Here’s the recipe everyone asked for:

Makes 20 servings

1 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
lemon slices
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
6 cups claret (we used a hearty burgundy)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup dry sherry

Boil sugar, cinnamon sticks, and 3 lemon slices in 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes.  Strain.  Heat but do not boil the remaining ingredients.  Combine with syrup, garnish with lemon slices and serve hot

MMMMMMM! Then sing carols with your friends!  Merry Christmas from Tater Patch Players!

There were a wonderful abundance of auditioners, but after much work, the nine directors have met and made their decisions.  Below are the vignettes within the play and the director and cast for each one.  We look forward to this production.  It’s a great mix of veteran and novice actors and experienced actors stretching their director’s muscles.  This will be an exciting show, and we will bring you ongoing news as it happens.  Performances will be February 19, 20, 21, 26,27,28 at the PHS Auditorium.

Prologue, Interlogue, Epilogue — Directed by Tia Robertson
Pete — Joseph Parker
Ginette — Marena Leonard

Her Heart — Directed by Janet Vardaman
East — Jed Jenkins
Glory — Jessica Weaver

Sad & Glad — Directed by Daniel Picklesimer
Jimmy — Alex Nawrocki
Sandrine — Ellen Painter
Waitress — Pat Jewell

This Hurts — Directed by Brandon Archer
Marvalyn — Missy Huseby
Steve — Daniel Bush

Getting It Back – Directed by ecteChristina Hill
Gayle — Hailey Ray
Lendall — Jason Boskey

They Fell — Directed by Joseph Parker
Randy — John Murphy
Chad — Aaron Locatelli

Where It Went — Directed by Andy Kippenhan
Phil — Wayne Jewell
Marci — Amanda Arnold

Story of Hope — Directed by Kelsea Beck
Hope — Tracey Gibson
Man — Jeff Warren

Seeing the Thing — Directed by Laura McCarver
Rhonda — Hayley Roberts
Dave — Cory Hill

Program cover by Michael Garrison

Rehearsals for the upcoming production of Dracula are proceeding well.  The platforms for the show have been built at Twelve Stone Farm.  The dimensions are taped out now at our rehearsal space on Church Street.   The small “rooms” of the set make movement a challenge of precision for the performers, but they are all rising to the occasion.   Costumes are being sewn and props are being gathered.  The cast has enormous enthusiasm for this suspenseful version of the famous story.

Excitement mounted this week when set designer Robert Countryman came by a rehearsal and dropped off a very large wooden box.  It appeared to be a crate which contained soil…. perhaps Transylvanian soil.  Certain cast members found it quite exciting and wanted to climb right into the box and spend the day there.  Apparently there are “method actors” in the cast.

Tater Patch is working with the American  Red Cross to assist with one or more blood drives in October.  More will be announced on this soon.  Some cast members thought “Give blood, starve a vampire” was a worthy slogan.  Let us know what you think.

Dracula has been cast.  The members are a good mix of new faces and old familiar ones — some in some very different roles.

Dr. Seward                Walter Inge
Jonathan Harker    Alex Ray
Van Helsing              Dan Huth
Lucy                            Jazz Lorenz
Miss Wells                 Ellen Painter
Renfield                     Tyler Roper
Butterworth             Alex Nawrocki
Dracula                      Daniel Picklesimer

The troupe is very excited to bring you this show, which is a real departure for them. Macabre,  suspenseful, menacing — all words that have been used to describe this version of the Dracula story.  This play is set in England, after the death of Mina, as Dracula begins to ensnare the vulnerable Lucy Seward.  This is not gory or shriek-out-loud scary, but is not recommended for young children.  We hope you will come out, in the true spirit of the season, and enjoy this show and the Twelve Stone Farm venue.

The show will be performed at Twelve Stone Farm on October 22, 23, 24, 29,30, and 31.  All shows are at 7:30 PM.  Ticketing information will be available soon.  Tickets limited to 100 per night.  There will be some special promotions and activities to be found at Dracula.  Mark your calendars!

Nan Nawrocki is directing,  Wayne Jewell is the Producer and Jason Picklesimer is Stage Manager.  All the Taters who auditioned and were not cast have already volunteered to be on the production team.  There is a lot of enthusiasm already building.  If you are interested in helping out in any way, please get in touch with Nan  or Wayne through this website.

Auditions  for Dracula on will be August 8 from 2- 6 PM and August 10 from 6-8 PM. Callbacks, if necessary, will be on 8/13 at 6 PM. Auditions (as well as many of the rehearsals) will be at 953 E. Church St, Jasper, Ga 30143. Go to calendar and click on auditiondate for a map to the location.This building is located on Church St (Hwy 53) in Jasper, across the street from the Bealls/Sav-A-Lot retail space.Call Nan Nawrocki at  770-547-1096 if you have questions, need more directions, or wish to audition but are not available at these times. There are six men, ranging from 50′s-60′s to 20′s, and two women, one is in her 20′s, (Lucy), the other may be played by any age. The play will be directed by Nan Nawrocki, assisted by Alex Ray. The producer has not been set at this time.

Dracula October 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 at Twelve Stone Farm (directions). This version is not for little kiddies but is full of fun and suspense for everyone else.This version of Dracula is a 1924 stage play adapted from the Bram Stoker novel. It was the first adaptation of the novel authorised by Stoker’s widow, and has influenced many subsequent adaptations. It compresses some of the scenes and eliminates some characters from the novel. It is set in Dr Seward’s asylum in England. His daughter’s friend died mysteriously and now his daughter is ill. Dr. Seward seeks help from VanHelsing, a noted expert in both strange diseases and the supernatural. Their consultations are interrupted by the escape of a raving patient, Renfield — a man who seems able to escape even the most secure room. Dr. Seward’s recent neighbor, a count from Transylvania who has bought nearby Carfax Abbey, has become a frequent visitor to the doctor’s home. The action grows more threatening and tense as the story progresses to its conclusion. In the spirit of the season, a free beverage coupon will be given if you arrive as a vampire — and all performances are after dark, so it’s safe. Fundraising raffle for a “stake dinner” for 2. Seating limited to 100 per night.