Fifty-eight characters played by 17 actors across 18 scenes, and all in one room, the dining room.
ClaremontB次元官网网址檚 year-long drama students are staging the 1980s production The Dining Room from May 16 to 19 and 23 to 26 at ClaremontB次元官网网址檚 Ridge Theatre.
ItB次元官网网址檚 part comedy, part drama, but mostly a commentary on how families are changing as the dining room is no longer the centre of a household. At one time, it was a sacred place where family values anchored heated discussions.
Now, the dining room is vanishing, said Claremont drama teacher and play director Colin Plant.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a place where families used to connect over a meal,B次元官网网址� Plant said. B次元官网网址淣owadays the dining room is used less and less.B次元官网网址�
The Dining Room is also a test for actors, as each has at least three characters, Plant said.
At one point in the production, Grade 11 student Jazmin Saunders-Scales will have about 90 seconds to get changed and flip from one character to the next.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檒l be so frantic in getting ready, IB次元官网网址檓 just hoping my props will be where they should be,B次元官网网址� Saunders-Scales said.
Saunders-Scales plays Mother, Grace and Aunt Harriet. The first two are both mothers, though unrelated and of much different character. Oddly itB次元官网网址檚 her second time playing a mother named Grace, as
With so many characters in the play the challenges arenB次元官网网址檛 necessarily in the short turnaround between playing them on stage. Rather, itB次元官网网址檚 figuring how to play the character in the first place.
B次元官网网址淥ne of my characters only has about eight lines and isnB次元官网网址檛 overly developed so you have to find the character yourself,B次元官网网址� said Saunders-Scales.
Deidre Rolfe, also in Grade 11, has four characters with lots of time (relative to others) between the scenes, Aggy the house cleaner, Kate, Marjory and Ruth. With Kate, Rolfe plays a big city aristocrat and absent-minded parent, an ex-alcoholic amid an affair. But itB次元官网网址檚 Aggy thatB次元官网网址檚 her favourite.
B次元官网网址淢ost of the characters say what they mean but Aggy is compliant [as an employee],B次元官网网址� Rolfe said. B次元官网网址淎ggy beats around the bush to say things, she has to be nice and comfort the kids even though she doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to be there. B次元官网网址�
Tickets are $7.50 at the door, with 7:30 p.m. showings from May 16 to 19 and 23 to 26 at ClaremontB次元官网网址檚 Ridge Theatre.
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