Sue Riedel
Director of the Bell Tower Theater
by BRIAN COOPER
TH executive editor
For nearly three decades, Sue Riedel and the Grand Opera House/Barn Community Theater were symbiotically linked.
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Susan J. Riedel Age: 57 Family: Single. Daughter of Ken and Betty Jane Riedel, Davenport, Iowa. Occupation: Bell Tower Theater, Dubuque, theater manager and artistic director, since June 2003. Hempstead High School, Dubuque, speech and theater teacher, since 1974. Previous experience: Grand Opera House, artistic director and teacher of youth theater and creative dramatics, 1972-2001; theater manager, 1986-2001. Location casting director and coordinator of final scene of movie, "Field of Dreams," 1988. Location casting director for movie, "Miles from Home," 1987. City of Dubuque, fine arts supervisor, 1968-74. Education: Clarke College, bachelor of arts in speech and theater, 1968; ongoing graduate work. Honors: Teacher of the year, Hempstead High School, 1995-96; KWWL Gold Star Teacher Award, 1999; Clarke College Alumni Association Outstanding Achievement Award, 1995; Iowa Governor's Volunteer Award, 1993; Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce Service Award, 1989; J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award for Volunteer Service, 1988; YWCA Women of Achievement Award, 1987; Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy Award, 1984; Dubuque Fine Arts Society Award, 1983. Volunteer activity: Board president, St. Mark Community Center, since 2002; guest artist at Washington Junior High, 2002-03. |
In September 2001, an unhappy Riedel and the Grand had a parting of the ways. After nearly two years away, Riedel is again neck-deep with her first love: the theater. In June she became manager and artistic director of Bell Tower Theater, a new facility below Rafters Restaurant, Asbury and Chaney roads.
Following are edited excerpts of Riedel's recent interview with the Telegraph Herald.
TH: How is that you got interested in theater and made that such a big part of your life?
SR: I was really shy and bashful as a child. I was an only child and I played pretty much by myself. My mom and dad drove by the kindergarten and saw my outside playing by myself and they thought, "Wow, we need to get her working with other children." So they took me to a dancing school. In this dancing school there was a drama school. I was watching the kids playing stories. I said to my mom, "Gee, I like the stories in there." My mom talked with the lady and thought maybe I would like that. I was probably about 5, 6 years old, and I went to drama school. Before I could even read, my mom would teach me the lines by rote, and that's how I started being in plays. I was in the Davenport Children's Theater. Then, when I was 16 years old, they hired me to be one of her assistants at the school. My part-time job was helping teach children's theater classes. Also, she (the director) was in charge of bringing Broadway shows to what was the Orpheum Theater. So I got to see all the shows free and watch them set up because I would usher. So I was really stimulated by seeing all the various plays and got a lot of ideas that way.
When I was ready to go to college, I was making a decision. I was an athlete, too. "Do I want go on in drama or do I want to go on in sports?" I decided to go on in theater. I read an article about Clarke College and its USO tour. I thought, "Gee, I'd like to go to that school and go on a USO tour." I came here and auditioned for the Drama Department -- that was Sister Xavier Coens at that time -- and entered Clarke College in 1964. I've been here ever since. I was in the USO show when I was in college. I got to go to Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland and Scotland, Ireland, London -- entertaining service personnel with the USO.
TH: At some point did you consider doing theater full-time, in terms of Broadway or major theater in Chicago?
SR: I did. I wanted to be a star. I wanted to go to New York. My father said, "I'll pay your way for one year." I just couldn't. I didn't feel right to take the money to do that. I just thought I had to get a job. I was raised with the work ethic.
TH: What happened next?
SR: It just happened that Dick Flattery came to the college and said, "I've got this barn at Flora Park and I want to make it into something. Does anybody has any experience with recreation departments and various things?" My professor said, "Why don't you talk to Sue? She's graduating." At that time, it was hard to get teaching jobs. He said, "I'll give you a desk, I'll pay your salary. When you go too far, I'll let you know." Who could get a job like that? So I had the opportunity to start a community theater right out of college. I got to renovate the barn at Flora Park into an art center. I worked with Ruth Nash, who kind of took me under her wing. She said, "You're new in town, let me introduce you to everybody." You couldn't have a better person to mentor you.
TH: When she said "everybody," she means (ITAL)everybody(END ITAL).
