River City Players to Perform “Shoelaces”
Pictured (from left) are Brady Bissell, Karen Chan, and Casi Arnold during a scene from RCP's world premiere production of "Shoelaces" by Nathan Jeffers.
MIDDLEPORT — A new play by a local playwright will soon receive its world premiere with a local community theater group.
River City Players (RCP) will be presenting “Shoelaces,” an original play written and directed by RCP member Nathan Jeffers. Performances will be at 7 p.m. on June 6 and 7, at Middleport Village Hall, located at 659 Pearl Street in Middleport. Tickets are $8 and will be available at the door.
“I’m really excited about this show and the story that is tells,” Jeffers said.
“Shoelaces” tells the story of a young man named Eugene who moves into his grandparent’s old house and soon finds out his aging grandmother, Ruby, has been making trips back from the nursing home in the middle of the night to spend time with his deceased grandfather. He is forced to confront his repressed emotions about his grandfather’s passing, his grandmother’s illness, as well as his relationships with his mother and his boyfriend.
“This story is very relatable and I think everyone will be able to identify in some way to the struggles the characters are facing,” Jeffers added. “Everyone has dealt with some kind of loss in their life and most have probably struggled with a certain relationship they’ve had, whether it was with a family member or a romantic relationship. But even when facing these heavy and emotional times, the characters are also able to find a lot of humor, which is very true to real life. I think audiences from both younger and older generations will really enjoy the fun of the humorous times and I hope they’ll be able to take something away from the more serious moments the story touches on.”
Performing in the world premiere of “Shoelaces” will be Brady Bissell, Casi Arnold, Karen Chan, and Janis Carnahan.
Originally from Middleport, Jeffers is a 2010 graduate of Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Playwriting. He currently lives in Athens and is pursing a Masters Degree in Education.
For more on “Shoelaces” and other upcoming RCP events, visit www.rivercityplayers.org or “Like” RCP on Facebook.
