Oscar Wilde once said, “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” For the past five decades, The Straw Hat Players at Minnesota State University Moorhead have been providing patrons with that connection. The theatre company will celebrate its fiftieth-anniversary will a special reunion weekend in July.

The Straw Hat Players began under the name MSC Summer Theatre in 1963, when Delmar J. Hansen produced three one-act avant-garde plays in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Convinced that summer theatre was possible in Moorhead, Hansen moved the company to the campus of MSUM in 1965 and The Straw Hat Players was born.

Over the past five decades, The Straw Hat Players has become a regionally acclaimed summer theatre company, whose mission is “providing theatre students with opportunities to perform in conditions similar to those experienced by professional actors, and to foster the growth and accessibility of live theatre as a necessary and enlightening element of the region’s cultural life.” The program is a grueling ten week experience consisting of approximately fifty actors, technicians, and staff members who work tirelessly to present five professional quality productions each summer. In addition, the company includes a high school apprenticeship program for local juniors and seniors who want to be involved in a top-tier organization.

Elizabeth Evert-Karnes has been the Managing Director of Theatre at MSUM since 2005, although she says she has been involved with Straw Hat on and off since she was a student in 1992. “We used to do eight shows in ten weeks,” she said, “but now we normally do five. We added a sixth show this year because of the anniversary.” Evert-Karnes expects between 300-350 alumni to attend the reunion festivities, which take place July 19-20. “The best part of the alumni weekend is getting to see old friends and making new ones,” she said. “It will be great for our current or recently graduated students to make some connections with alums that have been working in the business for a while,” adding that she is looking forward to hearing the veterans swap “war stories” with new cast members. The family atmosphere of the company is unmistakable. It is that atmosphere combined with their shared passion for theatre that has enabled the company to enjoy such longevity.

The Straw Hat Players have four performances remaining on the summer calendar, having already performed “My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” and “The World Goes Round.” Performing six shows in ten weeks is a remarkable feat and something that can be attributed to the company’s commitment to excellence. The amount of work it requires, however, cannot be understated. “The best part of working with The Straw Hat Players is the challenge of getting 6 shows up in 10 weeks,” Evert-Karnes remarked. “The company lives, eats and bleeds theatre for the entire 10 weeks. It is amazing what they can do so quickly.”

Kenneth Tynan, an English theatre critic in the early 20th century, remarked that, “No theater could sanely flourish until there was an umbilical connection between what was happening on the stage and what was happening in the world.” There is a reason audience members connect to theatre and film and it is that symbiotic relationship that has filled theatre seats for centuries.

Evert-Karnes has been able to witness the power of theatre first hand. “I love being a part of something that moves people,” she said. Evert-Karnes shared an example that occurred a few years ago. “We did a production of Hair and a Vietnam Vet came to the first performance opening night. After the show was over, we had a talk back with the audience because of the subject matter. The man thanked the cast and said many of his friends died during the war and he never got to go to any of the funerals. He told the cast that the show honored his friends and was like attending their funerals.” The veteran went on to say that he had never been to a play before. He came back every night.

More information on upcoming shows can be obtained at www.mnstate.edu/strawhat.

The
Straw Hat
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Fifty Years