Players to take a swing at
‘The Fox on the Fairway’
Photo courtesy of Jim Derosier
THE PRESQUE ISLE COMMUNITY PLAYERS will debut their production of “The Fox on the Fairway” Friday night at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium. Rehearsing a scene from the play, which is a farce about country club life during a golf tournament, are from left: Tamia Glidden (Pamela), Mel Smith (Bingham) and Rod Thompson (Dickie).
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
PRESQUE ISLE — Fore! The Presque Isle Community Players are ready to hit the links with their upcoming production of “The Fox on the Fairway.”
Players’ president Jim Derosier will be directing this year’s play, which is a farce about country club life during a golf tournament.
“This is a comedic farce,” said Derosier. “A farce is something that is a little over the top. The acting is not realistic; the characters overreact to things and are bigger than life. What’s important in a farce is not so much the growth of a character, but in the situations they’re put in and how they’re handled.”
The setting is the day of the Quail Valley Country Club and Crouching Squirrel Country Club annual interclub golf tournament. Quail Valley has lost five years in a row, so the pressure is on Bingham, the club manager. He and Dickie, head of Crouching Squirrel, are rivals whose arrogance leads them to make an outrageous bet on the event.
Photo courtesy of Jim Derosier
REHEARSING A SCENE from “The Fox on the Fairway” in which Justin proposes to Louise are Presque Isle Community Players Leo Kashian and Katie Wall. As can be seen by their smiles, she happily accepts. Performances will be held Fridays and Saturdays Feb. 24-25 and March 2-3 at 7 p.m. at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium.
“The ‘Fox’ is in reference to a young girl who ends up being the golfer and she’s a lot better than everybody thinks she is,” said Derosier.
The production, which premieres Friday, Feb. 24, features a relatively small cast. Performers include Tamia Glidden, Debbie Lamont, Katie Wall, Rod Thompson, Mel Smith and Leo Kashian.
“There’s a great demand on these actors. A lot of them have a lot of lines to learn; a lot of situations they’re put in and to remember all that in order is a lot. It’s more than a musical which you can separate with songs and scenes. With this production it goes right through, so they’ve got to be on their toes, and they’re doing a great job.”
Joe Zubrick has created the sets and light design, Ann Kashian is the stage/sound manager, while Brian Lamont will be running the lights during the shows.
“The Fox on the Fairway” was written by Ken Ludwig.
“We like to give the director the leeway or option of trying to pick their own show,” he said. “The reason why I picked this one is because we did ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ a few years ago which was done by the same playwright. Ken Ludwig is well known; he’s done ‘Lend Me a Tenor’ and all kinds of shows and I enjoy his work very much.”
No stranger to the stage himself, Derosier has acted in several Players’ performances before.
“At this stage in my life, I think I prefer directing,” he said. “Being on stage is always a wonderful thing to do, but in directing, you can be a little part of every character. Plus I like comedies, and you can do some nice things and make it interesting for the audience. It’s fun.”
Derosier said people will get their money’s worth by attending a performance.
“Laughing is healthy, and they’re going to find this very funny,” he said. “There are some seasoned actors here, some of whom have done many years of musicals and comedies, and this is a show that will surely get you laughing which is a great thing to do.”
Performances will be held Fridays and Saturdays Feb. 24-25 and March 2-3 at 7 p.m. at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium. Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens, are available at Goin’ Postal, the Aroostook Centre Mall information desk and at the door.
