'The Murder Room' kills in new Placer Community Theater stage production

For the last several weeks, actors Angela Acquistapace, Dennis Hungridge, Connie Carpenter Voelker, Chris Weston, Jessica Eva Ross and Noah Harris have gathered to prep and rehearse "The Murder Room," a play being directed by Jody Klemens for the Placer Community Theater. Klemens is a veteran of the stage herself, having been an actor in many productions, including this particular play in the late 1990s. There's an anticipation in the air, common during rehearsal. It's because of the play's genre, Klemens says. Written by Jack Sharkey in 1977, the play is a farce about a newly-married woman's schemes to kill her husband having gone awry. The timing has to be perfect in order to keep the action moving and the audience intrigued. For preparation of the show, Klemens went into things with a mentality of staying true to the genre, "Making sure the timing is spot-on and the energy is high," she said. "Farce is an exact 'science' and since it's my favorite form of theater, I want the timing to be good, the characters funny and the action non-stop." Whether comedy or musical, catering to local audiences is vital, says Yolla Ryder, artistic director for Placer Community Theater. She is part of a team tasked with seeking out stories for the company that audiences want to see. The committee conducts a poll at their shows usually, asking questions about types of genres, which is then used in planning the next season of shows. "We select a theme (for the season)," Ryder said, outlining the process. "We normally do three productions, and part of some of the criteria would then be what we can afford and what is feasible, what we can stage with what we have. And also a very important factor is what the community wants." This is why it is best that the committee – unlike some other theater companies – remain independent of the theater group, an attribute Ryder says is preferable. "I like having an independent committee," Ryder says. "… Some theater companies will select plays along with their board members or through the board. And they all have their own personal interests – I have a specific area of theater that I like to work in. But the rest of the community may not like the kind of plays that I personally like." Klemens brought up the idea of staging Murder Room when the company had been unable to secure rights to a different show, and remembering the fun she had portraying one of its ensemble characters, fun she hopes to translate with the upcoming production. "People want to come to the theater to escape, to laugh, to forget about their troubles for a while," Klemens says. "This show provides lots of laughs and lighthearted fun. That's what I think will resonate with the audience." Acting in something requiring precision comic timing and energy is no small feat. Acquistapace is a comedy veteran, appearing in last year's comedic play Pickleball, but has only recently returned after having stepped away from acting to raise her family. Acquistapace enjoyed the rigors of putting on a comedy and using the physicality of her character, Mavis Hollister, as well as the wittiness in the play's script. Acquistapace seeks her character's motivations and uses that to build the performance. "The character is delicious," she said. "It's a lot of fun. Um, it has a lot of meat on the bones. So there's a lot of material that you can infuse a lot of physical comedy in, which is something that I love to do. So it's been a joy and a pleasure to get to work on it." Being one of an ensemble meant creating harmony between all of the performers' unique personalities, something director Klemens' past experience helped with. "My acting background helps me communicate with actors in clear, practical ways because I understand the process from the inside," Klemens says. "That perspective is especially valuable in farce, where timing, precision and ensemble trust are essential." Ultimately, all of this hard work and preparation is for the benefit of an audience's enjoyment. Placer Community Theater is riding high from its popular production of Pickleball and hopes this season will continue the trend. "I'm just very excited to be directing again," said Klemens, "and to be given this chance by Placer Community Theater to create something memorable and delightful." The play will run from March 13 until March 29 at General Gomez Arts Center in Auburn. Tickets available at www.placercommunitytheater.org.