Photo by Barb Jeffers
A duo of local faces we all know and love from the Commonweal Theatre Company are reveling a quarter of a century on their beloved home stage.
Stela Burdt loves to tell the story that she has been acting since she was six months old, when she was baby Jesus at her home church. Stela grew up very musical; singing in church, taking piano, violin and voice lessons and auditioning were part of her childhood, leading to a future career.
While attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Stela met Hal Cropp and others with Commonweal. She later contacted Commonweal in the spring of 2000 to see if she could audition, and she got a call back asking her to stage manage a show. She agreed. Although interested in stage managing, she really wanted to be an actress. Later, she was asked to fill in an acting roll and jumped at the chance. “I was very scared and very nervous to work with these amazing, professional people, but I had two roles on the main stage my first summer here,” noted Stela.
Adrienne Sweeney caught the acting bug in high school when she was in a play in her junior year and then in her senior year, she got the lead in “Guys and Dolls”. After earning a degree in Communications Marketing, she moved to Minneapolis, where she once again got involved in acting. After grad school, she found her way to Lanesboro through the Commonweal Theatre in the winter of 2001 after auditioning for the Commonweal core group who were up in the cities doing auditions and she got called back. Adrienne performed in three shows in her first season.
When asked what their favorite aspect is of being an actress, both women point to doing research for roles as high on the list.
“I really love the research part. Digging in and learning something new. Because it’s not just what you see in the script, we have to fill out the characters. If you just read from the script, you get this one-dimensional person,” Stela explained.
Adrienne agreed, saying, “You get a new appreciation from doing the research.”
“The thing that makes Commonweal so different from so many other places is because we actors and administrators are part of this community, so odds are, you are going to see us at the bank or at the post office. I feel like one of the cool things about this theatre and this town is that it sort of demystifies theatre because they get to know you as a person,” noted Adrienne.
The connection to audience members is a fulfilling part of performing for both women. Stela and Adrienne have each had experiences from patrons outside of the theatre who have had very strong emotional responses to certain plays or certain characters they have portrayed. This means the most to them as actors. “That to me is what theatre is about,” noted Stela.
When asked to name a few of their most memorable roles, Adrienne commented, “I think the most memorable play that I will always be known for is Sylvia when I played the dog,” as well as “Women in Jeopardy” and “Steel Magnolia’s”. One of her favorite directing experiences was “Silent Sky”.
For Stela, she states that “The Half-life of Marie Curie,” “Souvenir,” and two plays written by her late husband Scott Dixon, including “Midnight Dreary,” which she acted in, and his adaptation of “Dracula” are top on her list of favorites.
The 25-season mark will be recognized by the Commonweal Theatre. “We have a mid-summer giving campaign, and this summer it’s based on us!” stated Stela.
“Celebrating our 25th I think is just another way to remind the community – the immediate community and the greater community – that we are here to stay, that we are part of the community,” stated Adrienne.
The two women do not have big plans to celebrate their milestone, other than “we may take each other out to dinner,” Adrienne said. Enjoy your meal and your 25th season, ladies!
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