In the spirit of the holiday season, the Pulse Opera House is offering $2 off per ticket per item brought to the theatre for the Food Pantry. The following items are needed: canned peas, mixed vegetables, chili beans, fruits, cooking oil, small cans shortening, cake mixes & icing, pancake mix & syrup, oatmeal, chicken or beef broth, noodles, tuna, macaroni & cheese, Spaghettios, paper towels and toilet tissue. Only one discount per food item. This discount cannot be combined with any other offer. Thanks to Lilly Nutter for her assistance  in coordinating this partnership and thank you for giving back to the community

The lobby windows are looking particularly spiffy these days thanks to Roger and Caroline Krummel who generously donated two new awnings from Marion Tent and Awning. The black and white striped awnings really make the entrance look special. THANK YOU!!!

Once again the Pulse lobby will be bright with the holiday lights of Christmas trees decorated by local designers including Citizen's Telephone, The Warren Arts Festival Committee, Randy Neuman, P.J. Flowers & Gifts and Bob & Nancy Smyth. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this festive art display.

Show nights will be a little warmer at the Pulse this December thanks to Bob and Cristi Sloan. They will be selling their famous lattes and hot chocolate during the performances of A Christmas Carol and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Pulse Opera House.

Bob & Cristi opened a coffeehouse - Coffee d' Vine - in Huntington five years ago. They sold the coffeehouse in April and have made their delicious beverages available for wedding receptions, birthday parties, retirement parties, celebrations, and (fortunately for us) the theatre.

Bob says "We love what we do. When we came to do lattes at the Pulse for the Playwrights productions, we were overwhelmed by the welcoming sincerity we received. We are very grateful for the opportunity to serve people. We are very grateful to serve Him." In addition to the drinks, Treva Flemming will provide freshly baked goods. Treva is known for her wonderful cookies and muffins.

When we count our blessings this Christmas, Bill and Eileen Abbott will be at the top of the list! In addition to being long-time supporters of the Pulse, they recently surprised and honored us with cake for the entire audience of See How They Run in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Pulse. The thought and generosity of spirit was very much appreciated by the cast, crew and audience!

Jana Henly Baker is returning from her tour headlining on the MS Zulderdam, which is part of the Holland America Cruise Lines. She will join her husband Dan Baker who is currently in rehearsal for A Christmas Carol at Amish Acres in Nappanee.

Ruth Herring recently fell and broke her hip. For years, she has been an unwavering supporter of the Pulse Opera House. We miss her sewing expertise for A Christmas Carol. Hurry back, Ruth!

Kayleen Reusser had articles published in the November issues of Fort Wayne Magazine and Sandbar, which covers the Northern IN Lake Country, as well as other national publications. She writes regularly for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Her website is http://www.KayleenR.com .

Sue Nunemaker is currently in Shanghai, China on a trip with her 90-year-old uncle. She has traveled all over East Asia, visiting such places as Chiang Mai, Thailand, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Yokahama and Nagasaki, Japan and Shanghai.

Steve Weber was asked by his company to have his play 8 Magic Steps to a. Successful Business read for the company Christmas party.

David Dean is playing Clarence the Angel in First Presbyterian Theatre 's production of It's a Wonderful Life. Show dates are December 1-17. For more Information, call 260-422-6329.

Bob Barnes has been the voice of "Director Finch" for several interactive cellphone games for the company Conditor. The latest Halloween game (based in Boston) had a nice write up in the Boston Globe. To read the article online, check out http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/10/17/search_party/?page=1

Glenda Walberry will have her work featured at the Creative Arts Council in Bluffton. The exhibit is entitled "Barns: Pastoral Icons" and will be in the Balentine Gallery until November 30, 2007. The Arts Commerce Visitors Centre is located at 211 Water Street in Bluffton.

Lina Willard sang "America" and was a runner up in the Rockin' Doc's Singing Idol in September.

Darren and Julie Turney renewed their vows on October 29th, 2006 in honor of their 10th anniversary. Several Pulse players played a part. Their first show together at the Pulse was Nail Simon's Barefoot In the Park.

Tony Sirk moved to Alabama to work at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. You can check out the festival at www.asf.net .

Congratulations to Wal-Mart of Huntington on the opening of their new Supercenter. In honor of their opening, Wal-Mart generously donated $1,000 to the Pulse Opera House. On opening weekend, Wal-Mart shoppers were greeted by Pulse players in costume welcoming them to the store. Thanks to John Myers for providing this opportunity.

