Days after Footlighters Theatre Society’s 20th season concludes with this weekend’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, the troupe will be back at it, holding auditions at 7 p.m. April 22 at the Snoring Sasquatch for The Great Ice Cream Scheme, which opens the 21st season in July.
Directed by Jason Smith, the comedy will offer a modern twist on the classic melodrama format.
“We always add some pop culture references and jokes, as well as songs, to add to the fun,” said Smith, who previously directed Headed South from the Great White North in 2013, and co-wrote Almost Golden, which won best production at the Kootenay Zone festival, Centre Stage, held in Creston last year.
The play centres around Pop Sicle’s Ice Cream Parlour, where Pop serves ice cream made with a secret recipe known only to him, his sister Nana Peel and his adopted son Robin Baskins.
Things get sticky when cold-hearted villain I.C. Custard decides to steal Pop’s recipe. He hires Parfait Deluxe, an ex-chorus girl and total klutz, to steal the recipe from Robin — but his heart already belongs to new waitress Marsha Mallow.
The cast requires six men and five women, along with optional extras. Auditions will be by cold readings from the script, as well as briefly singing. While not all performers will have to sing solo in the performance, leading actors will likely take part in a song or two.
“This type of comedy leaves a lot of room for extra material, so everyone involved will be able to bring a lot of their own ideas to the production,” said Smith.
For more information, contact Jason Smith at 250-428-9553.
The production of The Great Ice Cream Scheme will run July 9-11, kicking off a season currently scheduled to include a revival of Shakespeare in the Park — returning after a five-year absence — in August, and two other plays in December and March.
—FOOTLIGHTERS THEATRE SOCIETY