Actress/director, 87, part of group that acquired church, promotes arts in Renville
By Patricia Buschette
Bev Raske’s passion for the stage began when she was a high school freshman at Renville High School. The school’s English and speech teacher, Flora Rogge, cast Bev in a one act play. “I was hooked from then on,” Bev said.
Bev, who is a life long resident of the Renville community, graduated from high school in 1955. The 87-year-old thespian and director appreciates the arts. “I don’t know what I would do without the arts,” she said, who used to paint and draw alot in her younger years as well.
Bev became involved with The Barn Theater in Willmar years earlier. “That was in 1987, I think,” she said. “I believe I have been in 30 plays at the Barn,” she added.
An organization supporting the arts in Renville was organized as “Friends of the Arts” in 2002.
“I believe the idea came from teachers. These were people who wanted to see something for the arts,” she said. “Their mission statement was to nurture, promote and support the arts in our communities and schools. I joined three years later.”
The organization sponsored variety shows, a piano recital, chicken dinners, bus trips and photo contests. The first play, “Four Tickets to Christmas,” was presented in November of 2005.
Bev is a successful actress and director. While she has directed or co-directed five plays, Bev is emphatic. “I would rather be on stage,” she said. An agreement to direct plays was made with Diane Drager of Hector who is Bev’s niece.
“I started helping Diane,” Bev said, “and then we decided to direct together.”
There are many aspects of directorship that do not appeal to her. “I would rather not be the person totally in charge. I like the stage and people on it. I don’t like to make certain that the set is built and all that done,” she said. “I told Diane ‘I will be your gopher,’ when we started directing together.”
However, it is Bev’s presence on the stage that has resulted in her reputation as an actress who has provided light-hearted entertainment and contemplation of the mysteries of life through the many plays in which she has performed.
Bev is enthusiastic about the role of stage plays in Renville. “You always have people who love arts, music, dance and drama,” she said. “The plays produced by the Friends of the Arts are for those people – those who really, really want to keep the arts.”
The reputation of the group has spread. “There are those who said ‘I have been to a play and tell others, I think you will like it,’ so they come, invited by a friend,” she said.
Bev is clear-eyed about the fact that the casts of locally produced plays are not professional.
“This is community theater. People have to remember cast members forget lines, but there always is someone to back them up and help out,” said Bev.
She described a play in which she had no idea what her next line was. “Someone tossed me a word,” she said, helping her remember her place. “It has happened many times. Someone will give you a look. I was forgetting something when we did ‘Savanna Sipping Society.’ I was supposed to have next line. Diane looked at me and said, ‘It is your line.’ You know there are people who will back you up.”
The Friends of the Arts found that access to the stage in what was the original auditorium in the Renville School, presently Renville County West, was not always available. At that time an opportunity arose. The 140-year-old United Methodist church of Renville, renowned for it’s long and storied history, magnificent stained glass windows, and balcony seats salvaged from the Renville Opera House of the early 1900s, could no longer serve the spiritual needs of the community. The last worship service at United Methodist was on June 26, 2022. The few members that remained looked for answers to preserve their beloved place of worship. The Friends of the Arts, looking for a home, purchased the building in the summer of 2023.
“We bought the church for $1 plus attorney’s fees and costs of transfer of the title, paying a total of approximately $200,” Bev said. “People were anxious about buying the church. Some claimed we were buying a money pit, but because I have so much history with this church, I told them I thought we should do it. There was enough cash on hand to pay the bills for the first year . . . I think we can do it.”
The church had special meaning to Bev. “I was baptized, confirmed and married in this church. I could see possibilities,” she said. As she walks through the church she continues to see potential. The issue of size was raised. “The church seats 150. School performances brought in no more than 100 per show,” she pointed out.
The balcony, a unique remnant of Renville’s history, is not utilized for audience seating and presently accommodates the sound and light system.
“Andy Stauffer, in charge of lights and sound, would like us to take out the first two seats in the center of the balcony and put in a sound system and light system that is permanent,” Bev said. “We have one spotlight, that’s all we have,” she said, pointing to possibilities for future enhancement of the facilities.
We are fundraising for a wheel chair lift. Basically, it is a small elevator. The cost is $50,000 and we have $20,000.” The Friends of the Arts has worked with the Renville Lions Club at their waffle feed to raise funds.
Production space is an issue. “The Barn is a theater,” she said, adding, “the stage at the school, has two little rooms off each side. Here, it was a church.” Adjustments continue to be made. For example, the organ was moved from the altar area to make more room.
The physical space of the church is only a portion of the vision of the Friends of the Arts. The group sees a need to fill the void, teaching art.
“The school does not offer such things,” she said, disappointment clear in her voice. “There are no arts, no drama departments. We are lucky to have band and choir.” It was with some satisfaction that she added, “We fill that gap. That’s why we have programming for kids.”
The group recently planned a kite making workshop and 27 kids came to learn how to build a kite with former Renville resident and retired school teacher, Dave Herzig, Known as “The Kite Man.” Herzig had patterns for children to create heir own kite.
“We are only a year into this we have a lot of thinking and doing ahead of us,” she said. “We are hoping to have classes whether art or drawing or painting whatever happens to be.”
The group focuses on organization. “We have our members divided up to work on different things; we have a drama committee, organ committee, facility committee, and a music committee,” she said. “I am on the drama committee. The music group is considering an organ concert in the spring,” she said.
“I would love to do a cemetery walk presentation,” she said with a great deal of enthusiasm. There are so many families whose history could be told, and she enumerated examples of well-known members who had left a mark on the community.
How do you choose plays? Bev laughed, “Well, you get together with one anther and say, ‘We should do something, what do you think?’ We try to choose comedy. People love comedies. Once in a while you need to throw in a drama. You don’t get the biggest audiences,” she explained. “The last one was “The Trip to Bountiful (presented in May of 2022). This play is my favorite.”
The group tries to choose something that will attract more people, because everyone loves to laugh. Bev said that many times she chose plays on her own because no one else wanted to do it. “I would throw out an idea. They would agree. But now we do have a four-member committee for drama. That’s fine with me. I don’t want the responsibility.”
One of the things Bev is most proud of, is that over the years Friends of the Arts has given over $130,000 in scholarships “We have sent kids to see plays in Chanhassen, and scholarships up to $500 have helped kids go abroad for band and choir trips. We paid for Jack Bryan to spend a summer with the Stages Theater Company in Plymouth, Minnesota where he went to classes. Dan Knapper received scholarships for music camps,” she said.
While Bev remains active in the group, she is also looking for opportunities to pass on the torch to others.
“I am learning to say, ‘No,’” she said and has cut back on involvement. “I will unlock the door for a group and to see if anything is needed. If they don’t need me, I leave. It is a good feeling. I want more people to take responsibility.”
However, the new venue is very important to her. “This is my second home,” she said as she walked about the building, proudly highlighting the aspects of the new home of Friends of the Arts.
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