Cast List  BARA  Florina Kapitzke JOHN  Jan Dalton MARGARETHA  Nan Worthington KEEPER  Tom Bohnhorst VILLAGER  Ron Stevens

Grant, Reviews

Play Hits a musical note at the Old Town Playhouse By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS

Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY — Song of the Lakes had never heard of John Hutzler or Bertha Peth when local playwright Anne-Marie Oomen asked the musicians to set her original play about the 1800s South Manitou Island couple to music.
But as the Great Lakes' unofficial ambassadors, they warmed to the story immediately — and to the idea of another collaboration with Oomen, with whom they'd worked on other theatrical projects.
"This one was a good opportunity to incorporate music forms that we might not perform in the Song of the Lakes regular concert format," said vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Sullivan, who also helped score music for Oomen's "Aral: A Folk Opera" and for the 1985 film "Sleeping Bear" by local filmmaker Rich Brauer. 
"There are some fascinating stories in Michigan history and this is one of the best ways of presenting the emotional drama of history."
For "Barta's Path," which opens at the Old Town Playhouse Studio Theatre today, the band scored 26 pieces ranging from simple bell sounds to Scandinavian-style waltzes and "polskas" like "3Barta's Waltz" and "Manitou Reel." 
Most of the tunes -- composed by Sullivan and Swede Ingemar Johannson from snatches of music that had taken root over the years but never been allowed to grow -- feature traditional Song of the Lakes instruments such as guitar, mandolin, flute and accordion. But creating music to evoke some emotions and sounds, like the crashing of Lake Michigan waves, required a handful of special instruments including a conch shell, Nigerian udu drums, a crash cymbal and even a nyckelharpa, a fiddle-like Swedish folk instrument with strings that are bowed with the right hand and wooden keys that are pushed with the left.
"The play has a couple of really different emotional colors, so the first part has this really happy, carefree Scandinavian feel to it," said Sullivan, who contributes three somber tunes in the second half, including "Mike's Boy Swinging," "Old Testament Sky" and "Lake Michigan Dreamscapes." The second part is much darker. 
Mixing sounds is nothing new to Song of the Lakes, which has been combining the rich Celtic and Scandinavian traditions with Michigan history since 1983. The group is one of the Great Lakes region's most popular performers, especially on the folk festival circuit. Still, composing sound under verse is a more complex process, Sullivan said. "First you try to get a sense of the emotional telling of the piece: what's going on and what's the emotion, the underlying theme", he said. "Then you create tones that evoke those emotions."
"You also have to be mindful of the fact that the music isn't the focus, it's kind of wallpaper to the story. So you have to create music that doesn't compete with the dialogue."
While much of the music for "Barta's Path" was composed for the play's first public reading in Glen Arbor last summer, Song of the Lakes wrote additional tunes for the stage version, which runs at OTP through March 2. The whole process took about 20 hours, Sullivan said, and involved the entire band, including Rick Jones, Lisa Johansson and guest artist Gary Warden, who played accordion on the polskas, or Swedish folk dances.
"The fun is you come with something but you don't know what you'll end up with," Sullivan said. "Everyone adds what they hear."

Song of the Lakes plans to include at least two of the tunes on its fourth CD, currently in progress.
For tickets to "Barta's Path," call 947-2443.

Press Release 2/6/02 -- BARTA’S PATH  OPENS AT OLD TOWN PLAYHOUSE 2/15 (runs through 3/2)
Features original script; maritime history; music by Song of the Lakes

