Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

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Sadie Collins: Finding Clues About ‘A Murdered Mystery’ At Monthaven

There’s something chilling in the air at Monthaven, and we’re not just talking about the crisp fall weather. On Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, the mysterious mansion will be the site of a lighthearted crime scene investigation when students in Sadie Collins’ theater class perform A Murdered Mystery. We wanted to know more about this production, which seems perfect for the Halloween season. So, we asked Collins for a few clues about what to expect.

Tell us about your upcoming production of A Murdered Mystery? Is it spooky and scary?

Sadie Collins: Actually, it’s kooky and funny. The play has a lot of the elements you would expect in a classic murder mystery. You have the old mansion. You have the butler with a gun. In that respect, it’s very Clue-like. But these characters are pretty zany, and things begins to fracture and dissolve quickly once they realize they are in a murder mystery. The play is fun and short, lasting about 20 minutes.

Instructor and director Sadie Collins

Who are the characters?

SC: The principal character is Steve. He is the owner of the mansion who’s throwing this wonderful party for everybody. His fiancée is Lydia, who is something of a gold digger and diva. The butler’s name is John, and he has something up his sleeve. Steve’s ex-fiancée is a character named Betty DuPree. She’s been invited to the party and is there to stir up trouble. There’s Steve’s business partner, Jennifer, and Lydia’s best friend, who offers a little comic relief.

Why did you pick this play?

SC: I like to pick plays that seem to go well with the season, and A Murdered Mystery seemed like a good choice for Halloween. We did something like that last year when we performed Sleepy Hollow.

Did you also pick this play because it seems to go with the house?

SC: I did. The play is set in a mansion, and obviously Monthaven is the perfect place to stage this particular work. Monthaven’s foyer is the perfect performance space.

Is there anything special that the audience needs to look out for?

SC: All of our actors have picked some feature, some trait, that goes with their characters. So, keep your eye out about what the characters are doing even when they’re not talking. They’re likely doing something else in the background.

What’s been the most fun thing about directing this play?

SC: I just love working with these kids. I’ve had a lot of them in for several classes in a row now, and watching them grow has been a thrill. Some kids had never touched theater before. Some may have started out feeling pretty shy. But over the course of just eight short weeks, they managed to learn an entire show. Their accomplishment is very impressive.

What do you hope the audience takes away from this performance?

SC: Very simply, I hope they see this play as the perfect bitesize piece of entertainment for the Halloween season. I hope they enjoy it.

NOTE: A Murdered Mystery takes place at Monthaven on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.

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Robin Willis

HEALING ARTS COORDINATOR

Robin Willis is the MACC’s Healing Arts Coordinator. She also works as the Exhibition and Events Manager and Director of Outreach. Robin has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Clemson University with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is a multi-discipline artist with emphasis in writing, mixed media abstract painting, alternative process photography, collage, and book arts and binding. In addition to her art practices, she holds several healing modalities certificates, such as extensive kundalini yoga teacher training and education, Reiki master, systemic family constellation facilitator, and depth psychology-based therapy trainings. As an avid learner, she explores and encourages others in their exploration in art, psyche, and our relationship to the micro and macro worlds within and around us. Influenced by John Muir’s quote, When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe, she fuses art, healing, and organization throughout her work and personal life as a creative-scientist minded person.

Kaylin Warden

Creative Design and Operations Manager

Kaylin Warden serves as the MACC’s Creative Design and Operations Manager. In this post, she oversees the organization’s graphic design work for exhibitions, events and special projects. She also coordinates the MACC’s arts outreach activities and assists with bookkeeping, among other duties. Kaylin, above all, is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018. 
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