Online Program for Current Performance

• Mollie Ralston — JESSICA SHELKEY
• Giles Ralston — CRISTÓBAN MORONES
• Christopher Wren — JARED JACKSON
• Mrs. Boyle — LISA REID
• Major Metcalf — RICK JONES
• Miss Casewell — KIRSTEN BAKER
• Mr. Paravicini — JUSTIN GUILLORY
• Detective Sergeant Trotter — RILEY NICHOLS

ACT ONE:

• Scene I: The Great Hall at Monkswell Manor. Late afternoon.
• Scene II: The same. The following day after lunch.

INTERMISSION

ACT TWO:

• The same. Ten minutes later.

Dame Agatha Christie produced Three Blind Mice in 1952 as a radio play. She turned that into a play which she titled The Mousetrap. It opened in London in 1952 and has continued to run with a brief break during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is easily the longest running play in the world with more than 30,000 performances.

In her lifetime she published 66 detective novels and 15 short story collections. She is both the most published author and the most translated author in the world. Dame Christie is considered the gold standard for the “Who Done It” genre. The Mousetrap is her iconic murder mystery – a group of strangers stranded in a snowstorm with suspicions falling on all of them.

Agatha Christie was my favorite childhood author and at that time I believed I had read all of her books. Now I’m not sure, so I shall start again.

Directing this play, and studying and learning more about the author, has been a delight.

— Melissa DeVine, Director

• Director — MELISSA DeVINE
• Assistant Director — DAVY THOMAS
• Stage Manager — TARI DEAN
• Stage Crew — RIVER DELCAMBRE, COURTNEY KAUFMAN
• Dresser — NANCY SMITH
• Set Designer — HEATH McCORMACK
• Set Construction — HEATH McCORMACK, GINA JONES, JESSICA SHELKEY, CAST & CREW
• Light Designer — BRIAN OSWALD
• Light Operator — MIKE MOORE
• Sound Technician — STEVE CHANDLER
• Costume Coordinator — NANCY SMITH
• Media Coordinator — LaCHANDA MAXIE
• Company Display — LISA NORMAN
• Preshow Announcement — NORM MARKWORTH
• Art Exhibit Artist — MYLES ELBEL
• Poster Design — LISA REID
• Lamp-Liter — ANNAMARIA MORONES
• Photography — CLAY BOSTIAN, CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
• Ticket Coordinator — GINA JONES
• House Manager / Patron Reservations — JUDY MOORE
• Concession Manager — MIKE MOORE
• Website — BILL KING
• Mailout — ANN HURST
• Cabinet in Lobby — JODY RYAN
• Programs — KLINES / WRAP-IT-UP

ANNAMARIA MORONES is five years old and is a bright kindergarten student at Brooks Quinn Jones Elementary. She has a very artistic view of life, creating crafts with whatever she can get her hands on, while singing and dancing any chance she can. She is the little sister of Cristóban, Adan, Pable, and David Morones. She enjoys watching them perform on the Lamp-Lite stage and hopes to join in on the fun in the future.

HISTORY OF THE LAMP-LITER

Throughout Lamp-Lite's first fifty seasons, a child aged 5-10 years has brought the LIGHTS upon each production of the Regular Lamp-Lite Theatre Season. On OPENING NIGHT, the Lamp-Liter walks onto the stage, waves their wand, and brings the lights up on the stage to begin the first performance of the production. In our 51st Season, we continue this HISTORIC TRADITION at Lamp-Lite Theatre.

MELISSA DeVINE (Director) has been involved in numerous Lamp-Lite productions since her 1998 debut in South Pacific. 

Her stage debut, however, can be traced back to her fifth-grade class presentation of Lohengrin at Hillcrest Elementary in Morristown, New Jersey, in which she portrayed both a maid and a soldier. As well as being on-stage she has helped backstage with sound, props, sets, and costumes. 

She has been stage manager for a number of shows over the years and, most recently, was Assistant Director for Hello Dolly! 

This is her maiden voyage into directing and has had a lot of fun. Her favorite author, coincidentally, is Agatha Christie.

DAVY THOMAS (Assistant Director) is excited to be returning for his 36th production at Lamp-Lite. Past productions include: The Sound of Music, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, two productions of Annie and Oliver!, as well as three productions of Smoke on the Mountain and Hello, Dolly! 

Davy will be assisting with Oliver! this summer.

TARI DEAN (Stage Manager) discovered her love for theatre as a teenager. She began volunteering with ACT in Lufkin to provide her son with a live theatre experience, hoping he would love it as well. He decided it wasn’t for him, but she realized it was still her passion so, at 52, she returned to college for a degree in Theatre Arts. 

She has worked on over 40 productions and is grateful for the opportunity to apply her education at Lamp-lite Theatre.

NANCY SMITH (Costume Coordinator) is thrilled to be returning to Lamp-Lite for another production! She has volunteered her costuming skills in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Glass Menagerie, Mary, Mary, The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly!, and The Lion in Winter. 

