The Little Theatre of Alexandria

Tell us about your character in A Party to Murder. Elwood is a warm hearted, fun-loving, unmarried, older man with a dark secret.  On the outside, he appears to look for the fun in all situations and is a terrible teaser.  Although his girlfriend rebuffs him, he tries to be jovial and sociable.  On the inside, however, he seeks justice, not revenge, for being deeply hurt. What were some challenges you faced in working on this show? Finding the opposites in the scenes, like expressing affection and anger at the same time. What do you hope the audience takes away from the show? Love and empathy for my character, Elwood, an appreciation for the soundtrack of the television series, "Poirot", and fashion ideas in dressing for bed.

How did you get involved with this show? I've acted, produced and directed many shows over the last 40 years, but this is my first who-done-it.  I was supposed to co-direct this production with my dear friend of 25 years, Roland Gomez.  It was not to be. He passed away two weeks before auditions.  My first task was to work with the team he, myself and my producers put together to work on this show.  It has been a pleasure to work as the director with these many talented designers and stage crew. What were some challenges in working on this show? The challenge was to build a set that depicted an eerie place and that has been done with panache.  Other challenges were the lighting, sound, special effects and choreography of people being shot.   What do you hope the audience takes away from the show? This play pays homage to a icon of the who-done-its, Agatha Christie. It is an excellent script full of comedy and mystery.  I hope in closing th...

Tell us about your character in A Party to Murder. I play Valerie Addison.  She and her sister, Henri, have come to the island for a weekend murder mystery game hosted by one of their favorite authors, Charles Prince.  Valerie runs the family business which is a local utility company.  She's someone who's used to being in control of things around her.  But this weekend away quickly unravels beyond her control...with some surprising results. What were some of the challenges you faced while working on this show? This is a show with a number of surprising plot twists, which made it a bit more challenging to learn in the first place.  But hopefully the audience will appreciate some unexpected turns as the story unfolds! What do you hope the audience takes away from the show? I hope it will be a couple of hours of spookiness and mixed humor that will round out their Halloween season.

Tell us about your character in A Party to Murder. Willy is a boisterous former football player, however his life changed after a car accident left him wheelchair bound.  Despite his hot temper flaring up every now and then, he is mostly concerned with telling off-color jokes and using situational humor to make sure the others do not take themselves, nor their situation so gravely... What were some of the challenges you faced while working on this show? Working with and getting accustomed to the wheelchair was a notable challenge for me.  Additionally, following the many twists and turns presented by the playwright also created the challenge of representing Willy's authentic motivations and emotions as he instigates and responds to various situations that arise. What do you hope the audience takes away from the show? My hope for our audiences is that just as they think they know how the story ends, we throw another plot twist to throw them off even more.  What be...

Tell us about your character in A Party to Murder. McKenzie is a very self-spoken, lively, and passionate young model who loves fashion, extravagance, and booze.  She is often the bud of many a joke or offhanded insult, but she never let's it get to her and continues to speak her mind boldly and decisively in every situation.  She is also a fan of using sarcasm and wit to lighten up any potential tense situation, like say, a murder? What were some challenges you faced in working on this show? I think the biggest challenge working on this show was definitely the script.  There are many twists, turns, and surprises and finding the right energy and dramatic build up for each, while also making sure each was different and unique to the story, was definitely a challenge.  The biggest concern was maintaining excitement and suspense, making sure the audience would be invested in the characters and the mystery, despite the actors having played it 20+ times before. What...

Tell us about your character in A Party to Murder. Henri is a really fun character to play.  What I like most about her is that she is not at all how people perceive her to be.  Although she is shy and constantly aims to please those around her, she does have an inner strength and lets this show at certain times throughout the show. What were some challenges you faced in working on this show? There are so many layers to the characters in this show.  It has been a real challenge trying to touch on and capture all of them throughout the performance. What do you hope the audience takes away from A Party to Murder? I hope the audiences are entertained throughout the show and that we continue to keep them on their toes!  There are sure to be a few surprises coming their way and I hope to leave them with some conflicted feelings about the story, perhaps reevaluating and looking at the story through each character's perspective.