Actors of a Certain Age Entertain at Scatter Creek Winery

Photo, left to right: Lynn Phillipi, Jennie Jenks, Kaki McClanahan, Scott Phillipi, Boojie Waldron, Bonnie Vandver, Bill Plenefisch, Ken Vandver
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By Alec Clayton

color graphics logoBonnie Vandver had a problem. She’s an actress, she’s been around quite some time, and she has become frustrated because there are not many roles for older actresses. And then she found a solution to her problem. She remembered going to Westport Winery a few years ago for a murder mystery performance put on by members of their wine club, and a light went off. “I had the idea of bringing something like that to Olympia,” she says. She could have joined the group at Westport but was worried about nighttime driving, so she invited Scott Phillipi from the Westport troupe and his wife, Lynn, to talk it over. “I was still feeling my way around — how to do it, how to fund it,” she says.

She wanted to involve older actors, and even thought it would be fun to have older actors playing younger roles. She and her husband, Ken, along with Phillipi, pulled together a group of actors plus some people who were not actors but were interested in taking part. They met in the Vandver’s back yard and started hashing out ideas. Among that initial group were Kaki McClanahan, Debe Edden, Keith Eisner, Kate Ayers, Sarah Thiessen. At least a few of these folks are well known for their work in community theater. Edden, for instance, is the founder and leader of Heartsparkle Players, and her husband, Eisner, was recently seen in an amazing performance as the abolitionist John Brown in a play written by local playwright Sky Myers. Phillipi’s only previous acting experience was in high school, but had been doing the murder mysteries at Westport Winery for about five years.

There are now actors 20 in the Vintage Players who work from scripts that tell what happens but do not tell the actors what to say, and with no rehearsal, and casting on a first-come, first-serve basis. Ken Vandver

Photo, left to right: Lynn Phillipi, Jennie Jenks, Kaki McClanahan, Scott Phillipi, Boojie Waldron, Bonnie Vandver, Bill Plenefisch, Ken Vandver
Photo, left to right: Lynn Phillipi, Jennie Jenks, Kaki McClanahan, Scott Phillipi, Boojie Waldron, Bonnie Vandver, Bill Plenefisch, Ken Vandver

explains that the way that works is she sends out a synopsis and a cast list and the actors choose what parts they want. By way of example, let’s say Edden sees one of the characters is a cleaning lady, and she really wants to play that cleaning lady. If she’s the first person to claim that role she gets it. Since they do each show twice, she might be the cleaning lady on Friday and somebody else gets that part on Sunday while she switches to another part.

They make fun of the script. Ken jokes that it doesn’t matter if they mess up because “the audience is half looped.”

“We don’t take ourselves seriously,” Bonnie says. “The plays are designed so an actor can just walk in and do it. No rehearsals.”

She quickly amends that to explain that it is still necessary for the show to run seamlessly. “That depends on the narrator and the stage manager. You do have to get your ducks in a row.”

“Ultimately the narrator is supposed to be in control,” Phillipi says, but his expression clearly states that being in control is a relative if not laughable concept.

Despite such a loose and playful approach there is structure to the shows. “It may look like mayhem but behind that is organization,” Bonnie says.

Every show has a narrator who tells the audience what is going on and who also tells the actors what to do. Wine is served and “There’s a lot of ham and cheese,” Bonnie says. And she’s not talking about the kind of ham and cheese you eat. Or is she? Food and wine are built into the structure. There’s an opening scene, then they break for an entrée, and then they finish the mystery and serve dessert. There is built-in audience participation, and the audience gets to decide who the killer is.

“We fulfill a function for mature actors where parts become increasingly few and far between, especially good ones.  And I felt it was time to step up to the plate and start serving an aging baby boomer population,” Bonnie says. Toward that end they continue to recruit new members to the troupe even though they have a pretty impressive cast already.

A recent Facebook posting read: “We’re an acting troupe geared toward actors ‘of a certain age’ . . . Our group offers the joy of performing with no prolonged rehearsal and performance schedule. Just show up in costume, ready to go. You’ll receive prior background information on plot and characters. No memorization required, everything is prompted, and you’re free to improv as much as you want. Other than dishing up pure ham, you can opt to be Narrator or Stage Mgr. The fee to join is nominal, and will more than pay for itself with your first gig: all participants will receive some form of compensation. Cheers!”

That “nominal fee” she mentions is $15, and she stresses that even though they are recruiting mature actors anybody of any age regardless of acting experience is welcome.

Vintage Players now perform at Scatter Creek Winery at 291 Sussex Ave W in Tenino thanks to the good graces of Scatter Creek Winery owners Andrea and Terrill Keary.

Their next performances will be Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 6 at 6 p.m. The show is Bordello of the Damned, a comic murder mystery set in the Wild West. Bonnie said the Kearys wanted a Wild West show because Tenino is at the end of the Oregon Trail. Customers are encouraged to show up in Western gear. Some well-known local actors have been added to the cast, including Christine Goode, Heather Christopher, Kate Ayers and Jennie Jenks. This one should be a hoot.

For Tickets:  Contact Andrea Keary at Scatter Creek Winery, (360) 264-9463

To join the group or for more information email bonjoy@comcast.net

 

 

 

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