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Crossfield theatre company to bring back annual dinner theatre show

Price said the play includes plenty of jokes about the community and references that perhaps only a Crossfieldian would relate to. 

A Crossfield-based theatre company is gearing up to host its first dinner theatre production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the upcoming play, called “Objectionable Conduct,” to be performed on March 24 and 25.  

The Artists of Crossfield Theatre Society will be hosting the adult-only presentation at the Crossfield and District Community Centre starting at 6 p.m. both nights. The original play was written by crew members (Jenn Price, Jeff Gray, Grant Budgeon, and Grant Harrison) and will be performed by residents of the community.  

According to Stacy Price, secretary of the society and local thespian, the writers of the play took inspiration from many sources including the popular television show Friends and the film 10 Things I Hate About You. She said the plot revolves around the two opposing sides of a court case.

“We pull from different things, but it’s just a couple that is struggling... having a little bit of irreconcilable differences,” she said with a laugh.  

Price has been involved with the theatre company since its inception in 2012. She said the group began at the local high school when they put together a dinner theatre as part of a fundraiser for the school.  

“My niece was in the high school at the time and their drama class was very small, so they needed a few extra people,” Price recalled.

“So, they asked a few adults in the community if they would participate... so we did that and the next year we did it again, and then after that we broke free and created our society.” 

Initially, she said the group of local actors and actresses scoured local websites for scripts to guide their creative pursuits. However, they found it to be “pretty constrictive” to follow a play written by someone else.  

“We wanted to create something that was unique to our community, so a few of the people in our group started doing the writing,” she said. “We write all our own stories as well.” 

Price shared the theatre society continued to perform their own original plays up until 2019. The following year, the theatre company was forced to cancel its 2020 production a little over a week before opening night due to the public health restrictions implemented during the pandemic.  

“We had this play written and ready to go, but we couldn’t perform it,” she said, adding the play was put on pause for 2021 and 2022 as well.  

“We felt we didn’t want to make anybody uncomfortable. People were not quite ready to be cozy-ed up at the table with people they maybe didn’t know,” she explained.  

Price said the play includes plenty of jokes about the community and references that perhaps only a Crossfieldian would relate to. 

“You don’t have to be from Crossfield to get them, but some of them... we make comments about different things in our town,” she said.  

The actress confessed the theatre company had a “huge following” of people wanting to attend their production each year and were upset they couldn’t attend during the pandemic.  

“As soon as we said, ‘We’re back and we’re rehearsing again,’ we were getting constant [messages], ‘When are tickets on sale?” she said. 

The production, which is a community-centred play, boasts 13 local cast members, according to Price, including a smattering of both new and old members of the original group.

“Over COVID, we lost a few members due to things happening in their lives. This year, we actually have four new people who have joined us, all community members,” she said.  

“That’s a nice thing when people come, they might have a connection to somebody that’s up on stage.” 

Price said she hopes to see a crowd of people attend the production, including some new faces who have moved to Crossfield in the last few years. She added proceeds from the play will go back to the community.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre company helped replace the curtains at the community hall, and in previous years has donated money to local schools and community events.  

“It’s something that is near and dear to all of our hearts. We really want to make it a fantastic evening out for our local people... for anybody,” she said.  

“You can get out and forget and laugh and just be silly, because really, that’s all we’re out there doing.” 

Tickets will be on sale starting March 1 on eventbrite.ca 

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