Kingston This Week
New theatre company delivers behind-the-scenes comedy

Lynn Rees Lambert
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 08:00
Local News - The newest theatre group in town is bringing in a few local celebrities for its premiere production.
It never hurts to have a few K-ROCK Radio types on board. The Speaker of the House of Commons also lends a quick hit of recognition.
The Company of Lost Souls is opening with a Canadian first — the production of Headset: A View from the Light Booth, a comedy by William Missouri Downs.
Kevin Fox is artistic director of the new company and also the main character in the play that opens Wednesday, March 24 at the Princess Court Theatre.
"Throughout Headset, there is a production of Hamlet going on, unseen by the audience," Fox explains. "We thought it would be great if we could get some local celebrities involved in recording Hamlet for this project."
Hence, we have a voiceover by the MP for Kingston and the Islands— Peter Milliken — who does a wicked King Claudius.
K-ROCK radio personality Nancy Slater is Queen Gertrude.
Other voiceovers come from The Kingston Whig-Standard entertainment reporter Greg Burliuk, Chris White from City Life Ontario and Rosco at K-ROCK.
"We're thrilled with the amount of enthusiasm we have received from the community for our first show," says Fox. "It's really gratifying to have so much support."
Fox, a Queen's University graduate (but not in theatre) has played a number of roles, on and off stage, including Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Jonathon Harker in Dracula and Tyrant in Cardenio.
He returns to Kingston after four years of teaching high school physics in Toronto.
Like many of the cast and crew, Queen's is a common thread.
"We either went there, graduated from there or work there," explains drama grad Chloe Ariane Whitehorn, the show's associate producer.
Normally, Whitehorn does double duty — acting and producing. This time, she finds it refreshing to "just produce."
She, too, has moved back to Kingston from Toronto.
When she read Headset, "I found it hysterical," she says.
"Everyone [cast and crew] is incredibly excited about showing audiences a side of theatre that not many people ever get to see," Whitehorn adds.
"Headset is that rare sort of play that gives audiences a look at the chaos that often happens behind the scenes of theatrical productions, " Fox explains.
"As anyone who has ever been involved in theatre knows that can be very, very funny."
Downs' play revolves around the strained relationship between a stressed-out technical director and his stepfather.
Stress — food poisoning among the cast, incompetent method actors, lazy union stage hands, evil critics, greedy landlords and a confused police officer — runs rampant throughout the production of Hamlet.
The Company of Lost Souls brings together veterans and newcomers to the stage.
Local musician Marc Givens is the director. He's been putting the recording together for the production since last fall.
The cast includes, in addition to Fox, Gregory Hounsell (Renaissance Stage Co., Domino Theatre, Queen's Drama, Kingston Meistersingers); Aliya Sadeque, a first-year biochemistry student at Queen's; Jeffery Nichols, a first-year film and drama Queen's student; and Jay Farro, a Yuk Yuks Comedian Idol with a long list of TV and stage credits.
The new company's PR captures the comedy aptly: All the world's a stage ... and I have to light the damn thing.
Headset: A View from the Light Booth runs at 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays (2:00
p.m. Saturdays) from March 24 to April 3 at the Princess Court Theatre. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. To reserve, call 531-0331.

St. Lawrence College Nomad – March, 2004
The Company of Lost Souls takes the stage in March with a Canadian premiere

The Company of Lost Souls, a new collaboration of Kingston actors and directors, including alumni of many well-known local and national theatre groups, will present the Canadian Premiere of William Missouri Downs' hilarious comedy Headset: A View from the Light Booth from March 24^th to April 3^rd, 2004 at the Princess Court Theatre.

"Headset is that rare sort of play that gives audiences a look at the chaos that often happens behind the scenes of theatrical production," says Kevin Fox, the company's founder. "And as anyone who has ever been involved in theatre knows that can be very, very funny."

Downs' play revolves around the strained relationship between a stressed-out technical director and his step-father. But there are also disasters galore to keep them busy – including rampant food poisoning among the cast, incompetent, ethos [sic] actors, lazy Union stage hands, evil critics, greedy landlords, and one very confused police officer. And all of this goes on during an incredibly disastrous performance of Hamlet.

The Company of Lost Souls' contributing talents include veterans of the Renaissance Stage Company, Fishbowl Theatre, numerous Fringe festivals, Domino Theatre, Kingston Meistersingers, Second City, the Main Attraction Theatre Company, and many others.

Headset: A View from the Light Booth runs Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, with 2:00pm matinees both Saturdays from March 24^th to April 3^rd at the Princess Court Theatre, 394 Princess Street. Tickets are $12, but students can buy them at a discounted price of $10. You may purchase them at the door, or order them in advance by calling (613) 531-0331 to reserve.

Kingston Whig Standard
Headset offers a comic view of theatre

by Greg Burliuk

Sometimes the line between fiction and reality seemed blurred when I watched the opening-night performance Wednesday of Headset: A View From The Light Booth.

There were lots of lines about theatre dying and, with an audience of 10, one had to wonder if that was exaggerated. (This is not uncommon in Kingston, where it often seems like more people want to make theatre than watch it.)

At one point a theatre critic in particular and critics in general were being castigated on stage, and, I could be paranoid, but it seemed like the actors squared to face me while fomenting. (My paranoia was heightened when one character declared that the only way out of a dilemma was to kill the critic.)

Headset is the debut production of another new Kingston theatre group, The Company of Lost Souls – several of whose members used to belong to the Renaissance Stage Company, and if the play can be considered a policy statement, then the Lost Souls don't care that there are small crowds at their performances. They may be bitter about it, but they can't stop themselves from putting on plays.

At least that's how the players in Headset feel. The whole play takes place in a lighting booth in a run-down theatre in Chicago during the last night of a production of Hamlet by the Chicago-Ensemble-Repertory-Group-Theatre-Project.

Running the play from the booth is the group's founder, Ross (Kevin Fox); and for the last night a substitute lighting man has been called in who turns out to be his step-father Charlie (Gregory B. Hounsell).

Charlie has come to make up for being a bad dad and also save Ross from bitter disillusionment. That's a particularly tough challenge on this night when anything that can go wrong does. (I'll save you the details because they're more fun to discover yourself.)

Needless to say others, such as stage manager Shannon (Aliya Sadeque), Dick the sound guy (the voice of Gordon Campbell), and Garry Cooper (Jeffery Nichols), a weird spear carrier, are continually bringing problems to Ross for him to deal with.

This is a production that's stronger technically right now than on stage.

Director Marc Givens went to a lot of trouble to assemble a soundtrack of Hamlet to run in the background, recruiting the likes of MP Peter Milliken (Claudius), K-Rock deejay Nancy Slater (Gertrude) and yours truly (the ghost of Hamlet's father) to provide voices. (One criticism: the voices should not be left playing at the end of the first act, because those characters are supposed to be off stage at that point).

The set is an incredible clutter of lighting equipment and other back-stage paraphernalia.

The onstage work needs a little sharpening. Lost Souls founder Kevin Fox plays his stage counterpart Ross stridently at mostly the same pitch; Fox bites into the lines nicely but needs to vary his anger, especially near the end to make his character's conversation more believable.

As Charlie, Hounsell has a nice amiability but needs to point his lines better, and say them more clearly.

I got a kick out of Nichols' humourous spear carrier and perhaps all he needs is more confidence to attack the role. Jay Farro made a dumb cop, but must face the audience more. Every time he was on stage I was looking at the back or side of his head.

Campbell, as Dick, was never seen on stage, but was a terrific, funny voice.

Headset has a lot of funny lines (especially for those who have done theatre) that deserve more than 10 people to laugh at them.