Notes from the Director:
What began as a casual conversation of what we wanted to perform this fall, turned into a conception that we should just go ahead and create our own show. We wanted to focus on a time period play, a sort of "old fashioned" murder mystery whodunnit, but with sharp and witty dialogue, and we were not finding anything quite right for our needs. The histrionics of the humor and style of the 1930's - especially film noir - presents great material to work with: the fast talking, highly stylized lines and zippy humor, as well as a visual baroque style. Films from this period (Hitchock in particular) had rich characters to draw from for our inspiration: the damsel, the gruffy businessman, the moody detective, the snappy socialites. A fully written draft of a play, many edits, many collaborations, and many more edits later.... and we had our play.
This story centers around the family, ex-wives, associates, and employees of a Dr. John Lancanshire, a wealthy businessman, at his mansion. Each person is there for their own reasons, but things begin to become suspicious when the host has still not appeared. As victims begin to drop dead, the mystery is left to solve who committed these crimes, and why, and.... where is Dr. Lancanshire? -A mix between comedy and intrigue, at the heart of this project is really a collaborative effort to provide the students of Theatre with a story to tell in roles created just for them.
The creativity that these students have shown in their ideas about plot points, character motivations, endings, and more has demonstrated the kind of talent that we have at Tippit. I hope you enjoy the show as much as I have delighted in working alongside these students. They teach me.
And to the cast.....
"You look like mashed potatoes."
All my best,
Ms. Bell
