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| Former Santa Barbara star Lane Davies is directing Plot Twist. |
If you’ve ever thought daytime drama was made for television and television alone, think again. A new stage production is about to challenge that idea in a big, bold way.
Bottom line: Plot Twist is making a strong case that the most compelling drama doesn’t need a camera—it just needs a stage, a script, and actors willing to go for it.
The Conasauga Shakespeare Coalition is bringing soap-style storytelling to the stage with the world premiere of Plot Twist, a new play written by Emmy Award winner Jerome “Jerry” Dobson and directed by Lane Davies, best known to fans as Mason Capwell on Santa Barbara.
The production opens at Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, and it’s not just another night at the theater—it’s a full-on soap opera experience, played out live.
Set in the high-stakes world of 1980s daytime television, Plot Twist centers on Henry, a gifted soap writer whose carefully constructed stories begin to collide with his real life. As ambition, betrayal, and desire spiral out of control, the line between fiction and reality starts to vanish—and when a gun enters the equation, all bets are off.
In other words, this isn’t subtle storytelling. It’s classic soap—turned up, tightened, and thrown right in front of a live audience.
What makes this project especially interesting is the reunion behind the scenes. Dobson, who helped shape Santa Barbara into one of the most daring soaps of its era, teams up again with Davies in a collaboration that’s been decades in the making. There’s a certain old-school craftsmanship here—story first, character first—that longtime fans will recognize immediately.
Davies puts it plainly: this is soap opera storytelling without a safety net. No retakes, no editing, no second chances. What happens on stage happens in real time, and that unpredictability is part of the thrill.
The production is led by executive producers Chase Parker and Emmy winner Chrystal Ayers, with original music by Dominic Messinger—another familiar name for Santa Barbara fans. The creative pedigree alone tells you this isn’t a casual experiment; it’s a serious swing.
Performance Details:
April 24–25 at 8:00 PM
April 26 at 3:00 PM
April 30 at 8:00 PM
May 1–2 at 8:00 PM
Tickets are available now, and if the premise is any indication, audiences should expect sharp turns, heightened emotion, and the kind of edge-of-your-seat moments soaps built their legacy on.
Bottom line: Plot Twist is making a strong case that the most compelling drama doesn’t need a camera—it just needs a stage, a script, and actors willing to go for it.
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
