Players to produce one-act comedies this summer
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TweetLynn Canal Community Players will hold auditions for its next play, “All in the Timing,” on June 16 at 6 p.m. and June 18 at 4 p.m. at the Chilkat Center for the Arts.
The play, by American playwright David Ives, consists of six short, one-act comedies with small casts: “Sure Thing,” “Words Words Words,” “The Universal Language,” “The Philadelphia,” “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread,” and “Variations on the Death of Trotsky.” All six share what co-director Roger Gentry describes as “weirdly wonderful wordplay,” and many also feature clever, experimental conceits.
“Sure Thing” shows an awkward flirtation between two young people at a cafe; each time one of them says the wrong thing, a buzzer goes off, the conversation rewinds, and the pair revise their dialogue until the interaction goes perfectly. “The Universal Language” follows a lonely woman with a stutter who learns how to speak the “universal language,” “Una Munda,” after finding a con man’s ad in a newspaper. “Variations on the Death of Trotsky” portrays the politician’s death in Mexico, at the hand of his gardener, in seven different iterations.
Directors Roger Gentry and Dan Mahoney will each direct three of the six plays. The directors had encountered the work separately several decades ago, and both fell in love with it. They said they are delighted to have the chance to produce it together this summer. Mahoney recalled laughing out loud “more than once a minute” while reading through the script. He also hopes the format of the play, which allows for a smaller commitment from each actor, will be a good fit for people’s busy summer schedules.
“All in the Timing” will be the Players’ second regular production following a two-year lull due to the pandemic. Their last performance — Agatha Christie’s “A Murder is Announced”— was produced this spring and the group hopes to increase the number of plays this year compared to its pre-pandemic schedule. Between this summer and next, LCCP plans to run four productions, including a few collaborations with the high school.
The directors plan to cast six to 10 performers, and they welcome everyone to audition, regardless of age or gender. Production is scheduled for August 26 and 27.
