Pentacle People

Lifetime Member Spotlight: Ed Schoaps

By Susan Schoaps
Ed Schoaps was born in Cagliari, Italy to a Romanian-American soldier and the beautiful Italian girl he met while stationed there during World War II.  They sailed for America when Ed was four, landing in Philadelphia on July 5.  He grew up in and around Detroit, Michigan and attended college at Michigan State University, where he obtained a degree in Landscape Architecture.  He made his way to Oregon, where he worked for the State Parks and Recreation Department, and assisted with the design of many parks around Oregon, including Silver Falls, Willamette Mission, and Shore Acres.  In 1985 he switched careers to Public Affairs, and worked for the Department of Transportation until “retiring” in 2004.  He now works for Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations company, as a Senior Account Supervisor.
Ed’s theatrical debut was as the “First Brownie” in the Christmas play when he was in the second grade.  He had a radio show in college, and played banjo, guitar, washtub bass, spoons and kazoo “of course” in two folk groups.  He first discovered Pentacle Theatre through his friend, Kathy Straton, who convinced him to audition for The Threepenny Opera in 1976.  Ed was cast in the role of Charles Filch.  Over the past 31 years, Ed has been involved in numerous productions at Pentacle, including Night of the Iguana, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and Peter Pan in the role of Captain Hook, which he cites as one of his favorite roles.  He was seen onstage most recently in Rough Crossing.  Ed has also appeared onstage at The Elsinore, and directed How the Other Half Loves at pentacle.  He served two terms on the Pentacle Governing Board, and as President for several years.  He also served a Chair of the Fundraising Committee for The Pentacle Project.
Ed and his wife, Susan, met at the theatre during the production of The Odd Couple, and Ed proposed to her during the run of Jake’s Women, which Susan directed and which started Ed in the role of Jake.  Their wedding was held on the Pentacle stage, was directed by Cec Koontz and co-starred Pamela Abernathy as the Judge.
Ed’s favorite thing about Pentacle is the variety of ways that are available to “live your dream,” whether that be onstage, directing, or backstage.  He believes that we have an obligation to make life richer and to give something back in our community.  He is glad for the opportunity to do so as a part of Pentacle Theatre.

In addition to his dedication to theatre, Ed finds time for other hobbies.  He and his wife are avid SCUBA divers, and have traveled to Fiji, Palau and British Columbia for dive trips.  Ed is also a gourmet cook, and loves to entertain friends and family.  He lives in Salem, with his wife, daughter Elizabeth, and son Antonio.

Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa McGowan

by Sherry Calahan

Melissa McGowan was first introduced to Pentacle Theatre in 1996 at the tender age of 5 when her parents, Doug and Mary, volunteered in the production of “Light Up the Sky.”   This fostered an early love and connection with the theater as she “hung out,” observed and met new people.  Her parents volunteered for one other production during that year, but eventually lost touch with Pentacle. 

Melissa has recently come back to Pentacle as a volunteer in the Ticket and Business Office.  I met Melissa, (affectionately called ‘Missy’) right after her 15^th birthday when my son “adopted” her and her family during a time of hardship for them.  Over the years, I’ve developed my own personal friendship with Missy and ‘adopted’ her myself. 

Last year we had some staffing changes in the office and felt we could use another volunteer to help with some office duties as well as covering the ticket desk at breaks.  I immediately thought this would be great training for Melissa of office and computer skills as well as customer service.  Melissa celebrated her 18^th birthday last October. Her help in the office has been invaluable as she has covered for vacations, lunches, and appointments, basic filing and data entry as well as help stuff and assemble our many hundreds of season ticket orders.

 Melissa just completed her GED at Chemeketa and has enrolled for Spring term of her college classes working toward an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. 

Most recently at Pentacle, Melissa took part in training of our Theatre Manager software and upgrades.  During this training, we acquired more skills and knowledge of the many features of our software program including how to manage our database of volunteers and members and how to keep it up to date.  Our Volunteer Coordinator, Peg Pink, was impressed by Melissa’s diligent note taking and understanding of computers that come with being young in the computer generation. As we put our new knowledge and skills to work, you can bet that Melissa will be a valuable asset to inputting all the important information that is necessary in keeping these records. 

 Melissa says she love the dynamics of Pentacle Theatre’s Business and Ticket Office and really enjoys working here.  She will continue to grace our office with her smiling face 2-3 days a week as we work around her new school schedule.

Now you have been introduced to the person behind the voice when you call us and you hear “Pentacle Theatre ticket office, this is Melissa”.