Corn Stock Theatre and Willow Bend Theatrics will present the world premiere “A Deathly Development”, a virtual murder mystery running Friday, March 19 through Sunday, March 21.
Written by Kathy Chitwood and Whitney Chitwood and directed by Nyk Sutter-Downs, the plot follows a murder on the grounds of the Davisville Turkey Festival. The victim is Carrie Campbell, a prominent townsperson. Special Investigator Getz will call on the viewing audience to help solve the case. Presented in a documentary format, viewers will be able to watch footage of the interrogation of suspects along with narration.
Director and Corn Stock Theatre Manager, Nyk Sutter-Downs, said “This experience has been so unique and unlike anything I’ve ever worked on before. This show was designed to be produced within the limitations presented by the pandemic. The entire rehearsal process was conducted over Zoom and the cast has never been in the same room together; in fact, most of the cast members have never met one another in person.”
Sutter-Downs continued, “To this day, no one in the cast knows “WhoDunIt” and I purposely kept that secret throughout the entire process. That way, I was able to work with each character individually to flesh out their character’s motive and how they could have caused Carrie’s death. Personally, I can’t wait for their reactions once the true murderer is revealed!”
To keep the actors safe from COVID-19, the cast and crew were socially distanced and wore face coverings while filming. Also, all rehearsals were conducted virtually. Cast members include Trish Ballard, Jeff Craig, Nate Downs, David Fritz, Leigh Anne Hager, Julia McCammon, Kathy McCormick, Mary Ellen Milem, Jim Sullivan, and Daniel Sutter.
Tickets are $20 for an individual ticket and $25 for a family ticket and are available at http://www.cornstocktickets.com
To find Peoria area event information, visit our Peoria area events calendar.
