Dennis O'Connor - No he's not sleeping on the job, It was his character in the play.

From the first day we visited the historic Crighton Theatre, Dennis O'Connor was there to answer our questions and provide us with invaluable advice about how to maneuver the idiosyncracies of this nearly hundred-year-old theatre.

Dennis, who has served as Master Carpenter for Stage Right, the resident theatre company at the Crighton Theatre, before his retirement earlier this year, opened his scene shop to us and gave us the run of the place to accommodate our very short turn around time to build our set and produce our show. As the process developed, the Director of Dust Bowl Motel, Melissa Miller, ask Dennis take a part in the play. Dennis, who is an accomplished actor consulted with his son Adam and agreed to take the part of one of our bar patrons. Dennis gave it his own unique character which garnered a good laugh from the audience. Dennis and Adam were always among the first to arrive at the theatre and always a mainstay backstage.

At our Sunday Matinee performance, the City of Conroe experienced an electrical blackout. Dennis who understood the intricacies of the theatre became a calming force backstage and suggested we open the west facing back doors and allow the natural sunlight in and showcase the play as it would have been done a hundred years ago. After a short intermission, the show went on. Not a single person left and odds are it will be a theatre experience they will always remember.

Dennis O'Connor, a true theatre professional and all around good guy, was the kind of "Good People" that helped make Dust Bowl Motel a big success.

http://www.DustBowlMotel.org