Two of the most significant events at the Playhouse this past quarter involved me, personally.  On April 25, shortly after completing the run of three one-act plays in the Studio and posting my spring Musing, I suffered a mild heart attack and had to have triple bypass surgery.  Dr. Kevin Weber, my regular physician, who has appeared in such Playhouse shows as CITY OF ANGELS, 1776, and THE TEMPEST, worked with a surgeon and cardiologist to bring me through it successfully.  I also had the help of my good friends Margaret Anne Slawson (My one-act assistant) and veteran OTP performer, Kathy Kocevar Laguire, as well as my cousins.  My condition as of this writing is excellent, and I will be appearing in Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE in Hannah Park in late July. **************   The other event concerning me involves the Annual Meeting, where Brian Dungjen was reelected and cute little Hannah Rickard's mom, Jessica and Marcia Bellinger were elected to the Board of Trustees, and Jill Anton, Barbara Goodearl, and OTP veteran, Judge Cinder Conlon joined the Board of Artistic Directors.  I received the Volunteer of the Year Award for a season in which I made major accomplishments in the Studio.  Some of you may recall my participation there going back to the inaugural show of the first regularly scheduled Studio Theater season, TWELVE ANGRY MEN, which introduced our current president, Rick Korndorfer and was directed by our current Executive Director, Phil Murphy.  This coming season, I will focus more on the mainstage shows, working with  special consultant Korndorfer and director, Karen Cross as producer/ production coordinator of the Noel Coward comedy, HAY FEVER.  ************ My other regular Playhouse job as membership chairman is taking on new importance as the special offerings to paid Playhouse members is expanding.  Freebies to this group include invitations to the newly restored pre-show opening night festivities (remember the old champagne parties of long ago?), access to perusal scripts without paying $5.00, invitations to quarterly informational meetings, technical workshops in such areas as design and stage managing, admission to special Guy Molnar classes, etc.  Memberships have increased to $20.00 for individuals and $30.00 for families, but members will get their money's worth.  ********  The season just ended concluded with Ed Mulcahy's mainstage directing debut, MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940.  Longtime theatergoers may recall Tempest Productions' version at the City Opera House in 1988, with onetime Playhouse actress/director, Terri Heffron (in whose footsteps  Stephanie Young seems to be following) in the cast.  The new show was a marvelous production, with Bernadette Groppuso in an hilarious dual role, Barbara Goodearl and Elizabeth Stewart in their best roles to date (Barbara, who appeared in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK last fall, played a German for the second time this season), and other cast members (Rick Korndorfer, Justin Harris, Don Kuehlhorn, Al Lien, Joe Kilpatrick, Jill Anton, Bonnie Deigh, and Tony Lezon) turning in solid performances.  The poster by Roland Woodring was reminiscent of the one for the the movie, PULP FICTION.   *********** This year's Gala show was held again in the City Opera House.  It was highlighted by David Curtis's rendition of the old Frankie Valli hit, "Sherry",  ROCKY HORROR newcomers Lars Kelto and Braden Giacobazzi's shaggy sendup of the song, HAIR, and Miriam Pico's solo vocals.  Madison Ford, newly graduated from TC Central, couldn't make it this year, but will be seen later this summer in JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at the Milliken Auditorium  part of a trio of shows by Pat Gallagher's theater company, which brought  back Amy Baumann and Khaki Pixley  in a revival of last year's GODSPELL and a new production of NUNSENSE.   ***************   The Playhouse will again participate in the Traverse City Film Festival, with many members volunteering their time to help make it successful.  Lars Kelto, Rob Stow, and Nicole Case were working the boxoffice of the State Theater on opening day of ticket sales, which went phenomenally well.  The Playhouse will have a big new screen  for showing films like L'AMERICA, An INCONVENIENT TRUTH, NINE LIVES, and Stanley Kubrick's noir classic (and a personal favorite of mine ) THE KILLING.  Some filmgoers are wondering why SPARTACUS was scheduled for a 9:00 A.M. showing at the State Theater on a Tuesday (I'd rather they had run it on  the Open Space schedule in place of (yawn!) PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE, a mildly successful non-classic that happened to be Tim Burton's directing debut.  ***********  Riverside Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE is graced by a special guest appearance by former OTP Executive Director, Guy Molnar in the leading role of Leontes.  He is here on a Guest Artist contract with Riverside with assistance by the Playhouse and TCCT and with his participation in children's and adult theater classes in which non members have to pay, the community will get back something extra.  Stacey Griffith (A 9 year OTP veteran and leading player in Riverside's TWELFTH NIGHT) will make her last onstage appearance as a shepherdess before getting married in October.  Another shepherdess is played by Jamie Moyers, who revealed herself to be one of our best young dramatic actresses in the one-act, THE PRETENTIOUS YOUNG LADIES last season, is moving to Chicago in a few months, but first will play the seductive Miss Scarlet in CLUE: THE MUSICAL this fall.  Jeanette Mason is directing her second  Riverside play (her first was A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM in 2001).  Her memories of working with me in Hannah Park  date back to that time, when I was severely overweight and had great difficulty navigating the uneven terrain.  She will discover I can move around a lot better now.   ***************   The local music group, Souljers, which tours and does occasional gigs of quite pleasing reggae style music at The Loading Dock, features the husband of Dede Alderman (a percussionist in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), and the sister (Esther) of WEST SIDE STORY's Claire Posner.  Their 2 day Cherry Festival gig was well received.   Among occasional spectators at the Loading Dock this summer is Amber Kardes of the Kardes Laundry family, who participated years ago in the  Playhouse improv workshops in their early days when she was still in high school.  In the summer of 2003 she waitressed days at the 310 Restaurant, but this year she's serving at Roma.    She's been a college student in Battle Creek  and hopes to resume those this fall  (perhaps she and Stacey will get acquainted).  Another member of the early improv group, Nicolette Regan Enger is also back in town and can sometimes be seen at Kat Eldred's concerts at the Shine Cafe in  Horizon Books.  ***********   Two juvenile participants at OTP from a decade ago returned this summer as young adults doing jobs unrelated to their former theater work.  Lisa Drake is today a ground coordinator for the Blue Angels, which performed at the Cherry Festival.  In her first play, WHOSE LIFE IS IT, ANYWAY?, which was Margaret Schaal's debut as a director, she and Don Swan (also in his debut) were hospital personnel.  His character kept calling her "Peanut", and the name stuck; her old Playhouse friends still call her by that name, even though she's always been quite tall.  She visited them at Cinder Conlon's party after the air show.   Diane Giscard D'Estaing  was back, interning at TV 7&4 for a possible broadcasting career.  She and Katie Anderson became close friends during their chorus roles in THE MUSIC MAN.   She later did several parts in plays at St. Francis High School.  She starts her junior year of college soon.  **********  Jessica Greenwood, stage manager for FUDDY MEERS in the Studio and  Riverside's Twelth NIGHT, and a former employee at Hagerty Insurance, is now living in Vanderbilt, working uncharacteristically as a gardener, after years of office jobs and teaching.  She says she enjoys it.  Another ex Hagerty worker, ROCKY HORROR'S Elitza Nicolau, who had to leave the WINTER'S TALE cast, is now bartending at the Hanna Restaurant.  But new Hagerty workers Christy Anderson and Micha Thomas's sister, Megan are happy there.    ***********  Abby Alexander is in her second summer of working in the office of the Traverse City Children's, Teen Theater , occasionally assisting Luis Araquistain when he's directing upstairs.  The theater bug first bit her watching West Senior High's superb production of   LES MISERABLES.  We all hope her participation  will be long lasting.   Belated congratulations to Grace Brauer and her husband, Cory Blackmer, who are celebrating their first anniversary on August 12, also to the upcoming nuptials of Tom Olkkonen and Carol Strickler.   Condolences to the family of Helen Carroll, an early member of OTP, also to ROCKY HORROR's Todd Springer on the death of his grandmother.  Final thought:  Stephanie Young and I have collaborated on two Studio shows this past season.  Now we are both going to produce seperate mainstage shows (She's doing CLUE: THE MUSICAL).