MASQUERS TO STAGE A CELEBRATED THRILLER

Dial "M" for Murder by Frederick Knott is an Alfred Hitchcock classic from 1953. Eric Van Woert is blowing the dust off it, and ratcheting up the suspense as he directs it for a May opening at Masquers Theater in Soap Lake.

The driving force of the play is a love triangle between a husband (Eric Suitter), a wife (Melissa Sloan), and her former boyfriend (Allen Mengis). Other cast members are Bob Jasman and Randy Brooks. Dial "M" for Murder encompasses greed, jealousy, blackmail, and murder.  Interest builds for the audience because they are in on the plot from the beginning. It's the characters who never see the full picture. As the story progresses, the characters come to various incorrect conclusions, masterminded by the villain of the play.  As an audience member, you just want to scream "No!  That's not how it happened!  Can't you see that person is lying to you?!"  It’s not the resolution of the murder that builds the suspense; it's the waiting and watching to see if the characters can discover the true crime, the one the audience has known about all along

Eric Van Woert is in his element as he takes on this famous thriller. It is quiet in style, but tingling with excitement underneath.

Performances of Dial "M" for Murder will be at 8:00 P.M. on Fridays and Saturdays, May 6-7; 13-14; 20-21; and 27-28. Sunday matinees will be at 3:00 P.M. on May 15 and 22. All tickets are $10. Call the box office for reservations at 246-2611.

Masquers Volunteers Know How to Have Fun

Masquers Theater consists of volunteers who want to exercise their creative talents, or support someone else’s. At the center of this is the magnetism of the spot- light. A community theater allows regular folks, even shy ones, to get up on stage and spread their wings before a live audience. In a small community like this, there are opportunities for even inexperienced thespians to audition for a part.

When asked why she was willing to give up so many of her weekends and evenings to theater, Melissa Sloan responded:

"People ask me how I manage to run the store with the kids during the day and still find the time to go to rehearsals in the evening.  I kind of find it funny because they ask me that as if it's a chore, when in fact for the most part it's something I look forward to.  I think about all the things I would have missed out on if I had never gone to that first audition -- the creative use of Chamomile Lemon tea bags in Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, bats flying around on stage during performances, Ken Greene with a mouth so full of whipped cream that he had to walk off stage, Len Schulmeister and Robert Barker walking around as Pasta boxes -- dozens and dozens of strange, funny and memorable experiences that would never happen to a person in "real life".

Eric Suitter says, "Masquers has given me a place to use a talent I hadn’t used in years, and re-introduced me to the joy of live theater."

But the folks you see on stage are just the tip of the iceberg known as Masquers Theater. Behind the scenes are people like Technical Director, Richard Elvin who is responsible for most of the sets as well as the lighting. He is always looking for creative people to contribute their ideas and skills to set construction. Then there are the light and sound technicians, unsung heroes and heroines really. If they do their job right no one ever notices, but if they make a mistake everyone knows. More of them are needed at Masquers.

There are also backstage people who manage the props and see that the performance runs smoothly. Many people choose to make their theater debut backstage. Denise Keegan is in charge of wardrobe, and makes sure it is properly taken care of. She also uses helpers

There are many more that volunteer to help in each production. Bobbi Christie is in charge of the box office. With help from Lynn Witham and Carol Williams, she takes reservations and sells tickets. Bobbi needs three or four ushers and ticket sellers for each performance. This is a short-term commitment and a good way for a volunteer to get started.

Publicity is a necessary part of Community Theater, and is a creative outlet for people who can write, take pictures, do graphics, talk to people, distribute posters, and come up with innovative ideas for promoting the theater.

"Before I got involved with Masquers I barely knew how to use a computer," says Ken Greene who designs some of Masquers posters. " But I wanted to design posters for Masquers, so I was propelled into learning things I didn’t know I could do."

Cindy Ray is Masquers’ event planner. "I’m looking for volunteers to help with planning the Masquer-Aid Benefit to be held on Labor Day week end," she says. "We are open to suggestions and ideas! We meet once or twice a month until the last month. If you are interested in being a part of Masquer-Aid, please call me at 246-0387."

Volunteering is easily accomplished by calling volunteer coordinator, Dorene Bendickson at 765-4414 or by leaving a message in the box office at 246-2611.

A Double Salute To the Visual Arts

Art Guild of Soap Lake Area

Masquers Theater salutes one of its artistic partners, the Art Guild of Soap Lake Area. The Art Guild arranges and hangs the art display in the lobby of the theater, with the works of a different artist displayed for each play. The featured artist for Dial "M" for Murder will be Norma Crowell. She is a local artist who paints landscapes and other subjects.

The Art Guild is an energetic group of visual artists whose mission is "To promote the awareness and appreciation of Art, Artisans and Artists, to encourage community to be involved in the passionate pursuit of visual art, to enhance the skills and knowledge of developing practitioners and to emphasize indigenous themes."

They meet the third Wednesday of every month and feature a guest speaker. The next project for the ART GUILD will be the Photography show on July 4.

SLAM (Soap Lake Art Museum)

Masquers Theater proudly welcomes the opening of SLAM. This new art museum is a destination for visitors and an integral part of the growing arts community in Soap Lake. Encouraging and inspiring creative freedom, SLAM provides a place to show contemporary works in the visual arts, and an appreciation for the artist’s thought provoking and shifting boundaries of context.

SLAM showcases a new contemporary artist every month beginning with an "Artist Reception" the last Friday (or Sat on occasion) of each month from 7PM to 11PM. The gallery is open to the public and everyone is invited to the reception to meet the artist and share in hors d’ oeuvres and beverages. The artist’s work can then be seen throughout the month by appointment.

Ethan Jack Harrington, a Seattle Artist will be the artist for the month of May. Ethan will also be an Artist in Residence in Soap Lake and the surrounding area for 10 days, creating paintings of local scenes including buildings, landscapes, portraits and still life. He is a plein-aire oil painter. He sets up his easel on sidewalks, rooftops, or open fields and paints his surroundings quickly in order to capture the mood of the moment. Ethan has painted professionally in the United States and Europe for 10 years.

Artist Reception for Ethan Harrington will be Saturday, April 30 from 7PM to 11PM.

SLAM is located in the two-story brick building on the corner of Main Street and Daisy. The address is 410 E. Main St., Soap Lake. Owners and curators Brent Blake and Melea Johnson may be contacted at any time at 509-246-1692.