Fairfield writers, musicians to put on ‘Sounds Like a Holiday’

FAIRFIELD — A group of Fairfield musicians, thespians and writers have come together to produce a night of entertainment that should not be missed.

The event, “Sounds Like a Holiday,” will combine a singalong followed by a series of holiday radio-theater plays on Thursday night, Dec. 16 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. The singalong will start at 7 p.m. and feature pianist Doug Daller and organist Dee Sandquist, who will lead the audience in “popular carols and hymns guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit.”

The radio-theater plays will follow at 8 p.m. They are four holiday-themed, one-act plays written and performed by members of The Thirsty Word reading series. Participating members include Dave Patterson, Meredith Siemsen, Chloe Hennesy, Warren Goldie, John Grunwald, Emily Martlin, Lou Bolster, Steve Kennevan, T. Lynne Singleton, Tena Edlin, Elizabeth Estey and more.

Admission to the event is a non-perishable food item for donation to The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry.

Siemsen founded The Thirsty Word reading series two years ago. It’s a group that meets once a month, where writers can share what they’ve been working on with anyone who wants to listen. Group members read aloud what they’ve written, which could be a piece of poetry, short fiction or chapter from a book.

For October’s meeting, the group shared Halloween-themed stories and dubbed it “The Bloodthirsty Word.” Siemsen wrote a 10-minute radio play for the occasion, complete with sound effects courtesy of John Grunwald. Group member Dave Patterson was inspired by it, and suggested doing a full evening of radio plays as part of a fundraiser for the arts center.

“The community has been through a lot, and we wanted to give them something lighthearted and entertaining for the holidays,” Siemsen said.

The group presented the idea to the arts center’s executive director Lindsay Bauer, who loved the idea of hosting the plays but felt strongly that the fundraiser should instead be a food drive for The Lord’s Cupboard. The group joined forces with Daller and Sandquist, who have organized holiday singalongs on an annual basis.

The four plays are all original creations of Thirsty Word members. Siemsen said they contain “a little drama and romance, a few on the edge side, all shooting for humor.”

“I know a lot of people who love writing around here, but when you’re writing on your own, it’s hard to have discipline to keep going and stick with your craft,” Siemsen said. “Having a deadline and a place to share your work is motivational for people, especially me. People in our group range from hobby writers to published authors.”

The four plays that will be performed Thursday are:

“The Big Santini,” written by Dave Patterson.

Siemsen said this is a classic radio-theater style play. It’s a stylized detective story where the main character is summoned to the North Pole to solve a mystery.

“It’s an absolute hoot,” Siemsen said. “In this play, Santa is a different version of Santa than anyone has ever seen.”

Performing in The Big Santini are Patterson, Lou Bolster, Steve Kennevan, Emily Martlin and T. Lynne Singleton.

“The Farkuson Family Christmases,” written by Meredith Siemsen.

The idea for this play came from a mixture of Siemsen’s personal Christmas memories and her imagination of a “dysfunctional Christmas scenario.” A family of four suffers a catastrophe when the pressure is on to have a perfect Christmas.

“We see a shift in the family dynamic and a sweet resolution as the family attempts to embrace Hanukkah as part of their annual celebration,” Siemsen said. “There are big characters and a lot of silliness.”

Performing in The Farkuson Family Christmases are Siemsen, Bolster, Kennevan, Martlin and Chloe Hennesy.

“The Big Christmas Surprise,” written by Warren Goldie.

This play was inspired by a couple of people Goldie witnessed on a regular basis at morning coffee.

“This is a spinoff of a couple deadbeat friends shooting the breeze,” Siemsen said. “They’re frustrated about their memories of Christmases past, and a couple characters magically pop in to set the record straight.”

Performing in The Big Christmas Surprise are Kennevan, Patterson, Siemsen and Tena Edlin.

“Be Home Now,” written by Chloe Hennesy.

Two grown women come back to their hometowns for Christmas. They have to deal with the drama of staying with family members in a strained relationship while interacting with characters from their past.

Performing in Be Home Now are Martlin, Bolster and Elizabeth Estey.

“We’re all very new at writing radio stories,” Siemsen said. “It’s been a wild experiment. People will have a lot of fun. Laugh with us or laugh at us, whatever you do, please laugh.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com