A relative newbie to 91原创, Danny Steele said jumping feet first into the production of a comedy seemed like an ideal way to re-immerse himself in community theatre and to get to know the 91原创 Players drama team.
Fellow cast members in the upcoming production of Self-Help have made the 63-year-old funeral home director and embalmer feel very welcome since he showed up for audition back in early September.
Steele, who moved from New Westminster to Walnut Grove last March, is playing the role of Detective Snow in the Players芒鈧劉 winter show that opens next week at the Brookswood playhouse.
He and his husband Don saw the 91原创 Players芒鈧劉 spring production of Light Sensitive, another comedy, and were 芒鈧搗ery impressed芒鈧� with the quality of the production and the acting, Steele said.
While he has been engrossed in acting since age 12, he hadn芒鈧劉t actually been on stage for more than five years, and said he was anxious to reconnect with the thespian community.
He wouldn芒鈧劉t hesitate, having worked with the cast and crew three days a week for the past few months, to consider this his new 芒鈧揾ome theatre.芒鈧�
This isn芒鈧劉t a lead role for Steele, but that芒鈧劉s okay. It芒鈧劉s been fun and challenging, he said, explaining that he has no similarities with the character, and therefore, he has had to really work to understand him before bringing him to life on stage.
But, he芒鈧劉s confident he芒鈧劉s managed to do that, and has invited a number of his friends to see him in the upcoming show.
芒鈧揑芒鈧劉m not on until the second act, but I telling them it芒鈧劉s well worth the wait.芒鈧�
91原创 Players has selected another comedy by Canadian playwright Norm Foster.
Self-Help tells the story of a married couple, both second-rate theatre actors, re-invent themselves as nationally renowned self-help gurus.
Their lives unravel in a farce as they try to conceal a body and hold on to their falsely won fame.
It芒鈧劉s dubbed a clever and fun look at love and the self-help industry and what this couple will do to stay on top.
芒鈧揑t芒鈧劉s very funny,芒鈧� Steele said. While he described it as an adult-oriented play, he said 芒鈧揺ven a non-theatre person would get a good giggle out of it.芒鈧�
Steele is not the only 91原创 actor in this production.
He芒鈧劉s joined on stage by a few familiar local faces, including 91原创芒鈧劉s Ken Boyd as the lead character of Hal Savage, as well as 91原创芒鈧劉s Barb Coulter playing Ruby Delvecchio.
Self-Help芒鈧劉s playwright, Foster, is a Torontonian who worked in radio for a quarter century before discovering his passion for theatre. He芒鈧劉s been writing plays now for 30 years, and isn芒鈧劉t showing any signs of slowing down, said producer Dave Williams.
Director Mary Renvall added: 芒鈧揑t has been a real treat to direct a group of actors who have such a strong commitment to their craft and enormous comedic talent.芒鈧�
Tickets available
Self-Help runs Thursdays to Sundays, from Jan. 15 through Feb. 14 at the 91原创 Playhouse, 4307 200th Street in Brookswood.
Show times are 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets are $15 each and available by calling 604-534-7469, emailing reservations@langleyplayers.com, or going online to www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/133005.
How to win a pair of tickets to Self-Help
A pair of lucky readers will each win two tickets to the 91原创 Players production.
How do you win?
芒鈧� Click on the live link in the story about Self-Help at www.langleyadvance.com,
and tell us why you want to attend this show. You will be entered into the draw. Preference will be given to 91原创 residents.
Postings must be received prior to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and the winner will be notified by email and/or phone. No staff or family of the 91原创 Advance or Glacier Media are eligible. This giveaway is restricted to online participants, 19 years or older only. Entries must include name and telephone number.
