Flicker of Fame, An Old-Time Radio Drama With Music
Flicker of Fame, An Old-Time Radio Drama With Music

Please join us for a Virtual Fundraiser!
A virtual happy hour will kick off at 6:00 p.m. We'll be joined by special guest, Littleton Alston, sculptor of the Willa Cather statue, who will give us a behind-the-scenes look at his Omaha studio and the work-in-progress Cather statue. Happy hour will be immediately followed by “Flicker of Fame,” a modern version of a 1920s radio show. The broadcast will be presented by LoneTree Live, a troupe of writers, actors, composers, and theater professionals who have collaborated to create a multimedia production based on four stories from Youth and the Bright Medusa:
- "A Gold Slipper"
- "The Diamond Mine"
- "Paul’s Case"
- "The Sculptor’s Funeral"
To complete the one-of-a-kind experience, we'll be supplying cocktail and recipe suggestions to make your 1920s-era evening a night to remember!
Tickets for this event can be purchased through our Spring Conference registration page HERE.
LoneTree Live presents Flicker of Fame, an adaptation of four of Willa Cather’s short stories from Youth and the Bright Medusa, now celebrating its 100th publication anniversary this year. Cather was ahead of her time in her narrative depiction of the responsibilities, advantages, and emptiness contained in the unrealistic pursuit of fame.
In "A Gold Slipper," Kitty Ayrshire performs to an overcrowded house, much to the chagrin of Marshall McKann. Kitty notices the cantankerous McKann in the audience and after the concert, by coincidence, the two find themselves on the train. Kitty engages the industrialist in a cozy conversation about the nature of artists and business people, religion and the purpose of pleasure and self induglence.
"The Diamond Mine" brings us Cressida Garnet, who, because of her fame, must take care of her peculiar family and close friends. In this short musical, the narrator finds Cressida embarking on her fourth marriage with naive optimism. Will Cressida find her happiness or drown in the sorrows of her mistakes?
"Paul’s Case" is a story about a young man lost in a fantasy of success and fame, who will lie, cheat and steal to bring them to fruition, even if only for a moment. This adaptation combines Cather’s richly composed narration with multimedia components of Paul’s crime, fantasy and tragic end.
In "The Sculptor's Funeral" Harvey Merrick, a famous sculptor, has died. His body is sent back to his rural hometown where only Merrick's mother and one former student seem to care about his death. Scott Working’s adaptation of "The Sculptor’s Funeral" takes us right to the dramatic confrontation between those who recognize Merrick's genius and those who are blinded by their own failures and jealousies.
Julia Hinson- Director, Adapter, Actor, Sound Designer, Video Editor
Julia Hinson is a freelance theatre director and acting teacher and serves as Executive Director for Lost In Found in Memphis, Tennessee. She has an MA in Theatre from the University of Nebraska Omaha and an MFA in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School in Loughton, UK. A Nebraska native, she is thrilled to return for her third Red Cloud Opera House engagement. Her Red Cloud Opera House premiere was directing A.P. Andrews’ OH/Pioneers in 2017 and A Little Pleasure based on "A Wagner Matinee" in 2019. In 2011, she adapted and directed "Eric Hermannson’s Soul," which premiered at the Kansas CIty Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe festival in Scotland. She also co-directed a short film inspired by O Pioneers! called Fortunate Country (to be released in 2020). Other favorite directing and devising credits include Neighborhood 3, Philip K. Dick’s The Skull, Cloud Tectonics, Asleep and Awake, and Pants.
Kell Christie- Director, Actor
Kell Christie is a freelance actor and director, and a teacher. Some favorite directing credits include Lizzie, Our Town, Amadeus, and Bat Boy: the Musical. Favorite roles include Emelia (Othello), Petra (A Little Night Music), and Winnifred (Once Upon a Mattress). She holds an MFA and M Ed. She lives with her family in Memphis, Tennessee.
Steven Gary- Composer, Music Director
Steven Gary is a sound designer and freelance composer. The recipient of a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Composition from the University of Memphis, Steven plays keyboards for the band New Creations at Collierville United Methodist Church and teaches piano and French horn to aspiring musicians. Sound designs include The Sound of Music, Souvenir, Little Shop of Horrors, Our Town, and many others.
Del Delorm- Lighting Designer
Del DeLorm is a lecturer in Lighting Design and Stage Management at the University of Nebraska Kearney. A North Carolina native, he attended UNC-Asheville for his undergraduate degree as an actor and director before switching to design when he realized it meant he would get to play with power tools and electricity for a living. Del received his MFA in Theatre Production and Design from the University of Memphis, after which he spent several years in Memphis designing for companies such as Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse, and Theatre Memphis. He returned to the NC mountains when he joined the faculty of Western Carolina University, where he taught lighting, stage management, and sound for eight years, while also serving as the Technical Director of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Among Del’s favorite designs are The Consul (UM –Opera), Something Wicked This Way Comes (UM), Sideman (Playhouse on the Square), The Drowsy Chaperone (WCU), and The Birthday Party (UNK).
Edna Dinwiddie- Actor, Singer, Costume Designer
Edna Dinwiddie was most recently on the Theater Memphis stage as Abigail Adams in the Ostrander-nominated production of 1776. Prior to that she was Madame de la Grand Bouche (The Wardrobe) in Beauty and the Beast, also with Theatre Memphis. She has worked two years with a Renaissance Faire in Southern California as well as with Opera Memphis and the local interactive entertainment company Lost in Found. She has a B.A. in Theatre and also loves to work backstage, keeping her building skills sharp. She has stage managed, built costumes, sets, props, and designed lights around Memphis. When she was ten years old she played Dorothy in a community production of The Wizard of Oz.
Aliza Moran- Actor
Aliza is an actor, producer, and director in Memphis, Tennessee. She has a BFA in Performance from the University of Memphis and an MA in Educational Theatre from New York University. While at NYU, she studied educational theatre in Dublin, Belfast, and London. Aliza’s numerous acting credits that include Virginia in The Clean House, Liz Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story, Sylvia in Sylvia, Sally Tally in Talley’s Folly, and Constanze Weber in Amadeus. Aliza seeks to collaborate, create, and devise new work with local students, artists, and community members.
Franklin Koch- Actor
Franklin Koch is a reading instructor and actor living in Memphis. Some of his favorite roles include Clark in "A Wagner Matinee," which was presented at the 2019 Cather Conference, Downey in A Few Good Men, Young Man in Pillowman, Sullivan in Dracula and Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. He is especially excited to be a part of a new work and is looking forward to performing Cather's work once again.
Scott Working- Actor
Scott Working is Theatre Program Coordinator at Metropolitan Community College and Associate Artistic Director for The Great Plains Theatre Conference. He has been writing, directing, and performing for Omaha theaters for years. In 1993 he co-founded The Shelterbelt Theatre with the production of his play V of Geese. As part of Joslyn Castle's Art and Literary Festival, Scott has created dramatic evenings of the works of authors Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Willa Cather.