'Murderers' to tell their stories

CLAYTON — Little Theatre of Watertown hopes to make a killing in its latest production, which will be presented at the Clayton Opera House starting Thursday.

Actually, the nasty part of the killings in "Murderers" is already over when the actors take the stage. But it's up to them to explain the situations to the audience.

Director Kristina L. Rusho said that the three roles in the play are challenging and that it takes certain skills to pull them off.

"Murderers" by Jeffrey Hatcher consists of three comic monologues from the killers who live at a Florida nursing home. Their tales are dark, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, said Miss Rusho.

The "Murderers" are Walker Kornfeld of Black River, Jane Bowman Jenkins of the town of Hounsfield and Sarah Hovey of Watertown. They all speak directly to the audience.

"The success depends on the actors and their ability to engage the audience," said Miss Rusho. "It's a very hard form of storytelling."

Miss Rusho said the actors had to memorize 10 to 13 pages of monologue.

"It's very daunting," she said. "A lot of people looked at it and said, 'I don't know if I could do that.'"

"The big challenge is holding the audience's attention," said Mrs. Jenkins. "They can get bored with a monologue."

The characters' explanations for the murders are more than violent tales. "It takes a new look at the culture we live in," said Miss Rusho. "The situations, as funny as they are, can happen in real life."

For example, Mr. Kornfeld plays Gerald Halverson, "the man who murdered his mother-in-law."

Mr. Halverson concocts a scheme to keep his mother-in-law's estate in the family. But "old friends and new faces threaten to spoil the scheme, and a surprise twist throws a wrench into Gerald's plans unless he can pull off the perfect murder," according to Dramatists Play Service Inc., publisher of "Murderers."

Mr. Kornfeld said he's had lead roles where he's had to memorize 400 lines, but the dialogue was stretched out over a few hours. Also, in a normal play, he noted, actors have a safety net of fellow actors on stage to remind them of a line or to ad-lib through a forgotten line.

"Having it just me and the audience is very intimidating," said Mr. Kornfeld. "But it gives me a lot more time to concentrate on the character. He's not relating to anyone. He's just telling the story."

Miss Rusho said that the monologue form is more personal for audiences. "They will end up thinking more and retaining more," she said. "The audiences can become co-conspirators and think, what would they do in their own lives?"

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Besides "the man who murdered his mother-in-law," the two other characters in "Murderers" are:

■ Lucy, the "long-suffering wife of Bob," played by Mrs. Jenkins. The husband has been on his best behavior for the past 20 years until his old flame takes up residence at the nursing home. Lucy constructs a plan to get rid of her cheating spouse.

Mrs. Jenkins said she memorized her 13 pages in five days.

"Everybody has a gift," she said. "Memorization is one of mine."

It's a talent that came in handy for the retired Jefferson County treasurer: "I never had to look up things a lot because I had them in my mind."

■ Minka Lupino, the nursing home's receptionist, played by Ms. Hovey.

"Minka is a fan of crime novels who becomes an avenging angel on a mission to rid the retirement community of its predators: the conniving heirs, the sticky-fingered health-care workers, the salesmen and contractors, and Bible thumpers who prey upon helpless senior citizens," according to a synopsis by Dramatists Play Service.

But things get more complicated when Minka meets her idol, a famous mystery novelist.

"It's all a little bit more macabre than our audiences are used to," said Mr. Kornfeld. "Especially after our last show, 'Bathroom Humor.' But I think they will find it just as entertaining and engaging."