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Theater group’s latest project involves adapting writer’s mystery novel
By Deborah Sederberg
For the Herald-Argus
He lives backstage.
More accurately, he and his wife, Suzanne, live in the part of the old Washington School building that doesn’t serve as the theater (previously, the auditorium).
Yes, the Millers bought a whole school at 111 Roosevelt St., turning part of it into Washington Stage Theatre and the rest into their home.
At Saturday’s auditions for the play “Sleeping with Anemone,” Merle Miller broke into a heavy Irish brogue as he fed lines from a character named Officer Riley to the auditioning actors.
“Is Officer Riley supposed to be Scottish or something?” asked Melissa Armfield, auditioning for the part of Abby Knight, who owns a small flower shop in a small Midwestern town, and joins forces with her ex-military boyfriend, Marco, to solve mysteries as amateur small-town detectives.
“No, he is not Scottish,” said Miller, laughing. “Not Scottish. He’s Irish.”
Everyone on stage, and the few people in the audience - including Armfield’s mother - broke into laughter.
Miller adapted “Anemone” for the stage from a mystery novel written by a Valparaiso author who sometimes lives in Florida and uses the name Kate Collins as her pen name for the “Flower Shop Mysteries,” including “Sleeping with Anemone.”
Armfield last acted as a high school student at Oregon-Davis High School. These days, she lives in La Porte and works as a legal assistant at a Merrillville firm.
“We have a lot of fun (at the theater)” said Miller, who grew up on the west side of South Bend. “We’re pretty laid-back.”
Miller, who says he’s been involved in various kinds of theater projects since he was a child, said, “I wrote my first play in seventh grade.”
He and Suzanne have performed in Vietnam, Germany, Russia “and all over the U.S.” in a variety of roles, and in the “Dr. Quackenbush and the Magic Medicine and Music Show.”
Merle Miller has brought Ben Franklin and Johnny Appleseed to life. He and Suzanne have played Santa and Mrs. Claus.
“I am a member of the Michiana Clowns,” Miller said proudly
A retired engineer, Miller used nearly all the skills he had to rehabilitate the former school.
In the beginning, he said, the theater floor was a sheet of ice. On Saturday, there was no ice to be found indoors.
“Anemone” is the first production in the sixth season of the theater. In most years, Miller said, “We produce four original works and some other things.”
The other things range from barbershop quartets to serious plays, including Shakespeare.
Everyone is welcome to audition for parts at Washington Stage Theatre, and everyone is welcome to join the audience, Miller said.
More about auditions
Washington Stage Theatre, 111 Roosevelt St., will have a second set of auditions for “Sleeping with Anemone” from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the theater. Performances are March 23-25. Contact Merle Miller at (219) 326-5184 or at quacken@frontier.com for additional information.
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