Published: January 10, 2009 02:17 am      

PEOPLE PROFILE: Geoff Koplas and Jon May putting on new play at Palace

Geoff Koplas and Jon May, longtime friends who have worked together in several theater productions, are making their own play, “Cashing It In,” which will be performed at the Palace Theatre the weekend of Feb. 12.

Koplas is the playwright and has the lead role. May is the director.

The farce is the first play written by Koplas and the first original script that May has ever directed.

“It’s exciting to have a friend who has written this play and to try do it justice as a director,” said May, who has directed “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and “Love Letters.” “He’s given me his baby and I have to deliver it.”

“Cashing It In” is produced by Curtain Up of the Palace Theatre and sponsored by Four Season Players, who normally perform at the Taylor Theatre.

“It’s kind of exciting, being on the ground floor of something,” said May “Once it is performed, it can be copyrighted.”

The ensemble play, with seven characters, centers around Nathan (Koplas). His father, also named Nathan, has won the Win For Life lottery, but then dies. The checks keep coming, and Nathan keeps cashing them. As he and his fiancée plan their wedding, the lottery commission shows up seeking to do an interview with the deceased dad. Nathan must now invent an elaborate story, which keeps growing and mutating to encompass himself, his fiancée, his neighbor, his lawyer, his sister and a local cop.

“It’s funnier than I ever could have hoped for,” May said. “I’m really excited about how funny it is.”

The story idea came to Koplas about six years ago. He asked for May’s input, and the pair made changes along the way.

Koplas, a Lockport High School graduate, did his undergraduate studies at Notre Dame, where he acted in theater for fun. He also studied with a Shakespeare scholar for a semester in London.

After writing the play, Koplas wanted to watch it unfold with the audience. However, when one of the local actors dropped out, Koplas assumed the leading role.

“I’m more nervous now that I’m in it,” he said. “My director (May) won’t hesitate to tell me what I need to do better. There are a lot of entanglements. It starts as a simple lie, but one lie leads to more lies. They get more difficult to believe. As long as you sit back and enjoy the ride, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a great group to work with. It’s an opportunity to get the old gang together.”

The action is continuous with one set and two acts.

“The writer is in residence. He’s in the play. He’s right with me all the time,” May said. “This is going to work well, because when it becomes necessary to make subtle changes, the writer is right there. We’ve been going back and forth, for several years.”

Koplas recently was the understudy for Bob Crachett in “Scrooge.” He has also played Captain Hook in “Peter Pan” and Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast.”

“He’s going to be fantastic,” May said. “He’s been doing it for years.”

Koplas is married to Jennifer and has two sons, Adam, 10, and Ethan 4. He studied computers at the University at Buffalo and is an IT auditor in Williamsville for National Fuel.

May works as a research specialist for Time Warner Cable media sales. He is married to Lisa and has a daughter. Sophie.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.