Feature: The Cast of NOISES OFF at Everyman Theatre Chat About Comedy, Acting and Sardines

Everyone in the theater community of Baltimore seems to be talking about the mad-cap, truly hilarious production of NOISES OFF happening at Everyman Theatre this month. After reading a few glowing reviews, I was finally lucky enough to see it this week. And honestly, I'm not sure the reviews did the show justice. It was spectacular! The time and energy that I'm sure it took the actors to learn and master the choreography alone truly showed in their performances. The entire production was a master class in farce, and I'm not sure I've ever laughed so much in a theater before.

After the show, the actors treated the audience to a cast conversation. During each production's run, Everyman schedules a conversation with the cast. It gives the audience a chance to chat with the cast about what they've seen and what went into producing the show. Since so many of the company's members are in this particular show, this conversation was going to be fun, and it definitely was.

For me, the most interesting part was hearing about what went into mastering the choreography. You have to understand, there's little to no speaking in the second act - it consists of the entire cast running around "backstage" of the play within the actual play, having all sorts of misunderstandings, while the action is actually happening "on stage." It's brilliant work, and had to be a bear to originally map out. Beth Hylton, a cast member, explained it in the best way possible: "It's like inviting your entire family to Thanksgiving dinner, and then choreographing an ice ballet, even though no one knows how to ice skate."

As you can imagine this type of action-packed show required a great deal of mental and physical stamina. The cast went on to share how each rehearsal was a hard-core workout - but was still a blast to do. Danny Gavigan, another cast member was even fitted for a set of pads that went straight up his back because of a series of "stunts" he needed to complete (flawlessly, I might add) in the final act. Each actor stated that when they discussed what play they would be doing with other actor friends, the other actors would always say that they would be "exhausted but they would have a blast", something the cast now fully agrees with.

As a wrap up, the cast and the audience discussed just what the play was about and its purpose. As with most great plays, there was some disagreement. Some in the cast thought it had to do with the sheer absurdity of theater in general, while one audience member drew parallels between social classes in England. But then of course others thought it may just be about sardines. And if you're confused by that statement, you obviously have not seen this show. But you're in luck, it's playing through June 18. You still have some time to enjoy it in all of its absurdity, and I highly recommend doing just that. You won't be sorry!

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