Half Life - Feb 25, 2008 | Macbeth - Feb 6, 2008 | Beauty and the Beast - Jan 15, 2008 | VIMY - Oct 16, 2007
Noises Off - Sept 13, 2007
Maclab Enterprises Students Club News
September 13, 2007
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Bob Baker
Starring Lally Cadeau
Hello Students Club Members,
School's back in session and so is Students Club. We've got a dilly of a lineup for you this year, with everything from Canadian classics to world premieres, Broadway musicals to rock and roll sensations.
Our first offering is one of the most lauded and produced plays in the last 20 years, Michael Frayn's Noises Off. This comedy of errors features a group of actors who are presenting a play, a farce in its own right, called Nothing On. Over the course of three acts a fully revolving set reveals how the show and the actors' relationships deteriorate both onstage and backstage.
Following is the Students Club agenda for Noises Off.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TIMES HAVE BEEN PUSHED BACK HALF AN HOUR
6 PM — Food
For the production of Noises Off we will be meeting:
- In the Rice Theatre Lobby on September 25 & 26, 2007
- In the Zeidler Lobby on October 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2007
Food is included in your package. Pop and water will be available for $1.
Remember to bring loonies as we do not keep a lot of change on hand.
6:30 PM — Pre-show Presentation
Directing
Of all the jobs in the theatre the director is the most important. It is the director's vision that makes the show come to life, and it is their job to make all creative decisions and ensure that all elements of the show come together. Like a conductor, a good director has to know a bit about every instrument at his or her disposal: actors, set, props, sound, light, movement, choreography.
However a director must also be aware that the materials s/he works with are alive and feeling, with creative impulses of their own, not simply instruments to be plucked and played. Theatre Network's Artistic Director Bradley Moss will join us to discuss some of his opinions, insights, and experiences as a director.
See the Noises Off show page for more information.
7:30 PM — The Performance
Up to the Shoctor Theatre to see the show. Run time is approximately two and a half hours.
After the Performance — TALK BACK
The Production Team |
STARRING |
|
| Julien Arnold | Philip/Frederick |
| Ruth Brown | Poppy Norton |
| Lally Cadeau | Mrs. Clackett/Dotty |
| John Kirkpatrick | Lloyd Dallas |
| Matthew MacFadzean | Roger/Garry |
| Melissa MacPherson | Vicki/Brooke |
| Mary Ellen Mahoney | Flavia/Belinda |
| Tom Wood | Burglar/Selsdon |
| Larry Yachimec | Tim Allgood |
| Directed by | Bob Baker |
| Set & Costume Designer | Leslie Frankish |
| Lighting Designer | Rob Thomson |
| Composer & Original Music | Don Horsburgh |
| Original Sound Design | Jeff Riches |
| Fight Director | Patrick Howarth |
| Dialect Coach | Meredith Scott |
| Stage Manager | Cheryl L. Hoover |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Michelle Legasse |
| Apprentice Stage Manager | Kerry Johnson |
Behind the Scenes
The physical demands of the rehearsal process were particularly high for the cast. It amounted to a daily workout, what with all the running up and down stairs, in and out of doors, and scurrying around to make entrances and exits on time. Apparently the day after they first got on the set to rehearse, director Bob Baker was limping around and sore, having enthusiastically leapt in and run up and down stairs along with the cast. Way to take one for the team Bob!
This play is a farce, which is one of the oldest and most venerated genres of theatre. It first rose to popularity in Ancient Rome, where playwrights were forbidden from writing anything that was even remotely political. As a result, one of the few genres that was safe was the farce. It is there that the standard, three-door farce evolved — a setup that has been mimicked to varying degrees by popular TV shows such as Three's Company and Friends.
How to Find the Plays
NOISES OFF — This play was made into a movie, which can be rented from most video outlets. Scripts are available through Samuel French (Canada) Ltd. in Toronto; phone 416.363.3536.
VIMY — This is an unpublished play and not available for circulation. The best introduction to the show would be to read historical accounts of World War I, specifically the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST — You can rent the film pretty much wherever films are rented.
MACBETH — If you can't find it in the library, you can contact Samuel French (Canada) Ltd. in Toronto; phone 416.363.3536.
HALF LIFE — If you can't find it in the library, you can contact Playwrights Canada Press in Toronto; phone 416.703.0013.
FIRE — This play is available through Playwrights Guild of Canada in Toronto; phone 416.703.0201.
Greenwoods' Bookshoppe and Audrey's Books are very helpful with special orders. Theatrebooks (in Toronto) is also very knowledgeable. They have a toll-free number: 1.800.361.3414.
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