In the news!

November 9, 2023 (Lock Haven Express): ‘The Witching Hour’: Sock & Buskin holds murder mystery dinner

The Witching Hour
A murder mystery comedy
by Kari Williamson and Nate Schierman

October 26, 27, & 28, 2023
7:00pm at The Shop in Zion, Bellefonte, PA

It’s Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts. The holiday has brought customers into the Spirited Healing Center, but the owners have been struggling financially for months. The Grimore sisters, once very magical witches, have lost their touch and the consequences are angry customers, difficult choices, and the ultimate sacrifice. Will their past come back to haunt them? Will they find a way to keep their business open, or will desperation and disloyalty tear them apart forever? Thankfully, with a little magic, anything is possible.

Poster design credit:
Caitlin Meleski of Caitlin Meleski Artwork

1fd34cb2-eed7-48cf-bc09-f25054b5bff9_rw_1920 (1)

Cast

Athena Grimore......................KARI WILLIAMSON
Hazel Grimore........................MELISSA BRANNEN
Lorelei Grimore.......................LIZ FUHRMANN
Miranda Grimore....................SELA PLUMMER*
Phoenix Draco........................ERIC ZIEGLER
Dan Putnam............................KYLE STANLEY
Jane Warren...........................STEFANIE AUSTIN
Tom Edward...........................ZACHARY MYERS
Vincent...................................BRENT OTTAWAY
Patients #1 & #2....................TARA CAIMI

*Sock & Buskin debut

Crew

Producers.............................................. STEFANIE AUSTIN, KARI WILLIAMSON Director...................................................KRISTI BRANSTETTER*
Assistant Director..................................TARA CAIMI
Stage Managers....................................TARA CAIMI, JO BRANSTETTER
Costumer...............................................JO BRANSTETTER
Props Designers....................................APRIL COCKBURN, JAYDA COCKBURN
Set Design/Construction.......................YOUKI SATO, STEFANIE AUSTIN
Set Painting............................................PETER AUSTIN
Set Dressing...........................................KRISTI BRANSTETTER, SELA PLUMMER*
Light/Sound Designer............................STEVEN BRANSTETTER*
Assistant Light/Sound Designer.......... NATHAN GLUNT
House Manager......................................AMY SHRECKENGAST
Graphic Design.......................................CAITLIN MELESKI

*First production role with Sock & Buskin

Meet The Cast

Headshots credit:
April Cockburn

Kari Williamson

Athena Grimore | Co-Producer, Playwright

Kari is excited to take the stage again in the role of Athena. Kari’s recent acting roles include Willow in Terror in Transylvania, Christy in Cutthroat Christmas, Annie in Slain in the Speakeasy, Mrs. Bertram in The Mystery of Murder Hotel, and Renee in Murder in the HOA. Kari has also served backstage as director of Murder in the HOA and stage manager for 86’ed. You can see her again in December in Sock & Buskin’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life. She’d like to thank Kristi for her vision, leadership, and amazing job as a director; Nate for helping to create this fun story; Stefanie and Gregg for their commitment to creating a welcoming community; and the cast and crew for helping to bring the story to life. A special thank you to her husband, Steve, and their two kids.

Melissa Brannen

Hazel Grimore

Melissa loves playing Hazel in this production of The Witching Hour! As a big fan of Halloween comedies in the vein of Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown, she’s thrilled that this show lets her indulge her inner witch. This is Melissa’s second time playing a witch! She was Aunt Queenie in SCCT’s 2008 production of Bell, Book, and Candle (the stage show that inspired TV’s Bewitched). She’s pretty sure that this show puts her over 30 productions in community theatre… but who’s counting…? Her day job is at Penn State where she “makes research happen” as a negotiator for the Office of Sponsored Programs. She wants to thank the cast and crew for everything they do and making every rehearsal so much fun! “Sock & Buskin is an amazing group and I’m lucky to be included in this supportive community that consistently fosters love, respect, and teamwork. Everyone puts in the work to ensure that we all have this remarkable creative outlet on-stage and off.”

