FOOLS FOR THE STAGE

Sarah Semmler and David Hopper have their first leads in River City Players production.

By Sam Blackwell

Sarah Semmler and David Hopper, the leads in the upcoming River City Players comedy "Fools," are novice actors who are exploring their futures on stage.

Semmler is beginning her senior year at Notre Dame High School and has never been in a play before. She only recently acknowledged to herself and to her parents that she is serious about becoming an actress.

"Since I realized it I've kind of been floating on air," she says.

Hopper is still new to the stage, too, and is experimenting with different callings: interior designer, singer, golfer and now actor.

An interior designer at Rust and Martin, Hopper acted in his first play last winter, the RCP production of the courtroom drama "The Night of January 16th." The role was small but he was recruited by "Fools" director Ann Swanson for the lead in this production.

He wants to find out more about acting. He also is interested in interior design and is a scratch golfer who says turning pro is a possibility.

"My friends always told me I should try acting," Hopper says.

"... I'll see where it leads me."

In "Fools," Semmler and Hopper play love interests Sophia Zubritsky and Leon Tolchinsky.

Semmler has performed before as a dancer, and that experience is part of the attraction acting has for her.

"It's a feeling you get on stage. It's a huge rush," she said.

But Semmler has not appeared in any of the spring musicals Notre Dame High School is famous for.

"I don't enjoy singing in front of people," he explains.

After deciding she wanted to become an actress, Semmler spoke to Dr. Robert Dillon Jr., a member of the theater faculty at Southeast Missouri State University. He suggested trying out for the next River City Players production.

She has struggled to become comfortable with some of the lines in "Fools," which was written by Neil Simon. "I feel some of them are a little trite," she said.

The primary challenge for Hopper has been remembering the lines, trite or not. He has some long monologues and is in nearly every scene.

Hopper also wants to try singing in a band but acknowledges, "It's serious stage fright."

Singing in front of an audience is very different from acting in front of an audience, they agree.

"When you're acting you're someone else," Hopper said. "When you're singing it's you out there. If they don't like you it's you they don't like."

Semmler is the daughter of Terri and Gary Semmler of Cape Girardeau. They had different reactions to her decision to pursue acting.

"When I told them what I wanted to do, my father kind of went, Yes!" Semmler said.

Her mother wished she would be more pragmatic.

But the decision was easy for Semmler when the time came. "I always knew deep down someplace," she said.