The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Going ‘Cuckoo’ for Conneaut
If you are ever looking for community theater options in Ashtabula County, you have read in this space frequently about opportunities to catch a production at Ashtabula Arts Center throughout the year or in their Straw Hat Theater during the summer.
Various school performances are also produced, as this column has documented from Geneva to Jefferson.
One venue new to me, however, is Arlene’s Broadway on Buffalo. According to its website, broadwayonbuffalo.com, this is a community organization in Conneaut that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, so apparently new to me but not new to all.
This weekend the group will be in its second week of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Performances are April 12-14 and April 19-20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 2:30 p.m.. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students.
Founded a decade ago by Madison residents Clay and Melissa Nielsen, the company occupies a building that spent a century as a church. Among the cast of this production is a young thespian, Julia Sikora, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday onstage with the cast. Julia is a senior at Christian Faith Academy.
In the true spirit of community theater, the large cast at the Ashtabula County theater helped celebrate Sikora’s birthday recently with ice cream cake after a long rehearsal ahead of tech week for “Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Julia, who plays Nurse Flinn, said she tried out for the iconic play “because I wanted to try for a more serious show because I’ve only ever done comedies.”
Julia says her family also really enjoys the famous movie starring Jack Nicholson.
“I think this play shows the reality of how patients were treated in the ‘60s and how different they’re treated now,” she said.
Julia was 12 when she got interested in theater, and now she is 18 and still going, this time with adults.
“I listened to musicals and watched plays whenever and however I could,” Julia says of how she first became interested in theater. “I never had the confidence to audition until December 2020 at Arlene’s Broadway on Buffalo.
“I was drawn by the people and the energy that came with theatre and performing for an audience,” she added. “I get a lot of things out of theater. I like to keep busy and to make people laugh. I got a lot of friends out of theater and a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Julia has helped with tech and has stage-managed shows at the downtown Conneaut theater and hopes to direct some day.
“I have been doing community theater since I was 14 in 2020,” Julia says. “As of April 2024 I have been associated with 15 different shows. This includes shows I’ve acted in and stage managed.
“I’ve almost always done theater with adults rather than kids my age,” she added. “It can be hard to relate to conversations, or to find a place to sit, but I feel more out of place with kids my own age. I feel that this gives me the challenge to work harder, and gives me more resources to keep doing theater.”
Julia has done shows at Conneaut High School, Ashtabula Arts Center (most recently in “Newsies”) and at churches and camp.
“I love any musical,” she says. “I particularly enjoy comedies to both watch and be a part of. I sometimes balance more than one show at the same time. It can be hard when it comes to rehearsals and schedules, but it’s always worth it to be able to perform in multiple shows.”
You can catch her on stage at Arlene’s Broadway on Buffalo this weekend.