Panthers show talent in this weekend's Kiwanis Kapers

She’s been involved in community improvisational comedy groups and small readers’ theater groups, and when she came to the Pitt-Bradford as a visiting instructor in sports medicine four years ago, she started a student improv group, the popular Pitt-Bradford Improvers.

But she continued to look for creative outlets, finding Bradford Little Theatre and the Kiwanis Club of Bradford’s annual Kapers variety show, for which she is one of the directors this year.

Soon the Improvers were sharing their talents in the Kapers, which raises money for local charities. It was a win-win, Asinger explained.

“It really teaches the students to give back,” she said, “and where else can they perform for 600 to 1,000 people for three nights.”

Asinger and the Improvers are not the only Pitt-Bradford people taking part in this year’s Kapers, there’s also Barb Pedersen, who has sung in the Kapers since 1987, including the years she was a student at Pitt-Bradford. For the last eight years, she’s been a director or co-director of the show, and for the last 10 years, she’s been an instructor of mathematics at Pitt-Bradford.

Last year, a student came to her and asked if he and some friends could do a hip-hop dance as part of the show. The performance brought down the house and was a favorite of many in the audience.

This year, three male student dancers returning to do a hip-hop dance with a twist: a glow dance. Wearing all-white sweats, the dancers are lit by a strong black light while behind them, glowing sticks have been choreographed to enhance the cool factor.

Asinger choreographed the glow sticks in her dining room, she said, looking at her reflection in a bay window to figure out what looked coolest while keeping an eye out for any aircraft that might decide her street was a landing strip.

Nathan Neff, a sports medicine major from Butler, is one of the glow dancers.

“I think more students should do this,” he said. “I really enjoy the mix of the university and the high school and the community. I get tired of seeing the same people on campus.” The other two hip-hop dancers are Kyle Marrero of Mendham, N.J., who took part in last-year’s hip-hop dance, and Brian Roberts, an athletic training major from New Albany, Pa.

Another student performing in the show is Christine Minich, a nontraditional public relations major from Custer City. Minich will be one of the co-hosts of this year’s show, which has an “Extreme Makeover” theme.

Nearly everyone in Bradford will also recognize Donald Johnson, mail carrier for the university, who has a key role on stage as the owner of the construction company conducting the Extreme Makeover.

A good part of the makeover is in the hands of the set designers, builders and storywriters. Patty Colosimo, assistant director of arts programming, has donated her artistic talents to Kapers for years, helping paint sets since her daughter Chelsea, who now attends Temple University, was a kindergartener singing in the show.

She has also helped with other creative parts of the show, doing makeup, gathering props and helping with costumes.

“I like helping out with events like this, and if I can do it in an artistic way, then I really enjoy that,” Colosimo said. This year she painted flats that appear on stage for advertisers who purchased a half page or larger ad in the program, a bonus that helped the Kiwanis Club earn hundreds of dollars more on its advertising than last year.

Helping keep track of the advertising was advertising co-chairperson Kimberly Marcott Weinberg, who is also assistant director of communications and marketing at Pitt-Bradford.

“It’s great seeing so many Pitt people take part in Kapers,” said Weinberg, who is also a member of the Kiwanis Club. “It combines two of my favorite Bradford institutions.”

Kapers takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Bradford Area High School.

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