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From director Cathy Henderson:

James River’s Knightly Players will perform the William Saroyan drama “Hello Out There” for the general public at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 13th in the high school auditorium.

No admission will be charged but donations will be accepted at the door.

“Hello Out There” is a one-act drama set in 1941 in a Texas jail. A young gambler (played by Josh DiPalma) has been jailed and is desperate to escape. Emily Smith, a young girl (played by Jessica Bertholf) that cooks and cleans for the jail hangs around to talk with him. Their conversation takes twists and turns as they find hope for the future in each other.

“I read this play a few years ago and immediately loved it” said director, Cathy Henderson. “William Saroyan is widely regarded as one of America’s best writers and his writings have a poetic quality about them” she said. She did comment that this play does deal with some mature subjects and may not be suitable for very young audiences however.

Other members of the cast are returning actors; Rachel Bryant and Jordon DiPalma. New to the VHSL Theatre program are cast members Martin Burch and Sean Aaron. Sandra Mahon , Kristina Dant and Allyson Cahoon are technical managers for the show.

Following the public performance on November 13th, the cast will perform the play at the Region C Theatre Festival on Saturday, November 15th which James River High School will be hosting. There is no admission charged for the festival where seven one-act plays or cuttings from plays compete for the right to advance to the VHSL State Theatre Festival, held in Charlottesville in early December. The festival will start at 8:45 AM and the first play is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM.

Anyone interested in the performance times for the regional festival may call Cathy Henderson for more information at 473-2282.