Saturday, April 27, 2024
Presented at the Sands Funeral Chapel Reception Centre – Entrance is on Ypres St.
Admission at the door by donation to the Mercury Players.
Mercury Players’ third and final staged reading of the season is taking flight!
Roland (a bee keeper) and Marianne (a theoretical physicist) meet at a party. In that single moment, an unfathomable multitude of possibilities unfold. Their chance meeting might blossom into a meaningful relationship or a brief affair: it might lead to nothing at all. Each step along those possible paths in turn offers a new series of potential outcomes: a marriage can exist alongside a breakup and a tragic illness can exist on a parallel plane to a happily ever after. In this clever, eloquent and moving story, Roland and Marianne’s romance plays out over a myriad of possible lifetimes, capturing the extraordinary richness of being alive in the universe.
The staged reading of Constellations is directed by Adrian Ingham. Roland is read by Rien Vesseur and Marianne is read by Lisa Read.
What is a staged reading?
A staged reading is theatre in its purest form. No set, no props, no (or little) costumes. The lights will not turn on and off. Actors interact and perform the story with scripts in front of them. Some stage directions will be read to help set the scene. The closest approximation would be listening to an audiobook that is all dialogue, or watching a radio play (with no sound effects). If you have ever seen video of the voice acting being recorded for your favorite animated film, it is akin to that.
Why perform a staged reading instead of a full production?
There are more stories to tell than any theatre could conceivably produce and each one has a cost associated with it. Staged readings allow audience members to experience more great stories at a lower cost to the theatre and the patron. Win-win!
