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Terry James Chronicle Special Ena Honsberger has some fond mem- cries about her years of involvement with the Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre. Gesturing around her Kitchener apartment, she says almost every piece of furniture in her home has been used on stage at one time or another. She chuckles when she recalls the evening she invited every member of the cast to her home and clothed them for a performance "in practically everything I owned, from evening gowns to dressing gowns to hats." Never to be forgotten was the evening she sat backstage clad in only her slip. It seems the producer thought her dress was perfect for one of the characters. The only problem was Honsberger was wearing it at the time! Honsberger became involved in Little Theatre shortly after moving to the Twin Cities in 1937, two years after the group was formed. V “When you do the beginnings of these things, that's where the fun is," she said. The "fun-filled beginnings" of K-W Little Theatre began under the direction of founding president Fred Dreger. In a letter written to Honsberger in Feb. 1954, Dreger claims when he left Os- goode Hall in the spring of 1935, "he had no idea he would soon be immersed in the deep waters of Little Theatre." But in the summer of 1935, as a result of some casual discussions with various people, he concluded that a Little Theatre could be started and would fill a need in the community. A meeting was called for the fall of 1935 in the YMCA for the purpose of discussing the possible organization of a Little Theatre. Plans were made to proceed with two one-act plays which were presented at the Kitchener colle- giate. Three-hundred people attended the first free performance and the audience was invited to pay a $1 membership fee if they were interested in supporting a Little Theatre. Enough funds were collected to finance the theatre’s first major production in March, 1936. oUriime Little Theatre president John Wright, who spent a great deal of time putting together the organization's Care Matcotm, an experienced stage director, end Ralph Aehton. stage manager. dlecuee Kltcherter-Wtttqrtoo Little Theetre'e production of "Craig‘s Wife" in Feb. 1949. A half century of achievement Meeting called archives, claimed the most successful years of the Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre were from 1935 to 1939. He attributed this success to sound man- agement on the part of Dreger and his successor, Keith Staebier; total com- mitment by the general membership; and positive feedback from the Twin Cities, the Western Ontario Drama League and Theatre Ontario. Honsberger also attributes this suc- cess to the fact there was no competition in the early years. There were no movies or television and no other live theatre within miles of Kitchener-Waterloo. Two noteworthy accomplishments during this time period included the promotion of a play-writing contest in 1936-37, which saw W. J. Cowls and Edna Staebler participating, and the accep- tance of the Meredith Achievement Trophy in 1938 for "Elizabeth the Queen." Connie Hughes will long be heralded the most outstanding in the acting field after taking the best actress award in the Western Ontario Drama Festival in 1937. The war years intervened and the K-W Little Theatre was forced to disband due to the lack of people available, but in 1945 Ed Devitt and Norman Gowdy supplied the spark and the Little Theatre once again took to the stage. Honsberger was generous with her praise for Norman Gowdy. She viewed him as the most important person in the organization during this time. "He was vitally interested in theatre," said Honsberger. "He directed and acted. He had a store downtown near King Street and allowed us to use a room above his store for rehearsals. We also built stage sets there. We would not have existed without him." Other persons to be commended for their work in the history of the organiza- tion both on and off stage, include Elinore Wilson, Fred Mann, Elsa Jen- kins, May Kennedy, Mary Odd, Clare Milhausen, Jean Roberts, Leonard Bald- win, Elizabeth Devitt, Harry Vipond, Cyril Philp, Muriel Clement, Norma Hattin, Charles Tuck, Ralph Ashton, Forrest Fansett, Isobel McNaughton, Lois and John Jenkins, Len Hopkins, Mary Proudfoot. and Bruce Devitt, to name a few. Following the war years and well into the 1950’s and '60s, the Little Theatre experienced steady growth. It was Forced to disband K-W Little Theatre during this period that, through his wife's involvement, Clay Hall became involved. The Kitchener resident rose through the ranks of stage carpenter to stage designer to stage manager to president. In 1952 he made a significant contribution to the group. Hall was taking one of his helpers home after working on a stage set in a cold barn on Glasgow Lane. He saw a moving van parked in front of Kuntz Electroplating at 9 Princess Street E., in Waterloo. "So I made it my business to find out if it (the building) was for sale and for how much. The long and short of it was Little Theatre acquired the building in 1952 and took two years, with most volun- teers' help, grants and gifts, to change it from a rough building to something habitable," said Hall. This building is still home to K-W Little Theatre today. Throughout its history, K-W Little Theatre can look back on a number of accomplishments. in 1955 "All My Sons," directed by Olga Landiak, partic- ipated in the regional festival at Welland and won the Calvert Regional Trophy. The production went on to the Dominion Drama Festival in Regina. In 1963 the Dominion Drama Festival was held in Kitchener at the Lyric Theatre and in 1965-66, K-W Little Theatre boasted 2,000 members, of which 200 were active. - In 1959 "The Teahouse of the August Moon," directed by Charles Tuck, went to the regional festival in Stratford and won six awards. In the ensuing years membership numbers fluctuated anti, the Little Thea- tre experienced intermittent suc_cess. "I think in Kitchener-Waterloo you will find this thing (interest in Little Theatre) goes in waves," said Clay Hall. "You'll have great enthusiasm for a number of years and it probably lines up to one or two leaders. The one or two leaders either leave town, lose interest or the load is too much and they get out and another leader takes over." He said unlike the City of London, Kitchener-Waterloo has never had a strong group of six to 10 persons who have stayed with the operation of the Little Theatre. Here is a picture of the cast of Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre's production of "Curious Savage," performed in 1955-56. The names of the cast were not available. Do you recognize anyone? How much? But despite this, Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre has survived and will complete its 50th season this weekend with the production of "Hide and Seek." It has gained the distinction of being the starting point for such professional actors and media personalities as Wil- liam Needles, Ron Hastings, Sandy Black, Mark Seguin and Robin Mar- shall. Little Theatre has also whet the interest of local residents who have gone on to make important contributions to other artistic endeavours in the Commu- nity. Ena Honsberger, a lifetime member of K-W Little Theatre, went on to accept a position on the board of the Stratford Festival. Clay Hall, also a lifetime member of the Little Theatre, became president of the Western Ontario Drama League in 1963, served as chairman of the Centre in the Square committee for a number of years and has served on the board of the Kichener-Waterloo Art Gal- lery. What does the future hold in store for Little Theatre? Will it survive in this age of television, movies and video cassette recorders? Can local theatre survive the competition of Stratford, Toronto, Nia- gara-on-the-Lake and Blyth? Clay Hall believes people are becom- ing bored with television. which he claims is becoming "trite," and he believes there is a renewed interest in live theatre. Guelph resident Kay McKie, a profes- sional director and chairman of Theatre Ontario‘s education committee. first became involved with K W Little Thea- tre in the early Mt70's when it was known as Tempo Theatre. She firmly believes there is a place in Canada for amateur theatre. "People thought theatre would die when the VCRs came. It was the same with the advent of the movies. It siphons off some of the audience but there is still a viable audience there," McKie said. "If community theatres choose their bills well there is a niche for them nobody else fills.", "iiirifairiki to tie Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre, and may it continue to entertain audiences for another so sea- sons! Starting point