It was a weekend full of comedy for the 100 Mile House Performing Arts Society’s first showing of Four Short Threesomes.
The group of performing artists debuted their string of plays to the public at Martin Exter Hall, this past weekend. There was Apres Opera by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Valerie Smith, Wanda’s Visit by Christopher Durang and Make Believe, written by the director, Gordon Smith. He said the play was about a young author in the works of writing his first play. The author is living with roommates, a long-time friend and a woman who is interested in the young man, but the feelings are not mutual.
“I started out by writing about a person who was writing a play, the rest of it kind of just developed by itself one step at a time,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily have a plan – I worked off of the characters as I would think about them.”
Three of the plays featured a common theme showcasing different dynamics of relationship triangles, except one. The fourth play, Chocolate by Frederick Strappel was about a detective in the process of interviewing a woman whose husband disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
Each play offered their own comedic twists. Smith said opening weekends are often filled with nerves and excitement. He was confident in the performances for the “established” plays but wary about his own.
“Writing something yourself when you have never written anything before, is nerve-wracking. You don’t know if the audience will see it the way you’ve envisioned it in your head.”
This weekend was the first time Smith has ever showcased his own work.
“Some authors choose to write a rough draft of their play but I didn’t do that,” he said. “I worked step-by-step. I had to consider the dialogue and how the characters would speak – I’ve never written a play before, so I was very conscious about making sure each character didn’t sound the same.”
The performers spent the last several months memorizing their lines, roles and acting them out.
“I am very pleased,” he said. “I am happy for the actors and everyone else behind the show. It is running so well and they’ve all done such a good job – they should be proud of themselves.”
Four Short Threesomes will run from March 7 to 9, in its closing weekend. There is an evening show at 7 p.m. on March 7, 8 and 9. There will also be a matinee on March 9, starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are still available.
