What’s In A Name?
In “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”, the other secretaries plead with Rosemary, Cinderella, to marry Ponty, her prince.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet speaks this line, “What’s in a name?” Juliet was saying that the name of something, or someone, did not matter. As New Bloomfield Lions Community Theatre prepares to present its 56th show, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, on April 4-6, it seems that in the case of LCT the name is important. The parts must be named in order to appreciate the whole.
The New Bloomfield Lions Club was the organization behind the founding of Lions Community Theatre. Chartered in 1938, the New Bloomfield Lions Club has been a strong supporter of the community. The Club has engaged in various fundraisers over the years, and LCT was originally conceived with the dual purpose of raising funds for Lions Club projects and bringing quality entertainment to Perry County. The NB Lions Club provided the initial funding to sponsor Send Me No Flowers in 1971. Directed by Grace Swan, the show featured as the male lead NB Lion Norm Harrison.
Through the years, the NB Lions Club has continued to provide financial backing for the shows. The Club has received the profits and has invested them in the community in the form of tennis/pickleball courts in New Bloomfield, and the pavilion and playground adjacent to the courts, which are restored and refurbished at intervals as required. The Club financially supports Cub Scouts, the Bloomfield Pool, and the Bloomfield Library, as well as assisting individuals in need of glasses and awarding prizes to graduating seniors at West Perry High School. These are some of the many community activities the NB Lions support.
NB Lions also support LCT as actors, backstage workers, and through other functions needed to successfully present a show. Over the years younger actors have joined veterans on the stage. Casts have featured fewer NB Lions and more representatives of communities throughout Perry County and sometimes beyond.
The community has always supported LCT in a variety of ways. Without this support, LCT could not exist. Most obviously, people have come to see the shows. The monies received from ticket sales are used to underwrite the expenses of the shows, and net profits are used for the projects named above and others. Audiences are important beyond their financial contributions. Having an enthusiastic audience also encourages the actors to come back for repeated participation in LCT productions. Actors are another way in which the community supports LCT. Without actors from outside NB Lions, LCT could not continue.
Other important community support is provided by local businesses. Their financial support is vital. Additionally, local businesses provide locations for LCT publicity. Posters, table tents, and yard signs are welcomed by businesses. These visible signs help to keep people aware of upcoming shows. Another important way that local businesses support LCT is as ticket outlets. Printed tickets with seat numbers were formerly sold at local business outlets. Now that all ticket sales are online, local outlets at Perry County Council of the Arts Gallery, Perry County Chamber of Commerce, and Blain Library, assist people in buying tickets through the nblions.org website.
This name, NB Lions Community Theatre, is important. It demonstrates the collaboration between Lions and the community to produce and provide quality entertainment in Perry County in the form of theater. Both the Lions and the community are needed in order for this venture to succeed. Perhaps another name would have produced the same years of drama, comedy, and music, but no other name would so well signify how these productions came to be.