Ronney Davis, 11, of Swartz Creek, gets hairspray applied before getting on stage. Swartz Creek Community Education members present a Swartz Creek Center Stage production of "Willy Wonka Jr."Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Actors wait backstage minutes before the performance at Mary Crapo School Auditorium in Swartz Creek. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Before the show, actors form a circle and hold hands to show they are a team. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Director Ginny Redmond (center) holds hands with actors as they do a buzz before going on stage to play "Willy Wonka Junior" at Mary Crapo School Auditorium in Swartz Creek on August 8, 2009. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
The Willy Wonka's top hat. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
"Willy Wonka Junior" performance at Mary Crapo School Auditorium in Swartz Creek on August 8, 2009. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Marissa Redmond, 16, of Grand Blanc, played Willy Wonka. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Play Director Ginny Redmond said the play is a junior version of the original Willy Wonka story, but geared for youth to perform. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
The play runs for about an hour and 15 minutes. Oscar Durand / The Flint Journal
Swartz Creek Center Stage's 'Exit the Body' a farce, full of 'big laughs'
By Laura Angus
March 20, 2009, 8:28AM
Stage Manager Katie St. John follows the script to feed lines to Emily St. John (left) and Jonathan Sadler during the rehearsal for the opening scene of "Exit the Body" by Fred Carmichael. Katie also runs sound effects, such as a doorbell, pictured bottom left."I'm just a secretary, Miss O'Toole. A good, honest, New York secretary. Trees scare me," said Kate Bixley, played by 22-year-old Kaylie Briggs of Swartz Creek.
The comedy centers around mystery writer Crane Hammond and her secretary Kate, who rent a house in Maine for vacation. In the first scene, Crane finds a body in the closet that promptly disappears and learns stolen diamonds may be hidden in the home.
Later in the show, the characters comb the house for the diamonds, as Crane is oblivious to the action during her vacation.
"It does become quite amusing," said director Katie Thompson.
She said the show is a farce and full of comedic timing. The 10-person cast includes residents from Swartz Creek, Davison, Burton, and Flint.
Crane Hammond is played by Swartz Creek resident Martha Haraf, 42, who said her character is a talented writer, but kind of a flake. She also is determined to enjoy her time off work.
"She lives with (murder) all year-round — she shouldn't have to deal with it while she's on vacation," Haraf said.
She said the show is full of one-liners that will keep audiences laughing.
Jonathan Sadler as Randolph rehearses the opening scene with Emily St. John as Jenny in "Exit the Body" by Fred Carmichael. Sadler has been in 10 plays, including "It's a Wonderful Life." "I always get to be the bad guy," he said. "I'm not that way in real life."
"We've been working on this since January and I still laugh at these lines," she said.
Briggs said there are lots of "big, big laughs" in the show, and her character is the sarcastic one of the cast.
"I have a smart comment about everything and everyone," she said.
Kathy Russell, 50, of Swartz Creek plays Helen O'Toole, an unstable real estate lady who will surprise the audience late in the show. People should watch the show for more than just the laughs, Russell said.
"I think it's a good time in the community," she said.
Thompson said the show has something for all ages.
"Middle school students would get it because it's so much of a farce that they would get it too," she said.
The dinner theater performances are at 6 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. March 29 in the auditorium at the Mary Crapo Building, 8197 Miller Road
Local performance of Alice in Wonderland gracing stage in Swartz Creek on Aug. 3
By Pardeep Toor
July 25, 2008, 11:12AM
SWARTZ CREEK, Michigan — While many children are enjoying what's left of their summer vacation, the kids at Swartz Creek Center Stage will be taking audiences through the looking glass during the production of "Alice in Wonderland Jr." on Friday-Aug. 3.
The summer production stars more than 40 local children 8 to 18 years old, and features well-known tunes like "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and "The Un-Birthday Song."
In the classic tale, Alice follows a white rabbit into a "wonderland" of her own imagination. Whimsical escapades highlight her journey and culminate in an encounter with the Queen of Hearts and her army of playing cards.
