Feb. 6 is opening night for The Villain Took a Chip Shot, the newest installment of the Hazel Bluff Community’s theatre series.
The show, which tells the tale of a family facing the foreclosure of their lodge at the hands of the bank, all the while fighting to keep it out of the hands of an illusionist con man, is the eighth play put on by the community in as many years.
“It takes a community, and we’re so privileged to have them,” said Rose Bibby, who is co-directing this year’s play. “Everything we do there is all about building community.”
Those eight plays represent a legacy that spans two different Hazel Bluff Halls — four in the first hall from 2007 until 2010, and four in the current hall from 2011 until now.
For directors Rose Bibby and Cathy Lent, being involved in the plays is a labour of love, considering the time and effort that goes into making even one show happen.
“A lot of work goes into it,” Bibby said. “Just deciding which play to do takes quite some time. It must fit the people and the number of people we have.”
Once a cast is committed to the time and effort required in putting on the play, she said read-throughs take place in December, with the cast hitting the stage for live-action rehearsals in January.
Even getting the set made and installed takes several days, Bibby added.
Add in the people needed to put together the meals for the pre-show dinners, as well as those who clean up, and it’s evident the show won’t go on without a lot of help.
She added she’s noticed a lot of times the community grows as a result of the plays; often times people who have acted on stage end up moving into the area.
The plays got their origin as fundraising activities in the lead-up to building the new, and now current, Hazel Bluff Hall, Bibby said, and were the brainchild of Audrey Lang.
“Her idea was that a play is something that would be well received,” she said.
Lang enjoyed directing and working with people, Bibby said. She directed the first five plays out at Hazel Bluff. The first four were in the old hall; the fifth was the inaugural show in the new one.
In all eight of those years, the theme has been the same — old western melodramas.
Bibby said after all that time, the play series is still going strong. Every year, the demand for tickets remains high, with people coming from all over the region to take in a show, and they always leave happy.
In fact, she said there hasn’t yet been a year when the show has not drawn a full crowd.
“I’m not exaggerating there, we usually have people waiting for tickets,” Bibby said.
“Lots of time, at the end of the show, people say they enjoyed a good meal and had good laughs, especially in the winter.”
