Presenting a streaming version of a play can be challenging, but the cast of the comedy “Minus Some Buttons,” being presented by The Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora, is trusting their instincts.
“Normally when performing a comedy you may have to pause for laughs and feed off the energy of the crowd,” said Director Dan Knauf. “I’ve told the cast to envision this as being in a sitcom that doesn’t use a laugh track, so there’s no pausing and the energy is solely off of each other. So I guess if the cast feels good about their performances, then the show is a success.”
“Minus Some Buttons” by Mark Dunn will be presented at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from Jan. 29-Feb. 6 via The Riverfront Playhouse’s link to the showtix4u.com website. The show is appropriate for all ages.
The comedy takes place at Graceland Elementary School where Principal Clarence Oleander, Superintendent Jules Richter, and most of the other faculty members view school as a strict and authoritarian environment. The new teacher, Penny Patterson, doesn’t adhere to that line of thinking and challenges the status quo. Via some flashbacks, Penny’s own experiences with her not-very-nice childhood teacher are told and gives some insight as to what drove her to be more of a free spirit.
“The show will be performed onstage by performers wearing masks as if this is a conventional show, though there will not be an audience,” Knauf said. “It will be recorded and then uploaded to showtix4u.com
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, which is the online ticketing and streaming platform we are using. We won’t be editing anything, so whatever the actors do over the course of the one ‘take’ is what is being uploaded to the site.”The shows will not be on-demand, but rather streamed at specific times, namely 8 p.m. on the four show dates. The link is posted on The Riverfront Playhouse website and also is posted on social media. Interested patrons also can call the Riverfront at 630-897-9496 or email [email protected] and get the link sent directly to them. Tickets are purchased on the showtix4u website.
With the pandemic restrictions, auditions and rehearsals took on a different look.
“We sent out an audition notice asking people to sign up for an audition appointment, and then sent out sections of the script for them to prepare prior to the audition,” Knauf said. “We had around four to six people auditioning at a time via Zoom.
“We’ve rehearsed over Zoom as much as possible and broken out the script to allow for as few people as possible to be at the rehearsals that are in person,” Knauf continued. “Face masks are absolutely required when we had in-person rehearsals.”
Knauf originally performed at The Riverfront Playhouse as a child. Beginning in 1998, when he was 7 years old, he played Tiny Tim for four straight years in the annual “A Christmas Carol” productions. After some time away, he has been a regular performer with the troupe since 2016. He has drawn on some of that experience in presenting “Minus Some Buttons.”
“I’ve had the privilege of working under some incredibly talented and revered directors in a performance capacity,” he said, “and I have always been observant of their tactics knowing that directing is what I ultimately was interested in doing. So I’m definitely incorporating things into this show that I’ve learned from those directors.”
And Knauf believes the show will be a respite for many people.
“It’s a fun show for all ages, and very lighthearted and cute,” he said. “It’s a nice show to give people a break from what else is going on in the world.”
‘Minus Some Buttons’
When: Jan. 29-Feb. 6
Where: The Riverfront Playhouse’s link to the showtix4u.com website
Tickets: $20
Information: 630-897-9496; riverfrontplayhouse.com
Randall G. Mielke is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.