Walnut Grove’s Adam Beggs is the production manager for an upcoming Vagabond Players production of Detroit.
The show takes place in a suburb outside a city that might be Detroit, and characters Ben and Mary see signs of life in the deserted neighbouring house. The pair invites their new neighbours Sharon and Kenny over, who are revealed to be unemployed, met at rehab and don’t own anything. Meanwhile, Ben and Mary’s ideal-looking house conceals their own troubled household.
“Usually about a week before we open we bring all the different departments - costumes, lighting, sound, etc - together to all work in tandem with the actors. Seeing all these different departments cooperate together for the first time brings the show to life is and always extremely satisfying. I absolutely love making theatre, telling stories through the stage is like no other feeling in the world,” Beggs explained.
One of Beggs’ favourite parts of the production is when the back-yard party takes place.
“I’ve never seen anything like that on stage ever before,” he said.
According to Beggs, some of the challenges have been bringing in special effects to meet the demands of the show. He revealed that a lot of new equipment also needed to be brought in, but said he couldn’t specify on what in order to not give away any spoilers.
“The actors also really take my breath away with how they handle the difficulties of the script. This is not something easy to act in and they really blow me away with how strong they are. These character are so real, and it’s refreshing to watch such a beautiful story,” he added.
Detroit runs until April 27 at the Bernie Legge Theatre at Queen’s Park in New Westminster. Tickets are available online at www.vagabondplayers.ca/tickets.