Startup theater group fulfills dreams

It was Jim Mohn’s aspiration of writing a play that first drew him to the world of theater 20 years ago.

He soon realized that it was acting that would keep him there.

“There are lots of great plays out there, I don’t need to write any more,” he said. “I would rather just act in them.”

Mohn, 46, has been in about 40 local shows, starting out as a character actor and later playing lead roles for mostly Whitefish Theatre Company and Flathead Valley Community College productions.

“I lost 50 pounds five years ago, and it opened a lot of opportunities I didn’t have for lead roles,” Mohn said. “Character acting is a blast, but it’s gratifying to be trusted with lead roles.”

He will be among the first actors to be seen with the newly formed Stumptown Players, playing the lead role as the husband in the company’s inaugural show, “Sylvia.”

His character in the comedy is in the midst of what Mohn called a classic midlife crisis; his job is changing in unwelcome ways, his children are off to college and he’s at a loss about his future.

“He finds a dog in the park and uses that dog as someone to listen to him thinking out loud when he works through issues,” Mohn said.

Mohn did the play 15 years ago and played three different characters.

“This one is as different as night and day,” he said.

The Stumptown Players are a group of mostly veteran actors whose names will be known to those who follow theater in the Flathead Valley. Mohn said he was shooting a commercial with fellow actor Tony Hernandez, and during a coffee break, Mohn shared his dreams of starting his own company.

Hernandez said another friend, Helen Hanson, had the same idea, and the Stumptown Players took off. Mohn is now president of the board.

Mohn said most of the group plans to maintain their status as members of entities such as the Whitefish Theatre Company. The Stumptown Players plan to create a niche for actors in the summer, and also hope to make use of the summer availability of facilities such as the O’Shaughnessy Center, where “Sylvia” is being staged.

Launching a new theater company has been a consuming task  — Mohn said he’s getting about four hours of sleep a night — but he is used to the theater filling in what little free time he has.

Mohn is used to a hectic schedule, though, as a single father, he knows it’s a bit of a sacrifice for his children when he’s involved in a show. They also realize, though, that he is happiest when he has an acting job, he said.

This summer, after his day of work with the Flathead County Road Department, Mohn does his best to spend time with his two teenage boys before heading off for rehearsals almost nightly. They’ve put in about 15 hours a week in rehearsal.

“We only get three days in the theater itself,” he said. “Normally we get six weeks in the theater with a Whitefish Theatre Company play.”

The company has found makeshift spaces for rehearsals such as the outdoor decks and garages of its members.

“And the mosquitoes have been vile this year; we’re covered in mosquito spray while we’re trying to work,” he said. “It’s kept the atmosphere lighthearted.”

Mohn was born and raised in Whitefish, graduating from Whitefish High School in 1982, and worked for the road department as a summer job when he was in college. After graduating with a political science degree from the University of Chicago and a teaching degree from the University of Montana, Mohn came back to the Flathead Valley and, not finding a teaching position, came back to the road department as a heavy equipment operator.

In 2000 he moved to the sign department and now is in charge of the county’s 6,000 signs, working alone three months of the year. He created a database to keep track of the signs and does everything from installing the signs to putting them back up when they’ve been knocked down to dealing with vandalism and theft.

“It’s unbelievable how many people destroy or steal signs,” he said. “People’s tax dollars are really wasted on signs. It’s shocking how much.”

Mohn is well aware of the financial pitfalls that can ruin a theater company. The Stumptown Players are trying to start out in a fiscally responsible manner, he said. The company includes a diverse group who are grounded in money matters, including Russ Moes, of Meadow Lake Resort, and Michelle Keener, an accountant, plus others who run small businesses.

“I can see if you had a bunch of people who only act trying to do this, it could be a prescription for disaster,” Mohn said.

How the first play goes financially will determine what happens next for the Stumptown Players, Mohn said.

“When we’re done, we’ll get our bills paid and take stock of where we are,” he said.

Whatever happens, he already has plans to direct “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Flathead Valley Community College this winter. 

He said his directing skills have been developed through watching his own directors through the years. He was never involved in acting in high school or college, and has no formal training, but has always had an affinity for the world of literature and theater. He has loose plans to earn a degree in theater after possibly retiring from the county in five years or so.

Mohn said the theater gives him a great outlet from his job and an affiliation with a community of like-minded people.

“It’s a fraternity of artists and people who love the arts,” he said. “That’s all community theater is; just a group of people.”

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.