Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 19/99) - Yellowknife's second production of the season will hit the boards next week at NACC.

"The play, simply, is about four guys, all with different backgrounds and different interests, who don't know each other but are all connected through one guy," says Wild Guys' stage manager Jodi Woollam.

The one connected guy is city boy Andy, played by Paul Bachand, an executive with Super Food Mart. Robin (Lorne Gushue) works at the local eco-store and attends a men's group with Andy. Stewart (Brian Collins), produce manager of a small-town grocery store, works for Andy. Finally, Jeff Beier plays super-polished Randall, a lawyer who has Super Food Mart as a client.

Andy invites the three other men for a men's sensitivity retreat weekend.

"Into the bush, in northern Alberta," says Woollam.

"They go to the bush where one of the guys in the group grew up. He seems like a bush guy but he really isn't. They get lost. It's about their frustrations with each other, and the laughs and the good times they have with each other when they don't know each other, and when they'd rather not be there, how they deal with each other."

But the plot thickens. One of the men, in charge of the food, leaves it behind.

"So they're out there in northern Alberta, in October, without food and without a tent ..."

It turns out the bush guy, who grew up in the area, gets them lost and they can't find destination cabin.

"It's hilarious. It's really funny," says Woollam.

"The humour lies in the absolute sincerity of each character. They're real guys. All middle-aged, between 38 and 50, all heterosexual."

Woollam adds that the four actors all bring their own unique and professional style to their characters and the play as a whole.

"It's almost like they're extensions of themselves," she notes.

The Wild Guys, written by Andrew Reggitt, a writer for North of 60, and Rebecca Shaw, is a Lunchpail production.

The play, which has been in rehearsal since October, is being directed by Heather Ross.

"Her direction is superb," says Woollam, who, as stage manager, witnesses all rehearsals.

"She has a keen eye for, oh, how do we describe this? We're in rehearsal, right? It's going perfectly and she goes, 'Stop! Wait! OK. I want you to do ...' And it's just like flavouring a dish. She brings this accent to the guys. And I'm in awe. I never would have thought of it. She's really got a vision and she's able to articulate what her vision is. So she's drawing from the actors and she's working with the personalities of the individual actors. As an actor, I am dying to work under her."

Ross, who works days at the Workers' Compensation Board, attended university in Lethbridge, and focused on drama. She's previously directed the local production Of Mice and Men.

Wild Guys will be shown from Wednesday, Nov. 24 to Saturday, Nov. 27. Showtime is at 8 p.m.