‘Doing Agatha’—

Film Screenings To Benefit Little Theatre

By Nancy K. Crevier

A benefit screening of the independent film Doing Agatha, produced by Newtown resident Michael Stanley with writer and producer Alexander Kulcsar of Fairfield, will be shown at The Little Theatre, Orchard Hill Road, on Friday and Saturday, August 1 and 2, at 8 pm.

The film follows the adventures and misadventures of actress Laura Wainwright, played by Ann Kinner, who disappears just as she is about to appear in the Broadway revival of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. A confused Laura resurfaces in Connecticut where she stumbles upon a community theater rehearsing another Christie play, The Unexpected Guest. Laura steps into the leading actresses shoes when that leading lady goes missing. The mayhem and mishaps of community theater are captured in the film as one unexpected challenge after another crops up, and cast and crew fall apart.

Doing Agatha was shot at Newtown’s community theater the winter of 2003 through 2004, and features many Newtown community theater actors as extras, and Newtown resident Leigh Griswold in a lead role as Candy Clapper/Benny. Ms Griswold has appeared in daytime dramas, independent films, and national commercials. She has performed in numerous Square One Theatre productions in Stamford, and the Off Broadway productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Three Sisters.

Local actor and director Doug MacHugh also has a connection with To Kill A Mockingbird, as he was the principal director of the To Kill A Mockingbird production this past spring as part of the C.H. Booth Library Newtown READS project. Mr MacHugh, a film teacher at Sarah Lawrence College, is a veteran actor of many TV sitcoms and Off Broadway theater. He plays the role of Mitch in Doing Agatha.

Doug Taylor, a professional director, actor and playwright whose works include more than 60 plays, including Best Friends on Broadway, plays the main role of Arden Sherwood. He was founder and artistic director of The Connecticut Center Acting Ensemble for 19 years, and an original member of the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, a member of the Actors Studio Playwriting Unit, and charter member of the Theatre Artists Workshop. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service and are in several textbooks.

 “Doing Agatha is a comedic take that people in theater can really relate to,” said Pam Meister, chairperson of The Little Theatre. “We were thrilled to have our theater selected for the filming. It is really a labor of love.”

While community theater offers an easy target for ridicule, said producer Alexander Kulcsar, the film is actually about the ability to maintain acting and identity while coping with disasters. The script was written to take advantage of The Little Theatre in Newtown, the backdrop for most of the story, he said.

A donation of $10 is suggested to view the screening. All proceeds will go to The Town Players of The Little Theatre of Newtown. Reservations can be made by calling 270-9144. Seating is limited in the 70-seat theatre.