When
the Cat’s Away
Jess Wittliff and Terry J. Aman as Mildred and George Roper.
Easily one of the funniest shows I’ve been part of, “When The Cat’s Away” focuses
on the trials and travails of two married couples, the troubling breakdown in
communication and all the madhouse joys of a bedroom farce for the geriatric set.
Award-winning Performances
At the Minot Area Theatrical Society Awards Banquet held Dec. 1,
Jess and I took Outstanding Actor and Actress awards for feature-length
productions. Awards in these categories also went to Lacey Patterson
and Jonathan Hegland for “A Gentleman and a Scoundrel.”
This was Jess’s first nomination and first award in this category –
indeed, it was her first performance on the MATS stage so yay Jess! This
was my second award in this category after many, many nominations
over the years and I have to say, it couldn’t have happened with a better role.
George Roland Roper also marked my 26th performance in a MATS production,
earning me a place in the MATS Walk of Fame. After a delightful and often
hilarious presentation-slash-tribute by a former director and great friend and
a lovely Power Point display of photos of me in different roles I’ve inhabited, I
received the very nice marble “Lifetime Achievement Award” plaque shown above.
It was a good night. The short production I was in – “Burglars, Bunglers and
Neighborhood Thieves” felt a little bit snubbed, in that I felt me and my fellow
cast got a little bit too completely shut out award-wise.
However, the board votes for the award-winners after the audiences nominate actors
and actresses for the awards, and I haven’t stepped on the MATS stage but
once or twice when my character wasn’t nominated. So if nothing else, our audiences
love me, and once again – like in so many other such roles and so many other
such situations over the years – it was just good to be nominated.
Other Photos
“When the Cat’s Away” ran Nov. 8-11, 2007. Below are links to some photos
from our rehearsals. Part 5 links to the CU gallery from The Minot Daily News,
and here’s
the story that ran about the show in the Nov. 8 edition. Enjoy!