One of the final shows that closed BC’s Pride Theatre week was “Beyond the Break,” and it brought smiles to the faces of students and staff watching.
Kelsey Crane, Jane Davie, Gareth Freese, Izzy Laws, Jennifer Loschen, Alex Otto, Willow Rae, Jerwynn Santos and Leon Sepanta make up “The Company”; a student group that writes and produces plays on campus for the Stop Gap Theatre. These students wrote “Beyond the Break,” with direction accredited to Tammie Doyle.
The Stop Gap theatre is a smaller theatre right beside the Carlson theatre, and it is a 360 degree theatre. The stage and props are placed around the theatre and the actors are able to utilize the center of the theatre as well.
The story takes place at “Crow Valley Camp,” a summer camp, over the span of fifty years. The audience got to see into the lives of multiple teenagers and how they deal with world events, while also questioning their relationships and sexualities.
The writers also gave historical context on the popular culture of the time through the use of soundtrack and original songs throughout the performance, which further immerses the audience into the world of “Crow Valley Camp.”
The actors’ powerful and versatile performances brought out emotions and reactions from the audience, which is a difficult feat.
Since the play has many time jumps, most of the actors portrayed different characters for each time-period. Each character an actor played was vastly different from their last, especially Izzy Laws’ three characters who stood out within each of their groups. For each time-period Law performed, her character was entirely new, and not like one she had previously played. Law really embodied what it means to be an extremely versatile performer.
The play also featured an ensemble cast, so each individual actor got their chance to flourish their talent. Though there were some bumps in the script reading, the actors were professional and continued on with the scene.
The nine members of the production crew also deserve great praise. The stage technicians, who could be seen above the theatre entrance, were very engaged. They perfected the timing of the lighting, music cues and projector images.
The lighting and the projector worked together to paint the environment of the scene, and the sound technicians added to the ambiance with sound effects of birds and rain.
Overall, the team did an outstanding job putting together an immersive world that captured the minds of the audience. “Beyond the Break”was a heartwarming story of the lives of relatable teens and young adults, and the next production made by “The Company” will definitely be another showstopper.