Premier Staged Reading Brings Keokee, VA to Life on Fairfax Stage

FAIRFAX, Virginia – When Harlan Van Buren earns two Masters’ Degree – a feat no one else in his community of Keokee, Virginia has ever done, the entire coal-mining town gathers to celebrate their favorite son’s accomplishment. The event takes on deeper shades when new friends from “Off” bring the bias about hillbillies and close family members pull out their barbed memories.

Everyone in the audience takes part in the evening’s festivities and story-telling during the staged reading of I Ain’t Made That Way, a new play premiering on Friday, September 30 at 7 p.m. at the Old Town Village Gallery, 3950 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia.

The strong cast brings years of experience to the stage and includes several George Mason University graduates. They include Chelsea Townsend as Sherry; Oscar Salvador as Dub; Scott Blamphin as Harlan and George Tralka as Munch. Sharon Caraballo, an Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs at GMU, appears as the Narrator and other characters; Laura Koenigsberg as Mary and RoseAnne; Geoff Baskir as Mule Train; Chuck Leonard as Matthew; Larry Levinson as Virgil and Big Sam.

Tickets are free but you must register for the limited seating. Click here.

The play is the work of the veteran writing team of Amelia Townsend of Oakton and the late Dink Shackleford of Keokee, Virginia. Yes, it’s a real place. The pair also wrote a well-received novel, Keepsakes for the Heart, based upon the true story of Sarah Bishop Hart, who held one dream – a real home.

The staged reading could not have been possible without the incredible support and hard work of Jo Ormesher, Cultural Tourism and Marketing Manager for the City of Fairfax, the Old Town Village Gallery and the Fairfax Arts League and the volunteer talents of the cast.