“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.” This was one of Milli Hoelscher’s favorite Shakespeare quotes and is fitting for her as she took her final bow from this world on July 4, 2020 at the age of 89. If you asked Milli how old she was, she usually answered, “somewhere between 40 and death.” Milli indeed played many parts during her lifetime, and her achievements in theatre and theatre education were monumental as she gave much to the Portland Metro area stage. Milli taught theatre and dance for 43 years at both the college and high school level in multiple states before finishing out her career at Lake Oswego High School in 1999.
Before we get to her career, let me start at the beginning. Mildred Mary Barnhart was born to Victor and Mabel Barnhart in Granite City, Illinois on November 25, 1930. She graduated from Madison High School in 1948 (as the head majorette) and attended the University of Illinois, graduating with her B.S. in Dance in 1953, followed by her M.A. in Theatre. She married William Hoelscher in 1955 and had two children, Gretchen and Hans. She taught at four universities and one high school while living in Illinois, Arkansas, Minnesota, Washington, and California before having her children.
Milli’s career and pastimes were always focused on theatre, dance, and the performing arts. Milli wrote,” To watch students broaden their horizons, grow in self-esteem and self- expression, gather communication skills, and share all of these experiences daily, is one of the great rewards of being a theatre teacher.” After moving to Oregon, she began teaching at Lake Oswego High School where she directed over 100 theatre productions, taught additional classes like golf and bachelor chef, choreographed for the Windjammers, and coached the dance team. She was an exchange teacher in England, Canada, Australia, and Japan. She was awarded the Melba Day Sparks award and was inducted into the Educational Theatre Association’s Hall of Fame. Both awards honored her contribution to theatre education. In her “spare” time, while working and raising a family, she took students on theatre tours to NYC, Vancouver, and London. She was also the president of the Oregon Theatre Arts Association multiple times and frequently presented workshops at the State Thespian conferences. She believed in continuing education for herself and took classes in Reader’s theatre in England and Spain.
In addition to teaching, Milli loved being a part of community theatre. She was a charter member of the East Bank players in Granite City, Illinois where she also participated in directing, choreographing, and acting in the Collinsville Maskers. In Oregon she became involved at Lakewood Center for the Performing Arts as a director, choreographer, and actor. She won over 20 awards from the Oregon Theatrical Awards Society, the Drammy Awards, and the Greasepaint Awards for best show, director, or choreographer. These awards were for her work in many theatres across Portland including Lakewood, Portland Civic Theatre, Portland State University, and the Mark Allen Players. At Lakewood, she also directed young people in Holiday Magic annually for 20 years as well as the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Lakewood presented her with the Heritage Award for her significant contributions to theatre. (At the time, this award had only been given to 12 people in their 45-year history.) Two honors she was most proud of were her grant to be an Ambassador of Theatre to China for three weeks, and her grant from Matsushita Corp. to tour and study theatre in Japan with the promise of producing an authentic production at the Pacific Rim Conference upon her return.
If you had asked Milli what her greatest joy was, she would say it was not the awards, it was the rewards of seeing young people achieve their dreams in the theatre. She delighted in having students return to see her, well into her 80’s and have them say, “This is the lady who got me started.” AFTER retiring, she did not let up on her directing or volunteering endeavors and added a new fledging theatre to her credits, Beaverton Civic Theatre where she directed three shows for them after turning 80. She also directed for Mittleman Jewish Community Center and McMinnville’s Gallery Theatre. She jumped at the chance to do an extended subbing job at a high school in Toledo, Oregon, living at the coast for 6 weeks. She volunteered for AARP as an ambassador, the Beaverton Arts Commission and Tualatin Hills Community boards as a board member, the Portland Performing Arts Center as an usher, Global Volunteers and People to People International as an overseas English teacher in Italy and Hungary, NW Senior Theatre as a choreographer, six weeks aboard Princess Cruises as a teen activities counselor, and for her church as a youth group workshop presenter, greeter, reader and ESL instructor. For her long service to Beaverton, she was awarded Outstanding Individual during their City of Beaverton Service awards.
Believe it or not, Milli did have hobbies other than the theatre. She loved to garden, read, and shop. She approached each with the gusto and energy that she put into her professional life. Milli’s greatest and most beloved hobby besides theatre was traveling. Milli was an avid traveler, visiting 100 countries on seven continents, a fact of which she was immensely proud. She often combined her love for travel with her love of theatre. If you asked Milli her favorite place to visit, she would say New York City for theatre and Venice for romance. Many wonderful friends accompanied her on her voyages, and Milli loved to travel with both of her children and their families. She even took each of her grandsons on solo trips of their choosing. Milli especially loved to cruise and went as recently as 2018, even in a wheelchair.
Milli was immensely proud of her family and attended many of her grandchildren’s activities whether it was a football game, band concert, choir concert, or her favorite, a high school theatre performance. Milli is survived by her daughter, Gretchen Hoelscher Schmidt (David) and their children Nicklaus (Jennifer,) Andrew, and Quinn Schmidt, and her son, Hans Hoelscher (Stephanie) and their children Wylde and Ceora Westbrook.
When asked how she would like to be remembered, Milli was quoted as saying, “I guess that I had touched somebody’s life and made a difference for someone.” When asked her philosophy for living, she said, “Enjoy life; it’s not a dress rehearsal. My life has a great cast, I just don’t know the plot. So, in other words, enjoy life, enjoy people and try to be kind.” Milli fully intended to live to be 100, and someone writing an article about her said, “Milli is one gal who will probably die with her boots on… correction, tap shoes on… on her way to the theatre!” But I think what Milli would really say is, “I’m not going.”
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