LAC LA BICHE - The roles have been cast, and a virtual stage has been set, as the Lac La Biche Players theatre group have made some pandemic adjustments to their annual performance.
The long-standing local theatre group will be performing their rendition of “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a radio play, heard across the airwaves and streaming audio channels of the Lakeland.
The play is scheduled to air on December 19 and 20 on a streaming online service and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as part of regional radio programming. It’s the first time in the four-decade history of the group that a radio play has been put on.
The audio-only performance is in response to the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings exceeding 15 people. On-stage plays from the group in past years have drawn hundreds to consecutive performances. Fans of the performances wanted to make sure the community still had something creative to enjoy.
“We had to cancel our spring play because of COVID-19 and the lockdown, so we wanted to do something to give back to our audience,” said the Lac La Biche Players’ Artistic Director, Chantel Quintel. “The arts are so important, especially during difficult times. People need to be entertained. They want to hear stories. They want to be uplifted, and they want to be inspired.”
Auditions for the production began in October, and although the callout brought only a handful of performers, the small cast includes some long-standing Players as well as new faces ... or voices.
A challenge for the cast is that there are only seven actors and over 25 parts in the classic story of a man who learns the importance of family and love through a Christmas angel who shows him how life would have been if he had not been born.
In order to cover all the characters, each local actor will be taking on multiple roles they have to keep up with and be able to switch roles at a moment's notice. Quintel says that even though they don’t have to memorize their lines because they can read them over the airwaves, the local actors do have to memorize the feelings and tone of voice for each character.
“There are so few actors playing so many roles, and there’s a lot of emotion in this play. So, they have to memorize the emotion, and they have to get vocally prepared too,” she said.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” was chosen because Quintel believes the play can bring a positive perspective during dark, and unpredictable times.
“The main character is given a gift to realize that he, in fact, does have a wonderful life, and sometimes people are blind to the blessings they have in their own life, that they don’t see that they also have a wonderful life. So, the play inspires people to maybe start looking at their own blessings a little more,” she said.
Dates and times for the regional schedule have not been advertised. Those who want to catch the radio play sooner than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shows, can search out the Lac La Biche performance and listen to it on Broadway on Demand on December 19 and 20.
