“The Twilight Zone of Shirley Jackson” To Hit the SMC Stage

04/01/10

SPARTANBURG, SC -- The Spartanburg Methodist College Players will open their spring production, "The Twilight Zone of Shirley Jackson," on April 8 to students and to the public on April 9 and 10.  

The production will include two one-act plays based on short stories by American author Shirley Jackson.

The first play is "Summer People," a story of a retired couple who have spent their summers at a remote lake in New England. This year they decide that they are going to stay beyond Labor Day, the traditional end of the summer season. But they discover that the local people have their own view of summer tourists, and they might just have overstayed their welcome.

The second play, "The Lottery," is the better-known story of an isolated village in the Appalachians that holds an annual lottery to insure a good harvest. But this is not a lottery that anyone wants to win.

The cast of the production includes the following SMC students:

  • Hakeem Allen, of Pawley's Island, SC;
  • Hector Avalos, of Inman, SC;
  • Kellie Bennett, of Jonesville, SC;
  • Zachary Elliott, of Lake Wylie, SC;
  • Schatavia Gray, of Jonesboro, GA;
  • Quinton Jones, of Greenville, SC;
  • Brandon Lygrand, of Spartanburg, SC;
  • Brandy Neal, of York, SC;
  • Christa Outen, of York, SC;
  • Chance Reynolds, of Clinton, SC;
  • Rachel Spiker, of Clover, SC;
  • Revelyn Venegas, of York, SC. 

In addition, four local Spartanburg children are cast in the production: Aurelia Friendly, Kyle Gilmore, Omari Jones, and John Henry Tennant.

Also making an appearance in both plays is director Chris McKinney, an adjunct faculty member at SMC. This is the 12th production that the Spartanburg resident has directed at the college.   

McKinney says that reading both plays brought to mind episodes on the old Twilight Zone television series.

"The endings of both plays had a very Rod Serling-esque flavor about them; thus, the title of the production," says McKinney

Admission is free for SMC students and $5 for general admission. Performances will be at 7:30 pm each evening in Camak Auditorium. 

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 99th year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

For further information, please contact director of public information Brian Fulkerson at (864) 587-4254.