FEATURES
• Musical Marvels

The nationally-acclaimed script which was written by Roger Bean features two women up to their elbows in soap suds and cheatin’ boyfriends at the Wishy Washy Washateria. The two join forces and help each other discover their own true potential – which includes one of them fulfilling her dream to become a country western singer. Songs throughout the two hour performance include the music of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and The Dixie Chicks.

Performing the show will be Cara Ayres and Beth Schreiber both from Stevensville, MT. Ayres has strong ties to the Angus breed as she grew up on an Angus operation in Oregon, was Miss American Angus in 1991, and presently her husband Tom manages an Angus herd at the Wheelbarrow Creek Ranch near Stevensville, and they also have their own Ayres Angus cattle herd.

Of the new fundraising venue for the WNAF, Ayres says she hopes the evening recreates some of the camaraderie that the Auxiliary Women’s Fun Nights of the past did. She says, “This will be a fun change for Reno. It is a stage production, so it is different, and Beth and I are excited to put a punch of energy into the Western National show.”

Musical Roots
Schreiber and Ayres first met and became fast friends in 2003 while they were auditioning for parts at their local Stevensville Playhouse, which does community productions throughout the year.

They both had backgrounds as teachers, and were presently stay at home moms. Ayres and her husband Tom have a daughter Jonwyn. While Schreiber and her husband Tim have two young boys, Benjamin and Garrett.

Both women say they were prompted to seek out community theatre because they grew up in musical families, and they felt they were at a point in their lives where they needed a creative outlet.

Schreiber tells that both her mother and grandmother were brilliant musicians and were regular performers at their local community theatre. Her grandmother even had a bit part in an old Jackie Chan movie.

Ayres’s parents Bob and Erma Pascalar were also musical. Bob had a band which Erma often sang in. While ranching and Angus cattle were their livelihood, music was a fun hobby for the couple – and helped pay their rent in the early years, Ayres says. As a college freshman, Ayres herself started singing professionally in a band – a gig which lasted eight years and helped pay her way through college and graduate school while also paying for some of her expenses to show cattle.
But as family and careers took precedence over the years, Ayres and Schreiber put their love for music on hold. Then, when they met via the Stevensville Playhouse in 2003, their friendship helped foster new musical dreams for the duo.

Since then, the two have performed together in several musicals for their local community theatre – including Ruthless, Dear Old Butte, and She Loves Me. They also joked and brainstormed over the years about becoming a performance team, but didn’t quite know how to make that a reality.
Then, they were brought the two-woman script Honky Tonk Laundry and were asked to perform it for the Stevensville Playhouse in early March 2008. All nine shows were sold out to rave reviews – which not only made history in their small community but ignited the spark needed for Ayres and Schreiber to found their own musical entertainment group which they today call “Take Two.”

Ayres recalls that during their final performance of Honky Tonk Laundry, Ankony Farms President Tom Hill was in the audience and thought the show was fantastic. As well, rock music legend Huey Lewis – who owns a farm in the Bitterroot Valley – was in attendance, and after the show, his exact words were “I loved it!” Ayres says, “He let us know that we were good enough to take the show on the road.”

Of their new entertainment venture, Schreiber adds, “We both have kids in school now, and we both were aching to go back to work in some form. Nothing brings us more joy than performing, so it was an obvious choice.”

Behind the scenes, Ayres and Schreiber say their husbands and parents have given them overwhelming support – and courage – to step out with their own entertainment business.

Ready for the Road
Schreiber and Ayres have spent the past several months getting their Honky Tonk Laundry performance ready for the road. They have dates set this spring in Missoula, MT, and for a local fire department fundraiser before they will debut at the WNAF in Reno.

As the future unfolds, the women are eager to stretch their own creative muscles and write some of their own scripts to perform – as well as even possibly record a CD. They are exploring all options for their performance line-up from corporate functions and retirement parties to entertainment at production sales or Angus Foundation events, but they hope to focus most on working with non-profits and organizations holding fundraisers.

“We decided to focus on fundraising efforts since that not only fills us, but important causes as well. Cara and I both feel very strongly about making a difference in this world that our children are now stepping in to,” Schreiber says.

Ayres adds, “We see this as a creative, new and innovative way to fundraise, that also allows people to walk away from the event with a good feeling.”

Schreiber concludes, “When people leave the show I hope they are walking out laughing…I hope that we’ve brought them the gift of turning off the world for two hours and that they can simply enjoy the show. We hope our audiences have a sheerly blissful experience.”

For more information about Take Two e-mail taketwo@q.com. Their website is currently being developed and in the meantime, they do send out updates about their performances via e-mails.
For more information about tickets to the Honky Tonk Laundry performance at WNAF contact: James Danekas & Associates at 916/362-2697. Tickets are $25.00 per person, there will be no VIP seating, tickets are on a first come first serve basis. The show will begin at 7:30 pm on April 26th at the Grand Sierra Hotel. The doors will open at 7:00 pm. DON’T MISS OUT!