Minutes before the curtain rises on the Community Little Theatre’s production of “Death Trap,” actor Jephthah Peters peeks out at the audience. Then he retires to the green room in the basement to go over his dialog as Porter one last time.
Behind the set, John Blanchette paces in a circle on a black painted floor against a black wall. He gestures slightly as he silently runs the lines of his character, Sidney Bruhl.
Behind the stage, in the gym of the former Great Falls School in Auburn, Mary Turcotte, dressed as Helga Ten Dorp, methodically walks the basketball lines painted on the floor while doing final memorization.
“Everyone has their things,” she says before returning to tracing the three point line.
Ryan Adair admits it can be tense.
“It’s more nerve wracking the first night with a live audience,” says Adair, who plays Clifford Anderson. But this is the fourth night into the production and Adair seems to be unfazed.
All of the actors arrive two hours before the 2 p.m. curtain call on Sunday. They need to do their hair and makeup, get into costume and then mentally get into character.
And the stage crew has to check microphones, lights and ready the set while the people in the box office sell tickets and ready the programs.
The five plays for the 2010 season had been chosen months prior through community input, the Artistic Committee and potential directors. “Peter Pan” ends the season in early August.
Six to 10 weeks before a play is set to open for its two-weekend run, there is a first read, auditions and finally rehearsals. In that time, sets have to be built and costumes found.
All by volunteers.
“We rely heavily on volunteers,” said Danielle Sicotte, Box Office Manager, and only one of two paid employees at CLT. “That’s what makes this theater amazing is that we can put on great shows with amateur actors. They have a love and passion for theater — they just happen to be bankers on a daily basis.”
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- Jephthah Peters, in character as “Porter,” waits to give John Blanchette a costume change behind the scenes of Community Little Theatre’s production of “Death Trap” on a recent Sunday afternoon.
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- Jephthah Peters gets into character as “Porter” in the basement green room of the Community Little Theatre at Great Falls School in Auburn.
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- Before the curtain goes up at CLT’s performance of “Death Trap” on a recent Sunday afternoon.
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- Costume changes hang in the green room.
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- Mary Turcotte paces the lines on the floor in the Great Falls School gym behind the stage before performing as Helga ten Dorp in CLT’s “Death Trap.”
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- Mannequin heads await wigs in the basement green room of Great Falls School, home of Community Little Theatre, in Auburn.
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- John Blanchette, onstage as Sidney Bruhl, can be seen from behind the scenes of CLT’s “Death Trap.”
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- Ryan Adair puts on knee pads to protect himself during his portrayal of Clifford Anderson in CLT’s “Death Trap.” Jephthah Peters readies himself as “Porter” in the background of the green room.
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- Stage Manager Vicky Machado, right, listens to the director on her headset while Jephthah Peters paces behind the scenes of CLT’s “Death Trap.”
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- Cheryl Reynolds, as Myra Bruhl, can be seen from back stage while performing CLT’s production of Death Trap on a Sunday afternoon.
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- John Blanchette paces backstage before going on as “Sidney Bruhl” at CLT’s performance of “Death Trap.”
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