(Above: Actors in Cottage Theatre’s Tennessee Wet Rub, from left to right: Mark Allen as Hank, Lucas Wieckowski as Vern, Clancy Miller as Dunk, Kim Fairbairn as Bertha, and Alana Merz as Arleta; photos by Randall Brous)

By Randi Bjornstad

Cottage Theatre in Cottage Grove opens a world premiere of a play titled Tennessee Wet Rub, which will run for 11 performances over three weekends, beginning on Aug. 9 and ending on Aug. 25.

Writer/director Kim E. Ruyle’s play, Tennessee Wet Rub, has its world premiere at Cottage Theatre

It’s an extra-special production, theater executive director Susan Goes said in announcing the play, because Cottage Theatre is one of only six community theaters in the United States chosen to be a “producing theater” this year for the American Association of Community Theatre’s NewPlayFest.

Cottage Theatre will premier Tennessee Wet Rub by Wisconsin playwright Kim E. Ruyle, who has a lot of experience in playwriting and has garnered many honors for his long lists of scripts of various kinds. His artistic statement is pretty short and sweet:

My stories come from a unique background and are driven by my passion for the theatre. I am committed to the craft of playwriting and strive to:

  • Write highly entertaining comedies and dramas that provoke reflection, discussion, and change that leads to a better world.
  • Create diverse characters that bristle with vitality, realistic characters that span generations and provide compelling, meaty roles for mature actors.
  • Compose provocative, engaging stories for adult audiences, stories that produce moments of bliss and of anguish, that generate laughter and tears.

Those goals fit well with the premise that Ruyle appears to be tackling in Tennessee Wet Rub, which he summarizes this way:

It’s January 30, 1951, and perhaps what is the worst winter storm in Tennessee’s history is burying the state under snow and ice. Roads have been shut down, and people are without power. As the storm rages, Bertha and Hank, an older white couple, huddle in their shuttered barbecue restaurant around a kerosene lantern when two young people, a white girl and a black male, enter seeking refuge. The values and compassion of Bertha and Hank are put to the test when a deputy sheriff arrives hunting for something or someone.

The actors chosen to play these roles at Cottage Theatre are Mark Allen and Kim Fairbairn as Hank and Bertha, Clancy Miller and Alana Merz as Dunk and Arleta, and Lucas Wieckowski as the deputy sheriff, Vern.

It’s a play generally geared toward middle to upper teens as well as adults, and its “genre” is variously described by the New Play Exchange as comedy, drama, and mystery/thriller.

People who have read the script for the Exchange have described Tennessee Wet Rub variously as “a strong story that makes you think about fairness and how we treat others,” “just gorgeous (with) a suspenseful narrative that had me on the edge of my seat the whole way,” and a script of “true beauty (in the way) it unfolds the characters into fully realized people.”

Maybe that’s in part because Ruyle appears to be more than the sum of his theatrical chops, which are extensive. In addition to writing plays, he apparently also is a neuroscientist who describes himself online as “a Vietnam-era veteran with blue-collar roots who went on to earn three master’s degrees and a PhD.”

In fact, a little more digging reveals that he has master’s and PhD degrees from Oregon State University as well as a master’s of education degree from Texas A&M – Commerce and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin.

So in one way, premiering one of his plays in Cottage Grove is bringing him back pretty close to (an albeit somewhat temporary) home.

Cottage Theatre’s world premier of Tennessee Wet Rub

When: Evenings at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 9-10, 15-17, and 22-24; Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, 18, and 25

Where: Cottage Theatre, 700 Village Drive, Cottage Grove (east of the I-5 freeway off Exit 174)

Tickets: $15-$29, available online at cottagetheatre.org or through the box office at 541-942-8001, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and one hour before performances