DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – Months earlier in November, high school seniors Nora Reyles and Brody Asleson had enjoyed working with the Devils Lake High School Firebird Players on the last production of the school year, The Addams Family Musical at Lake Region State College’s Robert Fawcett Auditorium. When the curtain closed on the show, so did the thrill and excitement of performing live in front of an audience. Feeling a tinge of melancholy, they wanted one last hurrah.
As they commiserated via text over the end of their last show together, the messages back and forth slowly began to form the idea for their original play “The ‘Ass’assin.”
“It’s about a CIA assassin who is really, really, really bad at his job,” Brody said, adding that it was a spoof of the spy movie genre and iconic characters like Ian Fleming’s creation of master secret agent James Bond.
“When we brought up the idea of making our own production, we immediately just started blurting out different ideas,” Nora said, adding that the two of them had been looking back the previous night at some of their earlier messages from several months ago, seeing the progression of suggestions that led to their current production. Brody credits his creative mindset to many hours of playing Dungeons and Dragons.
“We were just really bored,” Brody said. “So, we just wanted to make an extra little impact. … And I’ve always liked the older Bond movies and stuff, especially Austin Powers.”
Since their stage production was not officially affiliated with Devils Lake High School, the play was put together under Basement Light Productions, a title Brody has been using since his freshman year to produce various skits and plays. Brody and Nora reached out to friends from the high school theater department to help with the play, including Katelyn Drury, who played the main character, inept government hitman Hugo Morrison, as well as Casandra Wentz, June Knutson, Benjamin Janssen, Drew Brown and Emmy Boyeff. “They were already in ‘The Addams Family’ and we just said that we were trying to do this little thing. … nothing too serious. Obviously, we’re not making any money off this.”
Brody said that he and Nora handled the various behind-the-scenes responsibilities that came with producing and directing the play. “But our actors have been a bigger part, you know, because without them, there’s no show.”
Attendees came free of charge 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21-23 at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Fourth St. NE, although there was a donation bucket for anyone who wished to contribute for future productions. On the final night of the play held on Monday evening, Brody welcomed residents as familiar jazz tunes often associated with spy movies played over the P.A. system in the Hall’s main room, including the “Get Smart” theme, Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova” used in the Austin Powers franchise, Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme” and “Tank!” by The Seatbelts, the theme to the groundbreaking action anime series “Cowboy Bebop.”
After graduation, Nora plans to attend the University of North Dakota and major in psychology, although she hasn’t decided on the specific field of study, while Brody will be attending the University of Iowa in Iowa City to study theater.
However, they haven’t ruled out future independent productions in Devils Lake between their other commitments. “If we have the free time and the budget, then potentially,” Nora said.