SR: And she did. Ruth and I started the Arts Council. I could see that there was a State Arts Council and we didn't have on in Dubuque, so we started one. I renovated the barn at Flora Park. "Sing Out Dubuque" would meet there. The Art Association at that time did not have a place to meet, so their gallery was there and we had classes in the basement. When I first started doing plays, the barn wasn't ready so I did them at Eagle Point Park, at the band shell.
TH: Where does community theater fit into the fabric of a community, the quality of life?
SR: You're looking at somebody who is a product of growing up in a theater program and being in a community theater and a children's theater. It is a place for people to meet people. It is a way to make friends. A lot of times, if you're new to a community, it's a way for new people to meet. We linked it with businesses. Businesses can bring their customers to the community theater. People can go out with their families. Singles. It's a safe place to go and meet other people. I had one gentleman, just was new in town, he opened the paper and said, "Oh, there's tryouts for a play." He didn't know anybody in Dubuque. He walked down and tried out for the plays. Years later, he met his wife there. Also, there's no age gap. You've got senior citizens on down. People can usher. You can be in plays. You can make costumes. You can sell tickets. You can do lights. You can paint sets. There's all kinds of talent. I always say it's a sport you can do all your life. Also, there's a sense of pride. When you put on a play, everybody is important to that whole thing. So it's teamwork. You're all part of that and it's very close. Sometimes when the plays are over, it's very lonely for people. I've had people call me up weeks later and say, "I'm depressed. Can I just talk to you?" It's making literature 3D. You can see things on the stage. If your day has been terrible, you can go to a comedy and laugh. I love to stand in the back of the theater and watch people laugh. It's so wonderful to hear those giggles.
TH: Hopefully, it's a comedy.
SR: (laughs) Well, yes, of course. Not laughing at you, but with you. With music, people go away singing. So you make people's lives a little better, I think. There are lots of way that help the quality of life and the economic development of a community.
TH: When you reflect back on your years with The Grand, what do you consider your personal high points?
SR: Starting off with a business where we only had about $40,000 and seeing it grow to a $350,000 (budget), stable business, I think, is pretty amazing. When I left, there were about 1,500 volunteers. To have that commitment from people, to give of their time. I was given the opportunity as a director to work with very talented artists from the tri-state area. I think taking that facility and filling it. There's nothing more than putting up on that marquee, "Sold Out."
TH: How many seats?
SR: It was over 600, I think.
TH: What was the hardest show you ever put on?
SR: "Showboat." (1991) That was the hardest show musically. It was also because I had to deal with the diversity issue. Ruby Sutton and the blacks in the community embraced that show and helped me. It could have been not a positive experience. I went to them first and said I want to do this show, but I want you to be comfortable with this show. They said yes. In fact, Ruby was in it. They got me people to be in it. Then it was a very hard script. Very difficult music. The boat itself, the set itself was very difficult. We had a full orchestra. It just all jelled together.
TH: Outside of those early start-up days, when you were signing loans for money you didn't have and so on, were there other moments when nothing seemed to be going right, where you had to give yourself a pep talk about things?
SR: I've had several times that I...well, when I got the Barn in the first place. We actually cleaned the barn. It was a BARN. I thought, "What have I done?"
TH: Animals and everything.
SR: Yes. The day that we went to Sacred Heart (after losing the lease to the barn at Flora Park). The Grand, the day we opened the key, I was really excited and then I thought, "Oh my goodness, what have I done here?" And that turned out to be wonderful, wonderful. When I left the barn at Flora Park, I cried. I left Sacred Heart, I kind of cried, too, because that was really important. And I have to say, when I left The Grand, I cried. It was very hard to leave. Those are all very important times. But there's always a reason. God closes one door for me and opens another. Now I've got another theater (The Bell Tower.) I've gone a complete circle. When I started here, I went, "Oh, dear, what have I done?" But now, things are calming down and are a little better.
TH: As you reflect on your departure from The Grand -- you put so much of yourself into that for 30 years -- how difficult was it to leave and move on?
