Arranger, applier, actress, artist, Allard. Because Westminster's Gaslight Theatre Company desired "A apple pie order," it made sense to place Westminster resident Jane Allard in the position of Executive Director.

"Basically I keep everything organized and running smoothly," said Allard about her primary position in the company. "My husband [Gaslight's Artistic Director Ed Schoenradt,] is the visionary, so my biggest role is trying to keep him realistic and grounded!"

Yet, despite her practical side, Allard shares part of Schoenradt's vision. "I was drawn to the Gaslight Theatre Company because I like the idea of being involved in a core group. It has been my husband's dream for some time to create his own theatre company," Allard stated.

Allard began her involvement in theatre during elementary school where she performed in The Wizard of Oz. She remembers, "I was the only flying monkey that had a line." After that, she went on to act in high school plays, eventually enrolling in the theatre arts program at the University of Central Arkansas. There, she became a member of the honorary theatre fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega. Later, Allard transferred to the University of Wyoming, changed to a double major in English and Theatre with an emphasis in Greek Theatre. She finally ended up with a degree in Criminology/Sociology and a minor in Theatre.

In college, Allard fondly recalls playing two male roles in Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. "I played Polonius and Horatio. I had a five-minute scene change in which I not only had to change costume, but I also had to rip a beard off my face that had been glued on with spirit gum."

Locally, audience members may have seen Allard last year in the Theatre Company of Lafayette's play Woman in Mind, in which she played the lead. "It was a very challenging role," she said. At the end of March, audiences attending Gaslight Theatre's production of The Curious Savage will see Allard portray Fairy May, "a childlike woman who is very insecure about herself and her appearance."

And if Allard has anything to do with it, the performances should run smoothly, everything in order from A to Z.