ZCT - Noises Off - comedy - A play in 3 Acts by Michael Frayn June 4, 5, 11, 12, 2010 - 8pm, June 6, 13, 2010

Zanesville Community Theatre, Inc.
1963 - 2010 (740) 455-6487 - Fully Air Conditioned
940 Findley Ave. Zanesville Oh 43701
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by Michael Frayn
Produced by special arrangement with and materials from Samuel French, Inc.

Synopsis Cast of Characters
June 4, 5, 11, 12, 2010 - 8pm
June 6, 13, 2010 - 2:30pm
Full: $12, Senior: $8, Student: $8, Youth (12 and younger): $5
Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
Print your E-Tickets or pick up your tickets at the Box Office
Group rates policy for 10 or more -http://www.zct.org/ZCT_Group_Rates.htm

It is only hours before the opening of a British adult farce, Nothing On, and the touring company is hurriedly running through a final dress rehearsal in the Grand Theatre, Weston-SuperMare, before the first audience arrives.

During the first act, we are an audience to this production of a play within a play. The Nothing On cast is loveable, but mainly inept; however, we cheer for them under our breath and hope that they can pull it together and get the show on the road.

Dotty, the actor playing Mrs. Clackett, can’t remember her entrances and exits. Garry, the male love interest, can’t remember his lines. And Brooke, playing Vicki, the female lead, is constantly posing and primping, without any understanding of what the play is about or what she is doing. Trying to pull this all together into some semblance of a presentable show is the director, Lloyd Dallas, who is sitting in the darkened auditorium shouting out directions and trying to get everybody ready for opening.

For this act, we, the audience, are sitting backstage; the entire set has been turned 180 degrees. We can hear the actors performing out front, but what we see is the back side of the scenery flats, the stage manager trying to keep the action flowing and everybody happy, and the various antics of the actors offstage between their exits and entrances.

The play has been on the road for one month now, and relationships between cast members, as well as the quality of Nothing On have deteriorated. Garry and Dotty are in the middle of an unhappy love affair. Poppy, the assistant stage manager is pregnant; and Selsdon Mowbray, an actor in his late sixties, is trying to stay sober between scenes. Add to this, a visit by director Lloyd, who is there first of all to comfort his “overly excited” lover, Brooke, and second to try and save his play from total disaster.

Most of the company is in a continual state of agitation, and this disorder is carrying over into the play, causing missed entrances, flubbed lines, and general hilarity.

It is a month later again, and the tour is reaching an end. We, the audience, are out front again, watching a performance of Nothing On that has reached the point of complete and hilarious deterioration. The business of performing the show has become subordinate to the business of solving personal problems.

Dotty refuses to come out of her dressing room. Garry is now drinking Selsdon’s whiskey. Scenery collapses, and props explode. Practical jokes have become common, and actors are now taking verbal, and sometimes physical, cracks at each other both backstage and on stage. Normal rules of logic and response don’t apply anymore.

Ultimately, however, they carry off the show--in some semblance. The unhappy band of actors manages to get to the last line, spoken by Selsdon: “When all around is strife and uncertainty, there’s nothing like . . . (takes the plate of sardines) . . . a good old-fashioned plate of curtain!”

If you have made it this far, I hope you aren’t totally confused. Noises Off is one of the most challenging shows for actors as well as the technical challenge of having a set that revolves 180 degrees and more props that any other show I have directed. In some ways, one of the best ways to think of the show is like a Tom and Jerry cartoon with seven doors all done with a British accent plus a little bit of Road Runner and Wiley Coyote for good measure.

If you plan on auditioning for this show be prepared for an intense rehearsal process and a VERY early call for being off book (having your lines memorized). Also be prepared for a very physical show. The set is two stories and you will run up and down the stairs and in and out the doors---sometimes with your pants around your ankles or your shoes tied together! The character of Brooke must be prepared to undress to her slip and Poppy also begins to undress.

For auditions, actors should be prepared with a British accent. If you need assistance with this, please contact the theater and we can get you a training CD to assist you with learning the accent. If you can do a proper British accent as well as a Cockney accent and switch back and forth---good show!

We also need a top notch stage crew and stage manager who need to attend rehearsals from the very beginning. If you are interested in this challenge, drop me an email via the Contact Us form or call the theater - 740.455.6487 and give use your contact information so we may get you the materials you need.

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Musicals
Full: $15, Senior: $10, Student: $9, Youth: $5
Dramas/Comedies
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Group rates for 10 or more are available

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