03/25/2026
Fifteeen years ago, On March 25, 2011, The Catamounts opened MR. SPACKY...THE MAN WHO WAS CONTINUOUSLY FOLLOWED BY WOLVES by Emily Schwartz, directed by Amanda Berg Wilson.
The piece featured Joan Bruemmer-Holden, Meredith Grundei, Verl Hite, and Sonia Justl. And a live band that included Bevin Foley, Chris Gilmartin, Kevin Packard, and Ben Berg Wilson. Plus a "Dead Bride Chorus" with Jessica Dow, Hallie Packard, and Alexis Schwartz. Several of these folks responded to an ad posted on Craigslist.
McPherson Horle was our Producer, Regan Fair our Costume Designer, Jessica Buttery our Lighting Designer, Michael Grittner our Scenic Designer, and Lauren Shepard our Stage Manager. They had a budget of not much.
We produced the whole thing in an attic of a church. We took down curtains that covered a beautiful stained glass window so we could feature it in the design. Jess Buttery figured out a way to shine a light through the stained glass from the outside when the "Dead Bride Chorus" made their entrance. Meredith Grundei hid behind a bed for the first half hour of the show because there were no wings (as a result of taking down the curtains) and it felt important that she pop out when it was finally time for her entrance.
The audience got to vote on the ending, with a choice between the "Terribly Awful Ending" and the "Exceptionally Happy Ending." We only got to perform the "Terribly Awful Ending" once, I think. Boulder.
Opening night featured a "Quite Q***r High Tea", where Zac Wilkinson crafted a menu that featured things such as "Deviled quail eggs on pumpernickel with dill" and a "Deconstructed tea gelée."
And thus: The Catamounts was born!
Thank you to EVERYONE who has joined us on a fifteen year adventure of new plays, in new places, with new ways of doing theater. It's been non-stop hard work but also pretty much non-stop joy.
As they say in the "Exceptionally Happy Ending": Hooray forever!
