A classic case of “who did it” comes to Plattsburgh State.
The SUNY Plattsburgh College Theatre Association will present “Cards on the Table” a play by Agatha Christie, adapted by Leslie Darbon April 1 to-3. The will start at 7:30 p.m in the Black Box Studio Theatre located in Meyers Hall.
PSUC senior English writing arts major Melanie Kiehl is directing the show. Kiehl, who has a theatre minor, said she has always had a interest for directing, and this will be Kiehl’s first time directing an entire show but her career with directing began a few years ago at the “student night of one acts
“I directed a couple of the student night of one acts over the years and i just decided that it would be fun to take on a full length show,” Kiehl said.
Kiehl said she chose “cards on the table” because she said, “Everybody likes a good murder mystery.”
After the host of a dinner party is murdered, eight guests will trade the typical game of bridge for the much more dangerous option of solving a murder mystery.
Kiehl held auditions at the end of the Fall 2015 semester and the cast began rehearsing at the beginning of this semester.
“We had a lot of very talented people auditioned so it’s been really exciting working with everyone,” she said.
Kiehl said the cast is made up of 12 characters.
After being a part of The Rocky Horror Picture Show his freshman year, PSUC sophomore audio radio production major Nathan Mausert said being involved with the College Theatre Association came naturally to him.
“I just kind of fell into the CTA, and we became a family, which was really nice,” he said.
Mausert will be playing Major Bruce Despard, an outgoing explorer. Mausert said he can relate to his character so well because he considers himself to be very outgoing and sees a lot of that in his character’s personality, as well.
Mausert said he has enjoyed working with new people in the cast.
The character of Anne Meredith will be played by PSUC freshman childhood education major Emily Garrand. This is Garrand’s first semester as a member of the College Theatre Association.
Garrand said the cast has put their own unique spin on the play by experimenting with different accents. Garrand said she spent time during her winter break working on her British accent.
After weeks of practicing, Garrand still wasn’t confident with her British accent so she decided to try an Irish accent and had much more success. Along with the accents Garrand said the play’s surprising plot changes will keep audience members in suspense and entertained.
“Every twist and turn makes you believe that every single person is the murderer and by the end you think you know who it is and then it’s somebody completely different.It’s almost like the movie clue,” she said. “It keeps you interested because everybody is accusing each other, and by the end you’re like, “It must be that one and the you’re like, “Wait it’s not that one?”
PSUC senior ecology major Keri Phillips will be playing Mrs. Lorimer, a wealthy expert bridge player. Phillips said her favorite thing about preparing for “Cards on the Table” is the way she can bring her character to life through her interactions with different cast members.
“That’s what really brings that out, and I very much enjoy working with everyone,” she said.
The cast began rehearsing at the beginning of this semester.
Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.plattsburgh.edu or at the Black Box Studio Theatre. Admission price is $2 students, faculty and staff and $5 for general admission.
“Even though we are a small club, we have dedicated a lot of time to this to make it something that’s going to be enjoyable,” Garrand said.
Email Kavita Singh at kavita.singh@cardinalpointsonline.com
