After months of rehearsal, director Ronnie Korte and her cast finally put their skills to the test as they entertained the community with their production of the comedy "Southern Fried Funeral." The actors played out the story of a Mississippi family dealing with the loss of their father, Dewey, and the hijinks that occur when people come to pay their respects.
Plays at the Finke Theatre are a tradition for the California community. Residents fill the seats of the playhouse to see their friends and family members perform in a unique production during this annual event.
Korte reported the theatre had a full house (275 seats) for shows during the end of the week. Tickets were sold out for their final performance on Saturday.
"It's our biggest production that we do and (it is one) that we do ourselves," Korte said. "It's all in-house. A lot of (plays involve) having someone else come in, set up and put on a show, but we do this ourselves."
She explained the cast and crew are all local to the area. As a community production, it is always important that the Finke Theatre creates a show its friends, family and neighbors can relate to, and "Southern Fried Funeral" is the kind of play to do just that.
Focusing on the story of a widow and her small town family allows the audiences to see themselves in the actors and their performances.
According to Korte, residents, and even audience members from out of town, always come out to enjoy the production. Korte said it is impressive to see such large community support. She said whatever project a local group may be putting together, they know people are going to be there for you.
"I always perceive it in two different ways," Korte said. "People are gonna be there to help you and then people are going to show up to see what you did. You do feel like you've got a whole large group of people there backing you. And then you also want to put on a good show or make a good event for them. You feel like you're building something together and you never want to disappoint."
The cast began work in early February, and practiced at least once a week. However, as the show drew closer, the cast rehearsed at least once a day to make sure everything was right for the audience.
Korte said she often repeats the phrase, "in big productions there is no small part." After seeing all the hard work her cast and crew have put into their plays, she is a firm believer anyone and everyone can be involved in community theater.
"You can work backstage, you can do costuming, you can do set design or you can be the star. Whatever you're looking for, there's something for everyone in the community theater. Some people may (not) feel comfortable out in front but there's always a place for it. And even if you come in and are not comfortable taking a big role, every role and every part is just as important as the other."
She said if it's just the superstars on the stage then the story isn't getting told. Everyone's job, whether as an actor or crew member, is important to the whole production. And what comes out of the collaboration is something the audience can visibly enjoy in one way or another.