After years as ticket sales director, Marcia Tofteland was Humana Festival coordinator before leaving Actors Theatre in the mid-1980s.

During a scheduled appointment with my obstetrician, he explained to me the finite details of water breaking including "leaking."

Good thing. I didn’t know anything about "leaking." I thought when the water broke it was always a gush.

March 16, 1982, 5:45 a.m.
I awoke feeling like I had wet the bed. Then it came to me. I was leaking. I woke my husband Curt and told him my water broke. He told me to go back to sleep and that I was dreaming. I took his hand and put it on the wet bed sheets. That got his attention. He leapt out of bed and called the doctor and took me to the hospital.

I got up and got dressed. Fortunately, we followed the directions of friends and had packed the hospital bag in advance. Before we left the house, I remembered I had a meeting at 9 a.m. to make the final ticket arrangements for the Humana Festival early VIP Weekend and for Oldtimers Game by Lee Blessing following the next night. I certainly wouldn’t be at the theater. I told Curt to call Bo and have her meet me at the hospital with tickets and festival bible in hand.

As we drove to the hospital, I couldn’t believe this was happening. The timing was off. Curt and I had specifically conceived this child to be born after the Humana Festival had concluded. We still had over three weeks to go before my official due date.

There we were at 7 a.m.: Bo Bourke (Manning) and Marcia Tarbis Tofteland in the labor room at Norton Hospital. Bo with the box of tickets and envelopes for the next days opening night of Oldtimers Game, and the tickets for each of the Humana plays weekends and my very large belly. My contractions were happening more frequently, but nothing would stop our meeting. Bo and I were excited about the baby but nothing could dim the work ethic of these Actors Theatre employees. Our meeting took place two hours earlier than originally scheduled and in a labor room rather than the Actors board room.

Bo and I concluded our work, and at 1:13 p.m. Joshua Tarbis Tofteland was born. A beautiful healthy baby boy weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.

For many years, that was the only opening night performance Curt and I missed. Unfortunately, we can’t say that for the opening nights of all 23 festivals since then, though we have seen all but a small handful of Humana Festival plays.

My pregnancy was the first at Actors Theatre. Following Joshua’s birth there have been many more blessed events.

Today, there are a lot of Actors Theatre babies. It’s an exclusive club. Perhaps someday they’ll all get together. Joshua will be the old-timer.