Despite the continual admonishment to “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” sometimes you have to take a peek behind because good things are going on there.
When local actors and stage crews at the Twin City Players were forced to drop the curtain on the final two productions of the current season at their playhouse on Glenlord Road in St. Joseph, rather than sit and mope over learning all those lines for nothing, they elected to swing into action to help the elder community in a different way.
Sidelined by the current pandemic, the Twin City Players elected instead to shift gears and move into a different creative realm…manufacturing face masks at the Area Agency on Aging.
With the latest Emergency Order by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer that everyone wear masks when going into public places, the Area Agency on Aging’s Christine Vanlandingham recognized that many seniors were unable to purchase masks or lacked the ability to make their own. Christine asked the Berrien Community Foundation if they could help obtain 1,400 masks to serve her clientele and other seniors. Upon receiving the call for assistance, BCF’s President, Lisa Cripps-Downey, an active member of the TCP crowd for many years, contacted the Twin City Players to find out if their costuming department would be able to head up the project with BCF and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation offering a grant for supplies.
Julie Smiy, a lead costumer at TCP, immediately agreed to take on the project. Julie quickly put together a team of 14 volunteers, all eager to take on the task to help seniors. On-hand supplies were quickly distributed to the volunteers so they could begin working their magic on masks. Additional supplies have been ordered so the task can be completed as soon as possible. More than 150 masks have already been completed and volunteers will continue cutting and sewing until all 1,400 are supplied to the Area Agency on Aging.
Anyone interested in helping with the project can contact Julie Smiy at juliesmiy@gmail.com. Volunteer mask makers include: Julie Smiy, Maureen Bradford, Carol Lindenberg, Sarah Simmons, Barbara Stepka, Nicole Buckhanan, Abigail Buckhanan, Teresa Polasek, Barbara Klein, Bill Klein, Casandra Hora, Nicole Chartrand, Jaden Wurn, and Carly Lentz. Jaden Wurn’s younger brother is also helping.
Formed in 1932, Twin City Players is a volunteer based nonprofit organization that strives to engage the community in quality theatre that changes lives and to be recognized for organizational excellence producing quality performances in southwest Michigan. The TCP Playhouse is located at 600 West Glenlord Road, St. Joseph, MI. For more information about TCP, call 269-429-0400 or visit us at twincityplayers.org.
