Keep Calm and Laugh On
An evening of one act comedies
Ways and Means by Noël Coward
Gosforth’s Fête by Alan Ayckbourn
directed by ANGELA MASON
SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 9
An evening of one act comedies!
Ways & Means by Noël Coward is set in the summer of 1935 in a luxurious villa on the French Riviera, a wealthy couple drowning in debt and embarrassment are saved from disaster by an unusual situation!
Gosforth’s Fête by Alan Ayckbourn is a delicious farce set in a tent at a village fair in the countryside of Kent, England where everything that could go wrong happens!
Performances
Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm / Sundays at 2pm
Single Tickets are $20 / Seniors and students save 10%
Buy tickets online by clicking the button, or by calling 510-232-4031.
Masquers members, and season ticket holders get free tickets to this and all Envision shows. Call the box office at 510-232-4031 or email reservations@masquers.org.
The Cast
(WM: Murdoch) has had a busy 2022 after an almost two decades hiatus from acting and directing at many local theaters. So far this year he just finished playing the narcissistic James Wicker (not Wacker) in It's Only a Play for Altarena Playhouse. He also performed Sound Effects for Onstage's Radio Shows 2022, he was Stage Manager for Masquers' Rocketman, and portrayed the foppish Osric in Fortinbras with Actors Ensemble of Berkeley where he also directed Lips Together, Teeth Apart, She Loves Me, and produced Other People’s Money.
(WM: Olive Lloyd-Ransome, GF: Mrs. Pearce) has enjoyed four decades in the theater as actress, director, and lighting designer recently portraying Prospera in The Tempest, the outrageous Florence Foster Jenkins (worst singer in the world) in Glorious!, the Republican matriarch Polly Wyeth in Other Desert Cities, Alice in The Tin Woman, and Marilyn in Ripcord. She’s received BATCC and TBA nominations for the indomitable Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, the quirky maid Berthe in 6th St. Playhouse’s Boeing, Boeing and for The Tin Woman.
(WM: Toby Cartwright) is excited to return to the stage for the first time in over three years and after having two children, Glenn (3) and Henry (1). Bay Area credits include Noises Off (Garry) with Pittsburg Community Theatre, An Appalachian Christmas (Adam) with Masquers Playhouse/Chanticleers Theatre, Once Upon a Mattress (Sir Studley/Pantomime Prince) with Douglas Morrisson Theatre, and Guys and Dolls (Lt. Brannigan/Rusty Charlie) with Altarena Playhouse. He dedicates this performance to his loving wife, Bridget.
(WM: Stevens, GF: Stewart) has acted in eighty shows over the past 25 years. Thirteen of them have been at Masquers, including Inspecting Carol, Communicating Doors, Assassins, and Arsenic and Old Lace. He acted alongside Jo Lusk in The Rivals twenty-two years ago, with Simon Patton in Ten Times Table, directed here by Angela eighteen years ago, and alongside Laura Morgan in The Universal Language just last year.
(WM: Nanny) Starstruck by Masquers (whose 8x10 glossies adorned the bar wall across the street) Nikki first got into their upcoming hiss & boo melodrama, and then was invited to apply for membership. That was 50 years ago. Working on and off stage with indomitable Masquers devoted to “putting on a show” never gets old.
(GF: Vicar) has appeared on many local stages. She played Abigail Adams in 1776 at The Willows, Vivian Bearing in Wit at Town Hall (winning a Shelley Award), Sister Aloysius in Doubt at New Conservatory and Contra Costa Civic Theater, and understudied the Hannah Pitt track in Angels in America and the title role of Mother Courage for Berkeley Rep. She most recently appeared in Anton in Show Business at CCCT. For 30 years she has made her living teaching people to sing and will retire this November.
(WM: Princess Elena Krassiloff) has spent the last several years mostly costuming or playing in the pit (or both) for oodles of Masquers productions. Once in a while an unsuspecting director will cast her in a play. She’s grateful that Angela has proven to be one of those unsuspecting souls. Previous acting endeavors have included Gertie in Fuddy Meers and Romaine in Witness for the Prosecution.
(WM: Stella Cartwright, GF: Milly) A confirmed Anglophile, Laura has done so many British plays that she feels she should at least partly qualify for dual citizenship. She has a particular fondness for Noël Coward, having appeared as Elvira in Blithe Spirit and Sibyl in Private Lives. She also previously appeared in Ayckbourn’s This Is Where We Came In with Envision.
(WM: Lord Chapworth, GF: Gosforth) is no stranger to Coward (Relative Values, Private Lives) nor Ayckbourn (Bedroom Farce, Ten Times Table, Absent Friends). While considering Masquers his home theatre, he has been seen in theaters around the Bay Area, such as Pinole, Mill Valley and Danville. He is happy to be back on the boards after a long break because of the pandemic.
The Envision program at Masquers produces innovative theater on a shoestring budget during breaks between main season productions. Since 1995, Envision’s presentations have complemented and enriched the Masquers’ season, while mentoring aspiring theater artists and offering opportunities to create and perform on a shortened schedule.