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  • San Marcos native Jonna Beck, in her role as MJ the stage manager, discusses a scene with Robert Fitzgerald who plays Scrooge in the play within a play. (Photo by Bill Graham)

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November 20, 2009

Holiday Hilarity

Jonna Beck takes center stage in Christmas comedy

By Jeff Walker

Jonna Beck is no stranger to holiday productions.

The San Marcos native made her stage debut as Santa Claus in her kindergarten play at Crockett Elementary. Not only did she have one of the few speaking roles, she remembers fondly the huge pair of fireman’s boots she got to wear playing St. Nick.

Since then, Beck has stayed behind — or below — the stage playing bassoon or trombone for musicals.

It’s taken a long time, but Beck has found her way back to the stage.

The San Marcos High School graduate is making her adult acting debut in the holiday comedy “Inspecting Carol” as the stage manager MJ. “Inspecting Carol,” the latest production by the Wimberley Players theatre troupe, opens tonight in Wimberley and runs weekends through Dec. 13.

The story is a play within a play following a small theatre company trying to pull together its annual cash-cow production of “A Christmas Carol.” Their four-day rehearsal schedule is way too scant, and the group is on the brink of bankruptcy.

“My character is the stage manager who is very driven woman. I am the one who always wants to be time conscious, who wants to get everyone else going,” Beck said. “I also kind of have a sarcastic, cynical personality, teasing the other characters or trying to hide my own emotions by ridiculing the others.”

After elementary school, Beck chose the band, picking up the bassoon at an early age and working with area orchestras throughout high school. She was the drum major of the SMHS band in 1994, graduating as the salutatorian in 1995.

Beck then attended Rice University, majoring in English and performing with the Marching Owl Band. After earning her degree, she returned to San Marcos to pursue a master’s degree in education at Texas State University.

“When I got back here, I got involved with the Starlight Symphony in its first year. I also played with the Hill Country Community Band and with the First Baptist Church in Wimberley,” Beck said.

In 2005, Beck was in a car accident and sustained head injuries. For years afterwards, she suffered from migraines and has really struggled with her memory. She decided recently that performing in “Inspecting Carol” would be a good way to “stretch those brain muscles again.”

“In school I was very successful and things came so naturally to me. Ever since that car wreck it’s taken more effort to learn and remember,” Beck said. “It’s turned out to be a great thing. The memory is coming right along. I’ve learned my lines and a lot of things have come into place, I’ve felt a new growth.”

And Beck — whose father John has been busy helping build sets for the production —continues to write and play the bassoon. She’s currently working on her doctorate in education and teaches at the Writing Center at Texas State University. She still plays with the Hill Country Community band and with First Baptist.

But this acting thing? It might be another 25 years before she returns to the stage.

“I really like the stage,” Beck said. ‘I’ve done the writing and the music. Now, I like looking at something someone else has written and interpreting it on stage... I think there will be more opportunities for me in acting.”

(“Inspecting Carol” runs tonight through Dec. 13, with Friday and Saturday performances at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. For tickets visit www.wimberleyplayers.org or call (512) 847-0575.)

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Holiday Hilarity
by By Jeff Walker , , Fri Nov 20, 2009, 09:56 AM CST
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