.  That keeps the organization fresh and moving forward into ever challenging arenas.  I also believe sharing performance space with the Palace Theatre has had the greatest impact in bringing live theatre to Vinton.  It is much more accessible than the original OCT in Garrison, although that theatre did have its uniqueness with the intimate stage and outdoor courtyard, and it WAS the home of our first Sound of Music.

Beckie Stravers in her final high school acting role, Snoopy in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

The current production of The Sound of Music is ACT I’s ninth production of a Broadway musical, and Judy was involved in 7 of those nine productions, a record few in ACT I can match.  We thank Judy for her involvement as well as that of her family, and hope for many more ACT I musical productions benefiting from her talents!

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