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New York City Singer Connie Pachl Fell in Love with Theater Backstage at the Landers

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New York City Singer Connie Pachl Fell in Love with Theater Backstage at the Landers

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There was a time when New York City actor and singer Connie Pachl was determined to stay hidden in the wings. In fact, she was initially uninterested in attending the theatre at all.

“I was a YMCA Camp Wakonda kid for the longest time,” Pachl professed. “Then I met this gal, and she invited me down to the [Landers] Theatre and I thought, ‘I don’t want to go to the theater. What’s that about?’”

Pachl now laughs remembering those early days of her lifelong friendship with that “gal”, Kinda Kellum. They started painting sets together for the musical 1776, which drew Pachl into crew work.

“We had a great time at [Springfield] Little Theatre. I started as a tech person. I did props, I painted sets,” Pachl recalled. “I ran the lights when we had this huge, big, wall of electrical stuff that literally you had to use your whole body to turn the thing up and down. It was just crazy. Now they have these little, tiny computers where you just hit a button. It’s all pre-done, but we did everything backstage.”

Behind the scenes experience stoked Pachl’s love for live theatre. She became regularly engaged in productions and was content to pull strings backstage, but Kellum urged her to take a swipe at performing. Pachl admits that she was reluctant to audition. Her friends were excited about an upcoming production of the holiday classic, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and she agreed to tag along.

“Kinda pushed me into that. She was like, ‘Come on, you need to audition.’ I said, ‘I’m a backstage person.” But Pachl eventually relented, attended auditions, and landed a major role. She was cast as the ethereal Ghost of Christmas Past alongside friends Matthew Kirkey and Teresa Breuer as Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit.

“I just fell in love with it,” Pachl gushed. “Seriously, I tell this to so many people, if I wasn’t at school or sleeping at home, I was at the [Landers] Theatre. It was home. I did everything down there. I just absolutely loved it.”

Under the leadership of then General Manager of Landers Theatre, Craig Hutchison, Pachl developed a reverence for the theatre as both a building and an art form. She grew in her skills and developed a deep respect for the effort it takes to pull off a production.

“If you had your feet up on the chair in front of you, [Craig] did not like that. He was like, ‘This is the theatre. Respect this place,’” Pachl shared. “He also taught me backstage – it was your home back there. Whenever you were doing a show, he just really gave me a good baseline. I think when I did start acting in college, I realized, I know how to take care of stuff backstage if I needed to. If something went awry during a show, I would know how to do stuff.”

As seasons passed, Pachl began building a network of talented performers who would go on to pursue professional careers in the arts. As a senior in high school, she was cast shoulder to shoulder with her dear friend Kinda Kellum as the Ugly Stepsisters in CINDERELLA. The role of the fairytale princess went to Kim Crosby who was on her way to Broadway stardom.

“[Kim] went on to do CINDERELLA with us, then became Junior Miss, and then she was Cinderella on Broadway in INTO THE WOODS and married Prince Charming,” Pachl recounted, referencing Crosby’s husband, Tony-nominated actor Robert Westenberg. “Kim was a sweetheart. She is beyond a sweetheart. She is lovely.”

By the time Pachl sang the Stepsisters’ Lament in CINDERELLA, she was already on track to join the Missouri State University – then SMSU – drama program. Then Theatre Department Head Byrne Blackwood allowed Pachl to begin attending college courses while finishing her high school degree. She earned a scholarship sealing the deal to enroll in the BFA program for Theatre and Dance.

“It was kind of a no-brainer for me because it was such good theatre training there,” Pachl reflected. “I had also seen some shows there in the summer at Tent Theatre, which I was part of for five years. I fell in love with Tent Theatre then. That became my next love after Little Theatre, but Little Theatre is always going to be my ‘first kiss.’ It just holds so many memories for me.”

Throughout college, Pachl continued her involvement with Springfield Little Theatre. After finishing her degree, she wasn’t sure where to turn, although NYC was always in the back of her mind.

“After [college], I was so lost. I was like, ‘What the heck do I do?’” Pachl admitted. “I knew I liked New York. I had been here once with the college group even though I wasn’t in college yet. We came up and saw a bunch of shows. I love New York, but I was also scared to death of it. But when I graduated college, I was like, where else do you go for theatre?”

As she began exploring her options, Missouri connections helped Pachl build a bridge to the Big Apple. Key among them was Dan Ettinger – the son of one of Pachl’s college instructors. Ettinger brought Pachl into the New York fold and has since become a prolific scenic designer.

