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10 WHAT'S UP! DECEMBER 12-18, 2021 FEATURE 'Tis The Season Arts Live lifts spirits with Christmas mystery LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette A rts Live Theatre's new show, "Yikes! Somebody's Haunting My Holiday Pageant," is a wacky holiday whodunit that might leave you guessing until the very end. "Novice detectives Dakota and Caroline get backstage passes for the world famous Holiday Pageant, but festivities turn sour when props and costumes start going missing," reads the description on the nonprofit's Facebook page. "Dakota is pretty sure a ghost is to blame! Will the detectives get to the bottom of the case in time for the show? Or will this Holiday Pageant be the last?" Arts Life Artistic Director "Mark [Landon Smith] told me a little bit about what he wanted," says the playwright, Avery Batson, who was commissioned to write the play. "He wanted a pageant show where the contestants were holidays — so that was my prompt. I know nothing about pageants, but the setting reminded me of a Scooby Doo movie, where there's a bunch of weird, colorful characters in settings you wouldn't necessarily expect, and I thought it'd be really funny to write a Scooby Doo- style story where we have a goofy 'whodunit' mystery set in this really colorful sort of place." This isn't the first time Batson has had one of her original plays produced by Arts Live; she's been working with the company for around six years now as a performer as well as a playwright. The prolific author wrote her first play when she was just 12 years old. "I wrote, directed, dealt with costumes, pretty much everything — I even acted in it," she says, laughing. "It was a pretty busy couple of months. It was called 'Pretty Princess, Secret Agent.' It was about all the Disney princesses who had a problem they had to solve, because Batman was busy eating doughnuts and couldn't stop the crimes that Catwoman and evil robots were committing." Batson let her friends choose the characters they wanted to play. "I had to write a cohesive story, mixing all of these characters together," she says. Today, Batson is a sophomore in college, studying computer engineering. But she's kept her ties to Arts Live Theatre and is helping with the production of her show. "It's really cool to see it something that you really pour your heart and soul in come alive like this," she says. "I'm really grateful, because I know this opportunity is not one that a lot of people get. And it's especially nice when you're involved in the process of making it a reality — I'm not just writing it in and letting it go, you know, I'm here at rehearsal and my opinion kind of matters in this 'live action version.' I'm so grateful for the opportunity." More Holiday Events Creekmore Park Holiday Express — Enjoy a free train ride around Creekmore Park to look at the Christmas light displays, 5:30-8:30 p.m. through Dec. 18, 3301 S. M St. in Fort Smith. Free. parks.fortsmithar.gov/ creekmore-park/ The Perfect Gift: Library Books for Christmas — Honor someone special while sharing your love of reading by donating to the Fort Smith Public Library's The Perfect Gift: Library Books for Christmas program. Through Dec. 31, visit any Fort Smith Public Library location to choose a book to add to the library's collection in honor or memory of someone special. Children's books are a $10 donation; adult books are a $25 donation. Proceeds from the Perfect Gift fundraiser will go to the library's materials fund to be used for the purchase of new library materials. For more information, call the library at Arts Live Theatre's new show, "Yikes! Somebody's Haunting My Holiday Pageant," is a wacky holiday whodunit that might leave you guessing until the very end. (Courtesy Photo/Arts Live) FAQ 'Yikes! Somebody's Haunting My Holiday Pageant' WHEN — 2 p.m. Dec. 12, 7 p.m. Dec 17-18; 2 p.m. Dec. 18-19 WHERE — Arts Live Theatre, 818 N. Sang Ave. in Fayetteville COST — $10-$12 INFO —artslivetheatre.com