NoCCA troupe to stage ‘Barefoot in the Park’
BRAWLEY — Providing a creative outlet for Imperial Valley residents interested in the performing arts has always been important to North County Coalition for the Arts Director Sara Correa.
Correa, a Brawley native, graduated from University of California, Riverside with a degree in media and cultural studies, worked in the film industry for eight years, and then returned to the Valley. She has worked with NoCCA for the past four years.
“When I came back here, I had such a passion for the arts that I really want to instill in this community and give people an opportunity to have that exact same passion,” Correa said. “So doing things, like, anything with NoCCA or anything with arts in the Valley in general, is something that I’m constantly striving for, because I want people in the community to know we have the talent here to make greatness, and we need to hone that and respect it and let it flourish.”
Correa acted, stage managed and wrote for NoCCA before making her directorial debut last year with the organization’s production of the musical “Beauty and Beast,” which was performed at Palmer Auditorium.
Correa is now wrapping up rehearsals for the second NoCCA production under her direction. Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” is scheduled for performances Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 at the Stockmen’s Club of Imperial Valley.
This is the first time in NoCCA’s 22year history that it has performed Simon’s romantic comedy, and it is only the fourth time the organization will be staging a production at the Stockmen’s.
“We were like, we need to do a comedy since we’ve always done comedy inside of Stockmen’s Club,” Correa said. “So it was just kind of a no-brainer since this is one of the top-rated comedies. I went to the NoCCA board, and they approved it, so here we are.”
The play, which takes place in 1963, follows the life of newlywed couple Paul and Corie Bratter and how well they’re able to handle their marriage after only six days of being married.
Paul, an uptight lawyer, and Corie, a free spirit, eventually move into an apartment together on the sixth floor of a brownstone in New York. Conflict arises when Paul tries to pair up his single mother with an eccentric upstairs neighbor.
“I think what people will enjoy most about the play is just the dynamic between newlyweds,” Correa said. “Half of our audience members have been married for quite a while, and I think they’re just going to really reminisce about how crazy the first years of marriage are.”
Six local actors make up the cast. Faith Diaz appears as Corrie Bratter; Matthew Woodward, as Paul Bratter; Charlene Ruiz, as the Mother; Austin Seals, as Victor Velasco; Luke Hamby, as the Delivery Man, and Christopher Ruiz, as the Telephone Repair Man.
All cast members were hand-picked by Correa and share an interesting dynamic, as they all previously worked together on Beauty and the Beast, which had about a six-month-long rehearsal and pre-production period.
“I knew the type of talent they could bring, and, the minute I read the play, I just saw the people that are standing on that stage right now,” the director said. “I knew that they were those characters, and from the moment we had our first read-through, I knew I made the best decision.”
Throughout the 10 weeks of preparation, Correa noticed that the cast has grown closer and eventually overcame any nervousness they first showed on stage.
“Our goal is to make it look so flawless that they don’t notice all the hard work; they just purely see the talent up there,” Correa said.
“Barefoot in the Park” lead actors Diaz and Woodward made their stage debut last year for NoCCA in “Beauty in the Beast.”
“I was kind of taken by surprise a little because I didn’t expect her (Sara) to pick a young female to play this role,” Diaz said. “I was really, really surprised, but then I was like, ‘Well it’s going to take a lot of work,’ but I was willing to step up and face the challenge, so I was really, really excited.”
“I was honored when I first heard that she (Sara) suggested that I play Paul Bratter,” Woodward said. “It’s not every day that you get offered a lead role to a play. I didn’t know anything about the play, but I looked into it, and after looking into it, I really wanted to step up to the plate and see what I can do. It’s just been an awesome experience so far.”
The lead actors agreed transitioning from being in a musical to a comedy play has been quite the challenge.
“It is hard at first, knowing your lines and working with everyone for the first time,” Diaz said. “We did struggle a bit, and we’d often have to pick each other up and encourage each other. That really helped going along. Especially Sara, with the way she encouraged us and constantly, constantly helped us, did whatever she could to make sure we had our lines memorized.”
“In ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ the character that I played, Gaston, there was already more of a direction that was already set for that character, and it was lot easier to become that character at first,” Woodward said. “With this character, Paul Brattier, it’s actually been quite a journey. I’ve had to really shape myself into how he would be like because I wasn’t really sure how he would say certain things, but I’ve put some of my own spin on it and I think it’ll be great.”
The two actors said they believe the audience will most enjoy the comedic aspect of the play, which has a run-time of about two-hours and thirty-minutes.
“I think the audience is really going to enjoy this because it’s comedy,” Diaz said. “You’re going to get a laugh out of it. I can’t wait to see what people have to say about it.”
“I’m really hoping that it just brightens their day,” Woodward said. “If they’ve had bad week or a bad month, then I hope it just makes their lives better after seeing it. The funny remarks that they make, the sarcasm they have towards each other. I think they’re going to come out laughing or smiling, and that would make my day. If it just encourages them and makes them happy, that’s what I really want from it.”
A few tickets remain for both performances. Tickets for the Friday show cost $30 for theater-style seating and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets for Saturday are $50. That performance will be in a dinner-theater setting with a full meal provided.
Tickets can be purchased by contacting Correa at (760) 455-0242 or nocca97@yahoo.com. Two sponsor tables at a price of $1,000 each are also available.