MAYHEW – East Mississippi Community College will present the debut performance of “Interference,” a play by theater instructor Don Vaughan, Thursday, April 4. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. at the Lyceum auditorium, Golden Triangle campus in Mayhew.
“I started writing the play several years ago, primarily as a teaching tool for my theater appreciation students, and finished it in 2011. I thought the first play in EMCC-GT’s new theater program should be this one,” Vaughan said.
Much of the play reflects Vaughan’s work at radio stations while in college. The story takes place in 1968, the year one of his favorite radio stations, The Big 98, WKOR-Starkville, first signed on the air.
“Interference” is about a young woman who takes over her father’s radio station in Hays, Kan., after his untimely death. As the four-act play opens, Susan Hardesty is managing the station and has picked up the sign-on shift once hosted by her father. Things get interesting when a young man at a radio station in Pueblo, Colo., answers her ad for an announcer’s job.
Cast and crew
The cast includes students and employees of East Mississippi Community College: Laura Beth Berry of Columbus, Victoria Butler of Starkville, Kyle Gurley of Starkville, Jared Leverette of Columbus, Jordan Lewis of Starkville, Cynthia Logan of Starkville, Zach Luther of Jackson, and Sean Manders, Shell Richardson, Dr. Melanie Sanders, Undre Williams and Graham Young, all of Columbus.
Victoria Butler of Starkville portrays the lead role of Susan Hardestry. She comes to EMCC with five years of musical theater experience and stage credits in “Guys and Dolls,” “Aladdin,” “Children of Eden,” “Zombie Prom” and “Footloose.”
“Working with all the new people here at EMCC has been a blast,” Butler said. “‘Interference’ has been a great opportunity.”
Some cast members have acting experience. Others are making their stage debuts. All agree rehearsing the play has been a learning experience. Jared Leverette of Columbus aspires to become a movie star/voice actor and said, “It’s been a great opportunity, but it has been a challenge getting to where we need to be.”
His castmate, Kyle Gurley of Starkville, is a secondary education/English major who plans to teach high school English.
“What impressed me the most is the effort we’ve put into putting the whole production together in such a short time,” Gurley said.
Tickets for “Interference” will be available at the door Thursday night. Adult tickets are $10. Students under 18, $5. EMCC students and employees get in free with ID. For more information, contact EMCC communication instructor Sandra Grych at 662-243-2630 or [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.