When the curtain dropped on the last performance at Bramalea Live Theatre's one act play festival, BBDF 2006, it signified the end of the theatre for the group. But every ending leads to a new beginning and BLT's new season will begin shortly. In fact, preparation has already begun for the 2006-2007 season. Plays have been selected, performance dates and venues have been booked, tickets are on sale. All that's left is to just produce the shows. No problem. Give some scripts to a bunch of people and they walk around saying the words. Easy, right?
To produce a quality show you need talented actors, a director, a stage manager, assistant stage managers, a sound operator, a lighting operator, props wranglers, costume tailors, set builders, a plethora of other helpers and a producer to organise them all and drive them towards the same goal. Well, that and rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal.
Okay, maybe not so easy, after all.
As has been proven time and again, Brampton has a vast number of talented actors. Hugely talented performers call Brampton home, a fact of which our city can be very proud. The challenge is in choosing the right actors for the right characters. That's the director's first task; casting the show. (Actually, the director's first task is to have a vision or plan for the show, but that's all theory until you've got a cast.)
The executive board of Bramalea Live Theatre chooses a director for each play and pairs them with a producer who will organise pretty much everything that doesn't involve directing actors. Currently the executive board is seeking directors for an Agatha Christie mystery, a comedy by one of Canada's best-known playwrights and, ironically, a tale of a small community group attempting to produce a play. Perhaps you are one of those directors.
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie opens the season, running October 26-29 and November 2-4 at the Lester B. Pearson Theatre. This classic Christie whodunit gathers a wide range of people together on a remote island for a night of mystery, mayhem and murder.
"The Long Weekend" by Norm Foster runs January 25-28 and February 1-3. Friends are friends, but a friend's spouse, well, that's another matter entirely. Two couples spend a long weekend together in cottage country, with forced smiles and tense cheerfulness. This is a fast paced comedy with hilarious twists and turns.
"Pulling The Curtain" by Tom Taggart runs April 19-22 and 26-28. Written in 1934, this play chronicles the efforts of a group of small town residents as they attempt to put on a fund-raising show. Remember Murphy's warning about everything that can go wrong..?
You have a choice to make. On one hand, you can simply order tickets (905-793-4600) and enjoy the guaranteed entertainment that these plays will provide. Alternatively, you can become involved directly in providing the entertainment, join BLT, work backstage, audition for a part in a play or even submit to direct one of these plays.
At this point, the focus is on selecting directors. This call goes mainly out to people with some directing experience. If you are interested, you can contact BLT President Susan McLay at president@blt.on.ca or 905-458-5252.
Once the directors have been chosen, audition dates will be announced and crew will be gathered. If your interest lies in either of those areas, watch this space for details.
Well, don't literally watch this space. The words aren't going to change, no matter how long you stare at them. Read The Brampton News regularly and as soon as the information is available, we'll have news of it here.
T. Gregory Argall is a Brampton-born playwright whose works have been performed on five continents. He has also authored a children's book aimed at encouraging literacy. He is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather, an uncle and, most-recently, a great-uncle. For more information about his writing, visit