There’s something special about being part of a play’s debut.
“I love doing stuff that nobody in the area has ever seen before,” said Brad King, who plays the role of Eugene in Gather By the Ghost Light’s production of “All Bark, No Bite,” which makes its Augusta debut this weekend. Shows will be July 19-20, 25-27 at Le Chat Noir. “Some groups choose things because of name recognition. There’s just something about the complete unknown. I hope people will come and laugh.”
Written by Kara Emily Krantz, “All Bark, No Bite,” is about relationships and brings together various personalities for one night filled with hilarious moments.
“I love how fast paced it is,” said Avery Lewis, who plays Charlotte, of the production. “There’s always something going on no matter who is on stage. We just go, go, go, laughing the entire time.”
Not only is it the first time Augusta area residents will see Krantz’s play, but the production also represents another first.
“This is the first time doing a full-length stage play,” said Jonathan Cook, who has seen his Gather by the Ghost Light organization grow over the past four years. “I love the idea of bringing new works to Augusta written by established playwrights but who are also lesser known. These are plays people may not ever see if we don’t bring them here.”
During the lockdown of COVID, Cook started a podcast of audio plays – similar in format to the radio shows of the golden age of radio in the 1930s and 1940s enlisting the help of actors he’d worked with. He began by recording plays that he’d written, then he expanded to the works of others.
By the second year, he realized his podcast was taking on a life of its own. He didn’t have to explain what he was doing as often to the playwrights he reached out to as they were already familiar with it.
Then, he launched a publishing company.
In October 2023, he tried something new – recording the podcast before a live audience; then came a play festival earlier this year.
Now, he’s directing this show. He had interviewed Krantz on a previous episode of his podcast and got to know her.
“She’s written a lot of great stuff. She’s from Massachusetts. She plans on coming the second weekend. She’s just a great person, and she’s been available. Producing this – every now and then – I’ll text her a question. It’s nice to get that feedback directly from the person that wrote the words,” he said.
Cook said he hopes to continue to produce other live events. He’s got a lot of ideas. Finding a venue will be his main challenge since he doesn’t own a space and needs to work around other venues’ calendars.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
