The Santa Maria Civic Theatre was buzzing with commotion. It wasn’t opening night of the all-volunteer theater company’s latest show, but rather a rehearsal for the play, Confusions by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. Actors, technicians, and director Alan H. Foster were navigating set pieces, costumes, and even wigs to prepare for a full run of the show.
“This show is pretty challenging,” Foster explained as various volunteers passed to and fro, “because it’s five one-act plays, or scenes that are interlinked, and doing what’s essentially five different plays with only five actors playing 22 roles [is] very challenging to direct as well as for the cast.”
Ayckbourn wrote Confusions while he was the artistic director of a theater in Scarborough, England, to show off the skills of the ensemble. The format of the play is daunting, Foster said, but it’s something that has been met with enthusiasm by the volunteer cast.
“Part of the challenge for them is that they need to be different characters,” Foster said. “When they run backstage, throw on some other clothes and a wig, and then come back out, they can’t just look like someone different, they have to be someone different.”
It’s these challenges stage actors face every day and the Santa Maria Civic Theatre doesn’t shy away from, even though it’s all volunteer run.
“Out in front of the building they’ve got the word ‘workshop’ written there,” said Stuart Wenger, who plays four characters in Confusion. “I think the all-volunteer atmosphere here is such that we get to try things and involve the community.”
Wenger has tried many things at the Santa Maria Civic Theatre, like directing several shows, including the last show in the season, Love, Loss, and What I Wore. What isn’t new for him this time around is adopting a British accent, as he did that in two recent productions, Dial M for Murder and Busybody, which both saw Wenger as a stuffy British constable.
“I somehow ended up playing two British officers in two years, and now I’m going British again,” he said. “It’s fun to switch off between things, and especially if you have done more serious things, a farce like Confusions is a lot of fun. It’s time to be goofy!”
Another cast member, Angi Herrick, plays a different character in each of the five acts. She has had to adopt different clothes, hairstyles (including wigs and hats), habits, and even accents to differentiate each character.
“I’ve learned that it’s not good enough to have a British accent, you have to learn several different accents,” she said. “I started with the Yorkshire accent, so I’ve been watching All [Creatures] Great and Small because there are some Yorkshire accents in there.”
Herrick has been involved with the Civic Theatre since 2006, and has even had a chance to bring her family in on the production to lend a hand and learn some basic theater arts.
“My oldest is 15 and he is going to be assisting with the lights,” she said. “It’s such a great place that welcomes people who want to learn.”
Other cast members are familiar faces from other shows, and even Santa Maria Civic Theatre President Clare Terrill is the stage manager for the show. The collaborative buzz always culminates in a heartfelt and thoughtful production for the volunteers who are in it for the love of the show.
“We all do this because we love it; nobody gets paid to do this,” Foster said. “Most of us have jobs that we do during the week and we spend our evenings and weekends trying to create something.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is already confused. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 1, 2014.