UF Curtain Raisers 2026 Wall Of Fame Inductees

(From the University of Findlay)

For their contributions to University of Findlay’s performing arts community, three women were named to the Curtain Raisers Wall of Fame – Colleen Abrams, Cindy Bormuth, and Diana Montague, Ph.D.

The 2026 inductees were honored by Mike Anders, Ph.D., emeritus professor of music and producer of UF’s Donnell Broadway Concert Series.

“From the ticket box office to the music classroom, and from the stage to the business office, all of them participated in theatre and music for many years, making a difference in UF’s many productions and impacting our students and our audiences,” Anders explained. “Their love for the performing arts has been a gift to us all.”

In the early 1990s, Colleen Abrams joined the Findlay Civic Band and Findlay Civic Jazz Band. When UF music professor Jack Taylor approached her after a performance and asked if she would teach clarinet and saxophone, she agreed.

Thirty-two years later, she retired in spring 2025, recalling, “I was fortunate to meet so many young adults with a common interest in music. To be able to help them continue their musical and lifelong journeys was a blessing. Watching them grow in confidence in their music and other aspects of their lives from first semester freshmen to graduating seniors was amazing.”

Those connections opened up opportunities for her to perform for the Findlay Light Opera and UF Summerstock, along with Findlay Youth Theater, Fort Findlay Playhouse, and musicals at area high schools and universities.

Happy memories abound from many performances, and she noted, “we were joking about the number of woodwind players and the number of instruments played at various musicals. I believe we had five players and 17 instruments for one show.”

Cindy Bormuth also has spent many years of her career at the University. She was working in accounts payable for the business office when she transferred in 2007 to UF’s Box Office and

Info Center, noting, “I had the opportunity to meet many patrons who would come in to purchase their tickets, and over time I became quite good friends with some of them.”

She stayed in that role until 2015, when the Info Center and Box Office were closed, and moved to become the administrative assistant for the communication department, later taking on responsibilities for the visual and performing arts department.

Bormuth has loved the opportunity to get to know so many Oiler theater patrons. “I knew which ones might forget to call for their tickets, so I would give them a reminder call when it was time. Some patrons had very specific seats they liked to sit in, so if they didn’t call right away, I would hold those seats as long as possible while waiting for them,” she said.

She now handles the business side of the department, preparing honorariums, processing expense reports, assisting with scholarships and contracts, and scheduling events. “I also help with Band Camp, copying music, and just about anything else that needs to be done,” she said, adding that her favorite duties include working with students and supporting the faculty.

Diana Montague, Ph.D., recently retired professor of media and communication, joined Curtain Raisers in 2005, where she organized hospitality bags for SummerStock actors, prepared meals for tech rehearsals, coordinated ushers, and produced the “Curtain Call” newsletter for many years.

Her debut acting role came in a UF SummerStock production in Grimm Theatre of “You Can’t Take it With You.”

“I played a drunk who staggered across the stage, sat on the UF football coach’s lap, and sang an off-key, made-up song – that role followed me for years,” she noted with a laugh.

Other fond memories on stage include playing the mayor’s wife in “Bye, Bye Birdie,” where the choreographer taught the cast how to “faint fall,” and playing the roller-skating coach and one of the goddesses in “Xanadu,” her favorite musical.

“Over the years, Mike [Anders] and Vicki [McClurkin, theatre instructor] included faculty and staff in most of the productions. Many of us weren’t as talented as the students, but I think we were decent models for theatre preparation: ‘listen to directions, learn your script, work hard, and show up early for every practice and production,’” Montague explained.

UF’s Curtain Raisers Society for the Performing Arts started the Wall of Fame 24 years ago to recognize alumni, faculty, staff, and other individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the performing arts, according to Brent Sleasman, chair of the Curtain Raisers advisory board.

“Each year, we honor those who have provided truly exceptional contributions and service to the performing arts programs at the University and those who have continued to make significant contributions in their chosen field, bringing credit and distinction to UF,” he said.

Pictured, from left, are: Diana Montague, Ph.D., of Findlay; Cindy Bormuth of Findlay; and Colleen Abrams of Forest.