“Audition for Murder,” a new audience-participation murder mystery, was penned by Susan M. Steadman, Ph.D., producing artistic director of Offshoot Productions, and her daughter, Paige Steadman, a young composer who frequently provides original music and accompaniment for theatre groups.

The pair recently collaborated on “The Frog Prince,” an audience participation play for children presented in Tyrone before touring to schools, libraries and day camps in ten Georgia counties last spring and summer. Paige Steadman wrote the script and provided the music, while Susan Steadman acted as dramaturg and director for that production.

The current plot centers on auditions for a murder mystery, “Every Actor’s Nightmare,” which takes an ironic twist when an actual murder occurs during call-backs. Audience members participate in the happenings and determine the culprit.

The concept for “Audition for Murder “came from Paige, who has been involved in theatre as stage manager, performer, lighting technician and more since she was eleven. A short play she wrote was performed last spring in a presentation of student-written drama at the University of West Georgia.

Dr. Steadman, herself a produced playwright and member of the Dramatists Guild, honed the “Audition for Murder” characters and wrote the play-within-a-play. “We’ve been able to go back and forth on this play, and we’ve respected each other’s input. I think the result is amazingly seamless,” she said.

“My mother and I work very well together,” Paige agreed. “Some might say it’s because she raised me and taught me so of course I think like her, but I disagree. Certainly we have some similar ideas, but it’s our communication and respect for one another’s ideas that help us collaborate smoothly. We never could have done this when I was a teenager.”

The show, which helps raise money for Offshoot’s educational and outreach programs, plays in dessert theatre November 3-11 at Tyrone’s Roger Spencer Community Center, 145 Commerce Drive, at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 5. After its initial run, the show will be available to other organizations for fund raisers, conventions, corporate functions and special occasions.

Tickets, which are $15 each and include dessert and beverage, are available in advance at the Peachtree City Library, 201 Willowbend Road; by mail from Offshoot Productions (P.O. Box 2462, Peachtree City, Ga. 30269), or online at www.offshoot.org (after October 10).

For additional information, contact Offshoot Productions at 770-631-2362 or offshoot pr@aol.com.

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