Perfection is what Jeani Coleman strives for at H.M.S. Productions, a theatrical production company housed in the Harvester Presbyterian Church in Springfield.
Even at the community theater level, "good enough" is not good enough for Coleman. On the set at Harvester, just reciting the lines doesn't cut it.
"I really work with my actors to put on a first-class play. They have to ‘own’ their characters, they have to grow into them, become the character," she said.
Coleman teaches her students and makes demands in an amateur theatrical atmosphere where there are no paychecks or contracts to keep people from walking out. Coleman says it's the love of acting that keeps things from falling apart.
"It's a bug, people love to be on stage," she said.
Not just anybody can get up and act. There has to be some natural ability, according to Coleman.
"You can teach and train so much, but you need to have something to start with. To me, if your actors don't have it together, you don't have a play," she said.
Church administrator Carol Stadig had no acting experience but tried out for a play anyway. Stadig ended up with a part in one of Coleman's plays.
"It's something I had never done before," Stadig said. "You have to become the person. She took me and worked with me."
Harvest outreach coordinator Luke Godshall sees Coleman inspiring people in that way.
"She inspires people, quality breeds quality," he said.
Godshall comes to all her productions, where he notices familiar faces.
"She has a high standard, people come back two and three times," he said.
THE COLEMAN HOUSE in Burke is an artistic Mecca. Husband Steve Coleman is in radio broadcasting with the Associated Press radio; Jesse, 16, composes music on the piano; and the black poodle even dabbles on the stage.
"Molly the poodle had a walk-on in a Shakespeare play," Steve Coleman said.
Coleman's theatrical experience started in college at the University of Texas at Austin. Although she didn't major in theater, she developed a love of it which took off after she left. Her artistic talent rubbed off on Jesse, who picked up piano quickly and now does the music for her productions.
Coleman started the drama ministry at Harvester in September 1999 and founded H.M.S. Productions the following spring. H.M.S. stands for "he's my savior," she said. She's done "Our Town," and "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe," with the church. Many of the cast come from the church, but she's looked outside the church as well. Recently, the church suffered a blow when a spin-off church started in Woodbridge, taking 100 of Harvester’s congregation with it.
Although Coleman lives in Burke and the church is in Springfield, she hasn't done anything with the Springfield Community Theater. She is the drama director at Harvester and teaches drama classes there also.
"I've never been to any of their plays, I'm so busy," she said, but she admitted the temptation to be a critic is sometimes overwhelming.
"I'm a terrible critic," she said.
The upcoming spring production, "Family Outings," is a three-act play dealing with "topics of marriage, offspring and disillusionment," according to Godshall. The play features a husband and wife, John and Charlie, who are having marriage troubles, and son David with his fiancee, Beth. The whole play takes place in a mountain cabin involving two plots. From now to opening day, April 4, Coleman will work with the characters.
"I've already got the play all blocked out," she said.