Summer 2025 Announcement

Due to renovation projects at the High School and Performing Arts Center this summer, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Annie to July of 2026. While we know this will be disappointing to many (including us) we want to ensure folks have the best experience as possible participating in and attending our shows.

However this summer Fungus will still be be busy:

Once again we will be partnering with Community Education for our Summer Youth Theatre camp, and that will be July 28 - Aug 1, with the first four days of camp being held at the Dassel History Center and the last day and public performance being held at the Performing Arts Center. Registration will be coming in the Summer Community Education brochure so keep an eye out!

Also this summer, in June, we will be presenting a one man show entitled 'The Book of Mark". With Isaac Olson leading the production:

The Book of Mark is a dramatic one-man staging of the biblical Book of Mark. The Book of Mark tells the story of Jesus’s ministry, from His baptism to His death to His resurrection. Compared to the other gospels, Mark’s account of Jesus’s life is the most straightforward as a narrative and focuses most on the acts, miracles, and deeds of Christ. Originally performed as a stage production by acclaimed stage actor Alec McCowen, Mark has since been staged by many actors across the globe, reminding audiences of the historically momentous wonder and transformative redemptive power of the story of Jesus Christ.

Performances will be June 26 - 29 at the Dassel History Center, with performances at 7pm Thursday - Friday and a Sunday Matinee offered on June 29 at 2pm.

There will be no tickets but a freewill donation will be taken. All proceeds from this production will be donated to the Meeker County and Cokato Food Shelves.

Also we will be announcing our 2025 - 2026 season later this summer, and a special thank you to everyone who has read scripts with the board to help work towards deciding on future seasons of Fungus.

2025 Student Scholarship Application Live

Our 2025 student scholarship application is still open and we are accepting applications.

Started during the 2023 - 2024 season, the funds that have been raised during our intermissions from freewill donations for treats go into a fund to support a Student Scholarship which may be awarded annually based on applicants. It is open to graduating seniors and/or students already attending a post secondary education that have participated in FungusAmongus productions.

If you or a student you know would be a good candidate for this scholarship please follow the link below and complete an application, all applications must be postmarked or received via email no later than April 11th 2025.

Scholarship Information

**MACT*Fest 2025 Results!**

FungusAmongus was honored to be named First Alternate at MACT*Fest 2025 for our production of “Finishing School”! Other awards received included Outstanding Achievement in performance for Jon Benson and Outstanding Achievement in Directing for Linda Metcalf.

A big thank you to the MACT*Fest committee, the host theatre: our good friends at County Seat Theatre, and all the volunteers that make a festival like this happen!

Congratulations to Northern Starz Center for the Performing Arts and their production of “26 Pebbles” and Absolute Theatre and their production of “Forever Plaid” for taking Best of Festival and advancing to the Region V AACTFest in April.

Thanks everyone for a great festival and hope to see you all again in 2027! Below are some pictures from our performance at MACT*Fest as well as awards being received.

Actor Interest / Availability Form Coming Soon

As the board looks to finalize the 2025 - 2026 season an email with an attached form will be sent our to actors/actresses who have previously performed with Fungus and actors/actresses that attended our General Audition last year. This form will indicate some of the shows we are considering for next and future seasons, as well as availability for this upcoming season. If you receive this email please fill it out so the board can make an more informed decision as to what shows should be a part of our seasons.

Next Script Reading Scheduled

Our next script reading will be held Sunday April 13 at 4pm at the Dassel History Center. We have had great attendance and a great time with our recent script readings, all are welcome to attend!

So many ways to have fun with FungusAmongus!

You don't need to be on stage to have fun with FungusAmongus. For example, we're always looking for:

AV Club members - learn to run sound or light for our shows!
Stage Managing / Crew Members. Do you want to help behind the scenes with the magic that goes on during the show? Help manage the stage and with set during our productions!

Treat wranglers. Could you bake some yummy bars for us to serve at intermission? Could you serve those treats and coffee at our shows?
Stud sensors. Can you drive a nail, or paint a wall, or perhaps work some interior design magic? Our set-building crew is looking for you.

