Audition dates have been set for next January’s production of Noises Off planned by the South Okanagan Amateur Players.

Noises Off is a play within a play. It is about an ambitious director and his troupe of mediocre actors. The cast and crew are putting together a silly sex comedy titled, Nothing On – a single-set farce in which lovers frolic, doors slam, clothes are tossed away, and embarrassing hi-jinks ensue.
Playwright Michael Frayn created Noises Off in the early 1980s. It is a love letter and an inside joke to those familiar with the thrilling and unpredictable nature of the stage.

Each of the three acts of Noises Off contains a performance of the first act of Nothing On.
Act One is set at the dress rehearsal the night before opening with the cast still fumbling with entrances and exits, missed cues, misspoken lines, and bothersome props, most notably several plates of sardines.

In Act Two, the play is seen from backstage, providing a view that reveals the deteriorating personal relationships among the cast that have led to offstage shenanigans and onstage bedlam.
In Act Three, we see a performance near the end of the ten-week run when personal friction has continued to increase and everyone is bored and anxious to be done with the play. The actors attempt to cover up a series of mishaps but only compound the problems and draw attention to the bungling performance.
Much of the comedy emerges from the subtle variations in each version as off-stage chaos affects on-stage performance, with a great deal of slapstick. The contrast between players’ on-stage and off-stage personalities is also a source of comic dissonance.

SOAP plans to produce this play at the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver in late January, 2016. Auditions will be held on Sunday, June 21 in the upstairs board room of the Osoyoos Art Gallery on Main Street, Osoyoos and on Monday, June 22 in Big Blue at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre on Airport Road in Oliver. Both will start at 7 pm. Although auditions are being held this month, there are no plans to have rehearsals during through July and August.

Director Ted Osborne has been involved in many SOAP productions as an actor and director. He was most recently involved in The Long Weekend and Lend Me A Tenor. He will be looking for a cast of five men and four women. More information on the characters can be viewed at www.soplayers.ca. The Director can be contacted at elosborne@yahoo.com