Jodi Eichelberger (Alfred Bell)Jodi is an international puppeteer, actor, writer,

director, and composer. This year Jodi worked on Season 3 of LazyTown in Iceland as well as a new TV project called Zip-A-Town, shot in Shanghai, China. Jodi's musical Grimm Late Night was featured this summer at the Grand Theatre at the Producer's Club in the Times Square/Theatre district. Jodi also performed as a featured storyteller at Speakeasy Stories and The Moth in New York City. His personal narratives can be heard on his podcast at www.jodieichelberger.com. Performance highlights include Stingy on the television series LazyTown which airs in over 100 countries, and being an original cast-member of the Tony award-winning musical Avenue Q on Broadway. Before moving to New York, Jodi was featured in many Tapestry productions including Careless Rage for Life, Snow Queen, and the Christmas from Home series where he originated the role of Alfred Bell in 2001. Jodi dedicates this performance to his grandfather who served in World War II and celebrates his 85th birthday this month.

Dan Elsner (Technical Director, Lighting)

Dan first applied his life-long fascination with electricity to the stage sometime in junior high school, back in the early ‘sixties. Since that time, he has designed lighting for a diverse range of venues, ranging from concerts in cow pastures and rodeo arenas to the more sedate, traditional theatre spaces. He has designed lighting for virtually all of Tapestry's productions. In addition, he has worked with a number of other professional and semi-professional performing groups in the Portland metro area. Some recent credits include Little Shop of Horrors for New Century Players, A Piece of My Heart and Into the Woods for Canby High School, Wizard of Oz for Centennial High School, and the entire Drammy Award-winning Christmas from Home series. Dan would like to dedicate this year’s performance to the memory of his brother-in-law, CPO Larry A. Kuhlmann, a Vietnam vet who gave 22 years of service to his country in the U.S. Navy and then continued in the same duties and services as a civilian for an additional 20 years.

Vanessa Elsner (Stage Manager)Vanessa has been working in and around theater for

as long as she can remember. She is thrilled to be returning to the Christmas from Home family. She would like to dedicate her work on the show to her grandmother, Evelyn Gutowsky.

Bruce Fiebach (Jebb Logan)Bruce, whose

day job is Office Administrator for Bethany Presbyterian Church, has enjoyed a long and varied relationship with Tapestry Theatre Company. He has helped with costume, set, and program design. He has also performed in several shows, including Godspell, Enemy of the People, Our Fierce Intent, and all of the Christmas From Home shows. In addition to drama, he enjoys hiking, skiing, cooking, water-coloring, computer games, and reading. Bruce dedicates this show to his father-in-law, Colvin Caughey, who helped liberate the Mauthausen concentration camp; and mother-in-law Ruth Caughey, an army nurse who cared for the Army's 10th Mountain Division in Colorado.

Dave Fleschner (Band Director, Musical Arrangements, Piano)

Dave is excited to be returning for his fifth year with Tapestry Theatre. Dave has performed with the Oregon Symphony, the Pointer Sisters, Steve Miller, Jimmie Vaughan, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray, Mel Brown, Paul Delay and many others. He has toured internationally with the Curtis Salgado band for the last three years. Dave’s original compositions are often featured on the jazz radio

station, KMHD. Past theatre credits include Always, Patsy Cline at Sylvia’s Dinner Theatre. Dave would like to dedicate his performance to his father, Michael David Fleschner (1944-2005), who served as a captain in the Marines, stationed at the DMZ in Vietnam in 1969.

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David Ian (Sound Effects, Jimmy Barnum)

David is the founder and artistic director of his own stage production company, Unchained Productions, for which he is a director, actor, fight choreographer, Foley artist (sound effects) and playwright operating in the greater Pacific Northwest area. David is a national award-winning playwright and his adaptation of Everyman was produced earlier this year. Also earlier this year David was busy acting in theatrical productions ranging from Neil Simon's Fools to the uproarious Cannibal! The Musical. David often does live and studio sound effects work for Willamette Radio Workshop and was awarded the prestigious Portland Critic's Circle Drammy Award for his sound effects design and live performance in the original production of Tapestry Theatre's 1943 Christmas From Home. This production is dedicated to everyone currently in the armed forces.

