Cast members at the St. Marys Grand Opera House get ready for "The Ditchmen: The Play, The Sequel"

ST. MARYS, OH (WLIO) - Several area community members are getting ready for an original play written by a local resident!

Inside the St. Marys Grand Opera House, cast members were quickly changing costumes, running their lines, and going through the motions for the upcoming play "The Ditchmen: The Play, The Sequel." This play follows the fictional bigfoot-like creature from the original play performed in the St. Marys bicentennial celebration and introduces three new fictional creatures, including the legendary Hoedag of Grand Lake. This play is based off the four books written by local author and former teacher, Joe Ginter, and on Tuesday evening, we talked with him about what inspired him to do this.

"I'm a retired teacher, and towards the end of my teaching career, my students encouraged me to get back to chasing my dreams from high school, which was being a writer, so they helped me publish the four books and helped me with the original play," says Joe Ginter, who wrote "The Ditchmen: The Play, The Sequel."

On Tuesday night, we also caught up with one of the cast members about what he wants the audience to take home from the upcoming play.

"The play's got a lot of laughs, couple scares—nothing too crazy, though... but it's got a real good message, you know, basically play the hand that you're dealt, you know, make the best of your situation. When things are looking down, you know, just kind of roll with it and things will turn around," says Aaron High, who is a cast member in the play.

The curtain opens at the Grand Opera House this Saturday at 7 pm and this Sunday at 2 pm.