next weekend

Man of mystery

by Brian Goslow

The mood of the 20 actors in Worcester State College's Blue Lounge is playful, and attention spans are beginning to shorten. Rehearsal has been going on since 6 p.m., and now, three hours later, everyone is visibly winding down. Everyone except Jeremy Woloski.

A marked-up copy of his script in hand, the playwright and director circles the room and barks out instructions, bringing the cast's attention to the scene at hand. Woloski's imposing stocky six-foot-one frame moves with surprising quickness as he demonstrates blocking a scene and delivering lines.

Bouquet of Nutz, the fourth original-comedy murder mystery Woloski has produced for Worcester State, centers around the wedding of a man and the daughter of a famous senator. ("Think Ted Kennedy from 15 years ago," Woloski says.) Describing the plot without giving too much away is damn near impossible, so suffice it to say that nothing is as it seems -- from the groom's unforeseen mental condition to the senator's suspicious sexual history. Throw in some comedic timing and miscommunication from a Three's Company episode, and you have a good old-fashioned farce.

Writing and directing plays is still a novelty for Woloski, whose theater experience has been mostly on-stage. He's been a regular on the community-theater scene for the past five years -- no small accomplishment considering he didn't exactly fall in love with the theater his first time out.

"I hated it," Woloski recalls, laughing at the memory over a cup of coffee. "I hated theater more than anything I had ever done. I didn't like being on stage in front of people, didn't like memorizing lines." Now, with more than 25 performances on his resume, it's a safe assumption he got over it.

Woloski started writing and directing while he was studying psychology at Worcester State. A group of students approached him for some experienced-actor's advice on their murder-mystery script. "It was absolutely horrible," he remembers. "It didn't make any sense." So despite having no writing experience, Woloski re-wrote the play. "My version was still really bad," he admits. The play ran for one night. But two years later, Woloski's murder mysteries have become something of a WSC tradition, and he's looking forward to opening night, on Wednesday. "To finally hear people laugh at something you have worked on for six to eight months -- it's rewarding."

-- Julie Kelly

Bouquet of Nutz will be presented nightly November 29 through December 2 at 8 p.m. and on December 3 at 2 p.m. at the Worcester State College Student Center Blue Lounge, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester. Tickets are $7, $5 for students. Call (508) 756-9974.