Anne Craft is a Natural as a Dixie Chick

Debra Rockey (Vernadette), Anne Craft (Sheree), Julie Yolles (Dinah), Erin Osgood (Lexie), Kandi Krumins (Jeri Neal) are the members of the Dixie Swim Club 

“I'm every woman/It's all in me/Anything you want done baby/I do it naturally”

Like Whitney Houston’s “Every Woman,” Anne Craft sees part of herself in each of the five female characters that make up the Dixie Swim Club:  “Each of the five women is different, and has strengths and weaknesses that I possess.  I could have been any one of these women at one time during her life.  It is rare that a script has so many characters available to five female actors.  We are an ensemble.”  The Dixie Swim Club tells the story of five friends who meet on the college swim team. They reunite one weekend each year at a North Carolina beach house to laugh, love and enjoy life, free from men, children and work.

Anne describes her character Sheree as “a busy body always poking her nose in other's lives.  She feels she can reorganize everyone else to live the perfect life like she has.   Her heart is in the right place but her constant ‘I'm in charge’ attitude can be wearing on her friends.”  Anne can definitely relate to Sheree’s nutritional and organizational skills, saying: “I like that my character is ‘all about good nutrition.’  I pride myself on eating healthfully and it makes me proud that Sheree feels the same way.  She talks about being an athlete and continues with exercise throughout her life.  Sheree is also very organized.  If you saw my house you would see that I am a very organized person.  I have been known to label drawers and cabinet doors so that anyone who uses my kitchen would know where things are and where they are to be returned.”

Like all the characters, Sheree must age on stage from 44 to 77 during the course of the play.  Anne explains how the actors tackle this challenge: “Aging my character ‘down’ to look younger than I am in the first scene is one challenge.  The five characters will not only be wearing period costumes but also costumes that help determine their age.  The other challenge is making the actor's bodies age.  You can add make-up to the face, but everyone loses muscle tone and gravity pulls at everything we women pride ourselves on; top and bottom, front and back.”

Anne has added her own personal touch to the show by being the costumer: “As the costumer for the show, I had the great privilege of working with the Thurston high school girls and watching the process of the passage of time.”

Anne’s numerous Barn stage credits include curious characters such as the soft and chewy dancing pretzel in The Producers, the nameless mute in Gypsy, and the transgender mail carrier in Miracle on 34th Street.  Anne has been with the Farmington Players for four years and serves on the Board as Director of Membership.

The Dixie Swim Club runs October 5^th – 27^th.  Reserved seats for this comedy sponsored by Mall, Malisow & Cooney, P.C. are available now at farmingtonplayers.org or at the box office (248) 553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under “Farmington Players.”