About Bright Star ProductionZ!
Bright Star ProductionZ started as Oswego County's own Murder Mystery Dinner Theater company and has grown by leaps and bounds over the past six years. 
My name is Laura K. Vannah and I founded Bright Star ProductionZ in the summer of 2004.
When I moved to Mexico, NY in 2003, I really had no idea of all that I would do and become over the next six years. I spent the winter of 2003/2004 working and getting acquainted with Mexico, its citizens, and the surrounding area. No one here knew of my extensive and diverse background in the theater and corporate worlds and it wasn't until I returned from a weekend off from work in March 2004, which I took to audition for the MFA program in Acting at the Actor's Studio Drama School (ASDS) in NYC, that the cat was let out of the bag.
Here's where my passion and desire met opportunity and destiny. I was working at Arena's Eis House Restaurant to supplement my income. When Sarah Arena, of Arena's Eis House, got wind of what I was going to do, she said, "you can always do dinner theater here." I really thought she was joking ~ turns out she wasn't.
My first call went out to my former boss and soon to be mentor, David Goldstein. He and a few friends created the whole murder mystery dinner theater genre in Cambridge, MA in 1986. I learned from the best! By May 5, 2004, I had my first script and was in a frantic search for actors. The longing I had felt for three years was reaching out to others who were feeling the same way.
My first three actors, Brian Goldblatt, John O'Brien, and Debbie McCoy, had always wanted to do something like this. Without a second thought, they joined me for a very intense month of rehearsals and a crash course in acting. It was only three short weeks after I received the script that I had a full cast, having found Jackie Miles, Katherine Schwartz, Niki Delong, and Kerriane Thomas shortly after the first three. We launched our first production, 'Candidate for Murder',
June 3, 2004, and Bright Star ProductionZ was born! I have Paul and Sarah Arena to thank for giving me the opportunity to make my dreams come true.
Since Bright Star ProductionZ started as a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater in 2004, we've had local community members from Mexico delight audiences with their antics; we've seen many different locations from Arena's Eis House to Bridie Manor to the Lake Ontario Comedy Playhouse.
We've seen lots of familiar faces continue to come to the shows and in 2006 we even had a real live marriage proposal at our Marriage Can Be Murder show. There have been over 50 performances, numerous actors, lots of props & costumes, we've seen the inside of many rooms, and we've collected over hundreds of sleuth sheets in the past six years.
See what's 'cooking in the kitchen' and where we're going to be performing next by visiting the Schedule of Shows page.
Bright Star ProductionZ created and ran Youth Mystery Hikes for the Parish Summer Recreational Camp; done shows for fundraisers for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Central Square Music Boosters to name a few.
We are also dedicated to providing YOU with top-notch entertainment, developing new products, such as corporate team building events, educational and motivational workshops, treasure hunts, and even murder mystery hikes. We continue to offer all the hilarity, entertainment and fun Bright Star ProductionZ has come to be known for.
Laura also the co-founded the Central New York Theatre Source (CNYTS) with Nancy Fox in 2007, as well as co-founding ANPACT (Association for the New Paradigm in Acting and Creative Techniques) with Emmanuelle Chaulet in 2009.
We grew again when the Lake Ontario Bird Festival allowed Laura to found the Native Circle in 2006. That too has grown over the years. It became a festival in its own right in 2008 and is held every May at the beautiful Mexico Point Park. As a member of the Thunder Hawk Singers, Laura herself performs at the Native Circle every year.
The Thunder Hawk Singers won a 2009 Best Historical Recording Native American Music Award for their CD Native Pride. They are also on a compilation CD called "Rise-up: Music from Native America" on which 21 Native Music Artists come together to promote national awareness of the homeless crises in America.
In 2008, at the behest of the Seneca Falls "It's A Wonderful Life" Festival Committee, Laura adapted the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" into a full day-long outdoor event, called A Wonderful Life Day.
With all of the things we offer as a full-service production company, you might be wondering how the heck we have the time to expand it even further. Well, that's just what we've done. At the beginning of 2010, Laura launched Bright Star Theatre Company! Team Totem's inaugural performance is set for this Spring.
She's also adding Actor Training & Coaching.
Keep checking back on all we have to offer!
For more information, contact Laura K. Vannah at (315)963-3820 or email.