~by Brian Blair
Sidney Bolam and Brenden King’s mutual attraction and eventual love began many years ago in their hometown of Lafayette, when they both performed in a high school play. And now the couple’s teens, Theo and Violet, also share the interest in theater and performing.
Sidney’s latest role is that of costume designer for the Brown County Playhouse community theater production of the classic musical White Christmas to be performed on Dec. 4-6, 11-13, and 18-20 at the 400-seat venue.
“Our kids have been going to shows with us since they were babies,” she said. “They’re very, very naturalized to arts environments and being around eccentric other artists.”
Sidney is a stone carver and Brenden is a pharmacist, but they are just as busy with the extracurricular activities of their teens as they are their own careers.
Theo is the drum major in the Brown County High School Eagles marching band and Violet is in show choir. Both are a part of the school band.
All family members were part of A Christmas Carol a few years ago at the Playhouse.
At home, Sidney and the clan care for dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and sometimes more exotic animals like lizards and a tarantula.
Her voice softens when she recalls that every cast member of a show she was in last year lost a pet during rehearsals. “I think I’m just a passionate person,” she said. As she explains her love of tattoos, she removes her sweater and shows a bit of each lower leg under her floral dress.
She is walking artistry. And she loves the fact that theater people are “mushy ” and “emotionally authentic” to accept in her what others may see as quirkiness.
Her artistry includes makeup for the Playhouse’s Christmas production last year of It’s A Wonderful Life, done in all black and white like the Frank Capra movie. She painted actors’ faces and hair for an opaque look.
High School senior Theo’s focus has moved away some from the theater productions so he can serve as the high school drum major.
Brenden has been active with the band boosters.
“It’s amazing how much I’ve seen him grow and mature while being in a leadership position, ” Brenden said.
He also admires his freshman daughter Violet’s immersion in high school show choir and band, plus the Playhouse productions. Her biggest role came as Sally Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
It was Violet who really got the whole family seriously involved in the Playhouse.
“I love that she really enjoys the camaraderie and the art,” said Brenden.
The family atmosphere is one element that Sidney sees as a constant draw of her clan to the stage.
Sidney gets the opportunity to apply her artistic skills in some of the theater productions. She has a background in painting that was put to good use in effects for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow three years ago. And her knowledge of historical costuming and hairstyling makes her a good resource for a show’s authenticity.
For the upcoming White Christmas her responsibility is to outfit cast members in 1950s clothing.
“One thing I’ve learned is that the costumes and clothes can be very personal for an actor, and just when you think that you have everything figured out, you quickly discover something that a cast member is very self-conscious about,” she said.
She can relate. Sidney admits to battling fears and social jitters. In 2023, to challenge some of those anxieties, she took a solitary trip to England to visit friends—just to prove that she could do it.
She loves that a theatrical production features a range of challenges that a cast must learn as a team to circumvent in order to succeed.
And the close of every show always turns emotional.
“You’re just like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s going to end,’ and then you just love each other,” she said.
Sidney also struggles to be still and just unwind.
“I would guess,” she said, “that maybe I feel that boredom is anti-virtuous.”