By Arianna Bekas
The Apopka High School theater company will be performing the production Noises Off this month for their fall production. Noises Off is a British sex farce play-within-a-play that provides an uproarious, and maybe even a little far out, insight to the trials and tribulations that go on during final dress rehearsal, backstage, and a final performance. Between missed cues, screwed up lines, and even affairs, Noises Off is oozing hilarious- and slightly raunchy- comedy that is sure to have the audience filled with tears of laughter, and most likely shock.
The cast of Apopka High’s Noises Off has been working long and hard to bring this play to life, and they each bring an exciting new look to these already very interesting characters. When asked to describe their character, Matthew Zenon, who plays Gary Lejeune says, “My character is really physical, and his way of being funny is through physical comedy, which is what really interested me about my character.” Sheila Smith who plays Brooke Ashton says that she enjoys playing her character because her character challenged her in a way that others have not before. “I’m glad that I got Brooke because it challenges me because Brooke is kind of an airhead, and you have to do these movements to show that she’s not mentally there, even when she physically is.” Jameson Stobbe who plays Frederick Fellows, says he likes to play his character because, “I like to see the reactions from the audience, because that’s really fun, and especially since like half the play I will be in my underwear. That’s also going to be fun… I guess, in a way.” Alyssa James is playing Dotty Otley/ Mrs. Clacket, and when asked why she enjoys her character she said “I related to the character in some odd way. At least in the play-within-a-play, she’s very loud and obnoxious, and that’s me sometimes, well… a lot of the times.” Cooper Smalley who plays Lloyd Dallas says, “This is nothing like most of the characters I usually play. So it’s kind of cool to test this out, and see how I am at it.” Nick Lane who plays Tim Allgood said he is excited about this character because, “I always tend to play smaller characters, and he’s kind of back and forth on the stage. So I’m basically playing a more stressed out version of myself.” Daniel Mitchell plays Selsdon Mowbry, and he likes this character because he says that he is like a kooky old man, so it’s pretty cool to portray that. Marissa Dean is playing Poppy Norton Taylor, “Poppy also kind of relates to me because I’m a little quiet, and she’s also quiet, and she’s also kind of bipolar, which can be me sometimes. I’m not gonna lie.” This is also her first play so she is very excited to have a part in it. Tatum Ivy is playing Belinda Blair. Her favorite aspect of her character is that she gets to portray a motherly figure, rather than a younger character that she usually tends to portray.
This play is quite complex and has had quite a few challenges for the actors and actresses. Sheila Smith says the hardest part was the choreographed screw ups. “I am always nervous that I am going to screw up. Whether it be some line, some blocking, anything. But interesting enough in this play… That’s what happens! So just the fear of me screwing up the screw up.” Matthew Zenon agrees with Sheila on this, but added that the up-down, stop-start nature of the play is rough sometimes. “I think for me, when I get really physical, and I’m into it, I don’t want to stop. But I have to stop because they block it. Then when I sit down, having to get back up to do it again like fifteen times is hard. I just wanna die sometimes. But I can’t die… not yet.” The hardest part of the play so far for Alyssa James is the character development. “So we have this British farce, and you see these stereotypes on stage, and it’s not just base level stereotypes, you have to go to a deeper level, which can be hard to do.” There is one challenge that the entire cast collectively agrees to be very tough… the British accents, which may or not be used, you’ll have to see the play to find out if they do actually use them during their performance.
Although the play does have its rough spots, the cast of Noises Off has thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing the play, and were able to describe some of their favorite aspects of the play, although they were careful not to spoil too much about all the tricks they have up their sleeves. Cooper Smalley’s favorite part of the play is the fast moving pace of the performance. “I think my favorite part of this play is just that it’s non-stop. There’s always something happening, and there’s never a dead moment.” Jameson Stobbe’s favorite aspect of the play has to do with all of the props that the characters will be handling throughout the performance. “My character is holding like five million props. It’s kind of challenging because there’s all these things, but it’s also fun to play, and perform with them.” When asked about his favorite thing about the play Nick Lane said it was the set. “I really love the set. It’s really big, and we’ve never had sets as elaborate as this. You can really see all of the work that’s been put into it, and all of the personal flairs.” Marissa Dean’s favorite part of the show is how it shows what’s going on backstage. Although she hopes that the backstage atmosphere that is portrayed in the play is nothing like what really goes on during their show. As for Tatum Ivy, her favorite part of the play was the cast. “I really like this cast. I like the relationship between the characters, and then ourselves as actors. We’ve become a lot closer through this play, and that’s good. It’s good times.”
Noises Off is a play that you most definitely do not want to miss. Not only is it an amazing play in particular, but the amount of heart, effort, and intensity that these actors have put into this performance is absolutely awe-inspiring. So make sure you come on out to Apopka’s auditorium on October 19th, 20th, and 21st at 7pm, and on October 21st at 2pm. Support our theater company by coming to watch Noises Off. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.