Heron Players present dinner and a play

The dinner dishes are cleared, the houselights fade and the shuffle of chairs and the faint click of cups on saucers diminish to an excited hush. Anticipation zaps from person to person like static. Members of the audience dressed in costume lean forward to await the drawing of the curtain. Master of ceremonies Dick Hale appears at the corner of the stage dressed in black with a red bandanna tied around his forehead and a large sombrero hanging down his back. In a heavy accent and with a smattering of punny jokes another Heron Players’ production begins.

When you think of artistic communities, Heron, Mont., population 149, probably doesn’t come to mind. The tiny town situated along the Clark Fork River is home to a post office, a general store with laundry facilities, a volunteer fire department, and a 30-member drama club known as the Heron Players.

In April and October the Heron Players tread the boards of the Community Center, serving up a delightful combination of local acting talent and scrumptious food. Each year they raise thousands of dollars to make improvements in the building – a new stove in the kitchen, a new ceiling, new paint, more lighting, a better stage. The meals are currently served by students from the local private schools, Elk Creek Academy and Clear View Horizons, providing them with opportunities to learn about service. Other students come from the local high schools to try their hand at acting.

There’s never have a shortage of actors, says Hale, a founding member of the troupe. People come from miles around wanting to volunteer to be a Heron Player. Sometimes they start small, pulling the curtains or working on the sets. Then as they overcome their awe, they try their hand at bit parts.

“The process is very rewarding,” Hale says. “Watching people go from being very shy, to growing in self-esteem, until they can confidently say they want a leading role.”

Now in their 11th year, the Heron Players provide first-rate entertainment, staging original comedic plays written by troupe members, with plots that draw heavily on local events and places. People come from as far as Florida to see the show. Laughter is a given, and you may see more than one person in the audience holding their sides or swiping at tears.

The actors aren’t the only volunteers. The technical aspects and food preparation are all handled by volunteers as well. Technical Director Steve Denham calls each production, “an act of love.” A broad-shouldered man who spends his days laying track for the railroad, Denham’s involvement in the troupe began four years ago when he was approached by Heron Player Bud Mosley to take over the lighting and sound.

“Each play presents its own challenges,” Denham says. “The greatest difficulty is in the timing – coordinating people, lights and sound.”

Denham’s involvement drew his whole family into the theater – his younger two children have appeared on stage as actors, and his wife, Victoria, has recently taken over preparing the dinners.

“I always try to find a meal you wouldn’t necessarily cook every day at home,” she said. Dinner is complete with hors d’oeuvres, a main dish and desert.

Judging by the crowds’ reactions, the food is as big a hit as the plays.

“The Pedigree Murders – It’s a Doggone Shame” will be on the stage beginning Friday. Dinner theater will be performed at 7 p.m. Mountain Time. Doors open one hour before the shows, and seating is on a first-come basis. Additional dinner theater performances will be next Saturday and Oct. 13 and 14. A matinee presentation will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 15. No dinner will be available at the matinee.