FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --3/3/09
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
Press contact only: Gary McDaniel - 304-676-2949
 
A WEST VIRGINIA PLAY OPENS AT ICE HOUSE
 
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- As part of the 2009 Back to our Roots 
celebration, the Morgan Arts Council's Ice House Theater Project 
presents "Voices in the Woods" at the Ice House. The run of nine 
performances begins with a preview on Thursday, March 12 at 7pm. 
Other performances run through March 22: Fridays and Saturdays at 
7:30pm, Sundays at 3pm, and Thursday March 19 at 7pm.
 
The story is a tender and funny look at a West Virginia family by a 
West Virginia psychiatrist with deep roots in the state. "Don 
Fidler's grandfather came to Boone County in a covered wagon," says 
Gary McDaniel, play director. "He's the only psychiatrist I ever met 
with a foot in the world of theater." Fidler is scheduled to talk 
about the play after performances on the second weekend.
 
Many Ice House productions engage folks new to the stage. Ed Chafee 
is one of those bitten by the theater bug. He moved from bit parts to 
Hamlet and now to Dwezel Beecher, an old uncle.
 
Dudley Cable is the real newcomer on this production. The assistant 
principal at Warm Springs Intermediate School, Cable plays the middle 
age Bo Ray Reamy. "This is my first real play," says Cable who was 
recruited when cast member Natalie Smith brought him a script. "I was 
surprised at how frank the play is about living in West Virginia," 
says Cable who has been living in Colorado for more than 25 years, 
"and how funny."
 
Cable urges those who attend the play to enjoy the dynamics of 
relationships among the characters. " They form, evolve and 
maintain," he says. "As the play has taken shape, it's been fun to 
talk among cast members about the characters as if they were real 
people. "
 
Mc Daniel sees the characters as each having their own journey and 
advises the audience to watch for their journey, where they started 
and how they change. "Some of them don't change," says McDaniel, 
"just like life. I laughed out loud when I first read the play."
 
Other cast members are familiar faces to Ice House audiences including 
Margi Griffith, Natalie Smith, Daniel Wolfe, Abbie Brown, and Henry 
Hickerson. McDaniel's young son Aidan rounds out the cast.
 
Oasis Cafe in Berkeley Springs, is the play's exclusive sponsor. To 
make reservations, call the theater hotline at 304-258-2300, option 
2. Visitwww.macicehouse.org for complete details and a calendar of 
future "Roots" activities.
 
The Ice House is located on Independence and Mercer streets in 
downtown Berkeley Springs.