“I had some friends from college who said, ‘You can come up and stay with us for a little bit and get your feet wet up here, then move on.’ I didn’t hear the ‘move on’ part too well,” Pachl laughed. “They were the reason I was able to come up. We called it the ‘Missouri Mafia’. We had so many people from college up here. I just had a great group of people who said, ‘Come on up! We’ll help you get started.’ These friends of mine all said, ‘Just give it six months. See if you can do it.’ I ended up now 43 years here.”

Once she got settled, Pachl earned an understudy part in what she describes as an “off-off-Broadway” show. She covered two roles and agreed to do laundry for the cast. Despite securing her first gig in New York, Pachl still needed a little push to see her full potential as a performer.

“I didn’t really think of myself as a singer,” she shockingly admitted. “I thought of myself as a techie and then I thought of myself as maybe an actor and then I thought I might actually have a voice.”

When Pachl’s roommate left to tour with SESAME STREET LIVE, she reached out to college friend Michael Brill to come try his turn at the big city. The duo collaborated on recording music he had written then began performing together.

“He came up and lived with me and we started doing shows at various cabarets in town,” Pachl said. “At one cabaret – I think it was the original Duplex – we did probably five or six shows in one year. We didn’t know at the time that people don’t do that many shows. We would just do a different show every couple of months. We were working our butts off, but it was the best training.”

Those cabaret shows caught the attention of a producer, which eventually led to Pachl’s debut album, COMING THROUGH. Pachl then performed in an original musical written by friend and fellow MSU alumni Bill Daugherty, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN. After Pachl married guitarist and pianist Jim Conant, the couple collaborated on the album MUSIC, MARRIAGE, AND MAYHEM. She earned a prestigious Back Stage Bistro Award for Best Performance in a Revue in 2006 for her performance in BROADWAY – OUR WAY!

After racking up decades of professional credits, Pachl finally admits with a smile, “Yes, I do consider myself a singer now.”

Although Pachl has flourished as a singer, recording artist, and cabaret star in New York, she still appreciates the broad experience she gained at SLT.

“That’s one thing Little Theatre is really good at. If you wanted to, you can do all of it,” Pachl praised. “You could do the props, you could do the lights, you could do the set, you could be on stage, you could maybe direct. That’s really cool to be able to have that rounded experience. It really gave me a lot of respect for backstage stuff as well as onstage. It takes a team. It’s not just the actors.”

She never forgot the stage that shaped her and remained committed to furthering the SLT mission whenever she could. Pachl returned to star as a special guest artist in two productions. She played the lovable and boisterous Winnifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS and the driven and formidable Mama Rose in GYPSY on her home stage.

“Getting to do GYPSY there was really icing on the cake. Just getting to bring it to Springfield after having done it a couple of times, it puts you through your paces,” Pachl acknowledged. “You get to be off a little bit in the second act, but that’s about it. The first act, you barely get to be offstage. I think I was pretty hoarse after that show.”

Pachl hopes that SLT continues to welcome and inspire new performers as it once ignited her own passion for live theatre.

“Theatre has to be for everybody. It can’t just be for rich people. It can’t,” Pachl insisted. “I think it really makes you a well-rounded person. It can spark an interest in other things. I want to make sure that [Springfield] Little Theatre continues. It’s a sacred place.”

Begin your own story and explore volunteer opportunities at Springfield Little Theatre this season.

EXIT LAUGHING Director Mark Gideon Dives into an Action-Packed Season

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Springfield Little Theatre’s 90th EMERALD ANNIVERSARY SEASON has been one of the busiest for educator Mark Gideon. He already landed leading roles in two back-to-back productions and is now in rehearsals as the director of EXIT LAUGHING.

“For me, personally, to go from the Wizard in WIZARD OF OZ to Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, that was a big ‘ol deal because I usually do not do that,” Gideon explained. “I do one production, and I disappear, and you don’t see me for several months, but these are two parts that I wanted to really do, and I went for it.”

Even for seasoned performers, no role is ever guaranteed. Gideon wanted to stand out in auditions for the musical version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, so he threw himself into preparations and showed up ready to claim the part.

“I worked on my audition song six weeks in advance,” he recalled. “My audition for [director] Chyrel [Love Miller] went exactly how I wanted it to go, and so did the cold read on the callbacks.”

He nailed the audition and booked the part, which is both mentally and physically demanding. Scrooge in on stage nearly the entire production, and he even had to wear a harness to fly during a musical number.

