The Board
Valerie MacGillivary
Vice President
Valerie has been active with Ellensburg Theater Company since she moved to Gold Beach in 2009. She has directed a number of full-length plays including "Social Security", "Art of Murder", and "The Uninvited". There have also been several radio productions and a couple of Christmas shows over the years. She has acted as well as directed. Most recently she appeared in Red Velvet Cake Wars. You may remember a lively octogenarian. Valerie is a past board member and a current one, serving as Vice-president.
She began in theater in grade school and went on to receive a BA in Theater Arts from Pacific University. She has been directing shows, beginning in Pacific for over 50 years and still enjoys every moment. She is currently preparing a summer production.
Sue Swan
Secretary
Upon moving to Gold Beach in 1987, Sue discovered a new love in live theater, first with Willamette University’s “The Quilters”, then with Gold Beach Summer Theater’s (GBST) “Who’s on First.” Owning a hardware and pet store with her then husband, there wasn’t time or money for theater. Finding herself on her own, she ventured out to meet these local theater people, meeting her future husband who was already knee deep in tech involvement, and found herself on the board of GBST in 1993, where she’s been ever since, having served as secretary, V.P. treasurer (for nearly 20 years), president for one brief year, and now back to secretary.
It took 23 years to get her on stage in a speaking role, being eternally shy. She has now had roles in 4 plays and a radio show in addition to background parts in numerous Christmas shows, “Wizard of Oz” and “Willy Wonka.”
Being like the tall, shy person ala Garrison Keelers’s Lake Wobegon, Sue’s career path involved solitary endeavors like accounting and payroll, and hobbies involved needlecrafts and quilting, gardening, horses, and somewhere in there – writing. Years later she finally realized her passion was writing and began doing the weekly theater column in the Reporter in 2007. She hopes to write a stage play about her funny memories from Sue’s Café before moving here in 1987. If she can make people laugh, she feels her work is done.
Michael Hall
Boardmember
I moved to Gold Beach in 1981, where I started working as a waiter and bartender, and have met some wonderful people. In 1988 I auditioned for a part in a local theater group -- Gold Beach Summer Theater and The Gull Players. Catching "the theater bug," I've been actor, producer, high school teacher, and director.
Debbie Rouche
Boardmember
Debbie Roush comes to us as a half-time resident of Gold Beach (no, she's not a snowbird...she's a firebird. When it gets 100 degrees in Arizona, she bursts into flame and flies to Gold Beach!). She and her husband had been spending a good part of their summer vacation in Gold Beach in their RV, when they decided to buy a place in town in 2019.
She discovered The Rogue Playhouse when driving down Moore Street one day, and contacted Gigi Hodges about helping out at the theater. The next day she was reading a part for an actress that wasn't at rehearsal for "Just The Ticket," just to help them out - and Gigi called her the next day to see if she wanted the role, because the actress was unable to continue in the play! **Here's the water...toss..now swim!**
However, Debbie is no stranger to theatre. She got involved in theatre in high school, and performed throughout high school and college. Then performed some in Community Theater in Arizona. Life happened, and it was over 20 years before she got back onstage! In the meantime, she FINALLy got her Bachelors Degree and, in 1994, began teaching Theatre Arts at a small high school in Tehachapi, California. She taught a total of 20 years, and then retired after her husband passed, and she met Ed Roush (her current husband) and moved to Lake Havasu City, AZ
She has thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Ellensburg Theater Company since 2020, and has directed a play each summer ever since 2021. She hopes more residents of Gold Beach give theatre a try...whether onstage or backstage, and see what fun it really is! If it's "not your bag," then just come and see some awesome plays!
Evald Nelson
Boardmember
I'm a human who has done a bunch of things, seen a lot of life and has learned but one thing from the whole of my history: be the best person you can be.
I could list my accomplishments, my activities and my goals. They are extensive. Every award, every job, every gig and every friend.
But why?
All of that is passed time & memories. Elements and moments.
Would all of that buy your admiration and attention?
Would it buy your contemplation and consideration?
Why do that when I'd rather go over the lessons learned from my life, relay them and let you make your own choices: Enjoy what you've done but know more is expected. Take criticism, even from those others consider hateful. But don't take it so far the haters win by bringing you down. And they'll try with glee.
Be able to look yourself in the mirror with humility and admit reality. Perform to your best level when it's time to go. Even when you're going nowhere.
Be able to live with yourself and stand by yourself.
It's not easy. It's quite hard.
But hard choices come with life.
So live the best life you can, all the time.
Because you only get one.