Dorian Garland works as a training officer for the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and he is almost to the end of his tenure with the Mouse River Players. Allison Dickerson is a missileer with the 741st Missile Squadron, and she has just begun her time on stage with MRP. Their paths would cross in the recent MRP production of Scrooge. Dorian as the underpaid and overworked Bob Cratchit, and Allison as his loving and keep it all together wife, Mary.
For Dorian, it has been 5 years of being active in Mouse River Players, and other theater groups like the MSU Summer Theater, but Dorian will be leaving in March. Without much experience in theater, Dorian saw an opportunity to get involved and get involved he did. “Right now, I am Vice President of the Board of Directors at MRP, but I had my time as President and I’ve enjoyed the business side of MRP, too. I have had to recruit and organize volunteers, helping with the house…you know building set, lighting, sound.” And just because Dorian and other board members may end up on stage during a production “you can’t stop being a board member. You will need to be a peacemaker, manage personalities when needed, and just being more of an asset, doing those extra things. Being on the board comes with a lot of responsibility.”
Allison has been in Minot since January of last year and was waiting for the perfect time to get involved “and Scrooge kind of ended up being perfect as far as timing goes and my job” which as a missileer can mean ending up under ground for an extended time. “And the director and other people in the cast made it easy to work around my schedule.” But working with Allison’s schedule was indeed a stroke of luck, because Allison would end up taking on the role of Christmas Past just a few days before opening night. “The other actor lost her voice, and I was able to step in and do the role” according to Dickerson.
Besides the challenge of doing a musical like Scrooge, there was also the challenge of working with younger actors or “the kids”. “For them the time gets to be long” said Allison “and they get bored sometimes.” But according to Dorian the young actors are in a different time in their lives. “It’s amazing how quickly they can turn it one when it comes time to perform.” For the most part the Mouse River Players work without on stage mics “which certainly is a challenge to make sure they can be heard” adds Dorian.
Both Dorian and Allison said that Mouse River Players is certainly a great opportunity for active duty military personnel, and their dependents and friends, to get involved. Dorian talked about “a fantastic opportunity to get to know another group of friends. You have your military group that you hang out with, but you have another group with not as much military on the brain. Having a couple of different friend groups keeps you from feeling isolated.”
“When I came to Minot I wanted to get involved in the community” according to Allison “and it gives me a chance to show my talents to the community and of course to be creative. If you come here with a theater background it helps to keep up that passion.”
For Dorian and Allison Mouse River Players is part of a steppingstone in their life “as I always try to get other people involved” adds Dorian. “I know that if they volunteer they’ll have a good experience, at least that is what we want for them.”
As in all theater productions, the actors in the audience appreciate a sold out and excited audience. Allison said she had several of her co-workers from the 741st attend the shows. “And if they just couldn’t make it to the show, they were asking how it was going and showed a genuine interest in what I was doing.”
Even though their Scrooge experience was behind them “it’s kind of bittersweet” says Allison. “You are sad because for many weeks, often 2-3 times per week, you saw the cast, they were like family.” “A family you sometimes want to get rid of” Dorian says with a laugh. Each show is a bit of a roller coaster for those who get involved in Mouse River Players, but for Dorian Garland and Allison Dickerson “it’s a great experience” says Dorian “it gets you involved” ads Allison.
