GORE BAY—Gore Bay Theatre’s (GBT) summer season opens tonight (Wednesday, July 5) with their award-winning production of ‘One-Actmanship’ by Norm Foster. I was able to see the production when it was performed in May before GBT took it to North Bay to compete in the Northern Ontario Drama Festival (Quonta).
The fact that for the third consecutive year Gore Bay Theatre received the top prize, the outstanding production award, is not surprising to this reporter.
Norm Foster’s comedy is comprised of two one-act plays, ‘My Narrator’ and ‘The Death of Me’ and both have many hilarious moments. ‘My Narrator’ is a typical romantic comedy but with an original twist. The two main characters played by John Robertson and Tara Bernatchez have voices or narrators played by Will Smith (who plays the role of Bob) and Tammy Robinson (who plays the role of Barb) guiding them.
Sit back and imagine what would happen if that little voice inside your head, the one that tells you how to behave and what choices to make, suddenly takes on a life its own. This is what happens to Lacy (played by Tara Bernatchez) and Miles (played by John Robertson).
This sets the scene for numerous laugh-out-loud moments.
‘The Death of Me’ is about John (played by John Robertson), a man who meets the angel of death (played by Tammy Robinson) and learns about what really matters. We laugh at the slapstick comedy but underlying it are important lessons about life. Tara Bernatchez plays the role of Cassie, and the doctor is played by Will Smith. With this cast you just know the acting is going to be excellent and it certainly is.
And speaking about the actors, it is not surprising that all four actors were recognized at the Northern Ontario Drama Festival. John Robertson received the outstanding male in a lead role, Tara Bernatchez received the outstanding female in a lead role. Tammy Robinson received an adjudicator’s newcomer award for acting. Will Smith and Tammy Robinson were nominated in the outstanding male and female in a supporting role. The entire cast received an adjudicator’s award for ensemble acting.
As co-director Andrea Emmerton notes, “the ensemble acting award is quite an honour because it is not always awarded, and it recognized the entire cast for working together as a team.”
What I was really impressed with is how all four actors played two totally different characters in both one-act plays. It was amazing to see the transition and reflects their level of skill,” she said.
Co-director Walter Maskel added, “we are very proud of our actors for their dedication and willingness to continue to challenge themselves and grow. We do not have access to resources that they do in the larger centres, so we rely on strong acting to carry our productions.”
However, even though the set was simple, it was extremely creative. The directors were able to integrate Norm Foster’s name in the set design and thanks to the skills of painter Will Smith create some humorous and deft imagery. The evocative and upbeat original harp music was composed by area musician Mary Anderson and the costumes were appropriate and at times received laughter from the audience. The props also got a few laughs.
Every aspect of the production was well-thought out, something we have come to expect and appreciate from Gore Bay Theatre. As Mr. Maskel said, “we have a tradition of taking the art and craft of theatre very seriously hopefully to engage, entertain and enlighten our audiences.”
Ms. Emmerton added, “and don’t miss our second summer production of ‘Lunenburg’ which opens tomorrow night and a dinner theatre on Friday. It features three actors, Ray and Helen Landry and Shannon McMullan who have also received awards at the regional and provincial level.”
‘One-Actmanship’ is a stellar production, brilliantly acted and will entertain and delight audiences. ‘Lunenburg’ promises to be just the same. A review of ‘Lunenburg’ will appear in next week’s Expositor.
Information about ticket prices and show times are in the advertisement in this issue of The Expositor. Don’t miss these two comedies by the most popular and most produced Canadian playwright Norm Foster.