SR: It was very difficult. But if you don't believe in the direction ... When you work with boards, sometimes they change and some things you've already done and then they want ...depending on the board, you may have "been there, done that" several years ago and you try to say, "been there, done that." But you have to work with boards. And the very thing I created, I had to create boards in order to get grants, but it's very difficult sometimes when your boards change. I had another full-time job. See, I was a volunteer. All the money that they gave me at The Grand, I either gave to the foundation or gave back in program and didn't really take any money. I was really a professional volunteer. But I had to have a board, so then I worked for a board. A little different when you're being paid a high salary and you work for a board versus being a volunteer and working for a board. I just didn't believe in some decisions of certain people. My dad and I talked. My father always told me be happy in your job. If you're not happy, a lot of people spend a whole lifetime being unhappy. And he says you're always happy and if you're not happy doing it, move on.
TH: So at that point, you weren't happy.
SR: I wasn't happy with some of the leadership decisions. I didn't believe -- and I'm not saying they're wrong -- but I'm just saying I didn't believe and I did not want to operate artistically or professionally in that manner. And I knew I'd be frustrated and when I work all day and to come and be frustrated, it wasn't important to me. And for my own integrity, I needed to. I always refer to it as "my" theater. I found out it wasn't my theater. That was probably a good lesson. But I love the people. They were my family. I felt like the mother and these were all my family. So abruptly to break that, I was very lonely. It was a very lonely feeling.
TH: Did you feel betrayed or unappreciated?
SR: No, my volunteers didn't treat me that way. I would say that the majority of the people, and the audiences -- I got hundreds of letters. I got great cards. I got pages from people. I did not have any idea how I affected people. You don't realize. And as a teacher, it's the same thing. Luckily for me, I love teaching. I was so fortunate because I had school and Hempstead and I loved my kids. I had The Grand, and I loved all the people there, so I have no regrets that way.
TH: I want to ask you about your involvement with movies. The one film that still resonates in this area is "Field of Dreams," and I know you were very instrumental in having "Field of Dreams" filmed almost exclusively in this area. How did it happen that "Field of Dreams" was shot in Dyersville and Dubuque and Galena?
SR: Well, Wendell Jarvis and the Iowa Film office had contacted us. I was on the Iowa Film commission. He contacted Rob Apel (then of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce) and myself. We were to try to find a farm that had a long lane and a white clapboard house and enough land to build a baseball field. We got a book out of the library, which was Shoeless Joe. There was also in the beginning of the book, it describes what the farm looks like. Also on the cover, there was an artist's rendition. So we went around looking for this. Bill Conzett and I and Rob, we were constantly looking for farms. We were taking snapshots. Came upon the Don Lansing farm and said, "Oh, this is it. This is it. It looks good." I took a picture and I went up to knock on the door because I told everybody if I took a picture what I was doing. Well, there was no answer. So I took a picture of his house and his area and I sent it in. Then they called us from Universal Studios and wanted to come here and see that farm. So now I had to go back to the Don Lansing farm. I said, "Hi, I'm Sue Riedel and I teach at Hempstead High School. I was contacted to look for farms to make a movie in this area and I took a picture of your farm and now they'd like to come and look at it as a possible site to do a movie." And the guy looked at me and said -- Don said - "Are you crazy?" I said, "Let me go through it again." So he said, "Well, what do I have to lose?"
We brought them in and showed them the farm and everything. Then they went back. Wendell said, "We may have to offer them an incentive. A lot of towns give incentives." Well, we had no money to give to the film company, but there was a DOT building that was under the bridge where Robert's (River Rides) used to be and it was going to be demolished. Rob and Wendell worked on contacting the state to see if we would keep that from being demolished until after the film company was here and they could make their studio there. That was our, supposed ace in the hole. Rob and I and Wendell flew to Los Angeles and to Universal Studios to spend a day with them, with pictures of all of our farms. There were about five or six that they narrowed it down to in our area. We went to Los Angeles to try and sell them to come to Dubuque, Iowa, and our ace in the hole was that we'd have this building for them to put their studio in. We were there all day. I kept bringing up this farm. We were with the director and we were with producers and everything and I kept saying, "Well, I like this farm. I think you should go to this farm. It really looks like the book."
TH: And this was Lansing's place.
SR: Yes. So they used to refer to it as "Sue's farm." Both Rob and I, I think, had headaches -- we both had migraines -- from the whole day. It was high tension. You're talking to all these people and trying to get them to come to Dubuque, Iowa. They also had a place in Canada in mind. But we said the integrity of the film would be lost if you don't make it in Iowa. It's an Iowa story. You have to make it in Iowa. That trip paid off because they spent over $5 million in the community plus all of the money that rolls over and the money that each actor spent in this community. They bought vehicles. They bought pets. They spent a lot of money in this town.