Liz Fuhrmann

Lorelei Grimore

Liz is SO thrilled to be a part of this *magical* production and bring out the witchy side of herself! You may have seen her in recent roles such as Roz in Moon Over Buffalo, Grace in 86’ed with Sock & Buskin, or Deidre in A Murder Has Been Renounced with State College Community Theatre. Liz moved to State College from Buffalo, NY in April of 2022 for her career with Penn State’s Office of Strategic Communications and her fiancé, Nate. She is tremendously grateful to be able to pursue her passion for performing and to all her friends and family for their support!

Sela Plummer

Miranda Grimore, Set Dressing

Sela is an Architectural Engineering student at Penn State who has been in acting in performances since she was little! Most recently she was Yvette in Clue last year, and she is so excited to be back and part of another show. She is so grateful for all of her friends and family’s love and support, and hopes everyone will enjoy watching the show as much as she’s enjoying being in it!

Eric Ziegler

Phoenix Draco

Eric is thrilled to be back with Sock & Buskin in The Witching Hour! He is very proud to be a part of this fun, wacky, Halloween-themed whodunit with this talented cast & crew. Eric has recently been seen on stage in Sock & Buskin’s hilarious Moon Over Buffalo and previously with the Community Theatre League in Williamsport, in their production of White Christmas. Before that, he was in SCCT’s productions of Barefoot In The Park, Dial M for Murder, The Drowsy Chaperone, Jekyll & Hyde, and others; Nittany Theatre productions of A Man for All Seasons, Funny Money, Rumors and Treasure Island; and various other productions such as: 1776, Cheaper by the Dozen, You Can’t Take it With You, and A Christmas Carol. He thanks his loved ones for their encouragement and thanks YOU for coming and supporting LOCAL theater. Enjoy the show and Happy Halloween!

Kyle Stanley

Dan Putnam

Kyle is delighted to be celebrating Halloween with the wonderful cast and crew of The Witching Hour! He discovered the stage in 2022, appearing in two SCCT productions: first as Pierre Perrier in Dead Tuesday and then as Mr. Boddy in Clue. Earlier this year, he made his Sock & Buskin debut as Jack in the Valentine’s day murder mystery 86’ed. Kyle hails from Vermont, and also lived in Maine and Massachusetts before moving to State College in 2020 to pursue a Statistics PhD. He would like to thank his friends and family for coming to see the show!

Stefanie Austin

Jane Warren | Co-Producer, Set Design

Stefanie is the current President and a Founding Director of Sock & Buskin Theatre Company. Since 2014, Stefanie has held roles both on and off stage in a number of productions by SCCT, Nittany Theatre, and S&B. So far this year, she produced and designed the set for The Mousetrap (Sep), performed as Lindsey in Murder in the HOA (Jul), directed The Vagina Monologues (May) and Moon Over Buffalo (Apr), and performed as Maeve in 86’ed (Feb). In December she will be performing in S&B’s live radio play, It’s a Wonderful Life. She thanks her husband, Peter, and their two kids for their unwavering love and support.

Zachary Myers

Tom Edward

Zach is a Ph.D. student in Educational Psychology at Penn State and is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He is extremely excited to have the opportunity to make a fool of himself on stage again! His previous roles include Ryan in Sin-ergy, Howard in Moon Over Buffalo, and Christopher Wren in Mousetrap, along with various crew roles in other Sock & Buskin productions. Zach is very grateful to his spouse, friends, and family for their support and Sock & Buskin for creating such a welcoming community

Brent Ottaway

Vincent

After raising five sensational children in Hollidaysburg while a professor at Saint Francis University, Brent recently sold his empty nest and relocated to State College, where he teaches in PSU’s Department of Communication Arts & Sciences. Brent’s most recent acting role (unless we’re counting his 2018 run for Congress) was Willum in Altoona Community Theatre’s 1991 production of The Nerd. Just as he did then, he is finding local theater to be a great way of meeting fun, interesting people when you’re new in town. Future plans include auditioning for a role in some play when he retires to Tempe in 2055.

