Encore performance of Voices of Schnellville this weekend

eduebelhoraslincoln — Ed Uebelhor plays President Lincoln in the production. He waited as director Susan Brier completed sound testing during dress rehearsal Thursday night.

Mark Knust and Steffi Schmucker portray Henry and Theresa Hilbert Schnell in the production. The stained glass windows in the backdrop are part of the original church built on the location of the play. They are backlit and will be lighted for the play both nights.

doug — Doug Fischer is Joe Haas, a local businessman in the production.

brier — Susan Brier is the director and set designer for the production.

indian-and-sisters — From right: Brayden Schuetter plays one of the Piankishaw Tribe members portrayed as the first settlers of the area (he is also competing in the brothers of the bush competition for the upcoming Schnellville Sesquicentenial, hence the beard), Diane Verkamp is Sister Marie Block, Mary Verkamp is Sister Michaela Werb, Theresa Gutgsell is Sister Helena Leidinger, Marilyn Betz, is Sister Maura Weyer, and Mary Lee Uebelhor is Mother Veronica Ackerman. The group was waiting for the dress rehearsal to begin Thursday night.

welpfischer — Jack Welp (left), who plays John Gerhard Welp, and Mark Fischer (right), who plays John Block, waited for the dress rehearsal for Voices of Schnellville to begin Thursday evening. The production is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Church in Schnellville.

Ed Uebelhor recites the Gettysburg Address as President Lincoln during the dress rehearsal Thursday evening.

After a highly successful show in October last year, the Voices of Schnellville will return for an encore performance tonight and Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.

The encore performance features the addition of the stained glass windows from the original church as part of the production’s backdrop. The windows have been in storage for nearly 100 years and when the group decided to explore using them in the production, they were surprised to find the windows featured the names of several of the characters portrayed in the play.

The six windows have names inset in the stained glass. They read JE Buchart for Joseph Buchart, J & P Schnell for Joseph and Peter Schnell, Rosa Schnell for Rosa Striegel Schnell Merkley, Alois Schaaf, John Block and Joseph Schuch; all historical members of the community brought back to life by cast members in the play.

To honor the history of Schnellville and introduce the upcoming sesquicentennial (150th year) celebration, the Dubois County town has created a production called the Voices of Schnellville.

Inspired by Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, Voices of Schnellville is a play to celebrate the history of the Dubois County town’s history and raise money for the 2015 Schnellville Sesquicentennial celebration.

The play features 41 characters from Schnellville’s past. Portrayed by the residents of Schnellville, several will even portray their own ancestors. Here the volunteer actors are waiting during a dress rehearsal.

Spoon River Anthology is a series of epitaths from the deceased residents of a fictional town in Illinois. In the same twist, the Voices of Schnellville portrays historic personae from Schnellville’s past played by the current residents of the Dubois County town. “In fact, some of our actors will portray their ancestors in the play,” co-organizer Tara Hopf said.

The scripts were written by Rock Emmert, Tara Hopf, Ed Uebelhor, Susan Brier, and Karen Mehringer. “We took a little poetic liberty in some cases,” Tara explained. “But, it is historically accurate, there were just a few things we had to add to tie the story together.”

It’s a fun event that will be acted out by the volunteers dressed in period clothing from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The story is tied together through the experiences of the townspeople in the picturesque Dubois County town.

The play took more than a year to produce as the volunteers researched each character through county records, genealogical websites, and interviews with the characters’ descendants.

Ranging from somber to lighthearted, the stories will enlighten the audience to the town’s colorful history and its characters. To add to the atmosphere, the audience is also invited to dress in any period clothing while they attend.

The play begins from the perspective of a Native American family and moves through immigrants that moved to the area. Civil War soldiers from the town of Worth, the original town located where Schnellville is today, tell their own story of the area.

The founding of the town includes an appearance of Abraham Lincoln played by Ed Uebelhor. Ed Knust, Joseph Schnell’s direct descendant, will play his great-great-great-grandfather, the town founder’s son.

According to Tara, the support from the town has been great. At least 41 residents will play characters in the production and numerous production support positions were also filled with volunteers.

The production is directed by Susan Brier and will take place Friday (tonight) and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. outside the rectory of Sacred Heart Church in Schnellville.

Donations collected during the event will be used for the Schnellville Sesquicentennial. Concessions will be available.

The community’s sesquicentennial celebration will take place on Sept. 18-20, 2015.