By Jackie Demaline
Enquirer staff writer

In 1989, Ted Weil and Dave Radtke emptied their pockets, came up with $400 and founded Falcon Players with a mission to do stage work nobody else would.

That included then-edgy Beyond Therapy and AIDS drama As Is in the early years, Shakespeare's Henry V, Rocky Horror Picture Show more recently and goofy Gilligan's Island: The Musical earlier this year.

Weil doesn't even remember what he was thinking back then. "I didn't think we'd still be doing it 15 years later," he laughs, although there was never a question that the show would go on.

They've seen many changes along the way. The company has been renamed the more serious Falcon Theatre, Radtke stepped away but has recently returned to direct, and a year ago it moved to the Monmouth Theatre in Newport.

Weil is happy in the new home.

Falcon, in recent years a steady, strong finisher in the annual Southwest regional OCTAFEST competition, will be among the almost 1,000 practitioners and fans expected at next weekend's three-day Ohio Community Theatre Association festival of excerpts. Falcon will close the competition with a performance from Jesus Christ Superstar on Saturday.

In 2004-2005, Falcon will produce: Oct. 15-30, Shakespeare's As You Like It; Feb. 10-26, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday; March 31-April 9, Pulitzer Prize-winner Dinner with Friends; May 6-21, Once on This Island.

Iinformation about Falcon Theatre is at 481-9042 or www.falcontheater.net. For a complete OCTAfest performance schedule , visit www.actofcincinnati.org.

E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com