Community Corner

SAG Member Ben Rawnsley on Stage With PCE as Dyin' Daddy With Lost Will

Plant City Entertainment raises the curtain on "Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will?" Ben Rawnsley plays the title role and said jitters are commonplace if an actor is doing his job.

Ben Rawnsley is a memer of the Screen Actors Guild and he's been on televison and in the movies and has worked in productions with mega-stars, including Kirk Douglas, Tom Hanks and James Wood.

His resume includes credits with "Dallas" and "The Golden Girls" and he's been on stage with Lana Turner.

And yet despite his professional status, he’s no different than the community theater players who star with him this weekend and next in the Plant City Entertainment production of "Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will?"

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He's no different because, as he sees it, no matter how large or small the venue, or how local or global the audience, the art of an actor portraying a character always carries with it a sense of the jitters.

As well it should.

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"If you don't get nervous you don't belong in the business," he said. "Whether you're in the business professionally or as an amateur, if you don't get nervous you're really not doing your job. That's how I look at it."

In the Plant City production, Rawnsley has the title role, playing the daddy who suffers a mentally disabling stroke and who's imminent death is now expected. As he deteriorates, his family members sort out their differences and desires as his death -- and the reading of the will --  approaches.

"I'm definitely dying, I've had a stroke," Rawnsley said about his character, Buford Turnover. "The problem is I have a will and I don't remember where I put it and [my kids], mostly for financial reasons, are trying to find it."

Set in a small Texas town, the comedy is, as "The Hollywood Reporter" once stated, "not the story of the impending demise of the father or of the drafting of his will but of a rebirth of the spirit of the family unit."

In Plant City, the show is directed by Coy Permenter, with the assistance of his wife and co-director, Kristen Permenter. The production assitant is Kelley Gustafson.

"It's just a hoot," Gustafson said about the play. "It reminds me of stepping into someone you know's house. You have all the dysfunctions but everybody loves each other. They know how to push each other's buttons."

"It is hilarious," agreed Coy Permenter. "It's a good Southern family and it really shows that even though they fight they still really do love each other."

His wife, who has performed in many Plant City Entertainment productions with her husband, has a personal reason for wanting to co-direct the play by her husband's side.

"So we could spend time together and actually watch a play rather than be in a play," Kristen Permenter said. "When you're in a play, you miss watching all the wonderful performances because you're either on stage or backstage. We wanted to see a show from start to finish."

The remaining show dates for "Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will?" are May 7 and 12-14, at 8 p.m. There is a matinee May 8 at 2 p.m. (Tickets for the Mother's Day Luncheon have been sold out.)

Tickets cost $10 for Plant City Entertainment members or group advance sales. Otherwise, tickets cost $14 for general admission and $12 for senior citizens and students through grade 12.

The Plant City Entertainment theater is at 1501 North Wheeler Street in Plant City. Call: 813-754-4929.

THE CAST

  • Sarah Lee Turnover: MOLLIE ANDERSON
  • Lurlene Turnover Rogers: DODIE WHITE
  • Mama Wheels: TOM THOENI
  • Evalita Turnover: HEATHER BAUGHMAN
  • Harmony Rhodes: NATHAN PEARCE
  • Orville Turnover: TYLER HOLLIS
  • Buford "Daddy" Turnover: BEN RAWNSLEY
  • Marlene Turnover: SANDY WORTH

 


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