The 2007 One Act Play Competition

The 2007 One Act Competition and Dessert Auction was held March 23, at West County Assembly of God with the following casts (Following the links will take you to a bio of the person):

The Conference by Terri Ingalls 
Directed by Brad Lafferty
Jersey Fowler--Jenna Lafferty
Maggie Bradley--Elizabeth Pezzo

Judgment Call by Frederick Stroppel 
Directed by Andrew Lafferty 
Joe--Chris Russell  **Winner of Best Supporting Actor/Actress Award
Harvey--Robert "RJ" Null
Frank--Joe Russell

Chew the Fat With Matt by Stephen Hicks and Jerry Cohagan 
Directed by David Moreshead   ** Winner of Best Director Award
Matt--Elizabeth Pezzo
Maynard--Chris Russell
Bob--Sam Hamilton
Emma--Shelby Ruprecht
Ray-Bob--Robert "RJ" Null
Fred--Joe Russell
Allie--Jenna Lafferty
  ** Winner of Best Production Award

Autumn Leaves by G.L. Horton 
Directed by Kristy Moore 
Janet--Stacey Lafferty  ** Winner of Best Leading Actor/Actress Award
Alice--Shelby Ruprecht
Danny--Sam Hamilton

Samuel and Dinah a new play written and directed by Allen Moore 
Reggie--RJ Null
Dinah--Kristy Moore
Samuel--David Moreshead
Doctor--Brad Lafferty

Thanks to everyone who participated and attended.  It was a great success.  To find out more about each of these cast members, keep on reading.

Allen Moore as the director of Samuel and Dinah--Hi!  I’m Allen Moore, the president and founder of Destination Theatre Company.  I'm excited to direct yet another production with DTC...my third so far...and to direct another play in general...I've started to lose count.  I got involved in theatre in high school (well, actually, in church, it was MUCH younger), playing Winthrop in The Music Man, Admiral von Schreiber in The Sound of Music, Mr. Kirby in You Can't Take it With You, roles in several one acts and playing viola for Mame and Fiddler on the Roof.  In college I continued with on stage roles as Mendel in Fiddler on the Roof, Andrew age 64 in Why Do We Laugh?, and Gonzalo in The Tempest as well as back stage roles in The Lion in Winter, Doll's House, A View From the Bridge, Charley's Aunt and several other plays, one acts and studio scenes.

Since graduating from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, I've done much more directorial and performance work through teaching at the middle school level and through church.  Some of those plays include This is a Test, Mame, The Fantasticks,  Rumors, Happy Daze, The Music Man Jr., Fools, The Living Last Supper, Who Will Call Him King of Kings, The Sounds of Christmas, and many, many more.

I'm married to Kristy and have three kids:  Isaac, 8; Rebekah, 5 and Rachel, 2 1/2.  At West County Assembly of God I am involved in the adult choir and helping Kristy with the kids choir.  My hobbies include reading (mostly plays), music and, of course, drama. 

iAndrew Lafferty as the director of Judgment Call--Bio Coming Soon!

Brad Lafferty as the director of The Conference and the Doctor in Samuel and Dinah--My name is Brad Lafferty. I'm from Saint Louis, Missouri, and now live in Saint Charles with my wife and two children.  I work for General Motors where I am a Chaplain for UAW Local 2250.  I am a member of Grace Baptist Church where I sing in the choir and speak in the Nursing Home Ministry and I am currently seeking a Master's degree in Church Ministry from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO.

I would love to tell you that I have had a lifelong passion for the theatre (because that would make for riveting reading), but, truth be told, I've been in three plays and, at best, a half-dozen youth group skits in my whole life.  And I believe I may have directed traffic once while a friend backed a moving truck out of his driveway.  In fact, if my daughter weren't studying theatre, I probably wouldn't go to too many plays, either.  Obviously, I'm not here to be a part of the sales department.  What I am here for is this...anytime anyone is willing to commit themselves to engaging our culture in the name of Christ, I'm behind them.  For too long we Christians have sat idly by while others have taken the arts away from their original purpose...to praise and glorify God.  I believe this world needs, more than ever, people willing to step out, in faith, and proclaim the goodness and majesty of God to a lost and dying world, and that the theatre is a very good place to start.  Our God is a creator...let us also be creative as we worship Him.  My DTC production experience consists of playing Doc  in If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise.

Chris Russell as Joe in Judgment Call and Maynard in Chew the Fat with Matt--I'm a sophomore/junior in high school and this is my first production with Destination Theatre Company.  I usually don't act in the productions in which I'm involved.  I'm usually behind the scenes with backstage or some other task.  The recent productions I've been a part of are The Importance of Being Earnest with DaySpring School of the Arts and I also choreographed the fight scenes for Parkway West's production of Romeo and Juliet.

David Moreshead as the director of Chew the Fat With Matt and Samuel in Samuel and Dinah--I am a 15 year old rising high school senior. I attend Dayspring School of the Arts where I take classes in drama, musical theatre and piano. I work during the summer with our family company, GoodHeart Lawn and Land, mowing lawns and sending invoices. The last couple of years I have been in DaySpring’s productions of Only an Orphan Girl as Dick, Seussical as a Wickersham Brother and Much Ado About Nothing as Benedick. I’m looking forward to getting my driver’s license later this month, and exploring options for college and a career as I look to the future!

Elizabeth Pezzo as Maggie Bradley in The Conference and ___ in Chew the Fat With Matt--Bio Coming Soon!

Jenna Lafferty as Jersey in The Conference and Annie in Chew the Fat With Matt --I am 14 years old and will be a freshman next year.  I have been studying Musical Theatre and dance for the past 10 years.  This is my first role alongside my father. I will always be Daddy's girl.  My favorite roles have been Golde in Fiddler on the Roof and Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.  I dream of being a professional dancer and/or Broadway actress.  My desire is to teach Performing Arts.

I also enjoy being with friends and family, shopping and "IM"ing on the computer until the early morning hours.  I love to sing, even in my sleep.  I have been known to wake the family and myself with a song in the middle of the night.  I thank God for my talents and for many opportunities to use them. 

Joe Russell as Frank in Judgment Call and Fred in Chew the Fat With Matt--Bio Coming Soon!

Kristy Moore as the director of Autumn Leaves and Dinah in Samuel and Dinah--Hi!  My name is Kristy Moore.  I'm excited to be a part of this production of If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise.  I'm married to Allen and a home-schooling mother of three: Isaac, 7 1/2; Rebekah, 4 1/2; and Rachel, 2.  Growing up in Springfield IL, I was involved in several productions at school and church in elementary and high school, including The Music Man, where I was a gymnast and dancer.  Since college at Evangel University, I have been in a lot of productions at church including Bethlehem Inn, A Christmas Carol, Putting the Christ Back in Easter, The Sounds of Christmas, and the direction of Sure Foundations, The Joy Story and The Tale of Three Trees..  In addition, I was involved in the DTC inaugural production of The Diary of Anne Frank in the role of Mr. Otto Frank.  

At church I direct the kids choir, coordinate the nursery ministry and lead the Missionettes Prims club.  My hobbies include kids, music, kids, reading and kids.  

Robert "RJ" Null as Harvey in Judgment Call, Ray-Bob in Chew the Fat With Matt and Reggie in Samuel and Dinah--Bio Coming Soon!

Sam Hamilton as Danny in Autumn Leaves and Bob in Chew the Fat With Matt--My name is Sam Hamilton.  I'm fourteen years old and have crazy sense of humor.  This is my first drama and I'm very thankful to be a art of it.  I love God more than anything in my life.  He has done so much for me and I will always love Him.  I also have a great family and great friends.  I'm very involved in the Emerge Youth Group at Destiny Church--St. Louis.  I also play guitar in my band and I am the catcher for the St. Louis Sliders baseball team during the summer.

Shelby Ruprecht as Alice in Autumn Leaves and Emma in Chew the Fat With Matt--I'm Shelby.  I am 14 and a home-school freshman in high school.  I have been taking musical theatre and drama classes for 7 years.  In those years, I have been in shows with DaySpring School of the Arts such as Kate in Annie, Woodstock in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof.  I have also performed in Ballwin Baptist's Learning Center's productions of Fiddler on the Roof as Hodel and The BEst Christmas Pageant Ever as Alice.  This past summer I participated in Broadway on the Driveway's production of Singin' In the Rain.  I am thrilled to be a part of Destination Theatre Company for the first time.  I love acting and singing and I hope to continue performing for many years to come!

Stacey Lafferty as Janet in Autumn Leaves--My name is Stacey Lafferty.  I am a graduate of UM-St. Louis, with a degree in Elementary Education.  My family and I live in St. Charles where we attend Grace Baptist Church.  My husband and I home-school our two wonderful children, Andrew, 16 and Jenna, 14.  I also teach enrichment classes to groups of home-school students.  Much of my time is spent just being a mom, something I enjoy immeasurably.

I acted in a few high school and college skits.  I have been involved in theatre mostly as a "mom" helping out backstage, props, costumes and scenery.  The arts are one of the ways I see God's creativity, and that is why I want to be involved with this group of talented people and their pursuit to place God back where He belongs...in the middle of the theatre as well as all areas of life.