RENSSELAERVILLE, New York – R’ville Stage Creations is teeing off its 2024 community
theatre season in June with Death by Golf, a comedic play by NYC-based playwright Gregg
Keurtz.
The play revolves around the uncanny resemblance between new bridegroom Prescott (played by
comedian Ross Louie) and escaped convict Tony (Eros Soul I) as they converge at Grandpa’s
house (Ken von Geldern) with Prescott’s anxious new bride Ashley (Jenn Lee Healy) and a
persistent visiting attorney named Muriel (Ellen Boyce). While several cast members have
performed with other local groups, the entire cast is new to the company this season.
“Death by Golf is a fun combination of comedy and murder mystery,” explains the company’s
Artistic Director Tara Hostash. “The ensemble cast, well timed jokes, and physical comedy are
the perfect fit for our group. We find new jokes in this script at every rehearsal and we’re having
a blast!”
R’ville Stage Creations (RSC) started in 2011 as a conversation around a kitchen table between
Hostash and a small group of family and friends. That same year the company mounted its first
production Arsenic and Old Lace on the stage at Conkling Hall. Over the ensuing years the
organization has put on a dozen productions including four plays, three original cabarets, two
children’s plays, and three full length musicals, as well as two seasons of youth theatre camp.
Death by Golf follows last year’s sold-out productions of Steve Martin’s satirical farce The
Underpants and original cabaret Villainous Voices, as well as wildly successful back-to-back
renditions of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show in 2021 and 2022.
The upcoming June showing of Death by Golf also kicks off a season-long slate of programming
for RSC. In October the group will mount a production of the cult classic rock musical Little
Shop of Horrors, followed by It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, an inventive adaptation
of the beloved holiday classic, in December. Alongside these mainstage productions the group
recently launched a new free monthly workshop, First Friday Playhouse, which seeks to engage
youth and adults in creative expression through a variety of improv games, script readings, and other activities. This ambitious plan is being led by Hostash, who after directing the majority of
shows over the group’s history has been contracted this year to develop and execute an entire
season of programming as Artistic Director. She noted that 2024 is the company’s “biggest
undertaking yet.”
Reflecting on the group’s thirteen-year journey, Hostash muses, “just as a sapling flourishes into
a sturdy tree, our organization has matured,” and she emphasizes that community support has
been a foundation of that growth, both on and off the stage. Death by Golf producer and RSC
board member Rachel de Long agrees. “We simply could not put on these shows without the
support of local businesses and individuals, who help us through sponsorships, playbill
advertising, donations, and volunteering their time” she notes. “The upfront costs of mounting a
production are significant. Licensing and performance rights, scripts, costumes, sets, props,
playbills, space rental…it all adds up really quickly,” explains de Long. “We are always blown
away by people’s generosity, and we are so grateful to live in a community that values the arts
and actively supports one another.” She adds, “ I like to say that we are doing theatre of, by, and
for the community.”
Death by Golf runs from June 13-16 at Conkling Hall in Rensselaerville, with four performances
including a matinee for Father’s Day. Tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and information about
the playhouse and other upcoming productions are available on RSC’s website at
https://rville-stage-creations.square.site/, by email at rvillestagecreations@gmail.com, or by
phone at 518-248-3261.
