GOOD NEIGHBORS:
Katrina Ploof
‘A Really Cool & Ambitious Idea’ Ocala Civic Theatre’s 70th anniversary season is shaping up to be one for the record book. Literally. As in Guinness. BY RICHARD ANGUIANO • PHOTO BY STEVE FLOETHE
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o mark seven decades of serving fans of the dramatic arts in Marion County, the Ocala Civic Theatre is planning an attempt at the Guinness World Record for “longest marathon theater performance” with a nonstop string of performances to begin at 7pm Sunday, March 29, and end at noon, Thursday, April 2. If successful, the feat would span 79 hours and break the current record established by Lamb’s Players Theatre of Coronado, California, in May 2014. The Guinness World Records website—guinnessworldrecords.com—lists
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the mark to beat at 76 hours 18 minutes and 25 seconds. And if you’ve always aspired to be part of a world record, here’s your chance: Ocala Civic Theatre is seeking help from the public for the attempt, which it has dubbed “79 For 70.” While OCT is in the process of selecting 20 actors scheduled to perform in shifts during the marathon, it also needs witnesses, timers, audience members, even volunteers to prepare (or pay for) meals for all involved. Can’t be there to take part? You can still sponsor an audience member
OCALA’S GOOD LIFE retirement redefined
for “79 For 70,” which will also serve as a fundraiser. “There isn’t anything we couldn’t use you for,” says Katrina Ploof, artistic director of OCT. KATRINA SAID LARRY KIERNAN, the theater’s marketing director, came to her with the “fantastic idea” for the record attempt. “I sat there for about 10 seconds and I couldn’t come up with a reason not to, other than, ‘Boy, that’s going to be a lot of work,’” remembers Katrina. “But we’re a theater. Working hard is
