Bare: A Pop Opera at King's
January 27, 2015
It's not a musical, and it's not an opera. It's not just a play, either. This semester's King's Players' production is a pop opera!
King's Players will present Bare: A Pop Opera, January 29-31, 2015 at 8 p.m. in the Joanne and Peter Kenny Theatre, Darryl J. King Student Life Centre. Tickets are $15, available on campus at tables in the cafeteria and Student Life Centre, by calling (519) 200-3430, by emailing kptctickets@gmail.com, all prior to the shows, as well as at the door. The production, written by Jon Hartmere Jr. and Daman Intrabartolo, is a story about a group of high school students attending a Catholic boarding school, grappling with issues of love, sexuality, identity, and acceptance. At the centre of the storyline are two characters, Peter and Jason, who are struggling with a closeted homosexual relationship.
King's Players is one of the many clubs at King's University College. Made up entirely of students who volunteer their time, they produce a play and a musical every year. Bare: A Pop Opera falls under the musical category, but, as Club President and Bare producer Bryan Connel points out, Bare is somewhat different from a typical musical. In fact, there are two renditions of Bare: the musical, and the pop opera. While the two share songs and choreography, the pop opera has fewer spoken lines, less acting, and most of the dialogue is sung. This means that the production is the result of immense collaboration between the King's Player's musical section and the live band that also plays at all three performances.
Factoring into the decision to put on this particular production are the social issues explored in the plot. As a theatre company, King's Players believes that students can connect and relate to issues of identity, sexuality, love, drugs, and mental health. Since the production deals with some controversial subject matter, this production may spark some interesting conversation here at King's. However, Connel is confident that the message resonates with themes of acceptance and freedom of expression.
Connel promises both laughter and tears to those who plan to attend. Students should be able to reflect upon their own experiences, and relate to at least one of the nine lead characters, played by students ranging from first- to fourth-year.
Though this is the King's Players final big production for the academic year, students are encouraged to check out the club's weekly improv meetings on Thursday nights at 9:30pm in Dante Lenardon Hall, Room 112. Auditions for the next play will begin in September 2015, but it's not too late to join for this semester. The club has additional monthly events, where students can enjoy a social gathering with a dynamic and welcoming group of friends, no audition needed.
Full details can be found on the King's Players Facebook page: