Introducing the Cast of Jasper's 2025 Play Right Series Winning Play - Busted Open by Ryan Stevens

Ryan Stevens - Jasper’s 2025 Play Right Series Winning Playwright & author of Busted Open

As we move toward July 20th and the first meeting of the Jasper Project’s 2025 Play Right Series Community Producers, we’re excited to announce the cast for Ryan Steven’s brand new original play, Busted Open!

Directed by Jane Turner Peterson, the cast of Busted Open includes the following —

Sunset: Ella Riley

Artemis: Kristin Cobb

Amy Bell: Maggie Baker

Jane Richmond: Allison Allgood

Painkiller: Beth DeHart

Rachel “Victory” Vance: Zanna Mills

Phil Kirkland: Clayton King

Trevor Richmond: Josh Kern

We’re still assembling our 2025 roster of Community Producers and we’d love to have you join us!

On select Sunday afternoons this summer you are invited to join with the cast, crew, and fellow Community Producers for an enlightening and entertaining session that pulls back the curtains of theatre development and illuminates how a stageplay goes from page to stage. Your first session will offer you a private viewing of the first step in a play production, the Table Reading – the first time the cast of the winning play will read their parts together.

Subsequent sessions will focus on essential ingredients in the production of a successful staged reading, such as the stage manager’s job; props, lighting, blocking, and sound; unique insights from the director; how the actors prepare for their parts; playwright perceptions from this year and past projects; and an invitation to the dress rehearsal. In addition to your invitation to gather with the cast and crew every Sunday in July, each session will also feature exciting snacks and beverages. And many more surprises each week!

Finally, you’ll take your reserved, best-in-the-house seats to a ticketed staged reading.

But there’s more.

Your name will be included as a Community Producer on programs, posters, press releases, and other promotional materials as well as in the perfect bound book published by Muddy Ford Press and registered with the Library of Congress, and you will take home your own copies as a souvenir of your experience.

What is expected of Community Producers?

We hope you can make it to every exciting Sunday afternoon meeting, but we understand if you have to miss some. Each session will last from 90 – 120 minutes.

The financial commitment for a Community Producer is a minimum of $250 per person, but other sponsorships are also available and appreciated.

Our hope is that you will be so enlightened and inspired by this experience that you will become a diplomat of live theatre, fresh playwrights, and the Jasper Project and encourage your friends and colleagues to participate in live theatre themselves!

Play Right Series 2025 Community Producer Schedule

SUNDAY, JULY 20: Introducing Ryan Stevens and Busted Open
Meet the 2025 Play Right Series Winning Playwright Ryan Stevens and witness the Inaugural Table Reading of Busted Open

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3: The Art of Stagecraft
The cast & crew of Busted Open explain the process of preparing for a role and tricks of the trade to demystify some of the magic of the theatrical arts   

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17: The Playwright's Craft
Learn about the processes of 4 award-winning playwrights including Ryan Stevens, Chad Henderson, Lonetta Thompson, and Colby Quick with your host Jon Tuttle, author of South Carolina Onstage, The Trustus Collection, and more

SUNDAY, AUGUST  31:  Sneak Peek Week!
Be a fly on the proverbial stage wall among an intimate group of guests to watch a working rehearsal of Busted Open – see how far the cast has come since the first ever Table Reading just six weeks earlier

SUNDAY: SEPT 14: The Big Event – Staged Reading of Busted Open
Take your reserved seat for the Premiere Stage Reading of Busted Open by Ryan Stevens at Columbia Music Festival Association and enjoy a post-show champagne toast to the cast, crew, and creator of Busted Open!

Purpose of the Play Right Series

Empower and enlighten audiences by allowing them insider views of the steps and processes of creating theatre art by

• Offering limited open table and stage readings of theatrical works as well as rehearsals of theatrical works to community members

• Offering Community Producer opportunities to the community members by keeping production costs low and involving community assets already in place. In exchange for an established minimal financial contribution, Community Producers are invited to attend designated open readings and rehearsals, informal presentations by cast and crew, and opening night performances with producer credits. The result: Community Producers learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become invested personally in the production and success of the play and its cast and crew, thereby becoming diplomats of theatre arts.

Increase opportunities for theatre artists to create and participate in new art without the necessity of being attached to an existing theatre organization by

• Offering a space and arts engineering for playwrights to workshop their plays and one-off theatre arts experiences and potentially have them produced

• Putting out calls for new works of theatre art from new and existing playwrights, as well as work opportunities for on-stage and backstage theatre artists.

Provide more affordable and experimental theatre arts experiences for new and emerging theatre artists and their audiences; thereby expanding cultural literacy and theatre arts appreciation in the

Have You Heard About the Monthly After Dinner Cabaret?

At the Jasper Project, new art is our M.O. And we applaud the artist who, whatever their discipline, steps out of the long line of folks waiting patiently for their big breaks to take control and make their breaks happen for them with their own vision, fortitude, and faith in themselves and their sisters and brothers in the arts trenches.

This week we’re applauding The Monthly After Dinner Cabaret, a King/Henderson project - that’s Vicky Saye Henderson Van Horne and Clayton King - both prolific performers with a history of making art happen in the SC Midlands and beyond.

The pair offer a great explanation of their history and mission on their website, which we share with you below:

The Story of The Monthly After Dinner Cabaret

The Monthly After Dinner Cabaret offers a chance to enjoy some of the Midlands' most celebrated cabaret and theatre performers once a month in an intimate and lively atmosphere. Sharing an eclectic mix of music and stories, our performers have over 400 years of combined experience delivering lively and entertaining programs.

 We started small in 2023 with a six-month series in a small venue on Two Notch Road. As word got out that this fun event was happening every month, audiences started to grow, and over the course of the next year, we knew we were on to something. 

