Jul 11, 2024 | By: Matthew Freeman
A Sneak Peek at ‘Blithe Spirit,’ Bemidji Community Theater’s Next Production
The Bemidji Community Theater’s is set for the premiere of their next production, Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit.”
“Blithe Spirit” is a witty comedy where a widower’s re-marriage is complicated by the unexpected appearance of his deceased wife’s spirit following a séance.
“Chaos ensues,” said Julie Kaiser, the director of “Blithe Spirit,” who also plays Madame Arcati. “Eventually his present wife is accidentally killed, becomes a ghost, gets in the house, and the two of them kind of haunt him into perpetuity, by which he copes by having a lot of brandy and a lot of martinis. And we wonder how many séances it takes to get him out of the house. Can we do it? Who knows?”
The play originally premiered in 1941 and was a smash comedy hit in London and on Broadway stages.
“So it’s very heavy on witty, snappy dialog, you have to pay attention.” added Kaiser. “There’s some physical comedy, but a lot of it is, you just have to listen and you find those little gems of funniness.”
“I love the quiet moments, like, not everything is words that are said,” said Rebecca Swanson, who plays Ruth Condomine. “It’s a lot of facial expressions, a lot of reactions, like kind of leaning into those hidden moments. That’s where the audience is going to find a lot of laughter, in addition to the script. But every character is just reacting to this obscene séance in the first act, and it’s just so fun to see how everybody responds. I definitely say watch everybody’s faces.”
With this production being aimed to make the audience laugh, some of the actors can feel a little more pressure for this type of performance.
“I honestly feel it’s harder to do a comedy than it is a drama, because when the stakes are high enough, the audience will believe that you’re terrified,” explained Elisa Strande, who plays Edith. “But [with] comedy, you have to not only make yourself believable in your performance, but also make sure it’s timed well and you’re saying the right inflection at the right time.”
Some performers, however, use those nerves to their advantage.
“For me, I love comedy, I’ve always been kind of a jokester,” added Reed Peterson, who plays Dr. George Bradman. “You know, I’ve been performing since I was probably about five; I’ve been playing piano, I’ve been in choir and band. And the one thing that I’ve learned is that you never get over stage fright. You never get over that for your performing. You get used to it. So, your heart’s still going to race, you’re still going to get the nervous sweats. But that’s part of performing. Just like your lines, just like your music, being nervous is part of a performer, and it’s part of being a good performer, too. If you’re not nervous, you’re not doing it right.”
“Blithe Spirit” will open at the Bemidji Community Theater in downtown Bemidji this weekend. Performances will be held on July 12th and 13th at 7 p.m. and on the 14th at 2 p.m. It will also run the following weekend on the 18th through 20th at 7 p.m. and on the 21st at 2 p.m..
Lakeland News is member supported content, please consider supporting Lakeland PBS today.
Support the Businesses That Support Lakeland PBS
Related News
Arts & Entertainment