Chelsea Janzen (Evelyn Warren)Chelsea is thrilled to be re-uniting with the cast of

1943! She played Evelyn in Tapestry's 1941 Christmas from Home in December of 2007. Chelsea has been involved with plays and musicals at Gallery Theater in McMinnville. Her most notable roles include Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea, and as Anne Gilbreth in Cheaper by the Dozen. She has been singing in churches, choirs and competitions in the Willamette Valley and Portland since she was 5 years old. Chelsea sang with the Oregon Symphony last year as a winner in the Young Artists Debut! program. This year, she won a state-wide classical voice competition, placed first in Yamhill County Fair Talent Show, and was a winner in the State Fair Talent Show. Chelsea attended Clackamas Community College for two terms this year, and is now studying at Linfield College in McMinnville. She is double-majoring in Music Education and Vocal Performance. She would like to dedicate her performance to her late grandfather, Samuel Willard, who served in the Marines during WWII.

Phillip M. Meyer (Jack Warren)Phillip is thrilled to be doing his first production

with Tapestry Theatre. Phillip has been seen recently in Portland as Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona with Portland Actor's Ensemble, Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing with Northwest Classical Theatre, Fierz in DasVadanya Mama at the CoHo Theatre, Himself in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) at the Historic Firehouse Theatre, and Constantine in Big Love at the PSU Mainstage. Phillip dedicates this, and every other performance, to the memory of his Grandmother Barbara.

Laura Myers (Connie Barnes)Laura started her professional

acting career in Tulsa, Oklahoma playing Mary in the melodrama The Drunkard. Becoming addicted to the sound of laughter aimed at her, she continued acting in San Francisco in varied improv and theatrical productions as well as music projects, singing both leads and back-up for local artists. She then took her chops to Los Angeles where sketch comedy became her life. You may have heard her voice hawking products in television and radio commercials and in the film Judge Dredd. When she is not on stage, she is a professional vocal coach. She would like to dedicate her performance to Anneka Bogardus, a friend and Marine who recently returned home after serving in Iraq.

Lt. John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109, 1943. (J.F.K. Library)

Director’s Notes

Eric Nguyen (Kenny Saito)Some of Eric’s past performances

include playing a drugged-out nurse in AOD Supertrain, a glory-hogging manager in Diversity II, and a holy icon in God Has No Religion. One of his favorite experiences was playing a lost hiker in Between Life and Death, where he learned how to do some stunt work. “I would like to dedicate my work in this performance of 1943 Christmas from Home to all the men and women of the armed services who proudly put their lives on the line to protect everything great that our nation stands for.”

Bryan Pawlowski (Trombone)Bryan is currently a freshman at Oregon State

University studying Computer Science. At Oregon State, he is involved in the Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, and various other small ensembles. He would like to thank anyone who has served the military and dedicates his performance to those brave men and women.

Robert Pawlowski (Trumpet)Robert is a student and trumpet player living in

Corvallis. He is currently in his senior year attending Oregon State University, where he is majoring in electrical engineering and minoring in music. He has been a member of a variety of groups including the OSU Jazz Ensemble, Brass Quintet, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and many others. Robert is excited to be a part of this performance, and wishes to thank everyone who has ever served to protect our country!

I think we all hope that what we do positively affects those around us. The following story has been a welcome affirmation to those of us involved with this show.

Several years ago, a woman brought her father to 1945 Christmas from Home. When our M.C. asked veterans in the audience to stand so we all could give them a round of applause, this woman was surprised that her father didn’t stand up. “I know you served,” she said. “Why aren’t you standing?” “I was in the Merchant Marines,” he replied. “We were not considered part of the armed forces.” It was obviously a point of pain for him. He had tried to enlist in the army and the navy but his color-blindness kept him out. That didn’t stop him - he served by joining the Merchant Marines, but it hurt that his service was not officially recognized by his country.

