November 1, 2018 · 0 Comments
Written By CONSTANCE SCRAFIELD
“Our audiences like comedy,” commented Jen Massicotte, publicist for the community theatre group, “and this farce is just hilarious.”
As one of the actors in this production, Ms Massicotte was pretty clear about why she likes farce so much: “You can go as far over the top as you want, take liberalities – things you can never do in real life. You can pretty well do anything.”
She did admit, “The timing is important – if you don’t get the timing right, it’s just not funny. It’s fun though, you just let yourself go.”
Up this time is The Amorous Ambassador, a farce, by Michael Parker, an American playwright. The last one of his was Sex Please, We’re Sixty.
“We play British farces as well,” she commented. “We love those too.”
Considering this is the Caledon Town Hall Players 55th season, they may very well have the right recipe for pleasing audiences.
To be very brief about an outline for the show, as farce delights in surprises. The new American Ambassador to the UK, tells his wife and daughter that he is off for the weekend to play golf in Scotland.
They reply to that news with their own plans for other activities, likewise taking them away from the residence. The ever stoic butler, Perkins, watches on as each of them returns to what is presumed an empty home for their own assignations. Naturally, with all the comings and goings in and out of doors, barely missing a view one of the other, which contributes so beautifully to farce’s hilarity, it becomes clear the house is full, not empty: to Perkins, and to us, the audience, but not the would-be philanderers.
However, a bomb threat dictates closing the embassy down, and leads to all the very funny pit falls, for which good farce is, quite rightly, well loved.
Stephanie Baird is back in the saddle again as director for this production, fitting it in with her busy radio and television life, for the sake of her passion for the theatre. Typically, rehearsals for community theatre productions are two or three times a week in the evenings for some months, and one day at least over the weekends. So, for Ms Baird to come up from the city to direct Amorous Ambassador shows her true enthusiasm for the art and the this theatre group.
As Ms Massicotte told us, “Stephanie is an Erin girl. She loves this, like anyone. But she has a career in radio and television; produces and writes TV series; she is a graduate of Randolph College. She’s driving up here two and three times a week as a volunteer. She feels this is her home turf.”
She continued to remark about actors too who come from a reasonable distance, as well, to act, to entertain and amuse audiences, “Some actors move about from community theatre to theatre. For this show, it is mostly local. One couple, though,” she added, “comes from Barrie.”
About farce and the romp for the actors to play it, she told us the old theatre saying, “the audience doesn’t have a script.”
A big attraction of the Caledon Town Hall Players is always the pre theatre dinner, served at the Knox United Church at Hwy10 and County Road 124, across from the theatre. It has been so popular, so quickly sold out that, for this show, they have decided to serve dinner for both Saturday evening performances.
Said Jen Massicotte, “We’re really looking forward to this to see how it goes. The dinner on the first Saturday, November 3 is sold out but there are still seats for before the performance on Saturday, November 10.
“The one dinner in February is already sold out -we’re doing Glitter Girls, a comedy by Mark Dun.”
The Amorous Ambassador is showing at the Caledon Town Hall Players Theatre on Hwy 10 at Caledon Village on the two weekends from Nov. 1 to Nov. 10.
Call for tickets at 519-927-5460 or for tickets and details, the website is www.caledontownhallplayers.com.
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