A new production from an Okotoks musician and playwright is set to debut at the end of March.
The Night of the Murder will be the fourth production written and directed by Maren Ord under her theatre company, Feather Pen Theatre.
It’s a murder mystery musical centred around Kate and Steve, a couple who find themselves in a deadly situation unfolding on a private yacht.
“They start off by playing this game like ‘This kind of feels like a murder mystery. Everyone hates this person on the boat, we should play our own game and see who would be the most willing to kill this person,’ but then it actually happens, and stuff gets real,” says Ord.
The family-friendly comedy features music composed and produced by Ord, the latter being a first for her.
“Usually, I’ll hire that stuff out to people who are more capable than me. I took about a year just to learn the process and learn theory, and all the stuff behind using the program.”
Ord describes the music as being influenced by the synth sounds of the 80s, along with a touch of the soundtrack to Clue: The Movie from 1985.
Being a murder mystery, The Night of the Murder also shares a similarity to Clue in its over-the-top cast of characters.
“It’s been a lot of fun creating the more weird, crazy characters and what they’re capable of,” says Ord. “Everybody has to look like a suspect, so it was fun to go there and be like ‘How can I make the audience believe that this person is actually the killer?’”
Ord’s latest production has a relatively small cast of 10, largely due to constraints presented by the genre.
“I do love the idea of having an ensemble chorus or a dance ensemble so there’s opportunity for more people, and that’s usually what I write, but I was like ‘I’m going to give this a shot.’ Also, you don’t want to have 30 suspects in a murder mystery.”
Those who have attended Ord’s previous productions will recognize some familiar faces among the cast, though there are some new players too.
Ord has enjoyed seeing her creations come to life through the lens of her cast.
“It’s been fun because whoever we cast becomes the face of that character who’s never been played before, so it’s up to them to make decisions about ‘How does my character present this line?’ It’s been really fun to see that develop and come together.”
Despite being Ord's fourth production, the jitters are still there ahead of the debut.
She expects that's always the case when putting your own creation in front of an audience.
"The Night of the Murder is different. I've never written a murder mystery before, so I do feel like I'm really putting myself out there, but I will say, I did a tonne of studying. This has probably been about two and a half years of writing, the playwriting as well as the composition. It wasn't just me thinking 'I'm just going to write a musical,' I submitted this into a playwriting competition, it went through, and I was shipped with a mentor, and it was great to be able to work closely with someone who has written musicals before... I do love learning and that is a lot of the goal for me."
The Night of the Murder is being held over two weekends on March 28 and 29, and April 4 and 5 at the Glenmore Christian Academy.
The shows are scheduled for 7 p.m. each night, and tickets are available on Eventbrite.