The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

IT WAS just last year when Bahamian entrepreneur Kerel Pinder was sitting in her sister’s North Carolina apartment writing down all the thoughts that came to her mind. These thoughts quickly turned into the script for her now successful romantic comedy play called “Sarah’s Wedding”.

Although she is now getting used to being a writer and producer, the Grand Bahama native said just a short while ago she could have never imagined that her creativity would carry her so far.

After the premiere of “Sarah’s Wedding” in Freeport in May, Kerel said reality had surpassed even her wildest dreams.

“Sarah’s Wedding” captured the attention of so many Bahamians that the show extended to extra dates in Freeport and is now gearing up to be featured at the College of the Bahamas’ Performing Arts Theatre from August 8-10.

To say the play was a success in Freeport may very well be an understatement, said Alfred Anderson, the show’s producer.

Put on by the Young Adults Regency Drama (YARD) group, Mr Anderson said “Sarah’s Wedding” is a production which they worked extremely hard on to prove to the audience and themselves that they have the ability to put on an awesome show.

The YARD group is a body under the Freeport Players’ Guild and is the brainchild of its president, Liselle Harris.

Kerel said she just wanted to write a play that was real and authentic to her experience as a Bahamian woman as well as the story of many others. As a result of this, Kerel said people are really able to connect to the characters.

“Sarah’s Wedding” tells the story of four childhood friends who reunite for a wedding weekend. However, old rivalries, secrets and betrayal quickly rear their heads and threaten to ruin Sarah’s beautiful celebration. If you ever had a friendship that stood the test of time or ever found yourself in a really messy situation, Kerel said you will definitely enjoy the production.

She said what she thinks also made the audience fall in love with the show is the great acting by the all-Bahamian cast of vibrant, young and talented performers who gave audiences a real life story.

Soon after the initial showings, Kerel received request and feedback on social media as well as through her cast, with people asking for a Nassau edition.

The cast included leads Zia Lewis as Sarah, Autumn Joy-Dames as Kharin, Grier Munroe playing Shavon and Erica Weir as Summer. Other cast members are Jonathan Miller, Imani Roberts, Antonio Guarro, Neena Laing, Rebecca Harris, Evan Williams, Antonio Smith, Ramon Webb, Devin Pinder, Angel Russell, Gaill Woon, Reginald Simmons, Jill Cooper, Noella Anderson, Justin Collins, Luke Ignace, Ahamad Lowe, Remardo Russell, Laura Miller, Kyle Edwards, Ruth Cadet, Anton Shepherd, Baldwin and Megan Stuart.

“Weirdly enough, we had a lot of Nassau natives that flew into Freeport just to see the show. Before that it really wasn’t a thought to bring it to Nassau; it was just a play that we thought we were just going to do to try and get the Freeport people out to see a nice Bahamian event. It is a lot of work to carry a cast of this size to Nassau, but we had a lot of requests and decided to dive in and actually do it,” Kerel said.

“There are some Freeport people who missed it and reached out to me to tell me they have been meaning to visit family members in Nassau, so they will make a weekend of it by coming during the time of the play. I have been getting a lot of support from people, whether they are from Nassau or Freeport, they just want to see it again or for the first time.”

With this being her very first stage play, Kerel said she weighed all the pros and cons before bringing “Sarah’s Wedding” to the stage.

She said she became inspired by international actor, producer and writer Tyler Perry. She said recalled his very first stage play experience with “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.”

“Tyler Perry said 30 people showed up after putting it on for seven years straight. He didn’t get anyone to show up the way he expected. So I had the mindset where if I get 100 people to show up, then I am good. I had other challenges with putting the play on and one wasn’t getting people to come out. I definitely didn’t expect for it to go this far, I just had a vision. I wrote a short play before, but never a full production, so I wanted to take the opportunity to do that,” she said.

Kerel said bringing the play to Nassau has been a lot of work, but she is looking forward to this weekend.

“One of the benefits was that I work at a school so I was off and had free time this summer to put it all together and get things in order to travel. I am able to be on the ground here in Nassau, doing a lot of the promotional work, booking the venue, accommodations and all of that. I would love to take it to the Family Islands, but it is just a matter of it being feasible because I am now doing this in the summer, but when work starts again it would be difficult to manage, but it is definitely something that I would love to do,” she said.

DVDs of “Sarah’s Wedding” will be available for purchase at the Nassau shows for all interested persons.

Kerel said she is passionate about the show’s message and she is certain those seeing for the first time will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

For more information visit the stage play’s Facebook page at “Sarah’s Wedding”.