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Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2005 | ||
What do you think of this story? Bad Links? | Cast brings diverse background to local playOffshoot fundraiser a mystery
When the curtain rises on Offshoot Productions But Was It Murder? at 8 p.m. on March 31, April 1 and April 2 at the Fayette Family YMCA, the audience will be watching an intriguing play with a varied cast. Louis H.V. Smiths new drama takes place in the office of Heywood Williams, a private investigator played by Scott R. Pollak. His assistant and love interest, Marjory, is portrayed by M. Raye Varney. Chandra Caldwell plays Heywoods daughter, Gene, an investigator for an insurance company, who brings Heywood a new case involving the murder of a famous mystery writer. Central to the case is Charlotte Wolfe, the writers widow, played by Wendy Fulton-Adams. Charlotte arrives at the office at Heywoods invitation and undergoes his low-key but effective interrogation. At the end of the show, the audience serves as a jury to determine the verdict. Pollak, a seasoned performer currently living in Sharpsburg, has appeared in numerous productions from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to Butterflies Are Free. He has performed in industrial films and national commercials, and is a familiar voice on 104.7 the Fish. Varney, a Tucker resident, spent nearly 20 years performing with the Cathedral Players at Chapel Hill. She is currently Managing Director for 7 Stages, and sits on the board of the Renaissance Project. Caldwell, an Atlanta resident, is an apprentice, and currently studying at Nick Contis Professional Acting Studio. Fulton-Adams, who lives in Tyrone, earned a B.F.A. from the Professional Actors Training Studio at the University of Illinois, Champaign, studied at the Second City and the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, and has performed in shows ranging from the Threepenny Opera to Company. The mystery is preceded by a lively curtain raiser using the talents of apprentices Kimberly Crawley, Fernandous A. Kirkland, Jr., Ashleigh Webster and Lauren Weisheit, and assistant director Justin Sims. The comedic pre-show devised through improvisation focuses on inadvertent accidents and purposeful mayhem. Sims, who has been conducting combat exercises with the apprentice group, also performs. Following the pre-show, But Was It Murder? calls upon the audience to determine a verdict in the case of a mystery writer's death. At the end of the play, the audience questions the characters before voting on the outcome. The play, which is performed in dessert theatre, is a fund raiser for Offshoots educational and outreach programs. Offshoot tours schools and libraries, and presents special shows for special needs audiences. Offshoot also offers scholarships for the apprentice program and workshops. Tickets are on sale in advance at the Peachtree City Library, 770-631-2520, and the Fayette County Library, 770-461-8841, and will be sold at the door as available. The $12 tickets include desserts provided by Dream Cakes and a beverage. The YMCA, located at 215 Huiet Road, Fayetteville, provides an intimate atmosphere for this dessert theatre. Later in April, But Was It Murder? will be performed at the Roger Spencer Community Center, 145 Commerce Drive in Tyrone, as a fund raiser for Promise Place. Tickets for this event on April 15 and 16, are $20 each. Contact Offshoot at 770-631-2362 or e-mail to offshootpr@aol.com for additional information. | | |
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