Masquers celebrates 30 years

Beverly Hasper holds a poster from "The Traveling Lady" Masquers' most recent production.

by Cameron Probert<br> Herald Staff Writer
| July 5, 2010 1:00 PM

SOAP LAKE — For 30 years, Masquers Theater has performed plays in various venues in Soap Lake.

The theater started in 1979, when Bob and Shirley Dunlop moved from California to Soap Lake. The couple gathered a group of actors to put on plays in the city.

SOAP LAKE - For 30 years, Masquers Theater has performed plays in various venues in Soap Lake.

The theater started in 1979, when Bob and Shirley Dunlop moved from California to Soap Lake. The couple gathered a group of actors to put on plays in the city.

Beverly Hasper, the theater's artistic director, joined the theater after the Dunlop's came to her and her husband's lumber yard looking for wood to build a set.

"They were looking for free stuff to build a set," she said. "That's the way theater always is. You have to scrounge stuff up. It isn't like you can go and (pay) regular price for it."

When they started, there wasn't a theater. The group was using a school, she said. The group moved several times before getting a permanent theater. Hasper explained the group tried to buy the building which became the Smokiam school.

"We were in there for at least five years, I'm thinking more like seven years we were in that building," she said. "Then there just wasn't enough money there for us to buy that ... They let us stay there free for a long time."

A year into their time in the building the Dunlops moved back to California, Hasper said, adding the group discussed whether to continue at the time.

"We decided to go on," she said. "I became the artistic director at that time because there just wasn't anybody else."

The next to final spot the theater ended up in was near it's current location on Main Street, inside of a storefront. When the group moved in, the store front was empty except for a bucket to catch the water coming from the roof, she said.

"That was already our fourth location," she said. "There were a few of us in the group at that time ... Somebody said, ‘Oh it will be a long time before we can be ready to do a play,' and I said, ‘No, let's do a play right now.' I knew if we had a play going on there would be the impetus to get it going."

The group proceeded to start a play. Hasper remembered Randy Brooks joining the group at the time, and seeing the condition of the area.

"He saw what we had to work with, and said, ‘You're not serious about doing a play in this building, and he's looking at the bucket there on the floor," she said. "I said, ‘Well yes.' So, of course, Randy took a part in the play."

Hasper said the people doing the carpentry, including John Glassco, were frantically putting things together to get the area ready and in six weeks they were ready to put on the first play.

During more than 20 years of performances, Hasper said the group was always talking about building a theater. This changed when Hank Worden came to a Masquers' board meeting.

"He was an investment broker for a lot of people and he knew a lot of people with money. He said, ‘You guys want a theater?' and we said, ‘Well, yes.' and he said, ‘I can make that happen,'" Hasper said. "We all think, ‘Oh sure,' but he stayed on."

The group had fund-raising drive, and received donations including the land the theater was built on.

"Our group suddenly grew. We suddenly had a big interest and Hank Worden knew people who were willing to give money to the arts," Hasper said. "I remember when Hank called me and said, ‘We're on. We're ready to start building. We're ready to start calling for a contract.'"

Hasper described the theater as a miracle. Construction on the theater started in 2001.