Mia Jonascu (front), 12, of Swartz Creek sings near the end of rehearsal for "Alice in Wonderland Jr." on July 23
The play — based on the 1951 Disney movie — is a shorter version with a family-friendly message.
"Basically, 'be yourself' ... is the moral of the story," said Ginny Redmond, director of the production.
About 40 children were at rehearsals, each wearing a zany hat or a set of antennae.
This is Kristen Carter's first show with Swartz Creek Center Stage, but she has been in plays at Flushing High School, where she is going into 10th grade. She is playing one of three Alices in the show.
"My grandma told me about this play, and I said 'hey, cool, I'll do it,'" Carter said.
Abbie Kalahar, a seventh-grader at Swartz Creek Middle School, is playing the Dodo Bird.
"A lot of people know it so they can kind of relate to the show," she said.
Mia Jonascu said she is nervous about the show because there are so many people in it. The Madison Academy seventh-grader is playing another Alice in the show.
"It's a classic and I don't think anyone can get bored with it," she said.
One cast member, Caroline Carpenter of Grand Blanc said she really likes being in the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" song because of the choreography.
Carpenter is a homeschooled fifth-grader and said her friend is in the play so she decided to audition too. Carpenter is playing a flower and a cardsman.
"I think it's really funny," she said. She thinks audiences will like the scene where the Mad Hatter and the March Hare break the watch.
Her friend, Emily Bermudez of Swartz Creek said she liked the "Alice in Wonderland" book and decided to join the play. The homeschooled seventh-grader plays a flower.
She thinks audiences will enjoy this show, and her favorite scene is "The Un-Birthday Song."
"I think they'll have fun and maybe they'll want to be in a play sometime," she said.
Musical Director Matt Packer has been involved with Swartz Creek Center Stage for three years and said the cast has been great leading up to performances.
"The show's going to be amazing because they worked very hard to learn their music and lines," he said.
Swartz Creek Center Stage production, 'The Man Who Came to Dinner,' is crazy comedy
By Mary Ann Chick Whiteside
February 25, 2008, 3:18PM
Katie Thompson (left) and Martha Haraf, both of Swartz Creek, rehearse during a recent practice for "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Mary Crapo Building in Swartz Creek. The play, presented by Swartz Creek Center Stage, will run March 8-9. Thompson, the director of the play, was a stand-in during this practice for the character, Sheridan Whiteside, who pretends to be confined to a wheelchair for most of the play.He's the house guest of nightmares. He's the man that disrupts lives, wreaks havoc and pretty much doesn't have a redeemable bone in his body.
However, his menace and the family that has to put up with his craziness, will leave audiences laughing in the Swartz Creek Center Stage production "The Man Who Came to Dinner."
The 6 p.m. March 8 and 3 p.m. March 9 performances include dinner provided by Elegant Catering inside the Mary Crapo building, 81907 Miller Road.
"This is a comedy about a famous radio personality that slips on ice in a small town in Ohio and people get stuck with him," said Katie Thompson, director. "They think it will be nice to have him as a guest in their house but he is a tyrant and takes over their lives."
The play originated in 1939 by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart and was made into a movie starring Bette Davis in 1942. Thompson kept to the story's classic roots by preserving the time Franklin D. Roosevelt was president.
Josh Wansitler of Flint is having a great time playing the awful Whiteside. His job isn't that easy. He said he really likes all of the cast members he works with and it's difficult being mean to them. However, he does have a job to do.
"He wants things to be just as he wants," Wansitler said. "The more he respects someone the less nice he is to them. The family wants him out of the house bad. He's forbidden them to go anywhere he is working. He's the worst house guest ever."
The family's pain will be the audience's joy, he said.
"It's fast paced and it will be a riot," Wansitler said. "We're doing it over the top, so you can see how full of himself he is."
Kaylie Briggs of Swartz Creek plays Whiteside's secretary, who finds a bright side in the small Ohio town. She said people will laugh throughout the show.
"It's a comedy with a twist," she said. "It will be a fun show for everyone."
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