Much to the surprise of Angela Miloro-Hansen, individuals from across Geauga County were packed shoulder to shoulder in Chardon’s Heritage House Feb. 4 as local theater company Curtain 440 celebrated its five-year anniversary.
Much to the surprise of Angela Miloro-Hansen, individuals from across Geauga County were packed shoulder to shoulder in Chardon’s Heritage House Feb. 4 as local theater company Curtain 440 celebrated its five-year anniversary.
“I truly expected about 40-50 people,” company founder Angela Miloro-Hansen said in an email Feb. 7.
While she was uncertain of the actual number of attendees, she estimated it to be somewhere between 100-125.
“It was wonderful to see so many more,” she said. “It was even more fantastic to see so many people I didn’t personally know.”
The event sported a raffle, a preview of the company’s upcoming performance of the musical “Mean Girls,” and the unveiling of the summer season’s lineup of shows. The latter two were received with enthusiastic and deafening applause.
This coming summer, Curtain440 will feature two workshops — Children ages 6-12 will have the opportunity to participate in “Winnie the Pooh Kids,” while those aged 12-16 will be able to participate in “Frozen Jr.”
The latter sparked nostalgia for many in the room, having been the first production Curtain440 put on as a company five years ago. The mainstage production will be “The Wizard of Oz.”
“We wanted a show that could feature all ages from kids through adults, that had singing roles and dancing roles and non-singing and non-dancing roles — something for everybody,” Miloro-Hansen said of the process to pick a fifth anniversary mainstage show.
Despite the excitement of the announcements, the phantom of the currently vacant Geauga Theater was present, with Miloro-Hansen noting while Berkshire High School has been secured for all three performances, she is open to moving.
“You know where we’ll be if we don’t get it and we will continue to work to find a home,” she concluded, reminding the audience that the city has many considerations to take into account for who will be moving into the theater.
The creation of Curtain440 was originally announced Feb. 10, 2019, with their first performance March 23 of that year. Miloro-Hansen said about 65 programs have been put on since then, ranging from mainstage to acting classes.
“I try to offer at least one show a season for everyone,” Miloro-Hansen said of the company’s typical lineup.
Curtain440 offers a teen program called Rep440, mainstage musicals and plays, and youth workshops. While the mainstage musicals are often spectacle productions and the mainstage plays err towards the classics, Rep440 productions have been known to focus on historical or socially relevant stories and youth workshops are chosen for the fun of the experience.
Miloro-Hansen got her start in community theater through a youth production by the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild in 1999 and first began teaching acting classes at age 16. She described the Geauga Theater as her childhood home.
“I always knew that I wanted to share the passion for theater with everyone and never stopped,” she said, describing running her own company as something that had been a dream.
“When the timing was finally right and the opportunity presented itself to me in early 2019, it was finally time to make that dream a possibility,” she said.
In the time since its inception, Curtain440 has undeniably grown and changed, becoming less of a pipe dream and more of a certainty.
“We started our rehearsals above the Beans Coffee Shop in Chardon Tomorrow’s offices before moving to our current rehearsal space at Celebration Lutheran Church, a true godsend to Curtain 440,” Miloro-Hansen recalled. “On days that space isn’t available, we rehearse in cast’s houses, outside, in whatever Chardon facilities we can find. The early days were full of uncertainty of where we would be each day.”
This uncertainty was compounded when only a year into Curtain440’s existence, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions shut down live theater.
“I remember watching all the sports events come back throughout the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 and yet not being allowed to gather audiences for a theater production and feeling so stuck and hopeless,” she said. “I still have a letter on my fridge door from one of my then-10-year-old students saying, ‘I can’t wait for theater to come back.’”
Miloro-Hansen has also watched the cast and crew around her grow and change in skill and confidence.
“Kids who were in our first shows and were so shy and barely audible now are some of our most confident and consistent teen actors,” she said. “The growth with everyone involved has been wonderful.”
The actors and crew present at the anniversary event had nothing but positive things to say about their time with the company.
“I love the people,” said David Rentz, who is playing Damian in “Mean Girls,” his second production with the group. “Not only the instructors and the directors that are so nice, but the people I work with and the people I act with and interact with. They’re so comfortable and they’re so open to trying new things and meeting new people, and they’re all so friendly.”
Trinidad and Michaela Snider, who have been with the company since the beginning, also praised the community.
Trinidad expressed her respect for Curtain440’s accomplishments.
“Angela is multi-talented. She can direct, she can do props, she can choreograph, she builds sets with her husband. It’s pretty impressive what she’s done here for five years. Especially without having an actual facility that they live in,” she said.
Michaela, who plays Gretchen in “Mean Girls,” echoed David’s thoughts on her acting cohort, adding, “I’ve created friendships that I know I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
