Ponoka Community Theatre is delving into the realm of murder mystery with An Evening of Who Dunnit?
Two plays will be featured — Rogues Gallery and Curtain Call of Murder — May 3-5 at the Ponoka United Church.
Curtain is at 7 p.m. on May 3 and 4 and a matinee performance runs May 5 at 2 p.m.
Directed by Holly Sheppard, Rogues Gallery is described as a mystery/comedy featuring two security guards who are investigating the destruction of a sculpture in an art gallery.
The script was written by Elissa C. Huang, Tyler Dwiggins, Patrick Greene, Carrie McCrossen, and Ian McWethy.
Curtain Call of Murder is directed by Craig Sorensen, who also penned the script.
The story is about a murder that happens backstage at a particular theatre.
Sorensen grew up in Ponoka, later relocating to Vancouver to pursue acting.
“I did acting and modeling on the coast for about seven years,” he said, adding that he and his family ultimately chose to move back home.
He started to notice a local interest in the theatrical world.
Last fall, he saw Ponoka Community Theatre’s production of The Addams Family and knew he wanted to get involved.
That’s also when he got to thinking about what he’d like to see onstage, and the concept of a murder mystery came to mind.
So he opted to not only come onboard in the acting and directing departments, but he even wrote Curtain Call of Murder.
“It’s a play within a play,” he said.
“I also had one of my cast members help to write a song, and a dance number, and then I just added another song and dance number last week,” he added with a laugh. So it’s technically a murder mystery with elements of a musical in it.
“It was a lot of ‘process,’ but it only took me probably a couple of weeks to nail it down,” he said of the project.
He also noted how different theatre production is from the filmmaking genre — something he had been very much involved in over the years.
With film, there’s a specific framing of shots.
With theatre, there are all kinds of moving parts pretty much at once onstage — so the visual results have to be designed with that reality in mind.
And as though writing and directing the piece didn’t stir up enough busyness in his life, Sorensen is also acting in the play.
“I enjoy the acting side of it all so I had to give myself a little part in it.”
For Sorensen, directing the play has brought a striking sense of fulfillment.
“For me, (the best parts) are all the in-between times when the cast is goofing around, and they find that sparkle. I’ll say, keep doing that! I didn’t see that before.
“And every time I have left a rehearsal, I come home to my wife saying how much fun we have had. It brings me joy.”
The process of creating it, and watching people discover themselves as the play has taken shape, is also a highlight, he added.
Ultimately, he calls it a ‘Craig Sorensen collaboration’ because friends, family, and the cast have all offered thoughts and ideas about various aspects of Curtain Call of Murder.
“It takes a community to make it all come together.”
Tickets ($20) are available online at kfatheatre.com, from cast members, or at the door.
For more about Ponoka Community Theatre, email info@kfatheatre.com or find them on Facebook at Klaglahachie Fine Arts.