Story gets world premiere

Judith is a woman with everything. She is lovely and married to a handsome man. They share their lives in a hip Vancouver loft and love to travel and can do so because they have lucrative jobs in the tech and pharmaceutical industries. What could possibly make a woman like Judith unhappy? The answer lies in a mysterious and compelling secret from her past and tonight she is determined to face it.

This great plot line is the brainchild of Logan Mullin, a playwright from Vernon, and next week the story he has been crafting for over a year, Judith Ruins Everything, premieres on stage at Creekside Theatre.

“The story is essentially about parentage, but really it is based on three different ideas I was developing. I had an idea for this some time ago and I tried to write it first as a novel, but then decided it would be better as a play. I worked on it last year at New Vintage Theatre’s Playwright’s Hot House in Kelowna,” says Mullin.

The process of writing a play and having it get to the point of actually being on stage is a thrilling one, fraught with lots of drafts, workshops with directors and actors and many late night writing sessions. Logan Mullin commutes to work in Kelowna with a co-worker and wrote the play almost entirely on his iPhone along the way each morning and evening when it was not his turn to drive - not your stereotypical life of a writer.

After three months of intense work from January-March 2014 with myself, other playwrights and our company actors, Logan first had a staged reading at Pulp Fiction Coffeehouse. Following this a scene from the play was entered in our The Black Cat Cabaret New 10 Min. Play Cup back in February and won. At The Black Cat Cabaret it was announced Logan’s play would open our next season.

Directed by Angela Lavender (Five Women Wearing The Same Dress), the auditions for the roles in Judith Ruins Everything back in March were hotly contested by some of the finest actors in The Okanagan. Cast in this first production are the acclaimed actors Kendra Hesketh (BINGO!), John Van Dyk (Pith!), Cory Armour (God of Carnage) and Tamara Ross (Calendar Girls). For an actor it is a big deal to originate a role and these actors are excited to be the first to play these complex, funny characters.

It is also a big deal for us at New Vintage Theatre to see a local playwright develop his work from the ground up with us and bring it to the stage. As someone who has been there along the way I can tell you that it is a story that is unique and compelling - you must see it. I am hoping we will be the first production of many across North America for many years to come.

As for our plays developed in-house, there was another great group of three developed at the beginning of 2015, so stay tuned because Logan’s play will likely be the first of many home grown productions out of New Vintage Theatre’s Hothouse.

Be the first to see Judith Ruins Everything at Creekside Theatre, in Lake Country May 28-30 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 or $80 for a group of four and are available at the door or by calling 250-766-9309. Prizes from The Best of Lake Country will be drawn at each show. Sponsors include Gray Monk Winery, Aspen Golf Course, Creekside Theatre and Oyama Zipline.

For more info check out www.newvintage.ca as we have classes for playwrights/screenwriters, actors, directors and stage managers all summer long-no experience is necessary.

(Photo: Derek Gratz)

Actors-(L to R): John Van Dyk, Kendra Hesketh, Tamara Ross and Cory Armour.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.