Fall 1991Champoeg Newsletter apeste casa: EAE yA Non sich ede aN SATE tip RN aseays? ft BORE. Weegee Sealy panes ie a yey x??~ eh PE cag eR Hats Roe has aod Sad L; FHee&fMemberships/DonationsFuel Friends ActivitiesRecent donations to the Friends of Historic Champoeginclude gifts from Leighton Whitsett of an iron kettleand 15 gallons of ice cream from Alpenrose Dairy,both for the recent Indian Summer Festival.Individual Member - $10+Ardis LeFebvreJan MullaneyFamily Member - $25+ |Betty & Gene ComfortCharles G. Davis, Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Paul Kuhns, Jr.Contributor - $50+Krohn's Appliance CenterThe Walking ConnectionPatron - $100+Serge & Nola CovalRoom & Board $1/DayClean, comfortable room in friendly household.Three home-cooked meals daily. You're one of thefamily. Sorry, this isn't a real classified ad. Butwe wish that it were. If you have a home orapartment close to Champoeg and you would bewilling to give room and board to one of ourpageant actors during June and July, please phone678-1649.Champoeg One of DozenFriends of Historic Champoeg is one of twelvecooperatives within the Oregon State Parks system. Each one isunique in its focus, but all are alike in that they share a love fortheir park and care for its heritage. The others:Banks Vernonia Linear ParkwayCape Blanco (North Bend)ae Meares Lighthouse & Wildlife Refuge(Oceanside)Collier (Klamath Falls)Elijah Bristow (Dexter to Eugene)Old Fort StevensShore Acres (North Bend)Silver FallsTryon Creek (Portland)Vista House (Corbet)Yaquina Bay (South Beach)Institute of Outdoor Dramaby Martha MaclverLessons Learned AtMy Old Kentucky HomeI've just returned from a dynamite conference. When 75managers and directors of outdoor drama get together there's onlyone topic of conversation from first cup of coffee in the mominguntil midnight: pageants, pageants, pageants.7 The conference was conducted by .the Institute ofOutdoor Drama, of which Champoeg is a member, and it washosted with genuine southern hospitality by the Stephen FosterDrama Association, in Bardstown, Kentucky.I felt a little like a freshman on campus. Not only wasthis my first outdoor drama conference, but Champoeg is one ofthe "baby" pageants. We're just ten years old and our attendanceis modest. [By comparison, Ramona Pageant in Califomia hasbeen around since 1923, and Texas! has an annual attendance inexcess of 100,000!] But it was wonderful how all those veteranstook this freshman under their wings, sharing their best ideas andoffering welcome advice.The Paul Green Seminar in Theatre Production:Marketing Texas-Style, which was just one of the sessions inthe four-day conference, was a step-by-step plan for promotingoutdoor dramas. It was presented by the promotions team fromCanyon, Texas. According to these experts, there are somethings that we are doing just right, and some things that we aredoing very wrong.As a result of this workshop, two managerial changesI'll institute at Champoeg for the 1992 season will be anemphasis on marketing about a day's drive from Champoeg sothat we will be reaching tourists when they still have time tochange their plans and come to the pageant, and we will begintaking telephone reservations so that people will know inadvance that they have guarantecd seating.This is also the year we can move up to a four-colorsouvenir program. Fair warning to local businesses: we'll be outselling ads after the new year!Another of the sessions which stands out from theconference was one conducted by playwright/composer Billy EddWheeler. He walked us through the composition of a song fromhis musical play Young Abe Lincoln, beginning with the "idea"and then developing a melody, lyrics ??~and musical arrangement.Because he had taped some of his working sessions, we couldactually hear the development of the song. |This is really just a tiny bit of what I learned. I hopethat you'll be able to see the evidence of that learning in someexciting and successful changes at Champoeg.' - While in Kentucky I spent one day visiting everyhistoric site in driving distance, trying to pick up additional ideasfor historic interpretation that we can apply. And by the way, ._ there really is a "My Old Kentucky Home." It was once the _home of a second cousin of Stephen Foster and he wrote thatfamous song after visiting there. The home and its grounds arenow part of the Kentucky State Park system and it is theshowplace for the Stephen Foster Story outdoor musical drama.vo ??opentoF ep heren.