MACT Logo. Upper portion is comedy/drama masks with comedy mask in yellow and drama mask in blue. Lower portion has the acronym "MACT" and below it the description MN Association of Community Theatres.MACT

MACT

Minnesota Association of Community Theatres

We are Minnesota’s Community Theatres

Bryon Gunsch Obituary

Photo of Bryan Gunsch, a middle aged man with graying hair and a beard and mustache.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Bryon Gunsch, aged 61, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He died suddenly of a heart attack early on November 15, 2023, leaving behind a trail of laughter, love and cherished memories that will forever be etched in the hearts of his loved ones. A time of story-sharing honoring Bryon will be held at Bryant Lake Bowl on 21 January starting at 1pm.

Bryon was a creative and unique individual who successfully melded his professional and personal lives in a career dedicated to the theater arts. He dabbled in acting and pit orchestra in high school and beyond, but found his highest joy working behind the scenes, running sound and lights to enable others to shine in the spotlight. He was the Technical Director for twenty years at the Bryant Lake Bowl theater, recently celebrating his 10,000th show.

Bryon brought joy to all around him with a ready smile or a groan-worthy pun. His gentle spirit was infectious and he had a passion for helping others. His tastes were eclectic, thriving equally on Monty Python and dad jokes; Star Trek and Star Wars; Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Zappa, Bach and Vangelis.

Bryon was a talented problem solver, as shown by his nearly miraculous ability to keep old theater equipment running on a shoestring budget. This skill extended to board games, puzzles and math and qualified him for Mensa. He nurtured a wide range of other talents, including roller skating, bowling, cooking and sewing. He taught himself to play guitar and to program computers in machine language, loved to bake cookies which he happily gave away along with his homemade root beer.

Even greater than his love of theater was his love for his family. He met Sara Dravland through the theater and they moved to Minneapolis so he could pursue theater full-time. Bryon found great joy in being Sara’s husband and in raising their daughter, Lily, together. Lily, now 19, was the sparkle in his eye and the proudest part of his legacy.

While Bryon’s life was cut much shorter than we want, he considered every year past age 38 to be “bonus time” and he lived each day as fully as he could. He considered those years in this millennium to be the happiest of his life.”

Bryon is survived by Sara and Lily (Minneapolis, MN), his mother Delores (Dee – Bismarck, ND), and brothers Gregg and Cherryanne (Loveland, OH) and Trace and Deb (Titusville, FL) Brother in law Paul Dravland (Souris, ND). And his nieces and nephews Jason, Virginia, Andrew, Allison, Hannah and Eddie. Bryon was preceded in death by his father, Harold Gunsch,and his in-laws, Alvin and Clarice Dravland; brother and sister in laws David and Faith Dravland. A memorial service for Bryon will be held at 11am on January 20 at Central Lutheran Church, 333 S 12th St, Mpls. Visitation starts at 10am.

Note from MACT: Bryon served as MACT’s photographer at several festivals and helped with tech stuff. His wife, Sara, was on our Board for a short time.