Once more, with feeling: Cape residents prepare for Saturday show

If the judges in Anaheim are looking for enthusiasm, it will be hard to deny Cape Girardeau and its representatives the title All-America City.

Dressed as everything from golfers to construction workers to nuns, the group representing Cape Girardeau in the Civic League's annual All-America City competition had its final dress rehearsal Tuesday. The group leaves Thursday and competes Saturday.

The man charged with polishing rough enthusiasm into a jewel of a performance is Dr. Kenn Stilson, chair of the department of theater and dance at Southeast Missouri State University.

The new actors freely admit Stilson's polishing is necessary.

"The majority of people haven't ever done this before," said Cape Girardeau Councilwoman Marcia Ritter, dressed in the garb of a chef. "I asked Kenn, 'Well, you must be used to this with your freshmen students,' and he said, 'No, even freshmen students have done high school theater before.'"

Stilson served as maestro during the rehearsal of the 10-minute show Tuesday. With a stopwatch in one hand, Stilson used his other hand to bring the speaker forward all the while, mouthing the words to lead the greenhorn thespians along.

He made it clear, though, that botched lines would be unacceptable. "What you need to do is work really hard to remember your lines," he said. "The lines in this type of presentation have no dramatic value on their own. We're trying to tell a story, and we want to be heard as one voice."

Cape Girardeau police detective Darren Estes was not in the director's good graces early on, stumbling over his lines the first time out before recovering and doing them perfectly on the second run.

For the hardened cop, the new gig was a challenge. "It's frustrating," he said. "I was trying to remember my line, so of course I went up there scratching my head, and then after that it was just all gone."

Stilson also worried about the time. During the first run, the cast, aided by interludes of cheering, bellringing and the play of the Dixieland Band, went over the allotted time by almost two minutes.

"The judges are going to look for a reason for us not to win, and going over the time limit will give them that reason," Stilson said.

United Way director Nancy Jernigan had a suggestion for trimming time. "Cut my lines," she said to laughter.

Stilson had a better idea. While he did cut some lines, he also told the performers to be sharper. "There was two minutes of dead air, so when it started to feel like it was dragging that's because it was."

He told the group to work hard to stay engaged even when not speaking. "If we have 38 people and two of them are not listening, I as an audience member will watch the two that are not listening," he said.

By the end, the group started to look like a cohesive unit. Even when not speaking, many of the 35 smiling performers had their arms around each other and gave each other high-fives and danced to the music.

Stilson approved. "We have to look like a family when we're up here," he said.

The group will have a send-off celebration at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245