For Immediate Release:
Contact: David Kuehn, Executive Director
Cotuit Center for the Arts
Phone: (508) 428-0669
Email: [email protected]
Website: ArtsOnTheCape.org
“Noises Off” Opens April 3 at Tilden Arts Center
“Noises Off,” by Michael Frayn, a collaboration between Cotuit Center for the Arts and Cape Cod
Community College’s Theatre Department, opens Thursday, April 3, at Tilden Arts Center at the
college. Performances continue on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2
PM through April 19.
Michele Colley directs “Noises Off,” bringing together community actors, students, artists, educators,
stage crew, and local theater professionals in the first collaboration of its kind between CCCC and
CCftA. Vana Trudeau, Theater Program Coordinator at the college is the producer.
“Noises Off,” which opened in London in 1982 to rave reviews, is a farcical “play within a play” about
an ambitious director, his troupe of mediocre actors, and their struggles to put on a play called
“Nothing On.”
“Nothing On” is a silly sex comedy in which lovers frolic, doors slam, clothes are tossed away, and
embarrassing hijinks ensue. It is shown from three different viewpoints—during a dress rehearsal of
the hopelessly unprepared cast; during a performance viewed from back stage, in which
deteriorating relationships between cast members are readily apparent; and near the end of the
play’s 10-week run, when both the play and the actors are completely falling apart, but determined
to cover up the mounting problems.
“It is a very challenging play for the actors,” Colley said. “In each scene, the dialogue is the same, but
the characters’ actions, their choreography, are very different, sometimes subtly and sometimes
drastically. The actors need a keen awareness of the actions of the other cast members, as well as
dexterity and the ability to perform a lot of physical comedy.”
“Anyone who has every acted in a play or enjoyed attending plays will really appreciate the many
funny bits in this show,” said Colley. “The plot is really indicative of what goes on in a play. It’s very
funny.”
The play features nine main characters. Brett Baird, who has performed frequently with the
Falmouth Theatre Guild, plays Lloyd Dallas, the temperamental director of the play-within-a-play.
Joanne Powers, the former head of the dance program at the college plays Dotty Otley and, in the
play-within-a-play, Mrs. Clackett.
Garrett Almeida, a student at the college, is Garry Lejeune, a stuttering actor with a romantic interest
in Dotty, and, in “Nothing On,” Roger, a real estate agent.
Gioia Sabatini, also a student, will play Brooke Ashton, an inexperienced actress from London, who
plays Vicki in “Nothing On,” a tax worker who is in love with Roger.
Also in the cast are Keirnon McDermott, Rachael Kenneally, Bobby Price, Rebekah Terkelsen, and R.
Michael Wresinski.
Two additional students will be understudies, taking the stage during Sunday matinees. Sean
Nogrady is understudying the role played by McDermott (Timothy Allgood, an overworked stage
manager); and Victoria McGuire is understudying Kenneally’s role (Poppy Norton-Taylor, the
assistant stage manager who plays an understudy in “Nothing On”).
“I am excited to have Sean and Victoria paired with Keirnon and Rachael, two very accomplished
Cape actors. Both of them came through the college’s theater program and have worked at different
venues all across the Cape. They have been mentoring Sean and Victoria, giving them pointers. I am
so proud of them,” said Colley.
Mentoring is important to Colley, who says her choreography workshops are “all about mentoring.”
“Mentoring is important in dance, in acting, and it is important in life,” said Colley, who hopes to do
more collaborations with the community college in the future.
Guy Trudeau designed the multi-level set, which is being constructed by students in the college’s
Stagecraft course guided by their instructor, Christopher Page and Brian Rice, Technical Director for
the Tilden Arts Center. Greg Hamm provides the lighting design, and Megan McMahon serves as the
production’s stage manager.
Tickets are $20, $10 for students. Tilden Arts Center is on the campus of Cape Cod Community
College in West Barnstable. For tickets and more information, visit artsonthcape.org or call 508-4280669.
# # #
What:
“Noises Off,” directed by Michele Colley
Where:
Tilden Arts Center, Cape Cod Community College, West Barnstable
When:
April 3 to 19, Thursday, April 3, Friday, and Saturday, 8 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 2 PM
Admission:
$20, $10 for students.
END