Two Planks Kicks Off Outdoor Summer Season

Monroe, CT - Two Planks Theater Company of Monroe kicks its 2017 outdoor summer season this weekend in the town’s Wolfe Park. The company will be presenting Aladdin, Jr., Footloose, and Monty Python’s Spamalot weekends over the course of four weeks from mid July into August.

Starting on Saturday, July 15, Two Planks will begin with a one-night junior production of Aladdin featuring younger performers ages 6-12. The junior show is a shorter-length production designed to give younger actors the chance to ease into the acting world. But as Two Planks Executive Director, Brooke Burling, describes it, the shorter show also allows the company to ease into their demanding production schedule.
“We do start off with a 90-minute show featuring our younger performers,” Burling says. “Junior shows are designed to let newer actors get their feet wet without having to mount a full Broadway production their first time out. We try to streamline the experience for the kids, so on our end its also not as technically demanding a production.

“Nonetheless it’s a charming show filled with all the Disney characters local audiences know and love,” Burling says. “So it’s a great way to kick things off with an audience-friendly good time filled with some great performances from some talented young folks.”

Following right on the heels Aladdin, Jr., Two Planks will turn around into its main Summer Theater Workshop production of the ever-popular Kevin Bacon classic Footloose, July 20-22.

The Workshop show features teen and young adult performers who put on a full-length Broadway production after only four weeks of rehearsal from start to finish.

“Our Workshop actors go non-stop for four full weeks as part of our summer intensive, training in the triple-threat disciplines of acting, singing, and dance, taking master classes with visiting Broadway performers, and rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing,” Burling said.

“In the end their efforts pay off with a fantastic product on stage. We are always amazed with what these talented, young actors are able to produce in such a short period of time, putting on a toe-tapping, fun-filled show that will have audiences dancing in the aisles.”

Finally, the company turns around again in less than a week and brings its Main Stage presentation of Monty Python’s lovingly irreverent Spamalot to life. The show is the culmination of Two Planks’ summer season and features regional actors from the local area and across Connecticut. It runs two weekends performing July 28-29 and August 4-5.

The show is an adaptation of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail and stays fairly true to the film’s narrative.

“Fans of Monty Python will know exactly what to expect,” Burling said. “But for those who aren’t as familiar with the group’s zany humor, audiences should be prepared for lots of fun silliness, from killer rabbits and flying cows to King Arthur and his knights prancing around the stage thinking they’re actually riding horses, when in reality it’s just another character clacking together some coconuts.”

All of Two Planks’ summer shows take place on the same stage in Monroe’s Wolfe Park, 285 Cutlers Farm Road. The company works with the town’s Parks & Rec department and creates a full-sized stage from the ground up, which includes bringing in large-scale trussing to hang lights and sound equipment. As Two Planks’ Technical Director, Rob Primorac, explains, it is a process the organization repeats every year.
“During the rest of the year there is literally nothing more than an old slab of concrete,” he says. “But part of what we want to accomplish is to bring a larger-than-life experience to the community that both our audiences and actors can enjoy.”

“Every year we have to build not only a stage but an entire trussing system from scratch. It takes weeks and weeks of work, but we want to create an environment where the whole community can come together, have some fun outdoors under the stars in a beautiful setting, and see some really great shows.”

Both Primorac and Burling agree that it would be easier if they performed their shows on an existing stage—like at a local school—or if the performances were more spread out. But because they have to build a brand new stage every year and bring in thousands of dollars of rental equipment, they don’t have that luxury of taking it easy. Everything has to happen in a very compact period of time.

“So much goes on in making three shows happen back to back to back,” Primorac says. “While our actors can prepare separately, we just don’t have time to completely reinvent the wheel each of our summer shows. So we have to strategically work months in advance to choose three shows that can be put together using somewhat the same footprint.”

“Yes there are tweaks here and there, but when we are thinking about the layout for Agrabah in Aladdin, Jr., what we’re really asking ourselves is how can that become medieval castles in Spamalot two weeks later?” he said. “The trick is for Brooke [who doubles as the company’s set designer] to squeeze in the fictional, small, mid-west town of Bomont for Footloose in between the two!”

Best-rate tickets for all three of Two Planks’ shows are available online on the company’s website, www.twoplankstheater.org. The prices are different for each show, but range from $10 for Aladdin, Jr., $15 for Footloose, and $20 for Spamalot. Senior and student discount tickets are also available.

Tickets may also be purchased at the gate, but there is a $5/ticket surcharge on site. All tickets are general admission, open lawn seating, and patrons are welcome to bring their own blankets or lawn chairs. Grounds open at 6:00 p.m. for picnics and Wolfe Park has waived both the beverage and parking restrictions for these special events (out of town guests are welcome to park on-site without needing a Wolfe Park parking pass). Because the shows are outdoors and need darkness to utilize the theatrical lighting, all shows start nightly at dusk (approximately 8:15 p.m.).