Humour is not taken seriously.
Have you ever noticed that awards for movies and plays usually go to dramas and not to comedies? Even writing comedy is not looked upon as serious writing; not like drama.
I know that most comedic actors can do drama, but the other way around, from drama to comedy, does not always work. I cannot imagine Richard Burton, a fabulous dramatic actor, doing comedy.
Well, there is one young actor who does comedy very well. He has appeared in Shakespeare, The Diary of Anne Frank, etc. I went to see him in the play Billy Bishop Goes To War in Kamloops. A wonderful show. Almost a one-man show because the actor playing Billy Bishop was doing a two-hour monologue with musical interludes by a piano player. But it was absolutely riveting. The play was originally written in 1978 by Eric Peterson and John Gray. It is truly a Canadian play about a Canadian First World War flying ace. And now for the big reveal. The wonderful dramatic actor playing Billy Bishop was Ryan Beil. I can hear you saying now, ‘who in the world is Ryan Beil?’ Yup, you know him. He is the young, funny apprentice in the A&W commercials. The goofy one. But you see him on stage in a drama and it is hard to believe that it is one and the same person. What a reach he has as an actor. He is not in the least embarrassed by the recognition he gets from the commercials because he thinks just as highly of his comedic performances as his dramatic ones. And I applaud him for that.
Online drama
The Sicamous Amateur Drama Club now has a website, developed by Victoria Rowbottom. Club members are so pleased to have finally come into the 21st century. The address is www.sicamousamateurdramaclub.com. There you will find the information about past and current productions, upcoming events and even some pictures.
That said…
Tickets for the one-act comedy, Now Boarding, April 14-17, are now on sale at the Eagle Valley Pharmacy for $5. For more information or out-of-town tickets, contact the club through the website, or at sicamousamateurdramaclub@telus.net.
That’s the art news for this month.
If you have any art information, contact me, Carla Krens at 250-836-4705, or at carlakrens@telus.net