The entire Baker clan is pictured here during a family meeting.
Photos by Dawn Hatfield | The Daily Advocate
Courtesy | Darke County Civic Theater
Chapa highlighted Andi (Isa Costa) as an especially funny character, saying, “She wants to be a pharmacist when he grows up but keeps describing herself as a ‘drug dealer.’” Her mother, Lisa Baker (Kianna Dishman), portrays concern over her daughter’s poor choice of words.
One (of the two) set(s) of Baker twins (played by Sofia Harsh and Adeline Rairden) are pictured here after a sibling squabble.
A forbidden romance develops across the two rival families. Noelle Baker (Elizabeth Moss) and Jeremy Johnston (Connor Jones) must hide their true feelings to continue their families’ shaky sense of “peace.”
By Dawn Hatfield
DailyAdvocate.com
GREENVILLE — Darke County Civic Theater (DCCT) invites all to attend its 2023 Family Production featuring, “The Bakers Dozen,” written and directed by DCCT’s own, Christopher Chapa. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. Both performances will be held at St. Clair Memorial Hall where tickets may be purchased for $10 at the door. Pre-sale tickets will be available for $8 at Final Bow on Friday, March 3, from 5 to 6 p.m.
DCCT offers the following show description: Thomas and Lisa navigate everyday life as they raise their thirteen children. That’s right – thirteen children, that’s not a typo! Meet “The Bakers,” a fun-loving family from Ohio. Take a peek inside the Bakers’ lives as they navigate things like college admission, bullies, sibling rivalries, who gets to pick this year’s family trip destination, and even teenage romance. Things take a fun turn when there is a neighborhood family competition announced, and the Bakers decide to face off against their neighborhood rivals, the Johnstons. Watch as the Bakers hilariously prepare for the face off, while also facing daily family interruptions of their own.
Chapa, writer/director of “The Bakers Dozen,” said, “There’s really nothing else out there like this, so I thought I’d just try to write it and see how it goes.” With a background in writing murder mysteries and melodramas, Chapa felt ready to tackle the script for his first full-stage, family show.
“This show is kinda my favorite that we do, the family show. I love working with the kids, so seeing them bring the characters to life is cool. It’s something special when it’s [a cast of] kids. With so many characters in the show, seeing them still stand out as those individual characters is really cool. They’ve each really taken their character and made it their own, and that’s awesome to see.”
Chloe Rieman, fifth-grader, is joining the DCCT cast for her first time. She has always enjoyed going to high school plays to watch her sister perform, so she was very excited to audition for the annual family production at DCCT where she earned the role of Avery Baker, a character Rieman explains “likes to be right A LOT.” To enhance Avery’s personality, Rieman said she has added in “lots of eye rolling.”
In contrast, senior Elizabeth Moss, shared her thoughts on her final production with DCCT (for now). Moss has been a theater fan for a long time, dating back to when she was a small child attending the melodramas at Annie Oakley festivals with her grandfather. She has been acting with DCCT since 2018. In “The Bakers Dozen,” Moss has a lead role as the oldest Baker sibling, Noelle, who often helps to narrate the story. Moss plans to return to Greenville after earning her degree in elementary education at Manchester University where she “absolutely” plans to rejoin DCCT. As she temporarily steps away from acting, Moss said, “Everyone should experience theater at least once in their lives. It has changed my life completely. This program, DCCT, is so incredibly supportive and has always been my second home. I hold DCCT very close to me.”
Chapa welcomes everyone to this family-friendly show. “Come see the show! These kids and adults, cast and crew, have all worked super hard on the show. To have the support of the community would mean a lot. We see our shows grow a little more every year. Come support your local talent in an all-volunteer, nonprofit family production.”
DCCT is grateful for donations from the following local businesses: Francis Furniture for donated couch, loveseat, and recliner set; and Whirlpool for donated blender. These items will be raffled off following Sunday’s performance with winners needing to collect their prizes by 5 p.m. Sunday. Raffle tickets will be sold at the shows for $5 each or three for $10 (cash).
Follow DCCT on Facebook for show updates as well as cast and crew spotlights. DCCT is a nonprofit 501c3 organization.
Reach Daily Advocate Reporter Dawn Hatfield at [email protected] or 937-569-0066.
