This spring, local theater ensemble Seniors Acting Up will present the comedy mystery A Plot of Murder. Seniors Acting Up—a group of actors and actresses, directors and stage crew, all ages 60 and up—has performed in Rutherford County since 2008.
The cast for A Plot of Murder includes actresses Carolyn Sneed Lester, Dorthy Jenkins, Judy Finch, Dee Elston, Bev Brockus, Kim Mullins, Edna McKnight, Carol Vincent and Cindy Dembowczyk with actors Wayne Johnson, Dave Reynolds, Don Hill and Jim Trasport. Ed Dembowczyk serves as stage manager.
The upcoming play is directed by Anne Jaspers and Karen Carothers.
“This year we have decided to do the comedy mystery dinner theater,” Jaspers said. “We are having a good time with it.”
The play deals with a homeowners’ association meeting, a setting that many local seniors can connect with, Jaspers said.
“People complaining about the grass being too high, bugs in the yard, and kids riding through the neighborhood. It really gets out of hand and is hysterical,” according to the co-director. “And then someone unexpected dies. And then they are figuring out who did it and voting on who they think the killer was.”
The play will open on Friday, April 4, with dinner served.
The troupe will also perform it as a matinee on Saturday, April 5, and Sunday, April 6, at St. Clair Senior Center in Murfreesboro.
The play is open to the public with tickets available at the senior center, 325 St. Clair St.
About 50 people have been involved in Seniors Acting Up since the group formed and started practicing in 2007. Charlie Parker served as the group’s first director. Parker was also a pianist, so the troupe performed musicals initially.
“Our favorite thing about performing is the interaction with the community,” Trasport said. “When we go to a place like Mindful Care, we like to visit and see the fun they have. Whether they understand the story or not, the fun comes from interacting. If nothing else, we want to spread that fun to other people in the community.”
Jaspers said they also have fun meeting new members of the acting group.
“Karen and I had a great little skit that we did about gossip in a beauty parlor,” she said. “We had a lot of fun with that and a lot of laughs.”
And, memorization is not required to perform with Seniors Acting Up.
“This is because most of the time, the audience kind of expects us to make mistakes,” Trasport said. “We use different props, we try to learn our lines and memorize them the best that we can. We practice and a lot of times it is ad-lib. What they always tell you as director is that you need to get the last two or three spoken words right because it is the cue for the next character. So we take liberty, but we do have to stick with the script as best we can.”
Seniors Acting Up includes all kinds of talents.
“Bev just loves to get into costume,” Trasport said about Bev Brockus, who often designs costumes.
“You wouldn’t believe the things I buy that are in my closet,” Brockus said. “I have wigs and hats . . . My husband and I were gypsies about six years ago and we traveled all around. You know, in a gypsy wagon, and I met different people . . . it was fun.”
Karen Carothers has written and acted in plays for decades.
“The first play I wrote was one about my sister, who is a pianist and a singer. She had a concert that I turned into a play, and we did that play all over different states for about two years,” Carothers said. “And then I wrote plays over the next 20 years.”
Dorthy Jenkins says she started acting about 20 years ago after she got a divorce and decided to do something out of her comfort zone.
“I was in Marietta, Georgia, and started writing little scripts and made skits, and people I went to exercise class with would do them with me,” she said. “Then I moved here and I came to the senior center to be involved in this group. And I think I am the oldest person in Seniors Acting Up . . . at least the most mature,” she quipped.
Edna McKnight did prison ministry for over 20 years in women’s federal prisons.
“We used to do little skits in the prison,” McKnight said. “Some of them were serious, but most of them were comedies because you don’t have any fun in prison, so the skits were always a delight.”
David Reynolds said acting has really helped him since he was diagnosed with dementia.
“My doctor says I have Alzheimer’s,” Reynolds said. “I started acting about 13 years ago. It gave me something to do and to concentrate on. And I’ve done pretty well for quite a while. I still act, although I don’t do multiple parts in the plays now. It has really been a blessing to me.
“I also have done karaoke and a little dancing. Now I’m just a senior acting up.”
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For more information on Seniors Acting Up and tickets for A Plot of Murder, contact Kathy Herod with St. Clair Senior Center at kherod@murfreesborotn.gov, call 615-848-2550 or drop by the center at 325 St. Clair St.
