      An audience of about 100 drama enthusiasts that took in the Canora Composite School (CCS) peewee drama presentation of Jack and the Sillies appeared to thoroughly enjoy the performance.
            A cast of 15 grades 5 and 6 students put on the play after approximately two months of rehearsals, usually two or three times per week, said Andrew Hoffman, director and CCS teacher.
           Hoffman said he chose the play because it made him laugh when he first read the script, and because the students in the drama seemed to enjoy it. Each actor had to learn approximately the same number of lines, so there was no extra pressure on any one person.
           It’s the story of a simple farmer named Jack, played by Lucas Latham, whose wife and daughter are not too sharp. In the first scene he finds his wife working on their daughter’s veil for her upcoming wedding, and for some strange reason, both are standing on chairs.
           Tired of his silly family, Jack takes a trip with the intention of finding people with a bit more common sense. But instead, the people he meets are even sillier than his wife and daughter.
           One gentleman tries to put on his overalls by jumping into them.
           Jack meets a group of people who are convinced the sun is drowning and are prepared to do almost anything to save it, when what they are seeing is the sun’s reflection on the water.
           Jack encounters a group of six siblings on a fishing expedition. But when they take turns doing head counts, each one only counts five, and they are convinced one got lost. But Jack calmly explains to them that they each forgot to count himself or herself.
           Eventually Jack meets a group of people trying, with no success, to help a woman into her new husband’s house through a doorway which is the right height for him, not high enough for her. Jack shows them how she can get through door by squatting or bending over.
           After his trip, Jack comes home with a new perspective and a new appreciation for his family.
           All of the silliness results in plenty of laughs throughout the performance.
           Hoffman said during the casting process he talked to a number of other CCS teachers to help him decide which actors were best suited for which parts.
           He said because the cast members enjoyed reading the script, they came to rehearsals with enthusiasm and a variety of ideas to make the play even funnier, such as what the actors could do when they’re not saying lines.
           The biggest challenge was probably harnessing all of the creative energy of the cast, but seeing all that energy was likely the most rewarding part of the project, said Hoffman.
           His hope was that after the performance cast members would realize how much fun it was, and wish they could do it again.
