SJRCC PRESS RELEASE February 2008 Florida School of the Arts presents the dark comedy "Crimes of the Heart" Florida School of the Arts promises an intimate evening of humor and humanity when it presents "Crimes of the Heart," the Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy by Beth Henley. The show runs February 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. and February 17 at 2:30 p.m. on the FloArts Main Stage Theatre at the St. Johns River Community College Palatka Campus. Admission is $5 and seating is limited. Call 312-4300 for reservations. The play contains mild language and mild adult subject matter. Set in the Deep South during the 1970s, the play revolves around three sisters who come together after the youngest attempts murder on her husband. FloArts acting instructor and play director Patricia Crotty said the crime forces the sisters to reconnect as a family and come to terms with their own unfinished family business and sibling rivalries. Crotty said the play focuses on revealing the truth of the characters' circumstances and allows the humor to emerge from there. "It's not a comedy with jokes," she said. "It's about comedy living in crisis - where things can't get any worse and there is nothing else to do but laugh." Scenic and lighting design instructor Robert O'Leary said the play demands a close relationship between the audience and actors, and the set is designed just for that experience. "The audience will step right into a day in the lives of these characters. We have built our own theatre upon the stage in order to give the audience an up-close and personal theatre experience not readily found in the area," O'Leary said. "In fact, to enter the seating area, audience members will walk through the back door of the Macgrath home and immediately be immersed in a fully functioning kitchen, where all good parties and plays about southern families end up." The featured cast list includes Debra Christopher as Babe Botrelle, Alix Daugherty as Meg Magrath, Chelsea Anderson as Lenny Magrath, Penny Endicott as Chick Boyle, Garrett Page as Doc Porter and Michael Philips as Barnette Lloyd. The production staff includes Patricia Crotty, instructor and director; Trista Auger, costume designer; Robert OÕLeary, instructor and scenic designer; Christopher Parrish, lighting designer; Katy Knowles, sound designer and production assistant; Pamela Endicott, hair designer; Lynnsey Slanina, costume instructor; Anna Kross, assistant director; Bill Rogers, stage manager; Kaitria Resetar, assistant stage manager; Whitney Firestine, assistant stage manager; Emily Van Dam, assistant costume designer; Romen Phelps, master electrician; Katy Knowles, production assistant; Dana Jenkins, scenic charge; Charles Rye, master carpenter/ assistant technical director; and Mark Carmouze, props. Florida School of the Arts is Florida's first state-supported professional arts school that serves the entire state of Florida and awards the two-year associate degree. FloArts is located on the SJRCC Palatka Campus. For more information, call 386-312-4300. CAPTION: From left, Florida School of the Arts students Alix Daugherty, Chelsea Anderson and Debra Christopher reminisce over an old family photo album in "Crimes of the Heart," a dark comedy regarding a dysfunctional family living in crisis. Return to SJRCC home page. Return to FloArts home page.