The Shawnee Theatre of Greene County celebrates fifty years in 2010. It embarks on its 51st season this June with six productions:
- Honky Tonk Angels
- Escanaba in Da Moonlight
- Steel Magnolias
- The Curse of the Doom Mine
- Sherlock Holmes
- The Man Who Came to Dinner
Shawnee: A Love Affair...
This summer's Associate Producing Artistic Director, Jake Miller, is a veteran of the Shawnee. "I've been coming here for about five years. It's my favorite place to do theatre work. I spent most of last year in Chicago and really couldn't wait to get back. I kind of have a love affair with this place."
Or An Addiction?
"I've been coming here for about five years now," Miller says. "It's my favorite place to do this work we do; the audience is so receptive and kind and generous and the work we get done here is amazing. I'm a little bit addicted to Bloomfield and the Shawnee."
Early Leanings Lead To Current Commitments
Miller grew up in Petersburg, Indiana. He always wanted to be in theater. "When I was six or seven I told people that I'd like to be in plays. I got into theater my sophomore year, when I was a scene stealing pig in a version of Cinderella, in All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I think that parts of that pig's role are still part of me on stage."
This summer, Miller will be acting in two productions: Esacanaba in Da Moonlight by the actor Jeff Daniels, and The Curse of the Doom Mine or Who Got the Shaft, which was co-written by Adam Pockross and the Shawnee Theater's Artistic Director Matt Graber.
He is also directing Honky Tonk Angels and The Man Who Came to Dinner. For Miller, though, directing isn't just one job: "I'll probably get to do some hammering and sawing. All of us here, including the actors, directors and technical staff, share the work in the shop and the costume area. I expect a few blisters and bruises. These battle wounds are par for the summer; they're part of the spirit of the place."