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Blackhorse Theatre – world class productions close to home

April 4, 2013   ·   0 Comments

What happens when an award-nominated actor turns playwright, given skills that span screenwriting and novel manuscripts, and the creativity found in cartooning and computer graphics? Those who saw the 2008 Blackhorse Village Players production ‘The Trouble With Richard’ can answer that. It all comes down to, as the playwright Larry Hines explains, “What would this make an interesting experience for an audience?”.

The latest interesting experience, also known as Blackhorse Village Players next production, ‘The Trouble With Clifford’,  brings together a talented cast that creates the Ferguson family: Clifford, Gladys, and their three children. Clifford himself, named in honor of Larry’s grandfather but not modeled after him, was built through imagination. “The way I create a character in a play is to try and get a feel for who they are, as if they were real people in the situation I’ve imagined. I love experimenting with the way people speak to one another”.

Though Clifford’s predecessor, ‘The Trouble with Richard’ took only several months to write, Clifford took a few years and several revisions to complete.

“My ability really came from constant determination to keep writing,” said Larry, pointing to “a pretty strong intuition” that motivates his work. His theatre talent developed through roles in ten of Blackhorse Village Players productions fueled writing endeavors that bloomed into successful stage productions. ‘The Trouble With Richard’ was seen in North Vancouver and Ontario and ‘Friends, With Benefits’ with co-author Kate Horzempa, reached theatre groups in Madrid, Spain.

“I have been writing ever since I was a kid with a typewriter,” Larry commented, and is encouraged to have a director who has a solid handle on ‘The Trouble with Clifford’, opening at Blackhorse April 12–27.

“When I heard Blackhorse was putting on Clifford,” commented the director Kim Blacklock, “I had to direct it.” Her hands-on style and practice of watching the rehearsals from behind the action introduces an intriguing perspective that fits well with the production. “Larry’s tackled some hard things in this play and has done it with class and humour.”

Kim credits that “solid handle” to 24 years experience, as well as being encouraged by appreciation for the support of family and friends. “All had a part in any success I have celebrated”.

“To bring together a group of people with an amazing script and watch it unfold is a joy. It never ceases to amaze me how much talent there is in community theatre”, added Kim.

Call the box office at 905-880-5002 to see for yourself.

By Anne Ritchie

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