Orange Beach High School theater department presents award winning production

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The theater department for Orange Beach High School will present their award-winning production of, “The Last Mile” on Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Orange Beach Community Center. Performances will be held at 7 p.m. each night. Tickets may be purchased online at www.obtheatre.com or at the door.

Caught in the cross hairs of genocide, two young women, bound by time, weigh their sins against the worth of their lives and learn that history doesn’t just repeat itself — it intertwines. “The Last Mile” won Best in Show/First Place at the District Trumbauer Theatre Festival and competed at the state competition, where three members of the cast were named to the All-Star Cast. Additionally, the show won Best Set and Best Tech at the District level competition in Mobile.

The performance will feature special guest, Marty Schiff from Pittsburgh. Schiff is a professional actor and director, having appeared in films such as “Dawn of the Dead." Some of his television credits include roles on “Dallas”, “Creepshow”, “Newhart”, “Knightrider”, and dozens of other shows from the 80s and 90s.

Schiff will speak before each performance about his family who were effected by the Holocaust. Additionally, there will be a Q & A after each performance.

On Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m., Schiff will greet the public at the Coastal Art Center, where he will talk about his career in the film and television industry. This free event is available to everyone.

The play is written and directed by Darren J. Butler the theater teacher and Fine Arts Director for Orange Beach High School. Butler also serves at the Artistic Director for Orange Beach Theatre. The set was designed by Dr. David Ruebhausen, and the choreography was designed by Erica Bailey, a visiting artist with the school from Jan. 13 - Feb. 21. Bailey is a native of Alabama but lives in Paris, France, where she works as a professional aerial acrobat and dancer.

For more information, please contact Darren Butler at dbutler@bcbe.org

To say "Show biz is Marty Schiff's life" would be a grave understatement. His passion for production began in community and regional theaters in Pittsburgh. He would have over 25 credits on his resume by his 21st birthday. Since those early days, Marty has spent over 40 years in every aspect of theater, film, television and radio and has over 300 credits to his name.

While a theater student at Point Park College, his film career started by killing zombies in a mall in George A. Romero's, DAWN OF THE DEAD. This project would foster a friendship and professional relationship with Mr. Romero that lasted over four decades.

After college graduation, Marty moved to Hollywood, He began working in television with the CBS series, THE BOOK OF LISTS with Bill Bixby. Although the series was short-lived, it got Marty the attention needed to put him on the path for a lucrative television career. Marty would work on shows with every major network and studio including DALLAS, KNIGHTRIDER and NEWHART. He guest starred on dozens of TV shows in the 80s and 90s.

As cable television was emerging as viable viewing competitor, Marty would pioneer the Nickelodeon network with the groundbreaking series OUT OF CONTROL. It was the very first series produced by Nickelodeon for Nickelodeon and would set the stage for the networks style and success.

Once again Marty would find himself on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry by working with The Gold Company as the Director of Development. Their project, IN LIVING COLOR, would change television forever and would launch the careers of some of today’s most prominent talent. Other projects that were developed at that time were ACE VENTURA, BLANKMAN and more.

After returning to Pennsylvania, Marty would continue his work in the broadcast and content arena. He found a home in the growing independent television market by launching The National Shopping network, Be Well TV and The Golden Sports network. He also achieved worldwide distribution for his horror anthology project GEORGE A. ROMERO PRESENTS DEADTIME STORIES.

Marty recently received his MFA in Creative Writing from his alma mater, Point Park University. Currently, he is vice president of Jeffrey Martin Global Media, Marty continues to develop and find broadcast outlets for Indy film and television content. He is working on children's, horror and sports related programming.