‘Bone Chiller’ final show runs Saturday night
Purebred Productions holds murder mystery comedy, ‘Bone Chiller.’
photo by Shannon Hahn
Senior Jaiden Braunston, who plays Travers’ lawyer Adeline Sheridan, is accused of murder by Dan Denton and Flame Fondue. The role was originally Adler Sheridan, a male role, but was changed to Adeline.
The curtains of the auditorium rose to reveal the living room of the Travers mansion, a red couch in the center, with a simple table set to the side and a bar in the back. On Nov. 18, at 7 p.m., the stage was set for Purebred Productions’ winter play, “Bone Chiller.” A murder-mystery comedy set in the home of Josiah Travers, the play centers around thirteen people who gather on Friday the 13th for the reading of Travers’ will. However, the will turns out to be a picture puzzle that the characters must solve to figure out who receives Travers’ fortune.
“I’m obsessed with murder mysteries,” sophomore Franceska Benson, who plays Zita van Zok, said. “So when I saw that our play was going to be a murder mystery, I was like ‘I have to do this.’ I really wanted to bring that aspect of my life into theater.”
Preparations for the play began two months before its premiere, with auditions held Sept. 18.
After the cast was finalized, rehearsals were held four times a week to develop the actors’ relationships with one another.
“We have characters that are sisters on the show, but they’re not sisters in real life. So how would sisters speak to each other? Who’s older, who’s younger? They ask each other lots of questions and they work through how it would feel in real life,” theater teacher and director Jamaal Solomon said.
Individual cast members also did their part to get to know their respective characters.
“I know Mauvins [the butler] has a slow walk,” senior Jarrett Warner said. “So while I’m at work, I’ll just hunch over and move as slowly as possible. I’d get the walk down and create a character that’s more than just 2D.”
Coming off 24 Superior ratings at the districts competition on Nov. 11, the cast has seen their acting skills grow and develop through these plays.
“It challenged me to play a character that is very different from myself. [ I had to think], ‘Okay, how would this character think?’” junior Kenna Gay, who plays Buzzy Burdett, said.
The next showing of “Bone Chiller” will be on Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $9 in advance, $11 at the door and $13 for front row seats, which can be purchased by using this link.
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