A new theater company held a free acting workshop focusing on character development on Saturday, June 1, at the Hubbard County Developmental Achievement Center (DAC).
This was the first public event for Kitchen Sink Productions, the brainchild of Lori Yeager, her daughter Frankie Yeager and daughter-in-law Faith Kahn.
Lorry said the production company was named after the genre of drama, which is intimate, small-cast production that “kind of goes straight into the living rooms and backyards of everyday middle-class working people and deals with what's going on in their culture.”
“We've all loved doing theater and the arts for a long time,” Frankie said, “I've been doing it my whole life. Faith's been doing it almost my whole life. My mom also started getting interested in theater around the same time my brother (Jake) and I started getting interested in theater. We've always loved doing theater in the community and the opportunities we have here.”
Frankie said he realized that while everyone is busy during the summer, unless you're in high school, there aren't many opportunities to do theater in the off-season.
“So we decided we wanted to create more opportunities to do theater in the offseason,” she said.
Their first performance will be a production of Lee Blessing's “Two Rooms” at the Armory Arts & Events Center in October, with auditions scheduled to take place in late August.
“I think it's an interesting story that forces the audience to see things from two different perspectives,” Faith said.
Becoming a better scene partner
Meanwhile, they performed two scenes at the Armory's open mic night, and will be running their second acting workshop at the DAC on Saturday, June 22nd, with the theme of listening to your partner in a two-person play.
Frankie graduated from Park Rapids Area Homeschool Association with an Associate's Degree in 2017. She then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts' New York campus in Manhattan to earn an Associate's Degree in Professional Studies in 2023.
She has also previously performed in the Homeschool Cooperative Theatre Program and with Northern Light Opera Company, where she played Kitty in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” an ensemble role in “Pippin” and Horse's Ass in “Hello, Dolly!”
In the Park Rapids theater community, Faith is perhaps best known for her role as Annie in NLOC's “Annie Get Your Gun.” She has also played Anybody in “West Side Story,” Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls,” Louisa in “The Sound of Music” (all with NLOC) and Dorothy in Long Lake Theatre's “The Wizard of Oz.”
Faith graduated from the Homeschool Co-op in 2012 and spent a year in the Twin Cities to pursue a career in acting, where she was in charge of costumes for Lakeville North High School and the Community Theatre.
After returning to the Park Rapids area, Faith started a children's theater company called 5th H. She also started a film production company called Band of Misfits.
Her goal with Kitchen Sink Productions is to create opportunities for artists of all kinds.
“Theatre has the power to be a vessel for many different art forms,” she says. “It's a broad medium in which many artists can collaborate to deliver a story that says something about the world we live in.”
Rory lived in the Pacific Northwest before marrying Kelly Yeager and moving to Park Rapids.
“I didn't have much experience with theater,” she says, “but my kids were very artistic and imaginative from the beginning, and as a homeschool parent, I supported that.”
“For a while I was just a mum taking my kids wherever they needed to be. When I started NLOC I was drawn to theatre and helped out wherever I could.”
Before she became NLOC's stage manager, Rory organized the props table, helped build sets, and painted scenery – all while observing the designers, technical staff, and actors at work.
“I found some techniques that I really wanted to try,” Lori says, “and I love dramaturgy. I love all the elements of it. It's a lot of fun, and I was honored that Faith and Frankie called me and asked me to help them co-found this.”
For now, Kitchen Sink Productions is self-funded, and Frankie says they're considering applying for grants, but for now they plan to accept free-will donations.
A big challenge for theater companies is scheduling, especially during the summer in tourist areas, she said.
“We've all been through it,” Frankie says, “finding the time for the production company and putting as much energy into it as we want to, because this is our passion project.”
On the other hand, she said, “There are a lot of people in their 20s and 30s who live and work here all year round, but there's not much to do in the winter. It can be hard to find a place where you can pursue your passion during that time of year.”
Part of Kitchen Sink Productions' mission is “to create those opportunities for ourselves and our community and to further build community with people who are in similar situations,” she said. “The other part is to share a message with people, start a conversation, and give people something to think about at the end of the day.”
“We want to be a company that gives people the opportunity to try different things,” Faith said.
Frankie says their adventure is scary but exciting at the same time. “It just feels like things have come together to create this opportunity,” she says.
“I'm so grateful for the community that exists in this area,” Faith said, naming her trustees. “I'm really looking forward to working with them and seeing what we can do.”
“I just want to see what happens,” Lori said. “The possibilities are endless. I can't wait to see what happens. It's going to be fun.”
