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| The Sycamores meet the Grand Duchess, Olga Katrina, Cousin of the Czar |
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| Rheba reads the newspaper with Donald |
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| Everyone is upset about Alice breaking up with Tony |
Friday 6 December 2013
Rehearsing Act 3 (December 3rd, 2013)
Thursday 5 December 2013
You Can't Take It With You - Take 3!
The Creekside Players are currently rehearsing their production of You Can't Take It With You (by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, 1936), a play about the crazy and fun-loving Sycamore family and the engagement of their "normal" daughter Alice to the boss's son, Tony Kirby. The Kirbys happen to come to dinner the wrong night and chaos ensures!
In the summer of 1996, I spent days in the Winnipeg downtown library searching the stacks for a play that I thought would suit the drama production class that was running for the first time ever at my high school. The class allowed us students to have a say in every aspect of a production, from costumes, to directing, to acting, to photography, and set-building. It was truly one of the best classes of my high school career and, being the type A personality that I am, I absolutely had to have a say in which play we'd be working on.
As soon as I read You Can't Take It With You, I was in love! The wacky cast of characters were endearing and I couldn't wait to have a role in the production and see this family come to life. In the end, I was a student director, costume-finder, and photographer and played the role of Mme. Kolenkhov (a Russian ballet teacher, who's loud and full of fire).
Fast forward to Edmonton 2005, I was in the second year of my PhD, writing my comprehensive exams, teaching my first class, and doing a side-research project (just for fun! - what was I thinking?), when I saw that the Walterdale Playhouse (Edmonton's Community Theatre) was putting on none other than You Can't Take It With You. I immediately knew that no matter how busy I was with schoolwork I had to be involved! I became an Assistant Stage Manager and played the role of one of the J-men (and you can try to find me in the picture below - I look a lot like my father!).
In the summer of 1996, I spent days in the Winnipeg downtown library searching the stacks for a play that I thought would suit the drama production class that was running for the first time ever at my high school. The class allowed us students to have a say in every aspect of a production, from costumes, to directing, to acting, to photography, and set-building. It was truly one of the best classes of my high school career and, being the type A personality that I am, I absolutely had to have a say in which play we'd be working on.
As soon as I read You Can't Take It With You, I was in love! The wacky cast of characters were endearing and I couldn't wait to have a role in the production and see this family come to life. In the end, I was a student director, costume-finder, and photographer and played the role of Mme. Kolenkhov (a Russian ballet teacher, who's loud and full of fire).
Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School's
1997 Production of You Can't Take It With You
Photo as found in the 1997 Royal Review (Yearbook)
Fast forward to Edmonton 2005, I was in the second year of my PhD, writing my comprehensive exams, teaching my first class, and doing a side-research project (just for fun! - what was I thinking?), when I saw that the Walterdale Playhouse (Edmonton's Community Theatre) was putting on none other than You Can't Take It With You. I immediately knew that no matter how busy I was with schoolwork I had to be involved! I became an Assistant Stage Manager and played the role of one of the J-men (and you can try to find me in the picture below - I look a lot like my father!).
The cast and crew of You Can't Take It With You
Walterdale Playhouse - Fall 2005
Photo courtesy of Phil Kreisel
Now it's my second time working on a Creekside Players' production, and as soon as You Can't Take It With You was suggested I knew I was going to be one of the directors. I'm also back working on my Russian accent for the role of Mme. Kolenkhov, which I'll be reprising seventeen years after I first walked in her shoes and I'm loving every minute of it!
You may be wondering, why does she love this play so much? It's simple - the basic story idea is do what you love! - no matter the consequences; after all, "You Can't Take It With You" and who could ask for a better motto to live their life by? So, I hope you'll join us for one of our shows (January 23rd, 24th, 25th, 30th, 31st and February 1st, 2014).
Thanks for reading!
Christine Schreyer
(co-director and Mme. Kolenkhov, You Can't Take It With You, Creekside Players - 2014)
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