Rhiannon Ragland first walked into the Purple Rose Theatre around 2005 and it was a life-changing moment that put her center stage with her dreams, passions and amazing skill set.
“I was in a moment in my life where I had been doing theater my whole life but really hadn’t shaped it as a career at that point,” she says. “I decided then that this was the time where I was either going to do this as a hobby or go in and get myself to a level where I could consistently get regional work.”
In other words, it was put up or shut up time – and Ragland has been putting up incredible work on and off the stage ever since with the Purple Rose acting as her main act and the driving force behind her creative mojo.
“I started out as an actor in 2007 in the world premiere play, When the Lights Come On,” she said. “That was my professional debut at The Purple Rose.”
And those purple lights have been on ever since for Ragland who has appeared in over 25 professional productions, including some of her personal favorites: Consider The Oyster, Best of Friends, Some Couples May…, and Flint. She was last seen on stage in Diva Royale.
“I was lucky enough to get steady work after that and that developed into directing opportunities and eventually choreography and that kept snowballing,” she said.
When the Purple Rose opened up after Covid, there were changes being made at the top of the hierarchy specifically for an artistic director. “I went in and talked to a few people just to express my interest in that position,” she said. “I have always believed in the Purple Rose and always believed in the community and what we were trying to accomplish here. I wanted to see that commitment continue to grow.”
And the “hierarchy” agreed with her vision, naming her an Artistic Associate and a key part of the theater’s artistic team with founder Jeff Daniels stepping in as Artistic Director. Lucas Daniels was named the other Artistic Associate.
Ragland says regional theaters allow you to be “your whole self.”
“One of the things that regional theaters open up to artists is that you don’t have to be just one thing,” she says. “And if you find a theater that is a good home, like the Purple Rose has been for me and others, they will advocate for you. You don’t have to be just one thing. You can be anything you want to be, which is a lot of fun.”
Ragland’s directing credits include A Stone Carver (Wilde Award winner for Best Play), Vino Veritas (revival 2017), Pickleball by Jeff Daniels (Wilde Award; Best Play/Director), In Common and The Antichrist Cometh.
Of course, being an actor and a director are totally different jobs.
“As an actor, you are totally free and get to explore and let other people make the decisions,” she says. “You get to play and connect with people. The director needs to make all the decisions and be the good cop and bad cop.”
Ragland is wearing her director’s hat for the Purple Rose Theatre’s latest production, “Fourteen Funerals,” a Michigan premiere comedy written by Eric Pfeffinger that runs from Feb. 13-March 9.
“Eric Pfeffinger also had his play Human Error produced at The Purple Rose in winter 2023 so I was familiar with his writing and knew it was funny,” she said. “He had another play that already had a world premiere but he wanted to work on it a little bit more. So we read it and really, really liked it. It was so fun and fresh and funny. He is able to take a grief stricken moment in a person’s life and make it funny and also meaningful.”
Sienna, a city girl, gets a cryptic phone call about the untimely deaths of some distant family members in small-town Blissfield, Indiana. She is asked to deliver eulogies for relatives she’s never met but decides to go – maybe she’s hoping for a big inheritance or maybe she just really needs to get away from her dead-end life in Chicago.
What she never expected was the tumultuous and rewarding relationship that she develops with Millie, the peculiarly sunny employee of the Blissfield funeral home.
The cast features Shonita Joshi (Brooklyn, NY) and Ashley Wickett (Bloomfield Hills).
“We tend to do extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances,” Ragland says. “These two women coming together in extraordinary circumstances really have no choice but to grab on to each other and try and make it through this moment. And they discover a lot about each other and a lot about themselves. They get to know each other and that leads to some very funny moments. And your sense of humor really tells a lot about a person and is such a window into who we are and how we deal with what life throws at us.”
Ragland says she hopes people get “whatever they need to” out of this play. Something they can take with them that either makes their day better or their life better.
“The most magical thing about theater is you sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and all listen to the same story but each person takes something different from it,” she says. “Each person hears a story through their own experiences and life. Maybe they will want to call a loved one just to tell them how they feel, or maybe they leave just enjoying the evening and having a good laugh.”
Ticket Information
Performances are Wednesday – Sunday at The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park Street, Chelsea, Michigan 48118. The performance calendar can be found HERE. Ticket prices start at $30 with special discounts for seniors, patrons 30 years or younger, members of the military, teachers, and groups (12+). For more information or to make reservations call (734) 433-7673 or go to www.purplerosetheatre.org.
