Two plays: one good, one bad
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 02/01) - The work of one of Canada's most produced playwrights hits Yellowknife Feb. 15.
Opening Night, by Norm Foster, sets up a couple on their 25th anniversary. Jack and Ruth, who have never attended theatre, plunge into a dramatic backstage world when they win two VIP tickets to the opening night of Whisper on the Wind.
"Opening Night is essentially a night of hell for a director," says director Greg Hancock, who previously directed amateur theatre in Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Toronto.
To clarify, it's a night of hell, not for Hancock, but for the fictitious director in the play.
"The actual play itself is a play within a play. We're backstage at a theatre."
Ruth and Jack, with their VIP tickets, get to meet the director and the cast.
"We really see that this is not a great night for the director. The cast (members) are late, and perhaps not the best casting choices that he's made, not having a great time with his girlfriend...they are at odds in the evening. And it's 10 minutes before stage time and he still doesn't have one of his actors there.
"So it just keeps heightening the stakes."
The audience -- we the audience, not the fictitious audience -- also get to see the first scene of Whisper on the Wind.
"It is, shall we say, abysmal," says Hancock.
"It's a bad prairie play. As the director himself says in the play, 'It's a play about farmers. I don't blame people for not coming. I mean, there's no plays about farmers anymore, not unless one of the farmers is boinking the livestock.' So he's asked why he agreed to direct it."
The director maintains that he took it on for the challenge.
"Any half-wit can direct a good play, but a truly bad play requires someone with incredible skills. Whisper on the Wind is truly a bad play."
But Opening Night, which was first produced in 1989, is not.
The Montreal Gazette wrote, "Foster has created two wonderfully familiar Canadian characters, put them into an absurd situation, and made the whole thing explode like a time bomb of hilarity."
And as for Hancock's own cast, he says that "there's a real mix in this production.
"There's a couple of people who've never acted on stage before and there are people who've got years and years of experience. The mix is great because the cast members ... work together and share tips and share experiences."
The usual challenges have all come up since the cast started rehearsing in January, says Hancock.
"In amateur theatre, no matter how dedicated people are, reality comes in and they keep going out of town. It's been several weeks since we've had a full cast rehearsal. The real challenges, with this one, has been bringing everyone together in a short time span, to really let them find and feel these characters."
The keynote of Opening Night, says the director, is that it's just so fun.
