Considered by many theatre aficionados as one of Broadway’s funniest comedies ever, Noises Off hits the John Davies Theater at the Center for the Arts this week. The show presents what one reviewer, Michael Frayn,  called “a manic menagerie of actors rehearsing a flop called Nothing’s On. Doors slamming, on and offstage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play. ”  The Upper School’s Fall production of  this hilarious show will be performed four times, from Wednesday November 13th to Saturday November 16th and the run will feature two separate casts performing on alternating dates. (see Sidebar). To allow the students to get a better idea of the production, and the work going into it, we interviewed  drama teacher and the play’s Director Ms. Cristina Pla-Guzman.

Aidan McQuaid:   Would you mind giving me a quick synopsis of the show? 

Cristina Pla-Guzman (“Pla”): The show is a play within a play. So when the audience gets there, they’re going to see a show going on, called Nothing’s On. Before you realize it, the actors are making mistakes and the director is yelling from the audience. It’s very interactive, people coming in and offstage. [During] Act One the cast trying to get through a rehearsal. Act Two is entirely different, with a massive set with eight doors and a fireplace that swings around. And when it turns around, you see the entire show as if you’re backstage. So it gives you a way of seeing what happens backstage and this catastrophe of a show that’s happening. And then with that comes all the bloopers and all the behind the scenes action, the accidents that happen backstage.  It’s really great. The audience really gets to see something that they would never have the opportunity to see, which is to show [what’s] happening from the backstage point of view. So by Act Three, the whole entire massive set swings around again, and you’re looking at it from the front again, but this time they’re running the actual show.

AM:   Why did you choose Noises Off as your production for this year?
Pla: Well, first of all, within the last few years, my students have done many different genres:  romantic comedies and musicals that were very upbeat, such as Shrek and Grease…and a lot of dramas with things like 21 Chump Street and Rent. [What they] haven’t tackled is comedy on its own. I think there’s a very specific way to deal with comedy, knowing  to tell punch lines and how to really deliver a story in very different ways, so that was definitely my thing. My guiding light was that I wanted to deal with comedy, and the more research that I did, several shows were possibilities. 

AM: Is there anything that you’re particularly excited about doing for this production?

Pla: I definitely think the massive set – the two-floor set that spins- is incredible. I think the thing that I’m most excited about is we’re doing it with a small cast – a cast of nine. And I made a decision to do double casting for this show,