By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

It has been a quick start for the Four Flags Players this year. Just in the second month of the 2010 season, the drama group has already performed two plays.

And they are not slowing down. Five more performances are scheduled between April and October.

Martha Branson-Banks, secretary of the FFP, said it is an aggressive season in terms of number of plays on the schedule.

“We usually try to have at least four plays,” she said. “Obviously we’re going to have more than that this year. We’re all excited about it. We have some new cast members. People are hearing about us and are willing to try out.”

The players will perform a mystery dinner theater at the St. Joe Kicker’s Club to benefit the Niles Kiwanis Club on April 24 with a repeat performance on May 1 at the First Presbyterian Church in Niles to raise money for the Deacon’s Fund.

FFP will present “Gin Game,” a 1978 Pulitzer Prize winning play, June 25-27. The two-person, two-act drama is about a man and woman in an old nursing home who begin playing gin rummy and having intimate conversations that turn out to be just as competitive as their game.
Then Aug. 13-15 they will introduce “Harvey,” a 1945 Pulitzer Prize winner about a man with an imaginary friend in a 6-foot-3-inch rabbit named Harvey.

Possibly the most exciting performance for the group is the world premiere of “The Creator,” a play written by an up-and-coming Chicago writer. The play, slated for Oct. 1-3, examines grief and loss from a child’s perspective, according to the FFP Web site.

Branson-Banks said that this season is unique, because the plays will take place at different venues. In the past they had just performed at First Presbyterian Church but are now branching out to different locations.

“They asked us back to the Hunter Ice Festival. In fact, next year they will need to expand the seating in the tent,” she said. “It was that popular.”

Other plans in the works this year are a summer drama camp and a Christmas radio theater program.

For more information on the Four Flag Players visit www.nilesffp.org

Auditions for 2010 Season
“Gin Game” – May 17, 6-8 p.m.

“Harvey” – May 14, 6-8 p.m.; May 15 noon-2 p.m.
“The Creator” – July 23, 6-8 p.m.; July 24, noon-2 p.m.
All auditions held at First Presbyterian Church, 13 South Fourth St., Niles

Four Flags Players 2010 Season
April 24 – 5th Annual Kiwanis Mystery Dinner Theater; dinner at 6:30 p.m., performance at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joe’s Kicker’s Club. Tickets $30 in advance.
May 1 – 3rd Annual Deacon Sponsored Mystery Dinner Theater
June 25-27 – “The Gin Game” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday
Aug. 13-15 – “Harvey” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday
Oct. 1-3 – “The Creator” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday