RSVP Community Theatre presents 'Play On'

Philip Shore

For the Randolph Hub

ASHEBORO – RSVP Community Theatre is presenting a madcap play-within-a-play at Asheboro’s Sunset Theatre the first two weekends in February: Play On! by Rick Abbot. 

Community theatre groups are sometimes the focus of satirical humor, because…Hey! There’s nothing funny about this! It’s art! It’s life! It’s…community theatre!

Play On! is the story of a community theatre group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty local playwright who keeps revising her script, Murder Most Foul. (Name sound familiar? Hold that thought.)

Director Jordan Willis says the play “speaks to the nature of community theatre and in a humorous way art imitates life. It shows actors passion-driven to perform and express themselves. No awards, no big money, no immediate fame — the reward being to make it through to the end.” (Note to audience: Everyone does.)

This is a complicated show containing a “play within a play.” That gives each player three names except the tech crew, they only have two. The others have their personal name, their character in the play name, and the name of the character in the play within the play. This is a solid basis for confusion.

Act One presents the cast in rehearsal of the dreadful show while the playwright frenetically folds in finishing touches (she fancies herself a master of double alliteration). 

Act Two is the near-disastrous dress rehearsal during which the playwright is threatened, thus failing to finish adding her finishing touches. 

Act Three is the actual show itself (in which anything that CAN go wrong DOES), and amazingly the pretentious playwright is still alive and kicking. Until she decides to give a speech on the state of modern theatre during the curtain calls, no doubt expecting thunderous applause, BUT ..

How Jordan (and the cast and crew) sail this ship home will be a wigged-out wonder. She says the set is about done, the costumes are arranged, and the rehearsal period (the real rehearsal, not the rehearsal of the rehearsal before the performances of the performances) is drawing to a conclusion so everything will be in order when YOU get there.

Cast member Zoe Glover said this was her first onstage role after doing backstage work. Everyone else has been in everything, not to say that exaggeration is in, uh, play.

Zoe’s character name is Marla “Smitty” Smith (A Supporting Player). Other actors are:

— Travis Walsh as Saul Watson (A Villain).

— JB Griffith III as Louis Peary (A Tech Wizard).

— Chris Scott as Algernon Manville (Stage Manager).

Meanwhile, Kenton Williams is the Real-Life Stage Manager (just trying to keep things orderly here). 

To continue: 

— Philip Schuyler as Henry Benish (A Character Actor).

— Brandon Almazan as Billy Carewe (A Juvenile). (Not to get personal, but as a juvenile, he’s a little long in the tooth.)

— JeriLynn Roblee as Gerry Dunbar (Director). (Please distinguish between JeriLynn and Gerry, or don’t, if that’s too much.)

— Emily Williamson as Polly Benish (A Character Actress). (Rumored to have been plying the playwright with delicious dinners to get her part pumped up.)

— Bethany Kidd as Violet Imbry (An Ingenue).

— Peggy George Kilburn (the Pretentious Playwright Phyllis Montague). Peggy is so effective in her part she has been allowed to use all the names she has.

Michele Dawes is not listed as onstage cast but JB yells at her there. In fact, Michele is the Producer of this three-act pandemonium.

Goodness, this is a lot of stuff!

In talking to the cast, many interesting things came up. Bethany said the show was “comedy lasagna,” a phrase to indicate that laughs and cheese are in alternate layers. Several of the actors mentioned that being an actor playing an actor acting in a play offered many opportunities for going off the rails.

Louie and Algie (were those their names?) used the term “chaos.” They also indicated that timing is a distinct asset for this show and the actors are timing things prettily. Philip (or was it Henry?) offered that the script offers an absurd amount of unpreparedness of the cast, not of the play but those in the play they are working on.

Someone of the many names used another term: Ensemble. That’s the first lick of sense so far.

Peggy Name Name, as Phyllis the Playwright, is universally not appreciated. She keeps changing things right out from under you. You learn your part and she un-learns it for you.

Rick Abbot’s Play On! will be performed at Asheboro’s Sunset Theatre at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2-3 and 9-10, with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Feb. 4-11. 

Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for Seniors, Youth, and Military. Tickets are available at Brightside Gallery, 170 Worth Street, Asheboro. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Cash or check only! (No credit card sales, but also no fees.) Phone: 336-736-8714. Tickets can, of course, be had at the door.

You can buy tickets online at www.tickettailor.com/events/rsvpcommunitytheatre. Fees apply.

For more information, visit www.rsvptheatre.org or on Facebook at RSVP Community Theatre.