The Good Doctor at the Chester Playhouse

After its successful tour of the South Shore (the show raised $6500 for local charities!), the Chester Drama Society’s production of Neil Simon’s comedy, The Good Doctor, is coming home to the Chester Playhouse.

Based on short stories by Anton Chekhov and set in 19^th century Russia, the play is a delightful entertainment. The show is comic, poignant, thought provoking and includes all of Simon's humour and Chekhov's sense of humanity. The performances of nine short vignettes will have you laughing-out-loud. The cast of eight is directed by Andre Haines and includes Chesterites Barry Redmond, Gavin Flinn, George Evans and Cynthia Myers, making it a show you will love from start to finish.

There is a doctor in the house…The Good Doctor…at the Chester Playhouse July 7, 8, 9 at 8 PM and a matinee performance on July 9 at 2 PM. For tickets call 902 275-3933.

LIGHTING "THE GOOD DOCTOR"

Every show has its technical challenges I suppose, but when the production moves to a different venue with each performance, and the venues themselves are designed to hold meetings, dances or Sunday schools, the challenges rise exponentially.

For one thing, you have to bring in lighting equipment, and because you're moving in--and out--each night, it has to be portable . . . and easy to carry. Your "stage" changes with the dimensions of the hall: sometimes you're on the floor, sometimes in front of bulletin boards fastened to the wall, and always, you're having to cope with natural light streaming in through far too many windows. The set too must be portable, and minimal. And the actors' costumes are another variable; in "The Good Doctor" the actors wear a lot of black and they change costumes with each new scene.

What to do? Director Andre Haines and Producer Laurel Darnell approached George Gore whose lighting skills have been best described by Kerry Keddy of chesterns.ca: "George could light a show with a match."

In fact, George hasn't used a great deal more than a match. And he doesn't need to. When he described the lighting requirements for "Three Penny Opera," Bertold Brecht said, "It should be staged as a poor company doing its best." Andre Haines wants a similar effect. Since "The Good Doctor" is Neil Simon's tribute to Anton Chekhov, Haines asked George for a lighting design that would approximate early 20th century lighting--footlights and toplights--and make it obvious to the audience that they are in a theatre.

So George went about building footlights, and, thanks to the generosity of The Mahone Bay Seniors Project, acquired rudimentary par cans on stands run by a small 12-channel board. The result is often stunning.

"The Good Doctor," with sponsorship from the Chester Drama Society, will be travelling to a theatre/venue near you: Opening night is April 28 at the Atlantica Hotel Oak Island; April 29, Blockhouse Waldorf School; April 30, Trinity United Church, Mahone Bay; May 6, Chester United Baptist Church; May 13, Lunenburg Academy, and May 20-21, Martin's River Fire Hall.

Spring is in the step of CDS

There was lots of energy in the room at the Chester Drama Society's AGM on March 15 at the Chester United Baptist Church Hall. Leading the way was the election of a new slate of officers: President Tom Myers and Treasurer Judy Parsons remained from last year's executive; they were joined by newcomers Laurel Darnell as Vice-President and Dave Major as Secretary.

Laurel Darnell is well known for her talent as an actor, having performed on the Playhouse stage in "The Garage Sale," "Life Skills" and "A Brief History of Chester (may contain nuts)." She's even better known in her home of Mahone Bay where she's starred in musical comedies "The Rumrunner's Ball" and "The Last World Tour" written by husband Reid Campbell. What's less well known about Laurel is her passion to bring together quality theatre pieces and community actors, such as she's doing right now as producer of "The Good Doctor." With backing from CDS, Laurel's engaged Andre Haines to direct Neil Simon's homage to Anton Chekhov which will be performed at seven venues in Lunenburg County: community theatre travelling to communities. "The Good Doctor" will make his first house call to Chester on Friday, May 6 at the Chester United Baptist Church Hall. Stay tuned.

This "Good Doctor" makes house calls!

Producing community theatre is what the Chester Drama Society has always done, but this spring, it's embarking on a new journey: Outreach Theatre--bringing theatre to where you live.

Recently, Laurel Darnell and Andre Haines pitched the idea to CDS of going beyond a one-production/one-venue of the Neil Simon comedy "The Good Doctor" by taking it on the road to various communities in Lunenburg County. Now the show is in rehearsal, and everyone's energies are directed to Opening Night at the Atlantic Hotel Oak Island, Thursday, April 28.

Gavin Flinn (The Writer), George Evans (The Policeman) and Barry Redmond (The Drowned Man) ham it up for the camera in this scene from "The Good Doctor."

Written by Neil Simon, "The Good Doctor" is a series of nine comedic scenes, all based on the short stories of Anton Chekhov. Like Conan Doyle, Chekhov wrote to support his medical studies, and always regarded himself as a better doctor than writer. Simon refers to Chekhov as the good doctor, but it's Chekhov's stories, not his medical skills, that this collection celebrates.

Andre Haines directs Barry Redmond and Gavin Flinn, while Stage Manager, Sue Evans, keeps everyone on book.

Following its opening on April 28 at the Atlantica Hotel Oak Island in Western Shore, "The Good Doctor" will move on to Blockhouse's Waldorf School on April 29, Trinity United Church in Mahone Bay on April 30, Chester United Baptist Church on May 6, Lunenburg Academy on May 13, and Martin's River Fire Hall on May 20, 21. Laurel points out that each host is using the show as a fund-raiser; audiences will get the twin benefits of enjoying themselves while supporting good causes in their own communities.

Donna Whitford continues as make-up mistress to the stars as she adjusts one of the many hats worn by actor/producer Laurel Darnell.

Moving from venue to venue will stretch Lighting Director George Gore's creativity, but he did wonders with a slide projector and screen in last summer's "The Last World Tour" making the visuals one of the highlights of that show. Just as usual, Erin Gore will provide wonderfully appropriate costumes for the cast.

Testing

Due to the learning curve of a few of us that are attempting to post on the Chester Drama Society blog, it's taking a little longer than we expected.......!

Stay tuned. All current information is on the www.chesterns.ca blog, but will appear here shortly.