Florence Little Theatre - Facts and Funnies

BIRTH OF THE “IRVING”
The Academy Award trophy has a catchy nickname, “Oscar.”
Broadway theater has the “Tony,” and Off-Broadway has “Obie.” Television has its “Emmy.”
For quite some time, Florence Little Theatre’s outstanding performance award had no nickname. Then one day, theater old-timers say, Ronald Sopkin asked someone to “hand me one of those ‘Irvings.’”
He was kidding, but it got a chuckle, got repeated, and before long it stuck.
Now at the end of each season, FLT has an awards night and presents Irvings for the outstanding performances in each show.

THE FLT GUILD
Though Florence Little Theatre traces its background to the Pinewood Players of the early 1920s, the Florence Little Theatre Guild was not formally established until Oct. 13, 1947, in a meeting at the old YMCA which fronted Ravenel Street downtown.
At that meeting, the first bylaws were adopted, and George Glass, Sylvia Stein and Mary King were elected officers.
They went on to get rights to the old air base movie house that was to be the FLT home until the move to Cashua Drive in 1968.
The male volunteers built the stage while the women stitched together their first show curtain, according to the FLT history.

JEBAILY’S FINE DEPARTMENT STORE? (There is a pic in hi res for this one if needed)
A little recognition for a volunteer came in the first FLT production of “My Fair Lady.”
The audience was dazzled by the gowns and hats for the women in that production. Those were made from scratch by the costume department, led by John Jebaily’s pattern-making and his wife’s (Sylvia) inventions for hats.
There was a line in the play in which Tommy Rogers, who played Col. Pickering, was asked, “Where does one purchase a gown?”
According to the script, Rogers was supposed to reply, “Why, at Sotheby’s, of course,” but when the time came before the audience, he said, “Why, Jebaily’s, of course.”
Legend has it that the Jebailys nearly fell out of their seats.

ON CUE
Once when FLT was doing “Ten Little Indians” at the airport theater, a technical problem reared its ugly head.
There were supposed to be sounds of seagulls in the background at one point, but the tape jammed and Carter Byrd, who was involved with the sound system, primitive as it was out there, could not get it to work.
The seagull sound was crucial to lines that followed, so there was a long uncertain pause on stage as actors waited for the sound and wondered what to do if they did not hear it.
Suddenly, Byrd jumped out from behind a curtain and shouted “Seagulls! Seagulls! Seagulls!” providing the necessary cue to get the show rolling again.

NO REST FOR WEARY RESTROOM SEEKERS
Restrooms have been nearly as legendary in FLT history as stage productions.
There’s still talk about the tiny, primitive airport theater occupied for 20 years. At one time, there was only an audience restroom off the tiny lobby and no facilities backstage — you couldn’t flush during a performance because it could be heard by the entire audience.
So people who felt the “call of nature” usually had to grin and bear it. For real emergencies, there was a small wooded patch nearby. Later, the cast and crew got a bathroom of their own backstage when a small addition was made.
Likewise, one of the most commented-upon shortcomings of the Cashua Drive theater was the long lines to the restrooms at intermission.
So it stands to reason that one of the first things veteran FLT people want to check out at the new Dargan Street site is the restrooms. Thank goodness, there will be lots more opportunities for speedy “relief” in the new facility.

THE SOPKINS
Ronald and Doris Sopkins’ contributions to FLT have been many, including donations of fabric for costumes and a curtain all sewn at their plant, Wentworth Manufacturing Co.
When opening night of the Cashua Drive theater neared and word was received that shippers would not be able to get the seats there in time, Sopkin sent Wentworth trucks to Texas. They hauled them back and had them installed with little time to spare.
One of the pleasant memories of FLT old-timers is the opening night parties which for years usually were held in the ballroom of the Sopkins’ home.
Both were long-time members of the FLT board, and Ronald Sopkin served as president and worked all kinds of ways. Stories even tell of him sweeping the stage — something not in his job description.