FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- A theatrical presentation

Story by Mathis Winkler

It’s been almost a decade since Jeanne Nininger began to showcase

plays at the Newport Theatre Arts Center.

Literally showcase, that is. Together with her husband, Jerry, the

Cliff Haven resident is responsible for the “board,” a niche in the

theater’s foyer that she decorates to give patrons an appetizer of what’s

to come.

The board is “very important to the patrons,” said Rae Cohen, the

theater group’s president. “They always ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over all the

little niceties. It’s a real conversation piece.”

Nininger sits in during rehearsals and gets a feel for the production.

A lot of directors will leave her little scraps, maybe some leftover

wallpaper, that she then uses to convey a sense of the play.

For “Fiddler on the Roof,” Jerry made her a fiddle. She’s turned woven

baskets into crowns and went low-budget for “Of Mice and Men,” for which

she collected some branches to build letters from.

Some props, such as a silhouette New York skyline, get used more than

once, but always with a certain time lapse because “you don’t want to

tire people out,” Nininger said.

She’s convinced she can find enough to put together a display in any

house.

“Everybody’s got a closet in their house that we could make a board

of,” she said. “I know it.”

When she worked in a doctor’s office, Nininger would come by on

Wednesday nights and relax while creating her latest work. She’s been

able to do it during the day as well because she retired in March to help

out with her new grandchild, who is expected to be born today.

Once the displays take shape in her mind, she takes about four or five

hours to put them up.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” she said, adding that cast

members sometimes get a little worried if the board’s not ready the day

before a premiere.

That’s when Nininger puts up a little “work in progress” sign to let

people know that she’s not quite done yet.

What about going to plays at the theater herself?

“Oh gosh, yes,” she said, adding that she and her husband also

volunteer as ushers once in a while. “We see them all.”