Rich Haptonstall had long wanted to be part of the Flathead Valley Community College theater department, so for years he had been watching for director Joe Legate "to retire or get fired so I could apply," he said jokingly.

Legate had been an undergraduate theater professor at Dickinson State in North Dakota when Haptonstall was a theater student there, and they always have kept in touch.

"He [Legate] got hired here the year after I graduated 18 years ago and couldn't say enough about the place," Haptonstall said.

His enthusiasm was so convincing that Haptonstall had long considered leaving his faculty post at Valdosta State University in Georgia to become a part of FVCC.

A position came open this year when the college decided to create a new full-time faculty slot in the fast-growing theater department.

Haptonstall joined the school in July for one summer class and is now teaching four classes solo with two team-teaching assignments.

He was thrust quickly into the spotlight, already directing his first play at the college, "The Art of Dining," a comedy by one of Haptonstall's favorite playwrights, Tina Howe. The show opens Thursday.

It will also be one of Haptonstall's first directing assignments in many years. After earning a master's degree in directing and design from Humboldt State University in California, he worked in professional theater in regional and national productions.

He then landed at Valdosta State, where for five years he taught and worked on school productions as a set designer and lighting expert.

"I've wanted to direct since I left graduate school," Haptonstall, 42, said. "I've always wanted to come to a smaller program and department, but I ended up getting a job as a designer and as you get experience, you get pigeonholed. When you're in a department with four or five directors, they're not likely to give up their slots."

Even with all his design experience, creating the right set for "The Art of Dining" had its challenges, Haptonstall said. One was that the set required a real carousel horse.

"If you've ever tried to round one up, you'd know they're hard to come by," he said, adding that he was finally able to secure a spare horse from A Carousel for Missoula.

The show also requires some sleight of hand with the food. Real food needs to be served and eaten during the production, but fixing it during the performance was going to be a bit unwieldy.

"I think we've come up with a nice middle ground," he said.

The play is centered on a small restaurant, The Golden Carousel, run by a couple with their own neuroses who are forced to serve some less-than-desirable customers in the face of rising debt.

Haptonstall said that even though the setting of the show is in a restaurant environment, the food itself is not the focus, but a metaphor for "how we encumber and complicate things in life. Things that should be simple become stressful," such as the difficulty a diner might have figuring out what fork to use in a fancy restaurant.

The cast of "The Art of Dining" is comprised entirely of current FVCC students, with the exception of one FVCC theater program alumnus. Haptonstall calls them "very talented and hard-working. I couldn't be happier with the cast."

Haptonstall said he and Legate, as the two full-time members of the FVCC theater faculty, have so far proven to be good collaborators. They have similar philosophies toward theater, especially on the value of theater arts as an educational tool.

"We're both fairly grounded in the fact that first and foremost, the experience should be fun and enriching for the students," Haptonstall said.

He said the environment at FVCC has been everything Legate described and more.

"It is unbelievable, actually almost indescribable, the support I've had from Joe, other faculty, the administration, and the staff at this college," Haptonstall said. "This is one of the most supportive and collaborative places I've ever been. They just do things here to make your life easy."

"The Art of Dining" will be performed Oct. 8-10 and 15-17 in the FVCC Theatre in the Arts and Technology building. Performances will begin at 7 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Oct.10. Ticket prices are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors and can be purchased in advance at the FVCC Bookstore or online at www.fvcc.edu. The play contains adult language and minor sexual content. For more information, contact Haptonstall at 756-3962 or e-mail rhaptonstall@fvcc.edu.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com