Nestled in a transformed house between recreation fields and Crows Woods on East Atlantic Avenue, Haddonfield Plays and Players has provided an outlet for community theatre productions since 1934.
“Every year, we put together a season, find directors or the directors are the ones who propose plays,” said Collingswood resident Tom Lorenz.
As director for “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” he suggested the theater perform the play based on the experience of directing the play, written by Steve Martin, years ago.
“This worked out nicely,” he said.
The play is completely fiction and the result of Martin’s ponderings of what could have happened if Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso had met in a Parisian bar in 1904.
The bar, Lorenz said, is an actual structure that is still in existence.
You can expect Martin’s style of humor, he said, though the language is quite tame.
“There’s one f-bomb in there but that’s about it,” he explained.
Einstein and Picasso both produced big pieces of work in a similar time period soon after the play takes place.
In the play, discussions take place between the two in the bar.
“It’s really pretty amazing how it ties in so many really disparate topics,” said Lorenz.
One minute, the play is intellectual. The next, it’s filled with slapstick humor.
“It just all works,” he explained.
There are 10 actors, who all have theater backgrounds, in the play and 11 characters that range in age from 19 to 65 years old.
The range changes dependent on the show being performed, as do experience levels.
“Some people have a formal background,” he said. “Other people just started doing it with absolutely no background in it.”
“They’ve all found places here.”
All members of the theater, from board members to actors to the crew, contribute on a volunteer basis, said Lorenz.
Involved with plays and players since 2001, Lorenz has worked in several local theaters.
“They’ve all had their pros and cons,” he said. “This is the only one where I’ve really felt welcomed. It’s the first place where I really felt like I was part of the group.”
While working in a converted house, the community itself feels like home to many people involved, he added.
“I’m happy that I’m one of them,” he said.
Being a performer really depends on what is brought to the table by the actual actor, he said.
Christie Jensen, who confidently took her place on the stage during a rehearsal a couple weeks prior to show time, plays a role originally written for a man.
“I took a closer look at the script and realized that there’s really absolutely nothing in there that necessitates it being played by a guy,” Lorenz said. “It’s what you bring to it.”
The rehearsal schedule is tight. Much tighter than in recent years.
“Our schedule used to be a little longer,” he said, with eight weeks of rehearsals and three weeks of performances for non-musicals and 12 weeks of rehearsals and four weeks of performances for musicals.
The cast of “Picasso” began practices in July for their three weekends of performances from Sept. 13 to Sept. 29.
But deadlines are good, emphasized Lorenz, and focus the mind.
The approximately hour and 20 minute-long performance, which will have no intermission, is priced at $20.
Ticket prices are reduced for the Sept. 13 preview show at $12 each, and on Sept. 14, tickets will be buy one, get one free.
The production taking the stage after “Picasso” will be “Titantic: The Musical.”
That show will have more than 50 cast members involved — perhaps the biggest show for the theater thus far.
While the theater area is on the smaller side, accommodating 125 guests, there is an intimidate theater room around the corner that hasn’t been used in awhile for even smaller crowds.
There is a ledge in the main theater to add a second floor for performances if needed, and no backstage access.
“But it works,” said Lorenz, as his cast members filed in to light up the stage.
For more information
Haddonfield Plays and Players is located at 957 East Atlantic Ave. in Haddonfield.
Call (856) 429–8139 or visit www.haddonfieldplayers.com to learn more about the theater as well as for a complete cast listing.
‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’ show dates
Thursday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