Gideon is now in rehearsals for the comedy EXIT LAUGHING, which made its world premiere at SLT in 2013. Every show has its own challenges, but external forces have been threatening to derail the preparations. When snow and extreme cold shut down many establishments in February, Gideon gathered the cast on Zoom to keep working.

“Actually, the Zoom rehearsals have been really good,” he shared. “Everyone shuts off their screen so there’s nothing to look at, which forces them to listen to the dialogue. Here’s the big secret of the theater – your cue is hidden in the dialogue before you speak. All you have to do is listen to that dialogue and your cue will come unto you. So, we have screens off and they’re listening, so it has really forced them not to rely on visual cues or rely on blocking. They really have to know the words.”

EXIT LAUGHING rehearsals have now moved on to the stage, and the cast is starting to become familiar with their props. Now that they are off book, they can become more comfortable with blocking.

“This show is pretty prop heavy, and I want the tempo to move because it is a comedy. This isn’t the MERCHANT OF VENICE, so we have to move,” Gideon laughed.

As a performer, Gideon is perhaps best known by local audiences for his performing partnership with executive director Beth Domann in bringing the GREATER TUNA series to the stage. The four plays are set in fictional Tuna, Texas and require countless quick changes as two performers portray multiple characters each. Gideon was cast in the first production with Paul Libscomb nearly 30 years ago, but each revival since has been a collaboration with Domann.

Gideon revealed the pair get frequent requests to revive the shows, but they have now performed all four scripts and new ones aren’t being written. He explained that certain scenes have become favorites for the duo, and he has a novel idea for revamping the material.

“If we would ever do it again, I have threatened to Beth at times that I was going to sit down and work my way through all of the scripts and make a list of all the scenes in all of those scripts that we like, put the scenes all together and we would call it TUNA CASSEROLE,” he quipped. “I think it has great potential.”

Since the 1980s, Gideon has been dedicated to sharing the performing arts with younger generations. As a teacher in the Springfield Public School system, and surrounding areas, he has mounted dozens of shows and been heavily involved in speech and debate tournaments.

After graduating from Evangel University in 1978, Gideon first found his way onto the SLT stage before leaving town. He knew he would be moving to Pittsburg, Kansas for graduate school and wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to appear in CARNIVAL. He wouldn’t return to the Ozarks until 1985 when he began teaching at Nixa and then moved to Kickapoo High School.

When time allowed, Gideon jumped into SLT productions including ANNIE, TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, GRAPES OF WRATH, CADDIE WOODLAWN, and an original musical, MISSOURI. In 1997, he made his SLT directorial debut with the one woman show SHIRLEY VALENTINE.

“When a director directs, you get his impression of a script on stage. If they’re always the one directing, then we’re only seeing one version.”

Gideon encourages fresh ideas and for younger artists to take up the mantle. He praised his WIZARD OF OZ choreographer, Josh Inmon, who recently directed and choreographed WAITRESS.

“Now we have Josh Inmon and he is so good,” Gideon remarked. “He’s such a good director. He’s a choreographer, he’s a director, he works great with kids, he’s very organized, he really lets an experienced actor explore and do and then offers suggestions.”

Gideon now serves as the Vice President of the SLT Guild, which helps to raise money for the organization as well as curate interest in the theatre’s programs and productions. As a volunteer, he recognizes the sacrifices made by performers, parents, crew, and more to keep the doors open.

“Springfield Little Theatre was created in the beginning because a group of individuals had a love of theater and a love for the city,” he admired. “Theater is the truest act of love. You give up six to eight weeks or more of your personal life so that in 90 minutes – over nine or fifteen performances – you give everything you’ve got so that someone out in the audience, their thinking is changed, their heart is touched, their memories are evoked. That is the purest act of love that someone is giving so much of themselves either as a director or as an actor or as a technician for that brief moment in the whole scope of life that someone is sitting in the dark in the Landers Theatre and they are transported to another place or time.”

Although he has dedicated many hours to SLT productions, Gideon acknowledges that the work volunteers do to develop an entire season of shows can never be fully appreciated. That magic that makes it look effortless, he said, is its own reward.

“The average person has no idea what goes into the hours and hours of rehearsal and picking out props and costumes and all that stuff. They have no idea, and they don’t need to know because that’s not their job. Our job is to provide the highest quality of entertainment that we possibly can. In that offering, if we can change lives or touch hearts, then our job is done.”

EXIT LAUGHING runs March 14 – 23 on the Landers stage. Tickets are available now.

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