It’s a full house at the Surrey Little Theatre from Jan. 28 to Feb. 27 and that’s before the audience even takes their seats.
Funny Little Thing Called Love takes 13 actors, four directors, one director mentor, four stage managers, one props girl, one lighting designer, one sound designer, six techies, one costume designer, one production manager, and a few others thrown in for good measure.
Despite the crowded spaces, Langley actress Holly Zonneveld loves the experience.
“It’s full, and hectic, and crowded, and exciting,” she said.
Turns out, Zonneveld likes things hectic almost as much as she likes being on stage.
“I just love being on stage,” she said. “The audition for this play happened while I was still on stage with Calendar Girls.” That meant for a few weeks the actress was performing in the live shows of Surrey Little Theatre’s previous production [Calendar Girls] while rehearsing for the current show [Funny Little Thing Called Love]. It made for long days that turned into long nights, but she felt the tug of this script. “Just how interesting this script is and the ability to play multiple characters,” she said of why she wanted to audition.
“I knew it was going to be interesting to find the differences in my characters.” You’d think with all the people on hand for the show there wouldn’t be a need for the cast to do double duty, but this is a production like few others.
“Many of us are playing multiple roles,” Zonneveld noted. “But you don’t necessarily know what’s going on in the other plays [that you’re not part of].”
Set under a full moon in four completely different cities, separate stories play out that involve love. Whether it’s new love, scorned love, or busting in on someone else’s love, this performance brings laughs along for the ride.
Each story has a different director as well, making for even more behind-the-scenes complexity.
“Each scene is being directed by a different director,” Zonneveld said. “So I’m working with two directors and each of them are under the watchful eye of the mentor director, so I’m actually working with three directors.”
Zonneveld is part of two of the love stories. One set in Dallas, the other in Manhatten. Hawaii and London round out the settings of the play.
“The only thing that is the same [between the stories] is that it’s the same night and the same full moon,” she said.
A Langley resident all her life, Zonneveld is excited to be part of the production close to home. “There are so many talented people, she added. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s a really strong cast. It’s important because many of the directors are new.”
Funny Little Thing Called Love runs at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with three 2 p.m. Sunday matinées Feb. 7, 14, and 21. Tickets are $15 through reservations@surreylittletheatre.com, brownpapertickets.com, or 604-576-8451.
