Guest PattayaPlayers Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 This is a great opportunity for the Pattaya gay community to experience The Pattaya Players -- or be part of the action -- since auditions, rehearsals and the production will take place right down town! Furthermore, "Cafe Murder" will take place at Le Cafe Royale -- the first ever gay-hosted Pattaya Players event! Open Auditions for "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Cafe Murder" Pattaya Players (Home of Pattaya's Professional Amateurs) is proud to announce dual auditions for two upcoming performances: "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Cafe Murder." The auditions will be held at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya Function Hall, 10th Floor, D Building from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Monday, January 18, 2010. All interested parties both talent-wise and back stage should plan on attending. We have many openings for talent as well as costuming, props, set design and general production work! The Importance of Being Earnest is a skillfully condensed two scene adaptation of the original play by Oscar Wilde that will be performed on Friday, April 2, 2010 and Saturday, April 3, 2010. In this classic adaptation, two young gentlemen living in England use the same pseudonym ("Ernest") on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a comedy of mistaken identities! Cafe Murder is a hilarious murder mystery dinner comedy that will be performed on Saturday, February 20, 2010 and Sunday, February 21, 2010. Rosemary Saint-John is a loud, annoying, hypochondriac convinced she's allergic to water. Celebrating her birthday at the world famous Pattaya Le Cafe Royale, Rosemary seems to make enemies with everyone around her. Her disappearance leaves only the audience members as witnesses -- and it becomes up to them to solve this heinous crime! No one is above suspicion in this delectable evening of mystery, murder and mayhem! Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I am curious. How do you condense one of the wittiest and most exquisitely crafted plays in the English language? The Importance of Being Earnest is a delicate comedy of manners satirising much of the ridiculous social hypocrisy that was rife in Victorian England. Not only are the twists and turns of the plot quite complex, each page is packed with delicious and oft-quoted epigrams which it would be a tragedy to omit - for example "If the lower orders don't set us a good example, what is the use of them?" "The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact." "The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it was either." "One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that would tell one anything." "My own business bores me to death. I prefer other people's." "All women become like their mothers - that is their tragedy. No man does. That is his." Quote
Guest PattayaPlayers Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Hi Fountainhall, You of course bring up the question that we wholeheartedly expected! You're right, this is a classic and to tamper with any "classic" is generally not a good thing. However, our Board of Directors spent a long, agonizing amount of time deciding which play to launch for our Spring Production -- it is our biggest production of the year -- so we don't take it lightly. We felt the original version was just too long and too slow moving for our typical audience. This is meant in no way to belittle anyone -- it is just based on two solid years of productions and listening to our "regular" audience. It is our first step towards delving into "the classics" and diversifying our portfolio. This version -- though much faster paced than the original -- is still witty, charming and true to its origins. No doubt -- purists will miss key lines and in fact some full scenes -- but I think will still enjoy it for what it is. Additionally, we hope that this quicker, condensed version will also introduce some Pattayans to the text for the first time and maybe inspire them to go back and read the original. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 we hope that this quicker, condensed version will also introduce some Pattayans to the text for the first time and maybe inspire them to go back and read the original Or better still, see the old black-and-white movie version with the incomparable Dame Edith Evans delivering the "handbag" line with Wagnerian-like hysteria, and a veritable galaxy of other British acting talent, including Michael Redgrave, Margaret Rutherford, Dorothy Tutin and Joan Greenwood. Strange, though, I have never found the play even remotely long. I note the two main film versions come in at around 95 minutes. Granted the stage version requires intervals for scene changes, but is that really too much text for a Pattaya audience? And since the play is more of a souffle with serious undertones, surely a fast-paced production would not be "too slow moving"? "The chapter on The Fall of the Rupee you may omit. It is somewhat too sensational." The Importance of Being Earnest Quote
