A local playwright and Red Barn Summer Theatre director will debut a staged reading of “Keep the Change” this Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the 2020 Basile Westfield Playhouse at 220 N. Union St. in Westfield.
Michael Clossin, writer, wrote the play to revolve around Henry Cale, an investment manager who
prefers to manage his irrational beliefs, anxieties and obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies while locked away in his apartment. Unbeknownst to his long-time friend and YouTube content creator Emma, Cale holds a deep-rooted love for her, and when she invites him to explore a distant tropical paradise far away from his safety net of his apartment, Cale must decide whether to leave his comfortable and controlled safe haven or trek through the unknown world with the love of his life.
Irene, Cale’s elderly landlady, acts as his advisor throughout his decision-making process, but Irene is struggling with turmoil of her own as her guardian niece, Sloane, and lawyer, Miss Penny, are hatching a plan to move Irene into a high-rise retirement home. However, Irene receives a special visit from Francis the Ordinary, a magician who happens to be one of Irene’s close friends from when the duo lived in a 1960’s commune.
Anorther character, Shake, is also delving into a plan of his own with the goal of winning the heart of Ruby, his Fastdash delivery driver. Shake acts as Irene’s maintenance man and Cale’s only friend, and he develops an elaborate lie to swoon Ruby and become the token of her affection.
When Francis the Ordinary hypnotizes Cale at a party, secrets are revealed that may cause friction between him and Emma, and Shake eventually realizes that lying does not always paint a better picture of oneself than the truth. Irene and Francis the Ordinary also discover that the world hosts many options for every person regardless of their current situation.
The play was written by Clossin, who has worked as an actor and director for several years at the Red Barn Summer Theatre in Frankfort and taught high school theater for ten years in Frankfort and Hartford City. Clossin embarked on a journey through Austin, Texas to work on film productions as a lighting stand-in before returning to Frankfort to serve as the outreach librarian at the Frankfort Community Public Library, where he serves as the host of Hoosier Storytellers, and serve on the board of directors for the On-Stage Foundation in Frankfort.
Jen Otterman, formerly a Frankfort resident, will serve as the director of the staged reading as well as playing Irene. Otterman boasts over 56 years of experience in theatrical productions as a director and an actress. Otterman has directed more than 50 productions at Hamilton Southeastern High School before retiring in 2015, and she began directing award-winning shows such as “Rumors,” “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Wait Until Dark” and “Crimes of the Heart.” Otterman has directed Noblesville’s “Shakespeare in the Park” for the past three years at the Federal Hill Commons, and she will direct Neil Simon’s “Lost In Yonkers” at the Basile Westfield Playhouse this February.
The pair elected to perform the new play as a staged reading, which is not a fully-performed play with sets and costumes but rather a performance where the actors read from the script in a semi-rehearsed way.
The debut of the staged reading of Clossin’s “Keep the Change” will be Satuday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Basile Westfield Playhouse at 220 N. Union St. in Westfield. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $5. Cash or “change” will be accepted.