            TRAVERSE CITY --- Tickets for the Old Town Playhouse studio theatre production of Barta’s Path are on sale beginning Monday, February 4, 2001 through the show’s conclusion on Saturday, March 2, 2002. The play opens Friday, February 15, at Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City, located at Cass and Eighth Streets in downtown Traverse City.
            Barta’s Path is an original play by local author and Interlochen Arts Academy creative writing chair Anne-Marie Oomen.Loosely based on actual oral histories, Barta’s Path follows the life story of Bertha (Barta) Peth, a lifelong resident of Northwest Michigan’s South Manitou Islands between the late-1800’s and the mid-1950’s. It is a love story embedded in the settlement, development and demise of the island’s farm community and lumber industry.
            Complementing the script is original music created and recorded for Barta’s Path by noted local musical group, Song of the Lakes. Visual images from the Manitous, Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and historical collections and books will also be featured.
           Barta’s Path is directed by Steve Morse of Traverse City. Cast members include Florina Kapitzki, Jan Dalton, Nan Worthington, Tom Bohnor and Ron Stevens.
            Show dates for Barta’s Path are February 15-16, 21-23, 28 and March 1-2, 2002 in the Old Town Playhouse Studio Theatre. All shows begin at 8 p.m. On opening night, February 15, and both Thursdays, February 21 and 28, Ms. Oomen will host a question and answer discussion with the audience immediately after the performances. Tickets are $8 for general admission seating, and reserved in advance by calling the Old Town Playhouse business office at (231) 947-2210. Limited tickets will also be available at the door.
Barta’s Path is being funded, in part, by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support is being provided by the Beach Bards of Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, in conjunction with the 100^th Anniversary Celebration of the South Manitou Lighthouse.

For more information or tickets, call Old Town Playhouse at (231) 947-2210.

Barta's Path
An original play by Anne-Marie Oomen

Barta's Path is a dramatic play inspired by the life of Bertha (pronounced Barta) Peth, a lifelong resident of South Manitou Island. The play covers the span of the islands most prosperous years. It includes Barta's arrival on the island, her marriage to John Hustler, one of the sons of the first pioneer families to come to the island) and the birth and tragic death of their child and the destruction of their marriage and lives as a result of the accident. Their lives parallel the rise and fall of the timber industry and the agricultural practices on the island. This version of the story explores Barta's perspective, that of a woman caught in the mores of her time, driven to extremity and through it all her choice to remain on the island.

The cast calls for 4 (or 5) adults - two women, two men and a possible fifth cast member that represents various island residents

BARTA - Mid 30's to mid 40's, a dreamy quality of sprit

MARGARETHA - Older, mid 40's to early 60's - a strong independent woman of pioneer stock. Mother of John Hustler.

JOHN - Mid 30's to mid 40's, strong silent type, farmer.

KEEPER - 40's - 50's The keeper of the lighthouse and narrator of the play.

VILLAGER - Male. Farmer and villager - any adult age.

The play is set for production in February at the Old Town Playhouse Studio Theater.

It will be directed by OTP veteran member, Steve Morse. The author, Anne-Marie Oomen, will play an active part in the rehearsal process, providing insight on the characters and the history of the island. It will be produced by Candy Morse

Crew persons are needed for sound, lights, costuming and props.

Auditions are set for November 12th & 13th with call backs (if needed) set for the 14th. This studio production will rely heavily on authentic props, costumes, lighting and sound. The set is minimal, consisting of plain furniture pieces on three risers.

Scripts are available at the Playhouse. Call 947-2210 for more information.

BARTA’S PATH RECEIVES MICHIGAN HUMANITIES GRANT
OTP’s Barta’s Path will be one of seven cultural/historical projects to receive grant funding this winter from the Michigan Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Playhouse will receive a $3,000 grant to produce Barta's Path, an original, dramatic play with original music inspired by the life of Bertha Peth, a life-long resident of South Manitou Island in rural northwest Michigan. The script was written by Interlochen Arts Academy creative writing chair Anne-Marie Oomen and will be directed by OTP veteran Steve Morse. The noted musical ensemble Song of the Lakes will be contributing to the project with a recording of their original music written for the production and a video of the production will be created.

The projects were awarded using Michigan Humanities Council's new grant program - "Creating Vision for the New Century: The Humanities and the Strengthening of Michigan's Communities" - which emphasizes collaboration among cultural, educational and community-based organizations to provide public humanities projects which will help position communities to meet 21st century challenges. Other grant recipients include the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Berrien County Historical Council, the Humanities Council at the Grand Rapids Public Library, the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan and the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan (HCWCM).

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state's private, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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