
Carreen Kouts
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Identifying a need for an interactive theatrical dining experience in Sussex County, Lenne Sirasky and Carreen Kouts started Ovation Dinner Theatre last June. This month, the energetic thespians are spreading their wings, staging a number of murder mysteries up and down the state. “It was truly a situation where, if you build it, they will come,” says Sirasky of Ocean View. “It’s fun going to different venues and seeing different people.” Unlike traditional dinner theater, Ovation takes its show on the road, complementing what the various venues do well, says Kouts, also of Ocean View. The Ovation cast has performed at popular restaurants like The Cultured Pearl in Rehoboth Beach and The Buttery in Lewes, as well as at Caffé Gelato in Newark. Each show includes eight to 15 audience members, who wear costumes and deliver scripted lines. “That’s what sets it apart from a typical staged production from the dinner-theater experience,” Sirasky says. “They leave personally with a great experience.” Sirasky racked up 20 years in community and professional theater in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. Kouts adds more than 10 years of local theater experience. Ovation’s acting pool is about 120 deep, but Sirasky notes they are always looking for additional talent. Ovation will stage at least three performances of its “Mafia Murders Mystery Dinner Theatre” this month, and is also hoping to launch two new shows early in the year. Sirasky notes that the troupe is available for private parties and corporate events. “We’re really not aiming our focus toward patrons,” says Sirasky, “but creating partnerships with businesses throughout the Delmarva region.” (www.ovationdinnertheatre.com, 302-500-1528)