Central Alberta Theatre is currently staging its final show of the season, Some Girl(s) in the Nickle Studio. The show runs until May 5th. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m.
Penned by Neil LaBute, the story revolves around a a man about to get married. But before Guy (played by Christoff Lundgren) ties the knot, he decides to visit a string of ex-girlfriends – all of whom he mistreated.
“He’s wanting to, in a sense, make things right,” said Director Albertus Koett. “His original intention is to go and set things right in relationships where maybe he felt that he had a hand in the relationship breaking down,” he said.
These women include Sam, his former high school sweetheart (Kirstin Merriman); Lindsay, a college professor from Boston (Peggy Church); Tyler, his Chicago fling (Rebecca Lozinski) and Bobbi (Julia Van Dam), a woman from Los Angeles whom he actually could have ended up with.
“There are a few twists, and what’s also interesting about this show is that it really explores the differences between what we say and what we do,” he explained. For Koett, who has been busy adapting and directing the recent and extremely successful productions of Sherlock Holmes for CAT and is heading into another one in June, this particular play offered a nice change of pace creatively.
“I think the dialogue that he puts into his plays comes across very conversationally,” added Koett, who has, as already indicated, directed many top-notch productions around town over the past several years, and is a very gifted actor in his own right.
“It’s very naturalistic in its delivery.”
“It’s also tough to say whether it’s a comedy or not – there are certainly moments I think that people may find funny, but we certainly aren’t approaching it to make a comedy.
“But we also aren’t approaching it to make a drama.”
Much of how people will interpret it will land directly in how audiences view the dramatic goings-on.
“For myself as director and everyone else working in the show, it’s our first time working ‘in the round’. There are challenges associated with that, but it’s been a lot of fun to approach that style of staging,” he said.
“When I read it the first time, it’s the only way that I could see it being presented. I really saw it as a ‘fly on the wall’ type show. I want audience members to feel like they are peering into an intimate moment between the people on stage. I felt having the traditional style of staging would take the audience out of that a bit.”
Rounding out the technical team are Reina Jugueta as stage manager and Braden Guido on light design as well.
For Koett, directing is a tremendously fulfilling role on the local theatre scene these days, although he certainly isn’t ruling out a return to the stage at some point when the time is right.
”I’m really, really enjoying directing,” he said. “For me, it’s the collaboration and being able to see this whole team of people come together to create a show. It’s exhilarating. And as a director, I feel that more than I do as an actor.
“I think as an actor, you are focusing so much on your own role and not necessarily seeing all of the other parts that are there. With directing, I have to have a finger in every single one of the areas.
“I think that’s my favourite part – the collaboration and really understanding that in order to put on a show, it’s a total team effort.”
For ticket information, check out tickets.blackknightinn.ca.
