September 16, 2005
In comedy, timing is everything, and Live Arts in Downtown Charlottesville has it. The theater is opening its new season on September 16, 2005 with a "play about a play" kicking-off its 15th anniversary.
Tickets are sold, and fans will fill the seats to see 'Noises Off' at none other than the Live Arts.
"When we started it was a miracle that we could anybody to show up, and we put on theater in a room with a couple of pillars," said Larry Goldstein, director of 'Noises Off', and a longtime director at Live Arts.
That was September 1990 when the small town venue kicked off its first season with a production of 'No Exit', a thrilling drama presenting three characters trapped in one room for eternity.
Fast forward to September 2005, Live Arts is kicking-off another season with 'Noises Off'. This time it's the 15th.
"Over time, things have happened. There's more actor training, people have developed, and there's commitment to [people] sticking around," added Goldstein.
Larry Goldstein has been a part of Live Arts from the beginning, and directs 'Noises Off' showing all that can go wrong.
Act one of the classic backstage comedy begins in a final dress rehearsal of a traditional british sex farce.
"The play is hysterically funny, and some of the performances are hysterically funny," said Chris Baumer, who play 'Lloyd' in 'Noises Off.'
Act two, continues with the performance of the play, from the actor's point of view backstage. The audience sees the actor's relationships going from bad to worse just like the play.
Act three, finds the play on its last leg in a topsy-turvy performance, but this time from the audience's point of view.
"For the actors in the play; the actors who are in both the play, and the play-within-a-play, they have to work on several levels," said Baumer.
'Noises Off' opens September 16th, and will continue its run Wednesdays through Saturdays at the live arts until October 15th.
