You’ve seen her on stage and back stage….and everywhere in between.   Mary Lloyd is perhaps the most involved person in BCP productions, since almost the beginning of our existence.   And how very, very fortunate we are to have her extraordinary talents in our midst.

Mary was born in San Angelo, Texas and later moved to Ft. Worth until she and husband Vern moved to Boquete in 2001.   They literally met on the dance floor and are still a joy to watch whenever there’s dancing to be done.    Despite a knee problem developed on her high school drill team,  Mary’s early penchant for entertaining has never died.   She began entertaining family and neighbors by standing on the dog house to sing and creating Barbie Soap Operas to the delight of everyone who knew her.   This, and her love of softball and volleyball, have kept her active through the years.

Mary’s professional career placed her in a variety of administrative positions where her enthusiastic and winning personality caused her to climb the ladder of success   Her responsibilities grew to Director of Products Business Systems, where she had the opportunity to travel in Europe while managing the Global Operations of TTI, Inc….an electronics distributor.

Upon moving to Boquete, Mary was encouraged by Phyllis McNaughton to become involved in the very young Boquete Community Players, and the rest is history.   Her first production cast her in the part of Nancy, the wife of a Vietnam Vet who traveled to the Caribbean Resort with her husband in Mickey & Squirt James’ original musical Postcards From Paradise.  She appeared as the girlfriend-juggling maid Bertha in Boeing-Boeing, then in Fat Kats as retired pole dancer Florida Gale, and as the black mother Mrs. Muller, protecting her son in Doubt.   Mary also had a hand in performing and directing in BCP Does Broadway, and producing the BCP Country/Western Jamboree and this fall’s Serenade, Spaghetti & Sweets.    Most recently, her talents expanded to costume design and production for Enchanted April.

With all of Mary’s contributions to BCP in the areas of  singing, dancing, acting, directing, choreography, lighting support, costuming and set design, who can doubt that she deserves to grace our Gratitude Corner….I know you agree.

As Mary says…..”I love performing….but NOW, I truly understand the hard work, dedication and time required behind the scenes to create an enjoyable show for your audience.  It can’t be described as anything but … An Act Of Love.”

So….when you see Mary around, be sure to tell her how much you appreciate her efforts to entertain us all…..BCP is eternally grateful to Mary Lloyd.

Our new recipient of thanks now occupying the Gratitude Corner at BCP is Rhody Edwards.  Most of the time you don’t see Rhody because he is the master of the keyboards hidden behind the black curtain, offstage to the right (stage left) during BCP Productions.   Either that, or he is busy reorganizing the tool room, building shelves or finding strange stuff hidden beneath our stage.   Without Rhody we would be in some big mess!!!

Rhody is from Tifton, Georgia, just above the Florida State Line, where he began his music by taking piano lessons in the 7^th grade.   In high school, he discovered the trumpet and joined the band….he left the piano behind.    After serving in the military as a lab technician, he came to know the healing art of chiropractic, got his degree from Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon and didn’t touch a musical instrument for the next 36 years.

While living in Kailua Kona, Hawaii Rhody met and married Lane Suarez, whom most of you know as one fine vocalist who often performs on the BCP stage.    As they began to search for a more affordable place to retire, they came across Boquete and just had that feeling that this was the right place for them (sound familiar??).  Rhody and Lane live waaayyyy up in Jaramillo with their two dogs, Mitzi & Zena and Jet the cat.

When BCP leased and began renovating the facility, Rhody volunteered for a few days work  pressure washing the roof….that turned into 4 months of doing whatever needed to be done to get the building up and running.    It was a lot of work, but also fun, since he has always enjoyed doing various construction projects as a hobby.

Although Rhody had no background in theater or musical projection prior to getting involved with BCP, he thoroughly enjoys the part he takes in a variety of musical productions at BCP.   His love of this started about 5 years ago when the Boquete Community Chorus had no accompanist.   He was at a rehearsal and after looking at the musical score, he thought he might be able to help.   The rest is history…..he has provided musical accompaniment for all of the community chorus productions, the 50’s and 60’s shows, the BCP Grand Opening, the Boquete Cabaret, BCP Does Broadway, The Boquettes, The Chiri-Keys and the recent BCP Production Serenade, Spaghetti & Sweets.

Rhody’s vision for BCP is that it becomes the most sought after facility in Chiriqui for different types of functions and productions.   He hopes that many people will step up and volunteer and contribute….with their talents, time and finances so that BCP can continue it’s mission of providing a cultural and artistic space for ExPats and Panamanians alike.

So, if you see Rhody either behind the black curtain or in front of the spotlights, be sure to give him a hand…thank him and ask him how you can help.   He’ll get you involved…that’s for sure!

Thanks, Rhody…from all of us!

Dan is a native of Battle Creek, Michigan and studied classical guitar in college. He joined the road crew of Up With People, a high energy musical tour group consisting of 130 young people from 20 different countries, who travel around the world performing and learning of different cultures by staying with host families. After 3 years in this group, Dan decided to pursue his career interest to be a commercial airline pilot. Severe motion sickness became a problem during training, and that goal was no longer possible. Dan decided to return to Up With People to combine his technical theater and performance experience as a Sound Engineer. Back on the road for another 3 years, and in Belgium, Dan met Agniya. They married and he moved to Belgium, where he worked for a sound and light company supporting bands and TV performers. He joined a Belgian TV personality in his road tour, and Agniya joined them as a personal assistant.

In 2001, Dan and Agniya moved to Colorado where Dan worked at The Arvada Center, providing sound engineering for a variety of bands and at Littleton Town Hall, Breckenridge Backstage Theater, Saint Mary’s Academy, The Mizel Center, Garner Galleria Theater and Actor’s Theater in Louisville, KY doing sound engineering for a number of plays and productions.

Agniya’s background is also considerable….as a child and a teen, she was involved with CREA, a youth theater program, in Belgium. She joined Up With People as a performer in 1996 where she met Dan, and soon became proficient in monitor mixing, spotlight and light board operation. After marrying Dan and completing her college studies, they moved to Colorado. She worked as a “shadow” as a sign language interpreter following actors on stage, to give deaf people the theater experience.

Agniya had an interest in healthy foods and began her own business called Nature Cares, helping people get and stay healthy through they food choices, herbs and natural remedies.
She also coordinated a team of families who, twice a month, provided meals to a homeless women’s shelter and Denver.

Dan & Agniya moved to Boquete in 2009 with the belief their theater careers were over. They found BCP just prior to the grand opening, and are happy to be able to use their talents and experience supporting BCP…..and we are so grateful for them. So, when you buy a goody from The Belgian Bakery on Tuesday, or sit in the audience of one of our productions, be sure to give giant thanks to Dan Grieve and Agniya Verbeke for their untiring support of BCP!!