Nancy enjoys working with costumes and helping backstage. She has also constructed costumes for Ballet Brazos annual Nutcracker performance for over ten years.

GINA JONES (Backstage, Props) What would a mystery play be without the mysterious people in black lurking about backstage? Gina joins the rest of The Moustrap crew, rearranging props and helping to bury the bodies. 

Her prop-building efforts were last seen in Hello, Dolly!, and it is still a mystery to her how all that stuff fit on the Lamp-Lite stage!

COURTNEY KAUFMAN (Stage Crew) has been involved with Lamp-Lite for two years and has been a part of several shows, including The Play That Goes Wrong, The Lion in Winter, and The Glass Menagerie.

They are excited to be a part of this play and work with this amazing cast. They recently graduated from SFA with a BS in Chemistry and will move to Alaska in August to be a 3-6 grade teacher.

RIVER DELCAMBRE (Stage Crew) last appeared as Gerog Bambruger in Black Comedy, River has been doing theatre starting middle school as The Grinch in Suessical Jr, then four years in high school. His first Lamp-Lite Theatre play was playing Michael in Matilda the Musical. 

He lives with his parents, his brother, and two corgis. He also loves working out, reading comics/mangas, watching shows/movies, making videos, playing video games, and volunteering.

STEVE CHANDLER (Sound Coordinator/Operator) fell into the role of sound coordinator in 1990. In 1997, he took a 25-year hiatus to teach in NYC until retirement. He then returned to Nacogdoches and to Lamp-Lite. 

Though usually in the sound booth, Steve has been on stage in productions of Frankenstein, The Lucky Spot, Finding Christmas, and A Christmas Carol. 

When not at the theater, he is busing restoring his home, which once belonged to his grandparents.

MIKE MOORE (Concession Stand Manager/Light Operator) has been involved with Lamp-Lite Players since being voluntold to help with a play shortly after moving back to Nacogdoches in 2014. 

He enjoyed it so much that he has been volunteering ever since. During any given play, Mike can generally be found behind the concessions counter, in the parking lot, or in the box office. 

He is a 1982 graduate of SFA.

JUDY MOORE (House Manager) has been involved at Lamp-Lite for over ten years. She has been involved with acting, props, publicity, backstage, concessions and managing the house. 

She is a 1982 graduate of SFA and moved back to Nacogdoches in 2014 where her sister, Jackie Vose, reintroduced her to theatre life.

NORM MARKWORTH (Pre-Show Announcer) is an Emeritus Professor of Astronomy, having served SFA for 42 years before retiring in 2020. He has been the “Voice of the Lamp-Lite Theatre” for many years, and now he has over 35 plays on his résumé. 

Norm has been married to Mary for over 48 years.

Two members of the Lamp-Lite Theatre Board of Directors are stepping down from their positions, after many years of dedicated service: Tina Oswald as Secretary, and Anne Hurst, who has been in charge of Mailouts.

The Secretary is a member of the Executive Board and is primarily responsible for maintaining minutes of the meetings, as well as notifying Board members of upcoming meetings and preparing the agenda. The person in charge of Mailouts maintains a contact list (of patrons’ addresses and emails), and is responsible for sending notices (postcards, brochures, etc.) to patrons to notify them of upcoming events; this person also assists with monitoring the Theatre’s email accounts.

All season ticket holders are “Members” and are eligible to serve on the Board. Board members are expected to attend the meetings (roughly ten a year), which are held in the evenings.

If you are interested in volunteering to serve on the Board in either of these positions, please notify Brian Oswald in person or via email (boswald@sfasu.edu.) Nominations must be received by July 31st.

The positions will be filled when we hold the Annual General Meeting in August, otherwise known as the Gala.

Please join us on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at the Lamp-Lite Theatre to celebrate our upcoming 53rd season of bringing live theatre to East Texas. 

Our annual Gala, which will begin at 6:30pm, is the official launch for the 2025-26 Lamp-Lite Theatre Season. Admission is FREE, and we will have live entertainment. The event will be catered, so there is no need to bring any outside food as we have often done in the past. 

The Gala will also serve as our Annual Meeting, during which we will hold officer elections for the coming season.

Season Tickets will be available for purchase during the event. 

2025 Lamp-Lite Theatre Players’ Directing & Acting Workshops

Presented by Melissa McMillian-Cunningham for those interested in directing & acting in future Lamp-Lite productions.

Dates:

• Directing Workshop – July 15-August 17, 2025
• Acting Workshop – August 10-17, 2025

Cost:

• FREE for 2024-2025 Season Ticket Holders
• $15 for College Students and 60+ Adults
• $25 for 18+ Adults • $30 for Both Workshops

Notes: 

• Minimum of 5 directing participants and 10 acting participants
• The deadline for workshop registration and fee payment is June 16th. All proceeds will benefit the Lamp-Lite Players.

Contact:

To register for the workshop or just inquire about more details, please email Melissa McMillian-Cunningham at OliverDirectorLL2025@gmail.com.