Chipman Players Theatre Group Celebrates 10 Years

Chipman Players Theatre Group Celebrates 10 Years

Michelle Pinon New Advertiser

The Chipman Players brought the house down during their March 7 performance at the Chipman National Hall.

Around 160 people attended the opening night of the production of Millie Monka and the Salmon Cannery Or…There’s Something Fishy Going On. Long before the actors took the stage theatre-goers were visiting with each other and enjoying a great dinner prepared by caterer Tom Hrehorets and his team. Hrehorets, who also acts in the play, made sure everything was running smoothly in the kitchen as well as making sure everybody had enough to eat before getting ready to go on stage.

Lora Antoniuk was patiently waiting for the curtain to rise, took a few moments to talk about her love of live entertainment, having seen many shows, including Broadway performances. The Chipman resident said the local performers deliver “super entertainment” and she has taken in the dinner theatre for eight of the ten years. “I only missed twice because they were sold out.”

Tofield resident Linda Danilak offered “Kudos to the cook and the volunteers.” Danilak said she has taken in five or six of the shows and always brings as many guests as she can fit inside her vehicle.

Anna Milligan said she loves both the supper and the play and was happy to attend with her friend Dennis Read and another couple from Ardrossan.

Gwynne Hayward, who performed in seven plays with the theatre group, said her schedule hasn’t allowed her to be a part of the theatre group in recent years, but still loves to attend their performances. “I have tickets to every one of the shows.” Every performance is different, added Hayward. She feels the reason the group has been so successful is because the players are having so much fun.

Millie Monka (Terry Andriuk) gets a shock when Bea N Counter (Carol Stribling) goes over the books with her.

Home grown talent and homemade food make for an unforgettable experience. The group has become so popular that tickets to all four performances are usually snapped up in a matter of days. The actors always incorporate the names of local towns into the script, and this year was no exception with references to Willa Willa Willingdon and plenty of juicy gossip from Lamont, Chipman and Andrew. Forgetting lines also proved entertaining and allowed audience members to fill in the gaps, to making it an improvisational and interactive fun-filled experience for everyone.

How did the group get started? Basically, Bruce (McGregor) came into the office and asked if the village would be willing to let a theatre group use the hall to put on a production and of course he was asking for it to be free and any money we do make we’ll just give back to you for stuff for the hall. Put out a notice and garnered enough interest to form the group, get a script, Pony Express. “We’ve been going ever since.”

Willis is always amazed at the response of people. “I am so glad they come and enjoy it. I am glad we can make them laugh…”