Noises_off

Jeff Green | Nov 16, 2006

Back toHome

Noises off!

by Craig Godfrey

The set is struck, the paint is drying, the lights are being aimed, andall things are on track for one of the most challenging plays the North Frontenac Little Theatre has produced. Since the initial discussions the cast and crew has continued to grow and meet challenge after challenge. As producerof this production the wisest move I made was to gather around me a dynamic production team. Brian Robertson has years of experience directing school children in plays and he needs that patience and skill in dealing with the sensitive adult egos and complicated blocking that this script presents to him. He has painstakingly walked us through the whole play, carefully crafting his vision of the work. Noises Off presents some unusualstaging problems. It requires a two-storey set that revolves 180 degrees. It was said that it couldn't be done by our group on the Sharbot Lake High School stage. Luckily for the producer, there was a genius in our group by the name of Peter Platenius. He said it could be done and then He set about doing it. With the number ofalpha males trying to run this play, we needed a mother to step in and keep us from killing each other. Mary-Lou Quenneville, from Godfrey has done just that. As stage manager, Mary-Lou keeps everybody and everything organized and running smoothly backstage. Some nights it is hard to tell which is the farce and which is real. We love you, Mother Mary! Doug MacIntyre from Verona plays Lloyd Dallas, the Director of the traveling troupe of misfits. Doug has a powerful presence in this role and one cansense the explosion lying just below the surface. Deborah Spaar made her debut on stage with her fabulous portrayal of Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls”. In “Noises Off”, she portrays the cantankerous housekeeper Dotty Otley, around whom all of the chaos is happening as she goes about her business unawares. Deborah takes the old adage “break a leg” very seriously. She unfortunately injured her leg recently. Karen Steele portrays the stressed-out stage manager, Poppy, with so much skill one can guess she has worked backstage in many of our earlier plays. And as I write this, my character Roger is still a character in search of an actor who can learn his lines! Noises Off, plays at Sharbot Lake High School November 23,24,25 & 26th. Tickets $12, $10