Michael Monks and Patrick Downey are the two gents sharing the spooky tale of The Woman in Black on the tiny stage at Village Players of Fort Thomas through next week.

The very busy director is Jef Brown, whose work on community theater stages this year will include more directing (Memoir at Mariemont Players), lighting and set design (Pump Boys & Dinettes and Curious Savage, Mariemont), and set design for Beechmont Players (Moon Over Buffalo) and Tri-County Players (The Curious Savage).

He's a community theater lifer, bitten by the backstage bug when his dad was a volunteer for Cincinnati Music Theatre.

"I have a feeling about live theater that I don't get from anything else," says Brown, 45, of Norwood.

He urges everyone to give community theater a try. "People will stay at home and watch reruns and reality shows," he sighs. "It's not the same as a live experience."

Woman plays at 2 p.m. today and 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday at the theater, in the Fort Thomas Women's Club building, 8 N. Fort Thomas Ave. For reservations and information call the box office at (859) 441-0122.