It’s crunch time in the run-up to opening night of the Winding Rivers Arts & Performance Society’s production of Beauty and the Beast: A Pantomime. On Thursday, Nov. 14 we have the first of what will be five rehearsals in eight nights, which will be followed by three performances over three days, three days off, a read-through, and then three more performances. No wonder stage manager Jessica Clement tells everyone early on that when we get to this stage, we have no lives outside the production.
The Nov. 14 rehearsal is . . . rough. Not only are we off-book (no scripts allowed on stage), we don’t even have the cushion of being able to call for lines. Director Mavourneen Varcoe-Ryan is direct: if we’re up on stage and forget a line, say something — anything — that sounds like words your character would be saying at this moment.
“You all know who your character is and why you’re there. If you can’t remember your line, make something up.” She pauses. “If you’re a character who speaks in rhyming couplets, make it rhyme. Somehow.” The actors who speak in rhyming couplets do not look as reassured as she probably intends them to.
The stage and sets are now more or less complete, and we are still getting used to the larger space, so much bigger than the classroom where we had been rehearsing. Props are being finalized, and while the shelves backstage are filling up with pieces — each one in a designated spot so it can be grabbed quickly when needed — stage manager Jessica Clement has a white board where she writes down pieces that are still needed.
Costumes are also being finalized, and most of the cast are already wearing them, to get used to the space that many of them take up (you’ll understand why when you see the play). Seamstress and costume designer Margaret Moreira reminds everyone to alert her at the first sign that something has gone amiss, so that it can be fixed while there’s still time (just before you are set to go on stage is not the time to tell her something has ripped).
One costume that has been notable (so far) by its absence is the outfit worn by David Dubois, once again playing the “dame” role. For those unfamiliar with pantomime (or panto), it’s a uniquely British art form with a long history of traditions, one of the main ones being the “dame”: a larger than life female character always played by a man. One of the unwritten rules for the dame is that her costume be larger than life as well: think “outrageously loud” and you’re in the ballpark.
What else do you need to know about panto? Audience participation is encouraged: cheer and clap the good guys, boo and hiss the villains, and if someone on stage asks a question, yell out the answer (the louder the better). Front row seats will give you a great view, but you might end up getting some personal attention from a cast member, and don’t forget to bring your singing voices.
Things are much smoother at the next rehearsal, on Nov. 16, and after we run through the play Mavourneen has members of the cast practice a couple of the dance numbers and also some “business” that involves climbing the walls of a castle, which is accomplished through some ingenious stagecraft. WRAPS might not have a big budget, but set designer Jim Duncan always has some neat tricks up his sleeve.
Mavourneen has some notes for us all, refining things here, punching things up there. The women playing male parts are told to be deeper with their voices; everyone is told to be louder, and more loud, and even louder still. (I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say to an actor “You’re being too loud; tone it down.”)
Nov. 17 sees the first of the “big three” final rehearsals. Two dress rehearsals — everyone in full costume and make-up — are still to come, but the tech rehearsal is a chance to get all the sound and lighting cues down pat. Damian Couture is once again in charge of those departments, and has already been providing a lot of those cues, but the tech rehearsal is where it all comes together at last. We finally get a look at the dame’s costume, and . . . well. It’s something else.
The countdown to opening night is on. It seems a very long time since out first table read back in the spring, and once again it’s been an amazing journey to see everything come together: slowly at first, then in a rush. Nearly four dozen people in our communities have given their talents, and hundreds of hours, over the past six months to create the magic of live theatre, and we can’t wait to share it. See you there!
Beauty and the Beast will be taking place at the Ashcroft HUB on Friday, Nov. 22, Saturday, Nov. 23, Friday, Nov. 29, and Saturday, Nov. 30 (7 p.m.) and on Sunday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Dec. 1 (2 p.m.). Doors open 30 minutes before each performance; tickets are $15 each, and can be booked in advance in person at the Ashcroft HUB, by calling (250) 453-9177, or online at www.ashcrofthub.square.site. Tickets will also be available at the door for each performance, subject to availability, on a first come, first served basis.
