Placer Rep's Haunting History show comes to Rocklin, the Origin of Inspiration

Standing in the Rocklin History Museum, reading a handout about a local ghost story and
chatting with docents in late summer 2021 was the inspiration for T.S. Forsyth's new play
Ghosts of Placer County, featured at Placer Rep's HAUNTING HISTORY show on June 29 at
the Parkview Room in Rocklin's Johnson-Springview Park.

"I am very interested in the Rocklin audience response to Ghosts of Placer County, since Rocklin was the source from which I received the inspiration for this new play," said the playwright.

With support from Arts Council of Placer County individual artists grants to help defray the costs of research and travel throughout the county for source material, the development of this play has been a long journey for T.S. Forsyth that includes a lifetime of personal experiences and knowledge-gathering that culminates in this dark comedy about how individual and community history haunts us and how we haunt history to define ourselves.

"It is also about how important it is to document history and pass knowledge down through the generations," said Kevin Foster, who plays a Trailblazer Guide named Kenny Greene in the show.

The play stars veteran performer Anne Merino, Adjunct Faculty for William Jessup University who received her theatrical training at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, Second City with Del Close and Jim Belushi and later trained under Alan Rickman at the British American Drama Academy. The cast is rounded out with Katherine Stroller, AEA actor/writer/character movement coach, Brennan Villados who you may have seen at Freefall Stage, Celebration Arts or Big Idea Theater, and Ari Knyazev, recently the lead in the State Theatre Acting Company's production The Game's Afoot.

In addition to the performances of Anne Merino and her fellow cast members in Ghosts of
Placer County, Haunting History features the original music of musician/singer/songwriter
Matthew Kaiser, door prizes from generous local businesses, comedy by Funny Robert, free refreshments, "meet the actors" opportunities, and a post-show audience feedback/Q&A to help Placer Rep develop the Ghosts script.

The Rocklin performance of Haunting History will be held at the Parkview Room at Johnson-Springview Park in Rocklin CA on Wednesday, June 29 with support from Kevin Huntzinger and the Rocklin Parks & Recreation department.

Haunting History tickets are available now.

Audiences may recall Placer Repertory Theater as the professional theater company that
produced the "New Beginnings" event in July 2021, which featured a new play about the historic Placer County railroad roundhouses in Roseville and Rocklin as part of Placer Rep's goal to write one new local history play annually.

Placer Repertory Theater is a regional award-winning professional theater company that servers Placer County and the greater Sacramento metro area. A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Placer Rep's mission is to offer educational and quality-of-life enriching
professional performing arts and cultural programs relevant to the people of Placer County,
while supporting local organizations and acting as an economic engine for the area.

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