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A pair of strange and frightening Ditchmen brought to life by a jolt of electricity menace the stage during rehearsals this week for "Ditchmen."
ST. MARYS - Boasting a mix of comedy, sci-fi and chills from beyond the grave, retired St. Marys educator Joe Ginter's "Ditchmen" will be presented at the St. Marys Theater & Grand Opera House on Sunday and Nov. 5.
Ginter, 63, characterizes the family-friendly production as a combination of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Young Frankenstein" and a Gallagher show.
"There's some things that happen in the audience," Ginter said, stopping short of spoiling the fun awaiting ticket holders. "It will be the closest thing to Bigfoot hunting for some of these people, because the Ditchmen is described as a combination of Gumby and Bigfoot."
Ginter used his series of "Ditchmen" screenplay books published by Christian-based Covenant Books as source material for the play. He first conceived the idea of a Ditchman as a four-year-old boy. Because of car sickness, he made frequent trips to roadside ditches to unload the contents of his stomach.
"I was always scared that something lived in that ditch, and this is what I always drew," he said, pointing to his doodle of the creature on the cover of his first book.
A copy of St Marys author Joe Ginter's "Ditchmen" screenplay book. Three books have been published in the ongoing series, which another volume to be released next year.
In his books and play, though, the Ditchmen are satirical amalgams of nature-gone-wrong and spine-tingling horror abounding locally.
Or, in the author's own words, "A byproduct of the windmills mixes with the agricultural runoff, flows into the ditches and then near rural cemeteries, the remnants of souls get into it, and then a science teacher named Amy Griner found that little jolts of electricity causes them to come alive."
A cast of about 30 actors, including well-known local teachers, public figures, pastors, professionals and students, were brought on for the original production of "Ditchemen."
A cast of about 30 actors were brought in to tell the story of the Ditchmen through drama, action, song and dance. Ginter said they were given free rein to improvise lines and experiment with other aspects of the show.
"The cast took a chance coming out, trying out for a play that's never been done before, and the cast has taken each of their characters and enhanced the characters and made it even funnier," he said.
The ensemble consists of seasoned and fledgling actors, including many recognizable faces such as St. Marys Fire Chief Doug Ayers, Auglaize County Dog Warden David Thomas, St. Marys chiropractor Michael Compton and Celina High School football assistant coach Adam Neal. Some of Ginter's former students play parts, too.
The actors enthusiastically embraced the play's zany premise while adding their own twists to the material. They began rehearsing in late August.
"What I think is positive is a lot of funny parts are getting the same laughs four weeks later, which to me is a great sign," Ginter said.
But Ginter, who retired last school year after teaching for 34 years, had workshopped much of the material well in advance with his fifth grade language art students at St. Marys City Schools.
Once upon a time, Ginter said he was a nightclub stand-up comedian who opened up for Jay Leno before 1,200 people in Columbus and rock band Kansas to a mostly empty auditorium due to its policy requiring alcohol to be consumed in the lobby.
"Seven years ago, I'm in my classroom telling my students about this, and they said, 'You need to get back to chasing your dream. You're going to be retired soon.' And they talked me into it," he said.
Ginter said his students were his test audience and advisors.
"They're so honest. They were helpful when they didn't even know it because I watched their faces," he said. "Every year we kept building it up."
The fruits of their shared labor materialized in the publication of "Ditchmen" in 2019. He followed it up with two sequels and has another in the can. The screenplay books can be purchased at online retailers, including Amazon.
"All royalties go to the (St. Marys) theater," he said. "The students helped me so that means the community helped me. It's not fair for me to keep any money."
The same is the case for profits earned from the play.
These upcoming performances are in a way the realization of a childhood dream.
"Since high school it was always my dream to walk into a theater and see a screenplay that I wrote," he said.
The façade of the St. Marys Theater & Grand Opera House.
Ginter said he had a book published in 1981 entitled "I Wanted to Be Famous" to display his comedic chops. He saw it as a potential pathway into the comedy business.
"When I first started it in '79, it was supposed to be leading to an interview with Douglas Kenney, the founder of 'National Lampoon,' who's from Chagrin Falls and, of course, he wrote 'Animal House' and 'Caddyshack.' He died in 1980."
Around the same time "I Wanted to Be Famous," was released, Ginter said he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and underwent a series of surgeries.
Ginter began doing stand-up comedy at nightclubs in Fort Wayne and Columbus. He said he received encouragement from a few successful figures, among them Gary Burbank of WLW Cincinnati radio. While recovering from one of his surgeries, Ginter said Burbank used some of his jokes.
During this time, Ginter began attending Ohio State University at Lima.
"And then it came to a point where I had to choose," he said. "Being in front of kids was more rewarding than being in a comedy club."
"Ditchmen" will be presented at 7 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 5 at the theater and opera house. Tickets can be purchased at www.grandoperahouselive.com/tickets or at the door the day of the show.
