By Robbi Longbrake
BELLE FOURCHE—1903 Reader’s Theater took the audience on a journey back in time to the happenings in 1930s at Belle Fourche’s own three-story luxury hotel called the Don Pratt Hotel on February 14 and 15.
Poker, Paisley and the Don Pratt Hotel was presented in five acts that spanned a weekend in the1930s, the play was filled with humor, history and a little mystery. Trying to figure out who the heck was the mysterious Paisley pulling all the strings was fun as the play progressed.
The original play was written by Tri-State Museum Director, Kristi Thielen for this very occasion. She has done over 75 productions. “I’ve been a playwright since 1980, that’s how I got into the museum business. I worked with a number of theaters—written and directed—and I had a performance that took place at the Journey, they saw me there. Eventually I was hired and learned to do museum things, too,” explained Thielen. “But I’m not a museum person who wrote a play, I’m a playwright who worked their way into the museum!”
Written just a month ago, Thielen used her museum experience and knowledge to craft the piece. “I’ve heard from several people that there has always been a lot of talk about poker games in the Don Pratt—somebody said to me there were ranches that actually changed hands at the games, but they didn’t know names and by now it’s lost to time anyway,” said Thielen. “I just went with that and I did know from an exhibit we did on prohibition that there had been bootlegging in the area, so I tied those things together, and then some history of the Don Pratt and that’s how I came up with it!”
The concept of Reader’s Theater helps to save a little time in the production and performance of a play. The actors on stage are allowed to keep the script and refer to their lines as they act out the scenes. “We just met Sunday and got our scripts and then we spent four days together,” explained cast member Angela Hastings. “That’s why it’s great being Reader’s Theater, you know, you don’t have to memorize you just kind of flow!”
The Reader’s Theater was directed by Kristi Thielen, Kim Reausaw was responsible for Sound, Jean Maher was House Manager and Shane McGraw was in charge of Lighting. The cast was: Mrs. Hirschfield, Angela Hastings; Bernice Tallman, Bobbe Ward; Gladys Randolph, Toi Flick; Alice Randolph, Julie Walkins; Myrna Chasley, Joan Gerken; Wes Dunlevy, Wayne Gilbert; James McCandless, Blaine Anderson; Roy Stingley, Michael Meeken; and Henry Althorpe, Dennis Walkins.
The stage in the new addition at the Tri-State Museum housed the set for the Belle Fourche Arts Council’s 1903 Reader’s Theater. One of the main props on stage was an authentic switchboard that was used to direct all of the hotel phone calls in the play, but it was an actual piece of history that dates back to the 1930s. It can be seen at the Don Pratt exhibit in the museum.
In addition to the play, a silent auction was set up along the side walls with all funds raised going to benefit the Arts Council. Angela Hastings was in charge of overseeing the auction and helping to gather items to be auctioned. “We’ve been doing auctions for about the past 12 years for Fine Arts Boosters and Area Community Theater and Arts Council, we just gather stuff through the year,” she said.
