“Lord of the Flies” was first performed onstage in 1996 at Stratford upon Avon by The Royal Shakespeare Company. Now, Elevate Studios is taking the play outdoors to Caloosahatchee Regional Park.
Every audience member will be greeted by a search and rescue guide and given brief instructions on how to find the lost kids that went down in a plane. Then Danica Murray and Kody Jones’ cast will reenact the action, danger, and theatrical excitement of the iconic novel in this immersive walk-through production.
There will be eight 70-minute performances on Jan. 24 and 25.
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In “Lord of the Flies,” a plane wreck strands a group of English boys on a deserted island during wartime. As they slowly explore their new-found freedom, what starts out as fun and games turns into a vicious battle for power when the boys split into two opposing tribes: one that strives for civility and another that delights in savage violence. The competition escalates into a dangerous, frightening climax, as this thrilling classic looks into the darker parts of human nature where it is civilization vs. savagery and the mob vs. morality.
Caloosahatchee Regional Park is located at 19130 N. River Road in Alva.
Attendees will convene at the white tent in Parking Lot No. 2, which is at the main entrance at 18500 North River Road.
Elevate Acting Studio features private lessons and more led by local director, actor and educator, Kody C. Jones.
Performance dates and times are:
- Saturday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.; and
- Sunday, Jan. 25 at 10 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for general admission. Tickets must be reserved in advance. There are no sales at the door.
Jones is also resident theatre director at Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts. He spent seven years as director of education at Florida Repertory Theatre. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from Western Illinois University and secondary education and acting degrees from University of Michigan. He has acted and directed professionally for over 15 years in Chicago and the Midwest, where he held the position of artistic director of Shawnee Summer Theatre and Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre. He served as a resident artist for Flint Youth Theatre for three years and taught theatre to children ages 4 and up with Chicago Public Schools, Arts for All, Lil Buds Theatre, and the American Theatre Company. He has also taught at Western Illinois University and Trollwood Center for The Performing Arts in Minnesota in addition to presenting professional workshops in Chicago, Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Michigan.
Murray is best known as a local actor. However, she is quickly developing an extensive resume as a director and stage manager. Her directing credits most recently include “The Adventures of Flat Stanley” and “The Spongebob Musical” at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre and “Jekyll & Hyde the Musical” at Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts.
Her acting credits include Vicki in “Caught in the Net,” Taylor in “Murder Down the Aisle” and Judy in “Perfect Wedding” at Broadway Palm, CFABS Youth Theatre’s bold reimagining of Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town,” multiple roles in the Naples Performing Art Center’s Theatre for Young Audiences production of CS Lewis’ "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” Caitlin O’Hare in “Over the River and Through the Woods” at Off Broadway Palm, The Woman in “Woman in Black,” Cloe in “Bulletproof Backpack,” Judy Turner in “A Chorus Line,” Paulina in FSW Black Box Theatre’s production of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” Mrs. Peterson in “Bye Bye Birdie,” Winnifred in “Once Upon a Mattress,” Duke in “Big River,” Hawking Clam in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Hunger, Laundress and the Narrator in “Metamorphoses,” Ms. Sheinkopf in “School of Rock “and Young Republicanette and Officer Milner in “Heathers.”
Murray characterizes herself as a comedic actor, but she fully embraces dramatic parts, such as Barblin in Lab Theater’s production of Max Frisch’s “Andorra” and Marie in FSW’s production of Brendan Pelsue’s futuristic dystopian drama “Wellesley Girl.”
She also played a couple of supporting roles in Lab Theater’s production of the campy parody “Hush Up Sweet Charlotte,” was understudy for the role of Karen Brown in “Steel Magnolias” in the Off Broadway Palm (2025), and stage-managed Arts Bonita’s 2025 production of “Hadestown Teen Edition.”
Murray has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Florida Gulf Coast University.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
