Paper Cow hits the airwaves
By Bruce Dybvik
Reporter
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 10:01 AM CDT
Fanciful, yes. But also a dream come true for Menomonie theater impresario, Kris Winter and her Paper Cow Theater.
On Sept. 18, Jason Davis, of Minneapolis’ ABC affiliate KSTP-TV 5, visited Winter and her theater to produce a segment for his “On the Road” television series. The segment is scheduled to air for broadcast on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 10:35 p.m. The show will be repeated on the same station on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m.
Davis and his videographer taped Winter as she performed as storyteller Madame Lanita before an audience of captivated children. Afterward, they shot footage of the theater and the 32-acre farm located five miles south of Menomonie. The bucolic setting and fanciful theater were chosen as the background for other segments in the series Davis produced. He will be seen introducing the segments from the stage of the theater, while Winter and her performance will be featured as a separate segment in the series.
Winter and her Paper Cow theater were called to Jason Davis’ attention by a friend who e-mailed him about the unique setting and entertainment to be found at the theater.
“My dear friend Kobi Shaw thought we were worthy and contacted Jason about our theater,” Winter explained. “As it turns out, he was producing a series called ‘Homegrown Entertainment,’ and he thought the venue would be perfect for his show.”
Davis said that the purpose of his visit was two-fold.
“First,we want to tell the story of Kris, her magnificent barn theater, and her story-telling and contribution to the theater regionally,” he said. “Second, we want to showcase Kris as part of our “homegrown entertainment” series. Along with the story about Kris, we feature stories about a kid from Minneapolis who puts on a really big show called ‘Backyard Broadway.’ Other segments include a young man from Minnesota who is a clown in Baraboo at the Circus World Museum, and some jug bands in Duluth.”
Winter, who bills her theater as “a grand stage in a classic barn” features many activities throughout the season in the restored 1916 dairy barn.
The theater takes its name from “Isabelle,” the life-size papier-mache cow who lives on the first floor, while the loft has been converted into a fully-appointed stage theater.
Winter hosts drama camps, dramatic play days, various storytelling festivals and theater/barn tours at The Paper Cow all summer long. On Saturday, Oct. 4 — the day before her KSTP air date — Winter is hosting the theater’s season finale with an evening production billed as “Scary Storytellers Festival” running from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For information about The Paper Cow Theater, call (715) 235-0508, or go to papercow@wwt.net.
Bruce Dybvik can be reached at bruce.dybvik@lee.net. |
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