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chorus and is one of the fearsome “Knights of Ni.”

“The main characters are just playing one role, but almost ev-ery peripheral character is play-ing at least three roles,” Hughes said. “I think it’s coming. I think we’re going to get it done.”

“Spamalot,” a musical com-edy, is adapted from the Monty Python comedy troupe’s 1975 fi lm, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Like the motion picture, the stage version is a highly irreverent parody of the legend of King Arthur. The orig-inal Broadway production in 2005 received 14 Tony Award nominations and won in three categories, including best mu-sical.

Director Janeice Bergland has said the show features ambitious and intricate song and dance numbers and “funny, funny dia-logue” full of dark humor, slap-stick comedy and British collo-quialisms. Bergland is also the production’s set designer.

“I personally spent all day Thursday painting trees,” she said, but added that the pro-

duction seems to be coming together. “Last night I slept all night for the fi rst time. It’s going great. We’ve got really strong leads.”

Larry Michehl is in the lead role of King Arthur, while the

female lead of the Lady of the Lake will be played by Jessi-ca Schwickerath. Other main roles will be Josh Vaske-Huff as Patsy, Luke Royer as Sir Robin, Steve Hanson as Sir Lancelot, Tanner Striegel as Sir Galahad, Griffi n Franksain as Sir Bede-vere, Michael Peterson as Not Dead Fred, Erik Gordon as the Historian and the French Taunt-er, and Mike Lembke as Tim the Enchanter.

“THE VOICES ARE FABULOUS,” Bergland said. “The big num-bers are going really well, and I think people are going to just love it.”

Musical director Derek Stur-tevant has assembled a 10-piece orchestra for the production, made up of “some former mu-sic teachers, some professional players, and some former stu-dents who are alumni.”

The pit musicians are pianist Chris Cleveland, Jake Gassman on trombone, Emily Schuldt on French horn, Lyle Western and Karissa Jensen on trumpet, Scott Stroud on sax, Hayden Pleggenkuhl and Nicole Loftus on drums and percussion. Also, Isaak Jensen on guitar, Darian Cleveland on bass and guest pia-nist Harrison Sheckler.

Sturtevant said the music is intricate. Although “Spamalot” is a farcical comic parody of Broadway musicals, Sturtevant said that in order to pull off a parody, the music must be as complex as the music that’s be-ing lampooned.

“This is very serious music. We have a good solid pit to pull it off, and I’m excited about it,” he said. “We were scared three weeks out, but now we’re feel-ing better two weeks out. It’s getting better as we get closer.”

Sturtevant said that despite all the obstacles that come with putting together a large musi-cal production at a small-town community theatre, it’s the local people involved who make it a great show.

“We’re working with great, responsible and wonderful peo-ple,” he said.

So it seems that as long as Hughes doesn’t lose her note-book, “Spamalot” is going to be another stellar production by the Stony Point Players.

“It’s going to be awesome. It’s really going to be amaz-ing,” Hughes said. “It’s very fast-moving, very colorful, lots of singing and lots of dancing. If you want a good, entertaining show, this is it.”

‘SPAMALOT’Continued from page 1

located at 102 North Main, and she was recently promoted to regional director over other area zones.

Pedemonti made a stop here on her “survivors tour,” from Pennsylvania to Alaska, called “Steer Your Story.” She helps survivors of trauma reclaim a positive and healthy inner narra-tive, and helps support survivors to “heal and steer” their stories.

“She defi nitely opened my eyes regarding the other people that she works with,” Lair said. “I’m hoping to tap into demo-graphic groups like that.”

Plugged-In Iowa provides mental health peer support to adults with mental illness. The non-profi t organization’s pur-pose is to educate the public as to the value of peer support, to provide outreach to agencies that are currently utilizing peer support and to support an indi-vidual’s recovery through vari-ous peer-based services.

Lair stressed that people from every economic and social level are welcome.

Pedemonti started her current tour in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and is working her way toward Alaska. On the way, she’s made stops in Chicago, Nashville and Grand Rapids, Michigan — among many other places — and has made presentations to victims of sexual trauma, do-mestic abuse, teen-age mothers, Vietnam veterans and more.

“MY PROGRAM EVOLVED out of tools and techniques I was using myself — to fl ip my narrative — to reframe the story in my head that was more empower-ing, and more true to who I real-ly am,” she said.

“I’m a trauma survivor myself, and I recognized that my internal narrative was really limiting at times. I was letting the trauma talk, not who I really am.”

Pedemonti said her program

used to be called, “We become the stories we tell.” Changing it to “Steer Your Story” is empow-ering, she said.

“I get to choose,” she said. “I steer my story, and I’m in the driver’s seat.”

Pedemonti said she may be back in Charles City in mid-Oc-tober, and teacher Cassie Mi-chael was happy to hear that.

