Actors to Slip on Dancin' Shoes and Become 'Dancin' Fools'
April 18, 2010
By ST CLAIRE DONAGHY
Index-Journal
Greenwood, SC - It's most appropriate the premiere of a play set in South Carolina, about the state dance - the shag - debut in a S.C. theater, according to Bess Park, Greenwood Community Theatre's artistic/executive director, who is directing "Dancin' Fools," written by playwright Laddy Sartin.
- Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and April 29, 30, and May 1 and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and May 1 and 2.
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- Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors and military personnel with identification, $11 for students with identification and $8 for children 11 and younger.
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- "The script for this two-act play is hysterical," Park said. "The play is set in a summer RV park near Conway, South Carolina during Labor Day weekend.
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Playwright Laddy Sartin, left, talks with Grainger Hines in October 2008 before the debut performance of Sartin's “Catfish Moon” at GCT. (Staff photo by T.M. James)
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"It involves five characters - three men and two women. The leading male, Smooch, is to be in the dance contest, but his partner drops out shortly before the contest. He then has to figure out who is going to dance with him," Park said.
The cast is Todd Philcox as Smooch, Duffy Bridges as Boat, Wally Dorn as Charlie, Andre Lubeke as Lou Lou and Melissa Hull as Sylvia.
"We see a little bit of ourselves in these incredibly accessible characters," Park said, noting she and playwright Sartin have known each other for several years.
"We first met when I taught at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina and we were producing one of his plays," Park said. "Laddy writes about real people and heart-felt relationships, which are evident in his writing."
Park, Sartin and GCT previously collaborated on a production of Sartin's "Catfish Moon," involving three childhood friends spending time on an old fishing pier at a lake.
But, "Dancin' Fools" is all about Carolina dance associated with beach music.
The state's official dance since 1984, the shag is described as "southern swing tempered by influences of jazz, blues, and gospel music," that dates to the 1940s, according to the "South Carolina Encyclopedia" edited by Walter Edgar.
To make sure "Dancin' Fools" cast members all didn't have two left feet, Park enlisted the help of Janada Jay, senior program director at the Greenwood Family YMCA, who has been shagging for nearly a decade and has taught classes on the dance.
"The shag is so much fun," Jay said.
"It's stress relief for me. Cast members for 'Dancin' Fools' were easy to teach and they caught on very quickly."
The key to shagging, Jay said, is to "relax and have fun."
For more shagging fun, be sure to check out GCT's Shag Party in the Courtyard with a Frogmore stew dinner from 5 - 8 p.m. May 1.
Call (864) 229-5704 or email tgct@greenwood.net for information, play tickets and reservations.
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