WQPT marketing director still finds time for stage
By Julie Jensen, ARGUS/DISPATCH-- May 19, 2005

Lora Adams never gets very far from the stage. She's either acting or directing, and her current involvement is directing "Boston Marriage" for New Ground Theatre.

Ms. Adams grew up in Chicago with a twin brother who is now in the cast of "The Music Man" there.

Watching "The Forsythe Saga" on PBS engendered her passion for theater, and "Masterpiece Theater" made it increasingly intense.

"I looked forward to Sunday nights and was freakishly devoted to the program," she said.

She majored in theatre at Wright College, Chicago, for two years and then began to tread the boards. Later she would major in radio and television broadcasting at Black Hawk College, preparing for her present position as marketing director and pledge producer at WQPT-TV.

"I got a call from Denny Hitchcock at Circa '21," she said. "He lost his Liat in `South Pacific' and asked me to play the role. I did that show and `Heaven Can Wait' at Circa before moving to Florida."

The next time Mr. Hitchcock called her, he asked if she could do a British accent. She could, and he gave her the role of Molly in "The Mouse Trap."

Returning to Rock Island, she rented a room from the principal of Riverdale Elementary School, Port Byron, and she gave an acting seminar for pupils at the school.

"They invited me to a Valentine dance in the gym," she said. "It was Friday, the 13th of February. When the phys ed teacher came in, I asked him to dance with me because the kids were too short." She married her partner, Michael Kopriva, six months and two days later in 1981.

For almost five years, Ms. Adams owned and managed the Evergreen Theater in Lake Geneva, Wis. She came back to the Quad-Cities for a visit, and WQPT was looking for a marketing person. They asked if she was interested, but she didn't make up her mind until she saw their ad in the paper a month later.

Her roles in New Ground plays have included Molly in "Talley's Folly" and Beth in "Dinner With Friends." She directed "Wit" starring Corrie Johnson for New Ground, and Ms. Johnson cast her in "Catch Me If You Can" at Circa.

"I hadn't been on that stage in 20 years," she said.

The term "Boston Marriage" means a relationship between two women, and Ms. Adams said, "It's a turn-of-the-century piece with an Oscar Wilde sensibility."

She won't have any time off after her current show. Ms. Adams will jump right into directing the theatrical version of "Closer" for upstart local theater group My Verona Productions. The Patrick Marber drama, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film with Julia Roberts last year, runs June 9-19 at Comedy Sportz Theater, 1818 3rd Ave., Rock Island. Call (309) 786-7733, ext. 2 for showtimes, tickets and more information.

Aside from direction, she keeps busy in other ways as well. She teaches acting at the Illinois Ballet Theatre on Wednesdays, and she'll be hostess with Erik Maitland for the Spring Gala of the Iowa/Illinois Youth Ballet at the Capitol Theater June 4.

`Boston Marriage' will be performed Thursday through Sunday and May 26-29 at New Ground Theater, Rivermont Collegiate, 1821 Sunset Drive, Bettendorf. (563) 324-PLAY.

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