Raccoon Restaurant, written by William and Reah Easley of Fannin County, runs Oct. 12-15 at Grayson County College’s Cruce Stark Auditorium. Presented by the college’s theatre department, the play is designed for audiences of all ages. Tickets are $1.
The comedy introduces Will and Molly, a couple who live in the country and feed a group of raccoons in their front yard. This raccoon restaurant brings animals and humans together in a tale of friendship and loyalty. The play includes a few songs that enhance the storyline, but the one-hour production is not a musical.
The GCC performances are the first for the production, which also serves as the college’s entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). A festival respondent from the KCACTF Regional Committee will attend one performance to judge the script, actors, crew and overall production for the competition as well as offer a critique to the theatre students.
Raccoon Restaurant is GCC theatre’s is the first main stage show of the semester. It includes numerous actors and crew members as well as extravagant costumes, large sets and full-blown technical effects created by Thea Albert and Tenna Matthews, both professors of theatre at GCC. Original costumes were designed by Albert and sewn by students. Students also built the abstract sets designed by Albert. From a technical perspective, the play’s plot is enhanced with gobos, which is textured light, shapes and color saturation, designed by Matthews.
“The costumes are fabulous,” said Robin Robinson, GCC’s theatre director and professor of theatre and speech. “Thea was challenged to find a way to give each animal character – most of them raccoons – their own look and personality. She achieved that by utilizing texture, shape and minute color variations to distinguish them. It’s amazing.”
Freshmen Wes Hayes of Howe and Kasandra Poindexter of Whitewright are Will and Molly. Miranda Shell, Gainesville sophomore, and Steven Stimpson, Cedar Hill freshman, round out the cast of “humans” as Aunt Ophelia and Sheriff.
GCC freshmen cast as critters include: Jose Gomez of Denison as Whitey; Levi Hardin of Denton as Hawk Dodger; Whitney Bierilo of Ivanhoe as Old Timer; Andrew Steele of Miller Grove as Craven; Blake Rice of Savoy as Flynn; and Dillon Wooten of Trenton as Hawthorn.
Sophomores in the critters cast include: Justin Roberts of Bells as Petey; Amber Patrick of Colbert as Daisy; Albanie Knight as Marigold and Kalvin Douglas as Gloves, both of Denison; Noah Scheibmeir of Sherman as Little Trouble; Elizabeth Holland of Trenton as Mrs. Jennings; and Judson Wall of Whitewright as Petey Junior.
In addition to Robinson, the production staff includes Albert on scenic and costume design, Matthews on light design and tech director, and James Scoggins, media technology specialist at GCC, on sound design.
Cast members who also serve on the production staff include: Douglas, makeup and hair design; Hardin, wardrobe; and Holland and Roberts, props. Sophomores who complete the production staff include: Fabian Garcia of Community as sound board operator; Jarod Milner of Denison as sound board operator; Maggie Bergener of Denton as light board operator and master carpenter; Lexi Lehberg of Frisco as assistant master electrician; J.J. Battles as costume assistant to the designer and Skylar Fulton as assistant stage manager, both of Tom Bean; and Jessica Huffstetler of Whitesboro as stage manager.
Raccoon Restaurant performances are at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Oct. 12, 13 and 14. The show concludes with two Saturday performances on Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Actors will be available after the performance to pose for photographs with audience members who bring their own cameras. For more information, contact the GCC Theatre Department at 903-463-8609 or theatre@grayson.edu
photos by Allen Rich