When Kim Edmonds, MS, CCC-SLP, is not busy working with the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Post-baccalaureate in SLP programs at Salus University, she and her husband Ryan Edmonds, OD ‘10, spend their free time at the Forge Theatre. Recently, the pair was involved in a production of Xanadu, based on the Universal Pictures cult classic movie.
“I play a starving artist named Sonny Malone, who is inspired by a Greek muse to open a roller disco,” said Dr. Edmonds. “The story takes you through the emotional journey of being a struggling artist and trying to create something, with an underlying classic love story.”
As this is the first production the pair has participated in since the COVID-19 pandemic, they were eager to get back on stage. “Ryan has the male lead which we are very excited about, and I am in the ensemble as one of the Greek muses, who is a sister of Ryan's counterpart in the show,” Kim Edmonds said.
And, if learning the lines and lyrics to the 90-minute production was not hard enough, the cast had to learn how to roller skate as well.
“There are two women in the cast that are very skilled with roller skating so they gave all the cast some informal lessons, which really speaks to the community and family feel of the theater,” said Kim Edmonds. “Both of them were new and came out to the show because it had skating in it and now they are really great additions to the theater.”
Although roller skating was a fun team bonding activity, not all of the cast members particularly excelled. “[Kim] learned how to roller skate. I can act like I don’t know what I’m doing as well as I can act like I know what I’m doing on skates, so it looked the same,” joked Dr. Edmonds.
The theater showed 10 performances of the production throughout September and early October. The audience reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, as local theater-goers appreciate the return to in-person performances.
Their involvement in this production and the theater has given them a creative outlet outside of work. “As much as I love being a speech-language pathologist and my job at Salus, it is nice to have another outlet that is something creative for me to do in my free time,” said Kim Edmonds. “Aside from being in productions, I also serve on Forge’s Board of Directors as the Publicity Chair. Ryan serves on the bylaws committee and also assists with hanging and running lights when he’s not on stage. So we have involvement other than being performers.”
The curtains closed at their final show on October 2, but the pair is excited to continue their involvement with the theater. They have been part of Forge Theatre since 2017 and say the theater members are “like an extension of family.” They are looking forward to continuing to contribute to the shows and to the theater as a whole, and are thankful they have been able to connect to their local community in this capacity.