When heading into Warren from Huntington or Fort Wayne, take a look at the new convenience store/ice cream shop as you cross the railroad tracks. Thanks to long-time Pulse supporters Dallas and Shella Heyde for a wonderful addition to Warren!

Thanks to the efforts of former teacher David Dean, over 600 local and area students will see A Christmas Carol.  Students from Salamonie, Crestview, Riverview and Community Christian School (Bluffton) will attend the production. Many thanks to the cast and crew members (and their understanding bosses and teachers) who arranged for time off from work and school.

Why not remember the Pulse in your year end giving? The Pulse Opera House is a 50l(c)3 organization. Any donations from now until the end of the year will be listed in the 2007 program and newsletters.

Photos from the Pulse production of " Frumpled Fairy Tales" are being considered by Eldridge Publishing Company for inclusion in their catalog and for possible ads. They found our photos on the Pulse website! You can check out our website at www.pulseoperahouse.org.

The Story Continues... by Ron Wartzok

In the past few newsletter articles, we told the fairytale story how Cynthia's dream to reopen the Pulse Opera House evolved.  This, last episode in 2006, is going to jump around a little bit.  After 20 years and over 70 shows at the theatre, I want to talk about several ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the theatre.

The Past 20 years of the Pulse Opera House is the "Second Life" of the theatre. It started with a large vacant 2^nd floor room and, based on its late 1800's History as the center of local entertainment, it was restored to produce shows again.  Since 1986, it grew year by year from local amateur shows with minimal sets & costumes to higher & higher quality productions.  Each year the theatre building has made minor improvements with very limited funds; but the growth of the quality of productions has been major.  The theatre's growth expands to statewide recognition and even international recognition by representing the United States twice at International Theatre Festivals in Germany.  We keep mentioning the invitation to Germany because it is so extremely rare and is an enormous accomplishment for a Community Theatre the size of the Pulse from a small town in Indiana to achieve such recognition. 

In 2003, the Pulse offered, for the first time, a special presentation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" to Huntington County's 8^th grade students.  Approximately 400 eighth graders experienced a live theatrical production at the Pulse.  Since 2003, the Pulse has offered live performances of Shakespeare and, this year, Charles Dickens of which are part of the reading cirriculum for the Huntington County middle schools.  For many of the students, these school tours are their first (and possibly only) time seeing LIVE actors on stage performing material they will be studying in school.  The kids are well behaved and enthusiastic watching these performances. We've attempted to continue to look for shows that coincide with the school's cirriculum for middle & high school students.  We think that we've had an impact on the students and, for example, find it gratifying when a high school student recognized one of our student actresses Lorry Pasterer and said: "Hey, I remember seeing You in that Play at the Pulse when I was in the eighth grade.  You played Anne Frank!"

One thing to remember is that the Pulse Opera House is still a "Community Theatre."  It has involved over the past 20 years hundreds of VOLUNTEERS as Actors & Actresses, Artists, Ushers, Crew, Box Office personnel, and Concession workers, etc.  Each show incorporates an average of fifteen to as many as forty volunteers helping put a show together. Over the years, we've seen lots of people come and go.  Many kids involved with the theatre have grown up and now have kids of their own, a few of which are now today's performers, crew, and volunteers.  When Cynthia & I were youth, we were inspired by our own individual local theatre organizations.  We hope that the Pulse has and will continue to be an inspiration to ALL its volunteers and we sincerely appreciate everyone's help throughout the years.  ALL the Volunteers involved over the years are too large to list for this article; but, we've been attempting to document all the past show programs with everyone's names on the PulseOperaHouse.org website.

Above ALL: the restoration, the continual growth in quality of shows, the hundreds of kids experiencing a LIVE theatrical show AND the involvement of so many volunteers would NOT have ever evolved without one person's Dream.  It was Cynthia's Dream, at the age of fifteen, to convert an old abandoned theatre into a fully functioning, growing Center for the Arts in a very small town where her parents grew up.  It is Cynthia's dedication to the Arts, her strong education & enthusiasm for live theatre, and her determination not to give up in the face of adversity that has kept the theatre going these past 20 years and hopefully many years to come.  Cynthia's ability as an Artistic Director of over 70 productions keeps audiences coming to see what new and exciting productions the Pulse Opera House will produce year after year.  It is Cynthia's vision that brings each show to life!  When Cynthia received her Master's Degree in 1987 from Indiana University, the faculty there indicated that Cynthia could pursue a career in theatre at most any major theatre organization throughout the country.  They even offered her a position at IU.  Many times, Cynthia has wondered what would have happened if she had accepted that position. Instead, she had a Dream to Re-Open the Pulse and She Did It!