Season 13 Most Valuable Performers

As Season 13 winds down, the co-founders wish to honor three NET family members who have helped us to make it through another season — and who in-spire us to keep going, despite bad economic times.

Our honorees this year are Susan Fowler, Ted Fletcher and Wally Colender.

Susan Fowler has been one of our shining stars for years, but she has never shone as brightly as she has this year. She served as pro-ducer of this show, Finian’s Rainbow — no small task considering the size of the cast and the complexity of the show. She chipped in outside of the producer’s role, too, handling properties and spending many hours painting tobacco leaves on the upstage wall. While pro-ducing this, she also served as co-chairperson of our Play Reading Committee and helped us choose next season’s line-up. Those two things alone might have earned her this public recognition, but Susan also found time to trod our boards to give an affecting performance as Adelaide Booth — Edwin Booth’s forgotten wife in England — in our offering of Austin Pendleton’s memorable history play, Booth. Susan’s one of those performers we can call on for a challenging role: Whether songstress Julie LaVerne in Show Boat!, a womanizing man turned into a woman in Goodbye, Charlie or the abandoned wife in Booth, she steps into each role and makes each her own. On top of it, her willingness to work offstage and behind the scenes makes us realize what a treasure she is.

Ted Fletcher and Wally Colender will probably protest being named as MVPs. They shrug off expressions of gratitude and just keep doing their thing. "What is their thing?" you ask. They built the set we perform on tonight. And the set before that. And the set before that — and so on and so on for years on end. While they have help from time to time, it’s usually only them or mostly them that builds our sets. While each has worked for Habitat for Humanity, neither man is a professional builder. Over the years, they have taught themselves to work efficiently, crea-tively and, most importantly, frugally. Actors’ NET never needs a truly ornate set. In this intimate space, we try to emphasize the tale being told. Our attitude has always been: If you leave the theatre talking mostly about the set, you just saw the wrong show!

Anyway, these three — Susan, Ted and Wally — long ago earned our love and respect. We just thought it was time to sing their praises.

—Cheryl & Joe Doyle, Co-Founders and Producers