Our goal was (seemingly) simple. Provide an evening of live music without the need to purchase dinner or drinks. In other words, enjoy a dinner with a friend at your chosen place, and then come join us at the cabaret! Easy, laid back, and fun!

The Monthly After Dinner Cabaret is moving to a new performance space next month. We are excited about performing at Columbia Music Festival Association Artspace in downtown Columbia. Our new venue offers a more comfortable setting with better seating and acoustics, providing an improved experience for all. The intimate atmosphere you've come to enjoy will remain, with the added benefit of enhanced staging. We look forward to welcoming you to our new location for an evening of entraining and quality performances in a fresh environment. If you're not already on our mailing list, please subscribe by using the button below to receive updates as they unfold.

Congratulations to the entire troupe of MAD Cabaret performers, and thanks to Columbia Music Festival Association for providing this company a performance home.

MAD Cabaret’s next event is Tuesday October 8th at 7:30 at CMFA and features Mandy Applegate, Jonathan Monk, w/ Greg Boatright.

Purchase Tickets Here.

REVIEW: Chapin Theatre Company's Into the Woods by Melissa Ellington

Chapin Theatre Company presents an outstanding production of Into the Woods with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College. The musical debuted in 1986 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, followed by a Tony Award-winning Broadway production in 1987. Numerous other versions of Into the Woods have emerged over the years, including Broadway and London revivals as well as the 2014 film adaptation. (This reviewer first fell in love with the musical through the PBS American Playhouse filming of the original stage production. Into the Woods became the first of many musicals I would direct with high school students, and I have fond memories of problem-solving its trickier production demands with energized and optimistic teenagers.) The Chapin Theatre Company succeeds in producing a musical with considerable history through an innovative and fresh approach.

Into the Woods weaves together familiar fairy tales in clever and surprising ways. Key characters are drawn into the woods in pursuit of their dreams and desires: the Baker and his wife seek items needed to lift the Witch’s magic spell and cure their childlessness; Cinderella travels to her mother’s grave for advice on how to attend the prince’s ball; Jack (of eventual beanstalk fame) must sell his beloved cow Milky White in a desperate effort to alleviate his family’s poverty; and Little Red Riding Hood sets out for her grandmother’s house, only to be waylaid by the Wolf. While Act One traces the journey towards wish fulfillment, Act Two takes a darker turn as the characters face what happens after “happily ever after.” As Cinderella sings to a heartbroken Little Red Riding Hood: “Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood. Others may deceive you. You decide what’s good.”  Recognition of human imperfection and finding hope amid bleak circumstances provide thematic cornerstones that are as timely now as ever.

Into the Woods has been challenging and moving audiences for decades, and astute director Jamie Carr-Harrington has assembled a top-notch cast for this excellent production.  In the central role of the Baker, Clayton King provides vocal power and emotional connection through pivotal numbers such as “No More,” a poignant sequence with the Mysterious Man (aptly played by Andy Nyland, who is also the appealing Narrator.) Becca Kelly (Baker’s Wife) and Karly Minacapelli (Cinderella) create engaging characters while sharing gorgeous vocal talents.

Catherine L. Bailey triumphs in the complex role of the Witch, communicating both strength and frailty in songs such as “Last Midnight” which is performed as a beguiling lullaby that transforms into a ferocious display of power. Jackie Rowe plays Little Red with depth and compassion, making a role that could easily become a caricature into a highly moving depiction of growing up. After admiring his work on various Columbia stages for years, this reviewer was thrilled to open the program and see Paul Lindley II cast in the role of Jack. Lindley’s vocal energy and magnetic stage presence contribute to a gratifying performance. Nancy Ann Smith delivers a delightful portrayal of Jack’s beleaguered mother.

As the “charming, not sincere” Princes, Jeremy Reasoner and Kyle Neal have impeccable timing and admirable voices, especially in the crowd-pleasing number “Agony.” Ann Baggett (Stepmother), Rachel Glowacki (Lucinda), and Elizabeth Stepp (Florinda) depict Cinderella’s step-family with comedic glee, while Courtney Reasoner shares a beautiful soprano in the role of Rapunzel. Parker Byun succeeds as an appropriately sleazy Wolf and doubles in the role of Cinderella’s incompetent father. Ruth Glowacki’s fierce Granny and Giant and Joshua Wall’s sarcastic Steward contribute to the strong performance.

With superb musical direction by Christopher A. McCroskey, the cast demonstrates extraordinary vocal ability throughout the production. A first-rate group of musicians fulfill the intricate challenges of Sondheim’s score, including David Branham (Bass), Brian Lamkin (Trumpet), and Samantha Marshall (Flute). Patty Boggs’ precise work with percussion enhances the production significantly.

A substantial production staff has collaborated to bring Into the Woods to life, including Carr-Harrington, Lou Clyde (Producer), Carrie Chalfont (Stage Manager), Matt Pound (Technical Director; Set and Lighting Design), Shelby Sessler (Costumer), Kara Pound (Art Design), Diane Moore (Properties) and J.S. Lee (Sound Design and Technician). The technical demands of Into the Woods are considerable, and the production team showcases creativity and skill in staging this performance.

With Carr-Harrington’s expert guidance, the Chapin Theatre Company scores a major win with Into the Woods. For viewers who think they have already seen this material because they went to the movie version: you really don’t want to miss the opportunity to enjoy this lovely production of a musical treasure by a successful local theatre company in the wonderful Harbison Theatre facility. As the characters sing in the opening prologue, “Into the woods, it’s time to go!”

Into the Woods will be presented by the Chapin Theatre Company at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College on June 24, 25, 26, and 27 at 8 pm and on June 28 at 3 pm. The theatre is located at 7300 College Street in Irmo, SC.  For more information, visit www.chapintheatre.org.