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CLT presents one-act comedy Friday and Saturday at Isfeld

On Friday March 10 and Saturday March 11 at 7 p.m. each evening, Courtenay Little Theatre’s Young Company presents the one-act comedy, Chamber Music by Arthur Kopit.

Kopit’s 1962 absurdist dark comedy has been described as “a hurricane of wit, symbolism, and psychosis” and is set in an asylum in 1938. Eight women, who believe they are historical figures ranging from Joan of Arc to Gertrude Stein, Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, and Queen Isabella I of Spain, among others, gather to plan for an attack they believe is soon to come from the men’s ward. The only males, a doctor and his assistant, are omnipresent figures in the asylum, checking in on the women.

Featured in the cast are Rebekka Wernicke, Sienna Orbell, Megan Langille, Sarah Collins, Claire Brown, Jaz Strand, Jayden White, Mya Williamson, Bruce Muir and Kayler Fagin, directed by Brian Mather.

Mather explains that he chose the piece because “a chamber music ensemble consists of a group of instruments that play together. No instrument dominates the piece. The pieces tend to be very harmonious and uncomplicated - performed for a select group, maybe after a dinner party, for the enjoyment and relaxation of all. I selected this piece for these performers to challenge them to develop and sustain complex characters in a totally unfamiliar situation. I want them to push themselves and each other into new worlds of acting, to understand the raw power of drama (as opposed to comedy, or farce or musical theatre) and the importance of the spoken word delivered with the appropriate action.”

Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for children and school students, available at the door at Mark Isfeld Secondary, 1551 Lerwick Drive, Courtenay.