The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Senior center and social services to benefit
By Sheila Pursglove, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2007
A goofy spoof on beauty pageants will raise smiles while also raising money for the Saline Area Senior Center and Saline Social Services.
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"Peasant Pageantry," by local troupe The 3rd Peasant from the Right offers performances 8 p.m. May 4 and 2 p.m. May 5 at Liberty School, 7265 S. Ann Arbor St., in Saline.
The peasant pranksters - Judy Bateman and Kate Restrick of Saline, Carolyn Croley of Dexter, Carolyn Norton of Ypsilanti and Mary Anne Martin of Ann Arbor, with pianist Tammy Schoenfeldt tickling the ivories - will offer a fast-paced 90-minute variety show of skits, songs, dances, black light and more, in a performance for everyone from kids to adults.
"We'll play five beauty queens who've made it to the finals," Restrick said. "The performance will follow the sections of a traditional pageant - the talent portion, evening gown, swimsuit competition, interview questions and judging. You'll also see backstage in the dressing room, the stuff that happens behind the scenes.
"There will be plenty of funny music and pretty music, and we take liberties with a lot of songs."
Restrick, an administrator at the University of Michigan, enjoys writing song parodies. The women -- whose motto is, "We don't care if you laugh with us or at us, just as long as you laugh" -- do their own writing, choreography, vocal arrangement, costumes, props and stage setting.
The five are no strangers to community theater, having trod the boards with the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, Goodtime Players, Saline Area Players and Dexter Area Players.
And where does the oddball name come from? Members of the quintet have been listed on playbills as a pumpkin, a tree, or "the 3rd peasant from the right."
The women finally got top billing in 1995 when they created a variety show to benefit a local charity.
"Mary Anne Martin invited about 25 women with theater experience for a shindig at her house and to plan a benefit," Restrick said. "Five of us were able to make the commitment."
It was going to be a one-time event, Restrick said, but turned out to be just a beginning. Seven original variety shows and several encore performances later, the Peasants, who rehearse weekly at Martin's home, are still performing and raising money for nonprofit organizations such as Ozone House, Safe House, S.O.S. Community Services, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
They also perform three or four times a year for nursing homes, church groups, women's groups, senior centers, and other community organizations throughout Michigan and Ohio, Restrick said.
"Many years later we're still doing it," she said. "It's wonderful to be able to give back to the community and have such a good time doing it."
Tickets for "Peasant Pageantry," ranging from $8 to $10 for adults, $5 to $8 for seniors and $3 to $5 for children, are available at the Saline Area Senior Center and at the door.
The SASC will use their portion to help with the Meals on Wheels program, said Pam Molascon, the center's recreation specialist. Members of the center, along with members of Saline Newcomers Club and St. Andrews Church, volunteer to serve 480 meals a month prepared at the Evangelical Home, Molascon said. The Saline Senior Center organizes the volunteers, coordinates the routes, answers questions and does the billing for the program.
The Meals on Wheels program is very important to the community, enabling many senior citizens to remain in their homes with minimal assistance, improving the quality of their lives, Molascon said
"Both the senior center and the social services feel very honored to be this year's selected organizations for the fund-raiser, and we want to thank these performers for their hard work and generosity," she said.
For more information, call 429-9274.
Sheila Pursglove is a freelance writer. She can be reached at bingley51@ yahoo.com.
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