Shuffling more than one role
Cast members of Stratford on Stage’s latest show West ‘n’ Wild are busy learning how to shuffle as they master the line-dancing parts of the production which opens in late October at the TET Kings Theatre.
Stratford on Stage president Rubeana Reader is learning more than one shuffle for her role however, with her role also requiring her to handle a pack of cards.
“It’s harder than it looks actually. So far, I have got really good at playing 52 card pick-up.”
She has been trying to pick up tips from one of the other actors in the show, Aaron Booker, who plays Big Jim Nastie.
“He’s really good at it. He’s better than Poker Alice in the play, and me in real life.”
Despite the trickiness of the cards, playing Poker Alice in the play is great fun, she says.
“I like her. She’s different to all the others in the show. You know, you’ve got your cowgirls, the cowboys, and then you have Poker Alice. She’s one of a kind.”
Live theatre is always great, she says, and she and her fellow committee members of Stratford on Stage always work hard to keep it affordable and accessible to all.
“This show is being staged at TET Kings Theatre rather than our home stage at The Castle because it needs a bigger space, it’s a large cast, but we are still making sure ticket prices aren’t too high.”
It’s not just the 22 cast members they need to fit on stage for this show, she adds.
“We also have a live band, which is great. That brings a whole new level to the show. They were in rehearsal with us the other day, and it just really lifts the whole thing.”
The show will appeal to a wide range of people, she says.
“It’s got some great jokes in it. We have labelled it as PG, because there is some coarse language in there, but it’s not offensive, I think. It’s set in the wild west, and actually, back then they weren’t using things like the F word, and this show doesn’t either. So the language isn’t awful or really bad, it’s words they would have used then and used in context.”
The show isn’t meant to be taken seriously, she says.