WAIMEA — In the small rehearsal space of the Waimea Community Theatre, large blocks painted vivid shades of red, blue, yellow and green have been the set, and props, for the company’s family of actors.
The simple setup is intentional though, and will move this weekend to the Parker School Theatre to transform it into the setting for the Waimea Community Theatre’s performance of Rumors, a farce originally written by Neil Simon.
Director Felicity Johnson has been involved with the Waimea Community Theatre for over 20 years and this isn’t her first time directing Rumors. This time around, however, it’s the unique look that makes the show special. Johnson has created what she called a “kindergarten classroom” feel for the comedy.
“White, of course, is terrible on the stage, so I thought, why don’t I take these primary colors, and instead of furniture we’ll have blocks,” Johnson said. “So we’ll have colorful blocks painted in primary colors, and we’ll have the doors primary colors and all the actors and actresses are wearing primary colors.”
The play consists of a group of four couples coming together for a dinner party when one of the characters, the Deputy Mayor of New York, shoots himself. The rest of the play revolves around the couples trying to keep the secret to themselves and to not involve the police or other outside influences.
Johnson said the fun part of being the director of a play is being able to change things up, and that the simple set being used makes the actions of the characters stand out more.
“So the audience gets this visual look, and because it’s such a mess, and amongst this whole disaster of a dinner, they begin to sort of act like children in a way,” Johnson said. “So I told them to use the blocks. It’s not really furniture. Use them. They run across them and they move them around and they sit on the floor.”
“So it’s sort of, in a way, children acting out.”
The stars of the play are both first-timers with the Waimea Community Theatre and longtime actors with the company. The long-standing relationships between the actors and the nature of the play creates the perfect mixture for a comedy.
“It’s hysterical. We have trouble getting through our lines without laughing so hard,” actor and producer Justin Henshaw said. “And we’re not supposed to laugh.”
“It’s like Saturday Night Live when they can’t keep a straight face,” actress Deidre Miller added.
The show runs Friday-Sunday and March 23-25 at the Parker School Theatre. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday shows start at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for seniors and students and can be purchased at waimeacommunitytheatre.org.
The comedic nature of the play and actors was apparent during rehearsals last week, and Johnson and the actors hope it will translate to the audience while they are on stage.
“The hard part of the play is, for the actors, there is a lot of dialogue,” Johnson said. “But, we have a lot of fun, we have a lot of laughs. One of the reviews I was reading, the review was saying the hardest part for all of us was we couldn’t stop laughing during rehearsal. I’m hoping the audience feels the same way.”
