The Battlefords Community Players will be offering more shows and more nights for the public to enjoy in their 2014-15 season of live theatre productions.
The season will feature three comedies and a fable, beginning with Sight Unseen at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts Oct. 23, 24 and 25.
Sight Unseen, by Rosemary Foster and Warner Law, is set in a sprawling ancestral manor house occupied not only by an heiress, but her ghostly ancestors. The cast will include Jim Walls, Lynda Lyon Walls, Leanne Merkowsky, John Butler, Mary Lou O'Bertos, Jill Jones, Shane Chafe, Rick Kostiuk, Amber Nelson and Judy Bishop, directed by Eleanor Voegeli.
The club says the audience will see many new people on the stage working with some of their veterans. There will also be a number of new directors.
"Battlefords Community Players are always open to new members and want everyone to know that no experience is required and that acting and directing are just small parts of what makes our club work," says Donna Challis, executive producer.
President Bill Wells says in addition to actors and directors, there are opportunities to take part as stage managers, producers, prompters, costume managers, set decorators, set constructors, prop construction, make-up artists and more. They also count on individuals who pitch in when needed, moving sets or helping out with improvements at their clubhouse in Battleford.
"You really rely on a circle of volunteers," says Wells.
Many of their volunteers aren't official members, says Wells, although they have a roster of 30 to 40 members. They just like to help out.
In preparing for the upcoming season, the Battlefords Community Players decided to make use of two venues - the Dekker Centre, where BCP has been holding its regular season productions since the 2012-13 season, and the Western Development Museum, where they performed previous to the construction of the Dekker Centre.
While October's production will be three nights at the Dekker Centre, November's production, Kitchen Witches, will be staged at the Western Development Museum, starring Candace Brown, Shelley Bretzer and Jeff Arndt, directed by Joanne Hopkin. Those who enjoy a dinner theatre for their Christmas parties will have eight nights to choose from in November. The dates are Nov. 20, 21, 25, 27, 28 and 29.
February's production will be Drinking Alone, a romantic comedy by Norm Foster set in the midst of a dysfunctional family reunion. It also takes place at the Western Development Museum, running Feb. 12, 13 and 14, 2015.
The final production is a fable, Trad, by Mark Doherty. Two aged Irishmen set out on a quest to find a long lost son. It will be presented April 23, 24 and 25, 2015, at the Dekker Centre.
Ticket sales this year will be different from previous years, although patrons may still choose between dinner theatre and show only. Dinner theatre tickets for any of the four performances, regardless of venue, must be purchased through the Battlefords Community Players by calling 306-446-3133. Show only tickets for Kitchen Witches and Drinking Alone at the WDM must also be purchased through the Battlefords Community Players. Show only tickets for Sight Unseen and Trad must be purchased through the Dekker Centre box office.
Ticket prices are the same as last year - $45 for dinner theatre, $25 for show only and $15 for the Tuesday previews. Purchasers should note tickets purchased at the Dekker Centre will have charges and GST applied.
Season ticket holders continue to have a reduced price and the opportunity to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public on Oct. 1.