Get started by contacting us through our website or social media channels.

You've seen the posts on Facebook - the 2017 National AACTFest was a wonderful experience, full of activity! The collage below gives you an idea of the fullness of the event: shows, workshops, networking, camaraderie, food and drinks, and other fun activities. Here's the rundown...

The National AACTFest (American Association of Community Theatres) took place in Rochester, MN. Twelve shows from across the country (and one from a US Army base in Belgium) performed. Each show had a load-in time, rehearsal time, two performances, a loud-out time, and an adjudication. Our production schedule looked like this:

Load-in: Monday 9:00pm
Rehearsal: Tuesday 8:30am (includes a tech meeting)
Performances: Wednesday afternoon and evening (evening performance is adjudicated)
Load-out: Wednesday 11:00pm
Adjudication: Thursday 12:00pm

Additional activities by FungusAmongus members:

Jim Veith's magnificent radio was entered in a Design Contest. While it didn't place, it never failed to draw an "ooh" from the passers-by.
Kurt Schulz entered the Monologue competition with his opening piece from "Voice of the Prairie". He didn't place, but he did receive recognition for his stage performance - more on that later.
Dave Metcalf facilitated a "Swashbuckling" workshop, assisted by Tom Langemo. Participants were introduced to basic techniques for SAFE sword fighting, falling, and "dirty tricks" on stage. They then paired off, sword in hand, to learn a set of moves demonstrated by the two Fun-guys :)

In between activities, the FungusAmongus Players met new people from other companies and the AACT organization, hung out with friends from the MACT (Minnesota Association of Community Theatres) and Region V AACT group. We also ate incredible food - really, Rochester has some wonderful estashments.

At the end of it all, there is a gala where all the awards are given - kind of like the Tony Awards, but for community theatre! As you've seen on Facebook, we received the following nominations (no wins):

Costume - Linda Metcalf
Sound - Chris Halstead
Direction - Dave Metcalf
Featured Actor/Actress - Shara Marquez and Kurt Schulz

"Addams Family" from Tacoma Musical Playhouse pretty much took home most of the hardware - it was a delightful show. The guy who played Lurch was a kind soul that some of us got to know. He was hilarious on stage. Anyway, we're thrilled for them! If you're interested in who got what, you can find a full list here: https://www.aact.org/aactfest-2017-festival-awards.

The adjudications were fantastic - thoughtful, direct, intelligent adjudicators who gave us new ways to think about...everything!

Ultimately, we do theatre to tell a story of who we are as human beings - the good, bad, and ugly of it all. Sometimes it's raw. Sometimes hilarious. Sometimes breath-taking. Sometimes frightening. But our focus, regardless of whether we "win", must be on telling the story in a way that moves others. Every show is a dialogue with our audience, and we think we had a profound conversation with them in Rochester!

Which brings this whole journey to you, our audience, fans, friends, and family. It seems cliche, but it's true - we would NOT have made it this far without you. You've been there emotionally, physically, financially - propping us up when we're tired, cheering us on, giving of yourself so that we can give more of ourselves. It's invaluable. Thank you so much!

Clockwise from left: 1) the Holjes came to visit us in Rochester! 2) a front shot of the theatre in which we performed, 3) a group shot of some Fungi out for dinner..."will perform for food", 4) Peter Dinius by the Disney Theatrical Group workshop, … — Clockwise from left: 1) the Holjes came to visit us in Rochester! 2) a front shot of the theatre in which we performed, 3) a group shot of some Fungi out for dinner..."will perform for food", 4) Peter Dinius by the Disney Theatrical Group workshop, 5) our fearless leader, David Metcalf, holding court, 6) a group shot of the Youth Theatre Festival that took place at the same time/location - first year for it - wonderful to see all these young people getting involved, 7) Dave Metcalf and Tom Langemo demonstrating a thrust and parry at the Swashbuckling workshop, 8) an old friend, Straforel, was found...many pictures, jokes, jabs...and we never got to take it with us! and 9) Tim Gosswiller...because we love him

Future Fungus News - March / April 2025