It has been said, “the play must go on,” but, Chinook Drama takes it one step further with a new production, “The Play That Goes Wrong!”
The theatre experience is double-casted, features a set that has walls that fall and has plenty of surprises in store for audience members. The show runs nightly this week at 7 p.m. until Saturday with a matinee on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Whatever audience members are expecting from Chinook’s production, “It’s going to be crazier than that,” jokes Duane Piper, director of the play and vice-principal at the school. “What they can expect to do is laugh. This is such a funny play. My cheeks hurt every night.”
Rehearsals for the “play within a play” have been ongoing for the past three months. Because of the many challenges of the play, Piper says, “you couldn’t do this play anywhere else.”
“I am pretty sure this is the first time any high school in Alberta has attempted this play because it’s such a challenge to do. We have the actors, we have the technicians, and they are not only extremely talented, but they are also willing to put in the work. We are talking 150 to 200 hours of work outside of school time for each of the actors and technicians involved in this production,” notes Piper.
The cast is eight students plus backstage actors, who are supposed to be technicians, but are a part of the show.
“We have some other technicians that run the actual show. All in, we’ve got about 30 kids every single night. We have two separate casts. We have so many talented kids, we had to split it into two different casts. There are eight performances, and each cast has four different performances,” says Piper, and it’s a family-friendly show.
“It’s just a blast for the whole family and it’s super affordable too.”
Cast member Malachi Maret admits when first cast in the show, it was a big undertaking. “I was a little apprehensive.”
“I have loved being able to build a close-knit community with the other actors and technicians. That’s a big thing for me, as a performer. Being able to have those connections. I think that’s super important in high schools to be able to foster that positive community,” adds Maret.
Maret says being able to take on the challenging production has also helped the actor grow. And if early showings are any indication of the success of the show, “the audience was rolling in the aisles.”
“After the show, everybody looked so happy. I think that’s what theatre is really about. It’s about providing an experience to people and brightening people’s day. Giving them a couple of hours to escape their day-to-day lives and just watch something,” says Maret.
For more information about Chinook Drama’s “The Play That Goes Wrong!” visit chs.lethsd.ab.ca.
