The producers of the Off the Page plays staged at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons admit they have a bit of a problem – too many potential audience members don’t get what their productions are all about and are missing out on some good theatre.
“People ask, ‘What is it?’ They’re confused, and fair enough,” co-producer and actor Wanda Nowicki told Coast Reporter in an interview. Nowicki and fellow producer and actor Janet Hodgkinson are about to launch the third season of monthly Off the Page “readings,” with seven plays over the next six months. And they’re determined to get the message across that these plays convey all the drama and nuance of the real deal.
“We act the play. It’s not just being read,” said Hodgkinson. “It is a performance. What people might think when they hear ‘play reading’ is that we sit in a circle just reading it. We don’t. It’s performed, and by professionally trained actors.”
Added Nowicki, “It’s like a radio play, but you can see us. The comments we often get from the audience are like, ‘This is my first time, I wish I’d come sooner. This was so great.’ They don’t miss the sets or the lighting. They still feel they’ve had a full theatrical experience”
As an added value, Off the Page also invites along the author for a question-and-answer session with the audience after the performance. “The playwrights find it really useful,” Hodgkinson noted. “They get feedback, and the audience loves to give an opinion.”
The September production is Lesser Demons, by Vancouver writer Dorothy Dittrich. “It’s very funny,” Hodgkinson said. “It has demons who have been demoted and they’re trying to claw their way back up, and to get someone to sell her soul, basically. I won’t say any more.”
October will feature a unique experience, a play entitled SRO Stars. It’s been put together by Sunshine Coast writer Lenore Rowntree, who has worked with a group of people who have mental health issues. “SRO refers to single-room occupancy, places where these people often have to live,” said Hodgkinson. “The play has five scenes. Four of them are written by members of this group. These scenes are touching, they’re humorous, they’re a real eye-opener.”
Many would recognize Vancouver actor Jay Brazeau, who’s appeared in dozens of films and television shows, and he’ll be on the Coast in November with a play he’s written, Fortunate Son. “It’s different for us, it’s a little darker,” Hodgkinson said “It’s about the inter-generational abuse and trauma that’s passed down from one man to another. It’s an important topic.”
In December, the producers will remount local playwright David King’s Comfort and Joy. “It was enjoyed by so many people last season, we thought we’d do it again,” said Hodgkinson. Another King play, the newly written How Things Have Changed, should also be worth a look when it’s performed early next year. It’s set in Gibsons, five years in the future.
Lesser Demons kicks off the new season on Sunday Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. Admission is by donation.
