Sunday, April 3, 2011

Who Knew I'd Have To Do Kung Fu

Catchy title huh? It's actually a direct quote that was spoken by Brendan Norton as he and his three other castmates; Vanessa Morosco, Brad DePlanche and Jesse Graham rehearsed a kung fu fight sequence for Comedy of Errors that opens Wednesday, April 6th at Playhouse on Park.

It's the Saturday before Comedy of Errors opens and I managed to get myself in to watch the rehearsal. Stage Manager Ryan Bell introduced me to director Will Ditterline. I asked him if I could watch some of the rehearsal for the blog. He happily agreed, so I took a seat in the center section with my notebook.

Mr. Norton and Ms. Morosco were choreographing their kung fu fight under the direction of Mr. Ditterline and Ms. Graham, with Mr. DePlanche supplying sound effects. Cast and director work diligently together to perfect the action, freely bouncing ideas off each other in an effort to obtain maximum laughs.

Laughter is sure to be plentiful as the audience will see the actors glide in and out of their characters with impeccable comic timing. Moving freely around the stage with an eager physical prowess, interacting with the audience in a farcical manner, bringing the age-old story to life with contemporary twists audiences of all ages will recognize.

"It's a play about two sets of identical twins and a whole ton of other people played by only four actors " Says Artistic Director/Casting Director Sean Harris of the story.

Comedy of Errors is reminiscent of another Shakespeare production from last season at Playhouse on Park, Shakespeare Abridged. "Three actors going through all of Shakespeare's plays, also interactive and ridiculous with unbelievably fast costume changes." Adds Mr. Harris about Shakespeare Abridged.

Having seen Shakespeare Abridged a few times last season and judging from what I saw in rehearsal, audiences are certain to enjoy Comedy of Errors just as much, maybe more. You'll just have to come see for yourself!

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