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OSP presents classic farce ‘Noises Off’

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It’s rare when a play’s set becomes more important than the play itself, but such is the case with “Noises Off,” among the most popular farces ever written.

The play opens Friday for a two-weekend run at Old Schoolhouse Players in Hickory, and what makes “Noises Off” unique is that during one act, the audience is taken backstage to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

To accomplish that, the entire set must be turned 180 degrees, something that many community theaters find daunting.

Not so, however, for director and set designer Cindy Berg, who said she has wanted the challenge of producing “Noises Off” for years.

The 1982 play revolves around an acting troupe rehearsing and performing a comedy called “Nothing On.” Playwright Michael Frayn said the idea came to him after watching a performance of “The Two of Us,” a farce he had written for Lynn Redgrave.

“It was funnier from behind than in front, and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind,” he told a reporter from CurtainUp, an internet theater magazine in 2013.

In Frayn’s farce, anything that could possibly go wrong during a production does. The entire second act of the play is seen from backstage. While the actors make their entrances and exits on stage, which is now facing backstage, the backstage antics are all in pantomime so voices cannot be heard on stage. In fact, the show’s title is taken from a director’s note often given when too much backstage noise can be heard in the audience.

“I’d say the second act is extremely challenging because you are trying to sync your movements and entrances in line with the dialogue,” said Katy Grant, who plays the aspiring young actress Brooke. “Since the actors speaking have the set blocking their view of the pantomime, you never feel 100 perent certain you are moving at the right pace, but when it works, the comedy really comes through.”

Cindy Swanson, who plays Dottie, a well-known TV actress trying to resurrect her career with a touring company by pumping a significant amount of money into the project as a producer, said, “Cindy Berg had every move thought out perfectly, but getting it all worked out was very hard work. We spent quite a few rehearsals just on that because that’s got to work like a well-oiled machine with all of its parts working together flawlessly.”

Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and May 19 and 20, with a 3 p.m. matinee May 21. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and students and $8 for children 12 and younger. For reservations, call 724-344-7467 or email info@osptheater.com.

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