“Taking Steps is a farce. It’s meant to make you laugh. If it doesn’t, I’m sorry. If it makes you cry, have a word with the director as I refuse to take responsibility for that as well.”  --Alan Ayckbourn, author of Taking Steps.

At The Pines, a drab, dreary – and reportedly haunted – three story house in the middle of England, Elizabeth, an erstwhile go-go dancer with delusions of grandeur has decided to leave her husband, bucolic bucket manufacturer and blistering alcoholic Roland.  She has called her brother Mark to help comfort Roland, but Mark has troubles of his own.  His fiancée Kitty, who recently jilted him at the altar, has been picked up on suspicion of soliciting, so he decides to drag her back to the house and put her in the attic.  Meanwhile Roland, oblivious to the fact his wife has left him, is about ready to buy the house from the builder’s son, the Yamaha-driving, leather clad Leslie, while Tristram, a completely inept yet strangely endearing young lawyer, oversees ‘fair play.’

Suffice to say, hilarity ensues as Roland discovers his wife has left him.  He plunges into an inebriated vortex; Elizabeth waffles on her decision to leave several times; Mark’s monotonous voice puts everyone to sleep; Kitty gets trapped in a cupboard; Leslie lies through his teeth to sell the house; and Tristram spends the night with what he believes to be Scarlet Lucy, the ghost of a dead prostitute.  To further complicate matters, all three levels of the house – the main floor, the first floor bedroom, and the attic – are seen on one level, connected by two flights of stairs, which are also on one level.  This gives the appearance that people are standing right next to each other when they are, in fact, on different floors.

Taking Steps is being presented by an ensemble of current and former theatre arts performance majors from Central Theatre Ensemble, the production company of Central Washington University’s Theatre Arts department, in Ellensburg, WA.  Last year, a different group of CTE actors were responsible for the Masquers production of On the Other Hand, a bill of original one-act comedies written by Alex Garnett.

Emily Rose Shotwell (Elizabeth), Alex Garnett (Roland), and Rose Kinne (Kitty) return to the Masquers stage after appearing in On the Other Hand last summer.  Shotwell won the 2006 MOPET Award for best supporting actress, and Garnett, who served as author and co-director, won the 2006 MOPET Award for best playwright.  New to the Masquers stage are Daniel Zertuche, who will play Mark, James Frasca, who will play Tristram, and Isaiah Crowson, who will play Leslie.    Each member of the ensemble has been nominated for the prestigious Irene Ryan Acting Award Competition for their work in various CTE shows, which include Much Ado About Nothing, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Working, Charlotte’s Web, and Tartuffe.

Performance dates for Taking Steps are July 14-15, and 21-22 at 8 P.M. and July 15-16 and 22-23 at 3:00 P.M.  Tickets for all shows are $10.  Reservations can be made by calling Masquers Theater at 509-246-2611.

See additional comments by the author at:
Taking Steps