On May 30, I held a reading of my Christmas comedy FOLLOW HER STAR via Zoom, with an international cast:
Stage directions: Kate Cash (Kansas City, Missouri)
Happenstance Holliday: Ella Kennedy (Hamilton, Ontario)
Mary: Carolyn Zeigler (Roanoke, Virginia)
Goldie: Emily Bolyea-Kyere (Hamilton, Ontario)
Frank: Mason Micevski (Hamilton, Ontario)
Murray: Bill Armstrong (Norfolk, Virginia)
Officer Gabriel: Brian Otto (Waterloo, Ontario)
Angel O’Lord: Katerina Yancey (Fincastle, Virginia)
Guard: Tim Wood (Bogata, Texas)
Sheep One: Owen Lapsley (Hamilton, Ontario)
Sheep Two: Giselle Magie (Hamilton, Ontario)
Sheep Three: Mayalynn Koot (Hamilton, Ontario)
Shep: Frederic Doss (Paris, Texas)
Moose: Arlene Thomas (Kitchener, Ontario)
Canadian police: Tim Wood (Bogata, Texas)
Sheriff Yule: Will Walker Montgomery (Paris, Texas)
Polar bear: Scott Cooper (Waterloo, Ontario)
FOLLOW HER STAR
A different kind of Christmas story. A 12-year-old girl in the United States, disappointed that her mother couldn’t afford to celebrate Christmas, runs away from home in search of Santa Claus. Along the way she meets a series of characters eventually join the search for her as she makes her way north, eventually winding up in Churchill, Manitoba. While this appears to take a “fractured fairy tale” approach – the girl meets three people named Goldie, Frank and Murray, there’s a shepherd out tending his flock, and so forth – the ending conveys the message that Christmas isn’t about Santa Claus at all. There’s also a talking moose, three talking sheep who steal a farm truck and a police car, and a talking polar bear. Cast: 14-16, depending on doubling: 4 female, 4 male, and 6-8 non-gender. One of those female is 12 years old; one of the non-gender roles must be able to play a horn.
dwayneyancey 