Michael, who was at the pre-sentation Thursday, helped with the Charles City School Dis-trict’s trauma-informed initiative last year. She said she was hop-ing to get a conversation going to see if she could get Pedemonti into the school for a presentation.

“This might not be the last time that we see Kristin in Charles City,” Michael said.

Michael said that last fall the school district became a “trau-ma-informed school.” That is, they started with a small group of staff becoming trauma-informed and attended conferences that focused on the effects of trauma on students. Michaels was one of the facilitators to the rest of the district, and she said the informa-tion she learned opened her eyes.

“It was amazing,” she said. “We have students at home who are having to raise their sib-lings because their parents are at work, or there is abuse or ad-diction at home — those types of things. If that’s what they’re dealing with at home, their homework and participating in their schoolwork is the last thing they’re worried about.”

Michael said that Pedemon-ti’s presentation Thursday would be helpful to her and to the district as a whole when it comes to dealing with students impacted by trauma.

“As a district, and as a staff, how can we help these stu-dents to deal with that and help them achieve great things at the school?” she asked.

Pedemonti said that “Steer Your Story” is a multifaceted program that includes interac-tive workshops offering tools and techniques to shift from being stuck in trauma and neg-

ative self-image to feeling more empowered, at ease and less stressed. The result is increased resilience, self-confi dence and healthier choices and relation-ships.

“THERE IS A COMMON HUMAN condition that every single per-son has,” Pedemonti said. “Ev-ery single one of us wants to be seen, we want to be heard, and we want to be valued and we want to be understood. People who experience trauma often feel a lack in all four of those things. This is about shifting that story.”

The Charles City peer re-covery zone, which opened last year, is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The state program is paid for by the county through the Iowa De-partment of Human Services.

A mental health peer support specialist is someone who has his or her own lived experience

with mental illness, but has achieved a level of recovery that allows them to help others who have a mental illness.

Lair said that she’s had good response since she started in Charles City late last year, and she has been trying to get more people to come more regularly.

“Some people just want to do it so they can take a deep breath, and they’ll come in once,” she said. “Some people come in on a steady basis and enjoy it. They say their lives are richer for coming in and just having peo-ple to spend time with in a con-fi dential and safe environment.”

Some of the things recently added to the local peer recovery agenda include goal-setting and home visits, Lair said.

“I would say that if someone wants to meet and they’re still nervous about coming here, and being seen, this is a great oppor-tunity,” she said.

TRAUMAContinued from page 1

Press photo by James Grob

The Lady of the Lake, played by Jessica Schwickerath, wonders what happened to her part during a recent rehearsal of “Spamalot” at the North Grand Auditorium.

only way we got any news back then,” said Hess, 83.

Hess said he was told by his elders to keep his eyes to the sky for airplanes that could be bearing down on American soil. An airplane with red zeros em-blazoned on its side or wings was from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. A swastika represented Germany’s fi ghting force – The Luftwaffe.

“The red, white and blue, I was taught, was safe,” said Hess.

Hess, who resides in Prescott, Arizona, during the winter months, lives on a farm outside Bassett. He is an Air Force veteran who enlisted a year after the Korean War end-ed, fresh out of high school. He served from 1954 to 1958.

He spoke candidly about what the U.S. fl ag means to him.

“I HAVE GROWN TO under-stand that our fl ag symbolizes our responsibility as Americans to live up to the highest ideals that it represents and defend it with honesty and integrity,” said Hess. “You need to honor the fl ag and respect it.”

Hess said he has partici-pated in roughly 20 Flag Day ceremonies through Elks Lodge No. 330 in Prescott. Hess is a lifetime Elks member and joined in 1975. He has served as exalted ruler at the lodge in

Prescott for six terms.Hess served as an aerial pho-

tographer in the United States Air Force. He would sit in the blister of a B-50 bomber and scan the sky for aircraft.

“My military experience strengthened my sense of safety that our fl ag represents,” said Hess.

Hess recently received his honorary high school diploma at Charles City High School last month. He said it’s been kind of a whirlwind time in his life.

“Everything is happening at one time. It only took 65 years to get there,” Hess said, laughing about receiving his diploma.

HESS ALSO HONORED and recognized Warren Nott, a World War II veteran who was present during the Flag Day ceremony. Nott, 94, was a pri-vate fi rst class in the Army and fought with the 26th Infantry Division in one of World War II’s most important clashes, the Battle of the Bulge.

Gary VanderWerf spoke about the different historical fl ags and Jessica Hyde sang the United States’ national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Scout Troop 4166 conducted the parade of historical fl ags. Justin Heyer and Austin Con-nerly performed the bugle call, taps and echo. Mayor Pro-Tem Jerry Joerger gave the proc-lamation and Chaplain Bruce Hovden led the ceremony in prayer.

FLAGContinued from page 1