TH: Filming was in the summer of '88?
SR: The hottest summer. I remember that.
TH: Did you do anything with The Grand that summer?
SR: There was a play going on at The Grand and I was working for the movie company and I also started school. I left school, I would teach and my boss would let me leave; I was done teaching at 1 o'clock. Then I would go to the movie set. And then I would check at The Grand to make sure that the play was going OK. I would just rotate. When I went back to school, we were just ending the movie. It went a little longer. So it was my summer with a film company.
I used to go in the morning to baseball practice with Don Buford from the Baltimore Orioles and Rod Dado from USC and the guys to baseball practice. So they called me the batgirl. So if you look at the credits in the film, it says, "Sue Riedel, Batgirl," which was my nickname.
TH: Talk to me about what's going on here at the Bell Tower.
SR: We just finished this facility. We just finished "Oz," and now we're doing, "I Do, I Do" with Steve and Theresa Slade. "I Do, I Do" is a musical comedy about love and marriage. They're a married couple, so it seemed nice. Also, it's a small cast show. This is again my life changed. Tom Kane just called up and said, "Could I meet with you?" Now I am working here at the Bell Tower. It was just one of those things I didn't plan on doing this summer. I was going to clean my garage and my house, but I guess those items will wait.
TH: What would be the difference, outside of the setting, smaller theater, what would be the difference say the theater that is put on here versus what might take place at The Grand?
SR: I'm more restricted than The Grand would be. I have a smaller stage and smaller setting. I mean, "Show Boat" I wouldn't do here. A large-cast musical, The Grand is where it should be. That would not be something I could do. I just don't have the space for the facility.
TH: So, here, you would have -- I don't know if "intimacy" is the right word.
SR: Smaller cast shows, both musicals and comedies and dramas. That's the basic difference. It's a little different for the theater-goer because you're a little closer here, where the other is a little more illusion. You're not in competition. For example, downtown, The Orpheum, Five Flags and The Grand -- those were live theaters historically and they were going at the same time. I just really think that the more you have, the more people will go to. I think that's fine for the community. I'm going to have music -- maybe some jazz or Dixieland or just a nice classical piano or a string group. So you can just go to dinner at Rafters and then come down here and there's music here when we don't have a play. This facility can be used for wedding receptions. We can take the chairs down. It's multipurpose that way. We're going to get a dance floor so we can put a dance floor in and you could have the band on stage and dance and set seats around. We can hold meetings. We have a screen that comes down.
TH: You're going to do this at Bell Tower and keep up your teaching schedule?
SR: Yes. I ran The Grand Opera House and I taught school full-time. If you check with my boss, he can tell you that that doesn't seem to bother my teaching.
TH: You're high energy. You're optimistic about this place and what it can do.
SR: I think the thing too I want to stress is that I've always gotten a lot of credit from my extracurricular activities, but my job is being an educator. I'm proud to be a teacher. I love teaching at Hempstead. They're on the brink of greatness. Also, I volunteer at St. Mark's Community Center.
TH: Can you talk a bit about where the arts can fit into the life of a young person, say a student at Hempstead?
SR: I think it's very important for them to have a group to connect with. With the drugs and alcohol and home life problems, I think parents should be very concerned who their kids hang out with. If they hang out in the music department or they hang out in the art department or they hang out in the drama department or in the journalism room in our school, and on a sports team, they have a group to connect with. There's somebody caring about their schoolwork and caring about them. Those teachers are all very caring. I think if your kid hangs out at the high school, you don't have to worry. The other thing is these kids are so talented. The kids going to Five Flags, our kids putting on "Le Mis" at Hempstead High School and then putting it on at Five Flags. Wahlert High School doing "Evita" and going down to Five Flags and putting it on. Look at the quality. I sat there and I was just choked up to see those kids doing those very difficult performance pieces and all that work and commitment of the teachers and the kids. It was wonderful. I was choked up. And I see a lot of theater. And Senior, they do that wonderful madrigal. I think that we should be very proud of our schools in this community for those types of things. I mean all the schools. You're teaching them another form of a work ethic. That commitment to getting it done, to quality, which they can take it into the job market too. We're training them for real life, outside of the school, that they're ready for jobs.
TH: Theater is real life.
SR: Everything. Well, all the world's a stage and we are players, so you have to pick your stage and see how you're going to play it. We have different stages in life.
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