Tara Caimi

Patients #1 & #2 | Stage Manager, Asst. Director

Tara is thrilled to contribute to Sock & Buskin's production of The Witching Hour, her first murder mystery! She recently appeared in Sock & Buskin's staged reading of The Vagina Monologues and, prior to that performance, assisted with stage management for Sock & Buskin's production of Moon Over Buffalo. Tara is a certified life coach, personal growth guide, author, and book coach who enjoys working with highly sensitive people, introverts, and people with multiple passions. She is the author of the memoir Mush: from sled dogs go celiac, the scenic detour of my life. She would like to thank the Sock & Buskin company for welcoming her back into the theatre world after much too long of a break.

Meet The Production Team

Kristi Branstetter

Director

Kristi has been acting and singing on stage for most of her life. Taking a break to raise children for a few decades she returned to work with SCCT in a production of Into the Woods. Her favorite roles have been M’lynn from Steel Magnolias and Patsy Cline in Always, Patsy Cline. Kristi is happy to be directing her second production for Sock & Buskin. She has a BFA in Theatre Directing and has loved working with the cast on The Witching Hour. “Everyone has devoted so much energy and enthusiasm to creating a wonderful original collaboration!” She would like to thank the audience for supporting local arts! Much love to her friends and family!

Josephine Branstetter

Costumer

Jo is joining Sock & Buskin again (aftering costuming for their productions of Murder in the HOA and The Mousetrap) with a passion for costume design and a plan to make it a career. She hopes you enjoy the show, and keep an eye out for her future costumes with Sock & Buskin. To keep up with Jo’s sewing and theater endeavors, you can find her Instagram @dadshakespeare.

Youki Sato

Set Design & Construction

Youki is a grad student at PSU studying geoscience and astrobiology. His first production with S&B was Mousetrap at the Boal Barn last month, where he helped to build the set. He is happy to keep being involved in theater after a long hiatus!

Steve Branstetter

Lighting/Sound Designer

Steve is a professor of Biobehavioral Health at PSU and plays the guitar. He is happy to be working on the show with his wife, Kristi, and daughter, Jo.

April Cockburn

Props Designer

April is enjoying designing and building props and decor for this show. She has a very helpful assistant, her daughter Jayda, who is very creative and has some fantastic ideas for theatrical design!! Both April and Jayda are new to the community theater scene, having assisted with two of S&B’s shows in 2022, but are enjoying their time and learning a lot!

Jayda Cockburn

Props Designer

Jayda is excited to help with designing and creatingprops and decor for this show, including the cauldron!. Her involvement in community theatre, which started last year, inspired her to script and produce a movie of her own. She is having lots of fun with the play and is looking forward to helping with many more.

Nathan Glunt

Assistant Lighting/Sound Designer

Nathan has been involved in live sound ever since he was a teenager. From live stages, small bars, and outdoor amphitheaters, he has helped set up audio equipment and mixed a variety of venues. He has served as sound/lighting designer and/or consultant on all of S&B’s prior shows this year. Nathan was born and raised in Altoona, PA. He moved closer to the State College Area for work with AccuWeather designing and maintaining studios as an Engineer. Aside from live sound production, Nathan is an avid musician always looking for gigs in the surrounding areas.

Amy Shreckengast

House Manager

Amy is excited about being a part of Sock & Buskin, and she has been a House Manager for several S&B shows this year.. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Caitlin Meleski

Graphic Designer

Caitlin considers herself to be “a small-town-famous graphic designer with a passion for digital artistry.” She is a 2015 Advertising Art & Design graduate of SUN Area Technical Institute and a 2019 Bachelors of Arts graduate of Susquehanna University. Before designing promo artwork for Sock & Buskin, Caitlin designed posters for productions presented by Selinsgrove Area High School Theatre, Riverstage Community Theatre, and many other small theater companies across the United States. Caitlin hopes to continue to combine her skills in design and her love for theater and hopefully get to work for productions on Broadway. You can follow her work on Instagram and Facebook @caitlinmeleskiartwork.