Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
Prince Albert’s Odyssey Theatre will take a more meta approach to acting with their next performance.
The troupe will perform Daniel MacIvor’s play ‘This is a play’ at the Mont St. Joseph Home from Nov. 14-16. Director Kim Morrall said the play is a short, comedic parody of a play that illustrates the common blunders an actor often faces in the theatre business and how they suffer through for the sake of the show.
“There are some really laugh-out-loud lines in there,” Morall said. “You’ve got to kind of wonder about the guy—Daniel MacIvor, the Canadian playwright who wrote the play—(because) some of the stuff is so ridiculous, but it’s hilarious. I have seen this how many times now, and I still laugh out loud every time … so that’s a good sign.”
Though this is play had a cast of only four characters, each one was essentially doubled because their “actor” was also a character in the alternate plot.
Morrall said the audience will be shown a depiction of four different characters, stereotypical to most plays, as well as the thoughts and opinions of four different actors at different stages in their careers.
The characters carried out the dramatic plot and the actors carried out the honest experience of being in showbiz.
The theatre group got a late start on rehearsals after plans to perform a different play never panned out. Despite the short time frame, Morall said all actors were doing a wonderful job of taking on their character and matching their required skill level.
“They are doing a fantastic job,” she said. “Every time we have a rehearsal, they are adding something new to their characters.”
The play’s characters include Older Actor, the wise but slightly hardened maternal figure played by an experienced actress who was annoyed with the wig she had to wear, Male Actor, the mysterious yet bold stranger from the city who showed up out of the blue, played by an inexperienced actor who was overconfident in his abilities and frequently thought of his inspiration, and Female Actor, the well-trained actress who was in a dramatic role and is frustrated with her inexperienced and non-appealing co-star.
Matt Ireland will perform as Male Actor in the play. He said the performance is stretching his acting skills.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s all timing. You have to know when you’re switching back and forth (between characters).
Ireland has been performing for more than 20 years. He started performing here in Prince Albert, but moved out to B.C. where he did musical theatre, Shakespeare, and even a little bit of Opera before returning to Saskatchewan.
Now, he’s eager for local audiences to see Odyssey’s take on MacIvor’s play.
“(There’s) not a lot of dialogue, but it is very snappy,” Ireland said. “You have to be picking up your cues, being very snappy. That’s part of the comedy.”
The Odyssey Theatre production will be one of two performances scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at Mont. St. Joe’s. Off the Cuff Improv will also perform, giving audiences two shows for one price.
“It’s going to be a busy night, but it’s going to be fun,” Morall said. “(Off the Cuff) is a good way to get (the audience) started and get them happy. It’s going to be good. It’s going to be a night of laughter for sure.”
Morall said Odyssey is always looking for stages to perform on. She said it can be difficult to find space at other venues in the community, and the E.A. Rawlinson can be expensive to rent. They’ve hosted plays at schools and the Prince Albert Public Library, but decided to try Mont St. Joseph this time.
The show runs from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Saturday, Nov. 16. The entire performance begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and available on Eventbrite to at the door.
–with files from Michael Oleksyn/Daily Herald
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