Several months after that Christmas show, Tapestry was asked to perform at Fort Vancouver in honor of the 60th anniversary ofthe end of WWII. This man had enjoyed our show so much that another

one of his daughters brought him to the event. Besides our performance, there were other presentations, displays and booths sponsored by various groups. At the booth for the Merchant Marines, the man discovered that a bill passed in 1988 retroactively gave the Merchant Marines status as veterans of the armed forces.

That connection changed his life. He’s eligible for veteran’s benefits and for care at the VA. He got in touch with other vets and goes to veteran support groups. He has a whole different demeanor, says his daughter. Proud again of the service he gave willingly, he talks about it and shares stories with his family.

We share this story and the stories on stage because of the hope and encouragement it gives to us all. We love hearing of your experiences during those amazing years. If you have a story you’d like to share, email us at info@tapestrytheatre.org. We’ll post them on our website.

Judy Straalsund

Dressmaking class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California. Photograph by Ansel Adams. (Library of Congress holds a set of photographs by Ansel Adams documenting Japanese Americans interned at Manzanar War Relocation Center.)

Writer’s NotesIn 1943 America pulled Americans from their

houses, limited their posessions to what they could carry, and moved them miles away into tar papered shacks surrounded by fences of barbed wire.

Still, no one could strip these Japanese Americans of their dignity.

This year I pored over collection after collection of photographs documenting the internment from the posting of notices, to their temporary quarters at what were essentially cattle stockyards, to their life in the camps. Amazingly, every face in those pictures was calm and resolute, with not a hint of the anger or anxiety they surely must have felt.

Internees I spoke with shared memories of dust, guard towers, and lack of plumbing; but also of bands, and dances, and ball games. In our play this year we tell the story of a family imprisoned in Idaho, yet displaying a service banner for their son fighting in the uniform of the very country that imprisoned them.

The 442nd, comprised largely of Japanese Americans, fought with uncommon distinction

through Italy, France and Germany. They became the most highly decorated military unit in the history of the United States Armed Forces.

Sixty-five years later, few of us remember the bolt of fear Pearl Harbor sent through our nation. I won’t vilify the America that supported the internment then, but today Americans overwhelmingly believe the internment was wrong.

America has apologized. We’re a better nation today because of the character of the Japanese-American response: grace.

The internees who shared their story with me have waived their right to bitterness. They’ve recognized the injustice and moved on.

The people we imprisoned for being unAmerican proved to be the most American among us.

May we embody the bravery of the 442nd and the grace of their families.

Pat Kruis Tellinghusen

Judy Straalsund (Director, Producer)Judy is the founding artistic director of Tapestry

Theatre Company which was formed 18 years ago. She’s worked as a director, actor, writer and producer both for non-profit theatres and for corporations such as Intel, Hewlett-Packard and the IRS. Whether singing about the joys of “Core Two Duo” at a high tech conference or learning how to “force quit” the computer program that is stalling out her computer or playing “Yay! Boo!” at ComedySportz, at she loves the creative teamwork involved in any dramatic production. Judy dedicates this show to her parents, Herman and Mary Urschel, who met at the University of Denver Radio Drama Club, and who married on Christmas Day, 1944, just before Herman was sent to the South Pacific. Thankfully, he came home safely and will celebrate his 93rd birthday on Maui this Christmas with his family.

Mel Tellinghusen (Drums)Mel has been playing the drums since he was ten

years old. While music has never been his sole career, he’s enjoyed performing with various bands throughout the years. He has been part of the Christmas From Home band since the show’s premiere. Mel dedicates this performance to his parents, George and Elsie Tellinghusen, who married shortly before George left to fight his way across Europe. George and Elsie were apart until well after the war ended.

Pat Kruis Tellinghusen (Playwright)Pat is the daughter of a World War II veteran, Peter

Kruis, and a nurse, Annette Van Zwol, whose nurses’ training was part of the war effort. Her father went to college on the GI Bill, an opportunity he could not have afforded otherwise. Pat spent fifteen years as a television reporter, fourteen at Portland’s NBC affiliate, KGW-TV. She now promotes national TV programming at Oregon Public Broadcasting. She dedicates 1943 Christmas From Home to the memory of her father, who loved to reminisce and would have thoroughly enjoyed this series of plays.

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