THE VIRAGO COLLECTIVE
THE DEAD LAUGH
an Inner Sanctum mystery
Judge Thornton refuses clemency for suspected murderer, John Spenser. Even though Spenser pays the highest price for his crime, the good Judge still hears Spenser's courtroom threat and laughter. Now, just as things start to turn around in Judge Thornton's personal life, will Spenser get his revenge from beyond the grave?
LISTEN HERE:
PRINT & COLOUR:
(click on image for printable pdf)
custom artwork by Lindsay Peltz of Dinosaur and Pony Studio
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Craig Paynton
SPENSER
Craig has a passion for performing, and is excited that the Virago Collective is working tirelessly to support the arts in the community and beyond. Thus, he is thrilled to be sharing in their most recent project of "The Dead Laugh". Especially in these challenging times, the arts are more necessary than ever, and this unique way of producing content is essential. When not performing, Craig is spending time with his wife and daughter on their farm. He hopes that everyone tuning in will enjoy this production as much as the cast did creating it!
John Collins
JUDGE RICHARD THORNTON
John has been kicking around on stage and screen for about 30 years now, mostly in the Ottawa area. New to Kelowna, this is John's first west coast gig and he's very excited to be working with new people in a new place and having new adventures! While his role in this radio play is as a murderer, please rest assured that John hasn't murdered anyone in quite some time. Certainly not since arriving in Kelowna. Perhaps he's due...?
Kendra Hesketh
LAURA THORNTON
This is Kendra's first production with The Virago Collective and her very first radio show. It has been an excellent experience! Kendra is an actor, writer, producer and director. You may have seen her most recently as Trisha Lee in New Vintage Theatre's production of The Pink Unicorn. As always, Kendra extends her love to her partner Orrin for all his love and support.
Amy Williams
MARGARET CUMMINGS
Amy Williams is very excited to be portraying Margaret Cummings in the radio play The Dead Laugh. While she has taken a small break from acting, some of her previous roles include parts in Red Dot Theatre’s A.K.A. Fangirl, Sense & Sensibility, and Neverwhere. She has also previously worked with director Angela Lavender for New Vintage Theatre’s short play contest in 2019 in My Time. She is very thankful to The Virago Collective for the opportunity, and hopes you enjoy listening to the show.
Neville Bowman
DR. FLETCHER
This is where Neville's bio would be if he got it to the marketing team on time. We still love him.
Kevin Morrison
POLICE OFFICER
Kevin Morrison is elated to be doing work with Virago given the turn of this year and he is excited to share the life and eccentricities of his character. After being local to Kelowna for many years he has worked in many facets of the film and television industry ranging from feature films to local shorts. His favorite part of acting is the ability to bring characters larger-than-life to the stage and share in their hopes, ambitions, fears, and influences.
ANNOUNCERS
Peter Church
HOST
As a long-time fan of classic radio drama, Peter is excited to be joining The Virago Collective for the resurrection of these wonderful radio thriller-dillers.
As a playwright, his works include a full-length radio adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon’s The Other Celia, an original serial parody called I Smell a Mystery!, and audio adaptations of new Canadian stories like Black Ice and Hockey, The Ghosts of Mariposa, and The Wooden Angel. His full-length stage adaptations of Frankenstein, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, premiered in Vancouver at Pacific Theatre, and have since been produced in Chicago, Detroit and the Yukon.
As an actor, he has performed Romeo and Juliet more than a thousand times with Toronto's Classical Theatre Project, and is excited to be performing the role of Salieri in Kelowna Actors Studio's upcoming production of Amadeus. He is co-creator of the Welcome to Mutant County podcast, and moved to Kelowna last year where he lives with his wife, Kimberley, and a bunny named Lord Montague.
DeAnna MacArthur
MARY
DeAnna is so excited to be involved in her first project, and hopefully not her last, with the incredible folks at The Virago Collective. DeAnna loves to be involved in all aspects of theatre from performance, to production, to promotion and organizing. She is the founder of ArtStream Okanagan and volunteers with many organizations. Catch her next in 2021 in Amadeus (Kelowna Actors Studio) or Cabaret (New Vintage Theatre).
Emily MacArthur
MAISIE
Emily grew up in Vernon, and has a BFA in theatre from the University of Victoria. After living in Victoria, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and (very briefly) Copenhagen, Emily returned to the Okanagan to practice law. In her spare time, she loves getting involved in the local musical and theatrical communities as much as possible. Most recently, her past roles include Rita in White Christmas, Elizabeth in Young Frankenstein, Cha in Three Little Pigs, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, and Smee/Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan, all with the Kelowna Actors Studio. This is Emily's first outing with the Virago Collective, and she is excited to be working with so many talented artists!
Lyndsey Wong
MADELINE
This marks Lyndsey's first project with The Virago Collective (finally!), as well as her debut "radio" performance. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Lyndsey grew up studying Violin, Voice, Piano and Polynesian Dance, and is an alumnus of the University of Alberta (B.Sc. Biological Sciences (Minor: Classical Voice), Doctor of Medicine). After a long hiatus, she returned to the stage in 2013, before taking yet another break to study Computer Science. Past credits include: Little Shop of Horrors (Music Director), Rock of Ages (Vocal Coach, Dance Captain) - New Vintage Theatre, Chicago (Velma Kelly), Rocky Horror Show (Columbia/Usherette), Addams Family Musical (Morticia), Les Miserables (Madame Thenardier) - Kelowna Actors Studio. You can see her back on stage in June 2021, as Sally Bowles in Cabaret with New Vintage Theatre.
