"The Fire" by Mysty Mellison

Mysty Mellison is a playwright/producer in SL. Her play, "The Fire", will open on Friday, June 25 at 4:00 SLT at the SL7 B Mainstage SE, SL7B Imagination (29, 220, 22). I met up with Mysty recently to learn more about her and her latest play.

Grey Lupindo: Can you tell our readers what "The Fire" is about?

Mysty Mellison: It́'s a haunting tale about Pete and his quest to save his family from famine. Pete is a peasant, and Frankey is an American boy. The conflict is grain vs. gold.

Grey Lupindo: What́ is the time period and setting?

Mysty Mellison: The play starts in 2010 and goes back to 1789. It is set against the back drop to the French Revolution. We join Frankey as he visits Paris, France in 1789.

Grey Lupindo: How did "The Fire" come about?

Mysty Mellison: I wrote "The Fire" for a RL theatre. However, as I am a struggling writer, I did not have the funds to produce it.

Grey Lupindo: How much was it going to cost?

Mysty Mellison: The cost for a theatre is $4k - that́s US Dollars, not Lindens.

Grey Lupindo: Do you have an estimate of how much it́s going to cost to produce the play here in SL?

Mysty Mellison: So far next to nothing. I met some generous people at Trendone and L'Ecole SL who donated some builds. Xstorm Radek and his wife Patty are wonderful. They helped build the sets. Wolveli Kas has been a wonderful help to the production. She goes beyond her acting responsibilities and steps in for missing actors. She proofread my script, making changes for the better. And Friday night, she made a timezone chart. The actors are volunteers.

Grey Lupindo: How many actors are in "The Fire"?

Mysty Mellison: Twelve. My actors are passionate. It is work, but it is fun.

Grey Lupindo: What has surprised you the most about producing it?

Mysty Mellison: The scheduling of actors is a challenge.

Grey Lupindo: Who are the main actors?

Mysty Mellison: Pete is played by Intelkid Craven. Frankey is being played by either Valentine Easterwood or Gimly Beck.

Grey Lupindo: Besides SL7B, are there any future performances planned?

Mysty Mellison: There is a tentative one July 17-18 3pm slt at O'Caseys.

Mellison, who has been a resident since May 2009, said that the group currently perform as storytellers, too. The photo for this article was taken at Hestia's Hearth, where rehearsals are held. In the future a full production of "The Fire" will be performed there. Hestia's Hearth, Trendone (114, 70, 47) This location is symbolic, like much of the play, Mellison said, because Hestia is the Greek goddess of the fire.

Grey Lupindo