Arts & Culture(Archives)
Behind The Curtain at Keyano Theatre
The social [media] side of the script
It’s well known that social media is a great tool to connect with people, reach out to like-minded citizens, promote all kinds of products, and occasionally witness a rant or two; but the impact it can have on community theatre is astounding. Think about how sharing Facebook pictures and re-Tweeting comments connects actors to the stage crew and an audience to the whole theatre experience. It’s not just about the story happening on stage anymore, but rather what happens to get it to the stage.
With the rise in popularity of social media platforms, cast and crew are expected to keep a certain level of professionalism in their communication about the show they are in, but are encouraged to engage with users and expose some of the extras tidbits the audience doesn’t usually get to see.
The final Stage 2 series presentation of the 2014/15 season at Keyano Theatre & Arts Centre, was Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. Directed by Russell Thomas, you better believe the social media exposure of the show was remarkable! Russell’s dedication to online communication allowed his followers to see how the magic happened before the glitz and glamour of the stage production took hold. The journey from auditions to the final curtain call can be wild and having a behind the scenes, intimate viewing of that journey engages an audience at a whole new level.
“Social media has allowed me to share stories about the process of making theatre,” says Thomas. “My blogs The Farnsworth Chronicles, Journey to Hometown, The Barricades , Christmas Carol Chronicles, and The Odd Couple all captured the importance and value of the community theatre experience offered by Keyano Theatre Company. These posts allowed friends and family from near and far to follow along as these great productions went from first rehearsal to opening night.”
Dynamic Duos
With The Odd Couple recently finishing its run at the Keyano Recital Theatre to rave reviews, it is no surprise that the plays two lead actors, Dave Boutilier and Zenon Campbell, earned a spot in the list of Dynamic Duos the Neil Simon play has famously created in the past; like Walter Matthau and Art Carney from the original Broadway run. Another great acting pair Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in the first great television series, and Matthew Perry and Wendell Pierce for the 2015 TV remake. Then there was Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the original 1968 film version of The Odd Couple play. Think of the comedy that would have been lost had these two not been first paired here on the silver screen– The Fortune Cookie, How to Murder your Wife, Grumpy Old Men and its sequel, Out to Sea, The Front Page, Buddy Buddy, Kotch and even Oliver Stone’s JFK. We owe Neil Simon a lot.
The 1989 Broadway play A Few Good Men was also made into a movie. Everyone expected the off-camera fireworks to explode between Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, but it was the grand finale between Cruise and Jack Nicholson that created one of the classic scenes of cinema. What’s it all about? Google “You can’t handle the truth” and watch as two actors at the top of their game make some movie history, then go online to keyano.ca/theatre and book a seat to see the play that started it all.
A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin, coming to Keyano Theatre.
