Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre
is serving up a delicious melodrama.

bellrock playhouse "The Great Ice Cream Scheme," a play written by Billy St. John, tells the comedic tale of hero Robin Baskins and cold-hearted villain I.C. Custard and the attempts to steal the coveted ice cream recipe.

Custard's devious plan to steal the recipe involves hiring accomplice, Parfait Deluxe, ex-chorus girl and total klutz. Parfait is instructed to entice the recipe from Robin but Robin has been smitten by Marsha Mallow, the sweet young waitress. The action is fast and furious.....and hilarious. Employees getting trapped in a faulty freezer, a stage struck prop man, a rainbow of colourful characters and a funny fight sequence all make The Great Ice Cream Scheme a delicious show to sink your teeth into!

Audience members won't be in any doubt for whom to boo or cheer. There is interaction with the audience as I. C. Custard explains his evil intentions. The audience is encouraged to actively participate with their boos, hisses and hoorays.

Doug MacIntyre is directing this production. "I got hooked on melodramas about a year ago. I co-directed one in Arizona and wanted to try one on my own. The results were amazing. The best compliment came from the audience as they left the theatre saying "When is the next one?"

Doug is looking forward to having the play in BellRock Schoolhouse Theatre. "The Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre seats about 80 regular seats or about 50 dinner theatre seats, making it an intimate space. This is ideal for melodramas which require audience participation and interaction."

The cast is a mix of newcomers and veterans. Connie Shibley and Dick Miller take on the roles of Parfait Deluxe, the villain's klutzy sidekick and the villain I.C. Custard. The young lovers Marsha Mallow and Robin Baskins are played by Joelle Parr and Cody Steeves. Brian Robertson plays kind hearted Pop Sicle and John Stephen plays Ernie, the misguided stage hand

Husband and wife team Jane and Ian MacKay play Etta Lotta Spumon and Alex de Spoon (patrons of the parlor). Rounding out the cast are Kathy King as Candy Sprinkles, Michel Alarcon as Walt Nutz (waitress and waiter) and Debbie Lingen as Nana Peel.

There will be three "Dinner Theatre" performances on Friday, June 7, Saturday, June 8 and Saturday, June 15 starting at 6 pm. Tickets are $20. The meal will be a delicious ham dinner with all the fixings. Dessert, of course, is ice cream. There will also be a "Dessert" Matinee on Sunday, June 16. 2:30 pm. Tickets $ 12. Tickets are available at Verona Drug Mart, Local Family Farms, Verona Hardware and Asselstine Hardware.

The play will be held in the Bellrock Theatre, 6034 Leveque Rd., BellRock. ( Map ). For ticket information call 613-374-2344

All proceeds from the play will go to support the BellRock Hall.

For more information, or for an interview, please contact Bob Brown or Virginia Lavin, executives Bellrock Hall, 613 374-2344

Interviews with the actors

Parfait

Connie Shibley plays the role of Parfait Deluxe, the villain in training. Connie has been living in BellRock for 35 years and made her acting debut in "Nunsense" three years ago. Here is what Connie had to say.

"I love this play. I find it hilarious and corny. You can be over-the-top and get away with it. To help learn the lines I get up and do all the movements. This helps make it stick in my mind. I visualise the actual scene with all the characters and try to move through it that way. "

"I love the BellRock Theater. I think it was a terrific idea. It's a lovely setting.

"I like acting because you get to be somebody else and you get to say things that you normally would never say. In order to get into character I read the play over several times and decide the best voice and the best mannerisms for that character."

"I enjoy musicals because I love singing and, of course, I love melodramas."

Candy Kathy King plays Candy Sprinkles, the self assured waitress who has a quick wit and sharp tongue. Kathy grew up in Parham and has acted in several of the Little Theatre productions in North Frontenac. Here is what Kathy had to say,

"I love the comedy in this play. I love how you can create your own character. The tricks to learning lines is to practice, practice, practice and listen for that cue to say the line."

"I love the BellRock Theatre and the amazing people who are part of it. "

"I love acting because I get to be a character that I am not in day-to-day life. I didn't act as I was growing up and now I have taken to acting as a hobby. Costumes help get me into character and so does the directions from the director Doug. I love comedies and especially the melodramas."

Parfait Dick Miller plays the villain I. C Custard, Dick is a 28 years Verona native. Dick has been acting for 36 years and has been in over 100 plays. Here is what Dick had to say to my questions.

" This is a fun play and I love melodramas. You can draw in the audience and play them a bit. There is a lot of fun and laughs and I love comedies. The trick to learning lines is just a lot of hard work. Once you get your lines down then the fun starts. The first 6 or 8 weeks of rehearsals is the hard work."

"I love the BellRock Theatre. They have really fixed it up. Good stage, good sound."

"Acting gives me a chance to do different roles which I wouldn't do in real life. My wife says she gets a new man coming home every night. I don't really get into character until two weeks before the production. .I learn lines, I do the blocking and then I work the character. It is more of a feel thing for me. I definitely love comedies the best. "

etta Jane MacKay plays Etta Lotta Spumoni, a regular customer at the Ice Cream Parlour,. Jane lives in the Bellrock area. Jane has played in a previous Bellrock special. "Here Comes the Cows." This is Jane's first time acting without a script.

"I love this play, getting to know the actors and actresses. I like knowing more about the people in the community. My trick to learning lines is repetition and then more."

"I think the Bellrock Theatre is wonderful. I think it is great that Doug got us all together for this play."

"I love seeing this play come to life from the words in a book. I love acting. It is a challenge but I am having fun and that is the whole point of it. I love acting with my husband. He helps me get into character."

"I love melodramas. They are really crazy and a lot of fun. "

Pop Sicle Brian Robertson plays Pop Sicle, the befuddled owner of the Ice Cream Parlour. Brian hails from Sharbot Lake. Brian has been acting steadily since high school. He has appeared in the North Frontenac plays as well as spending some years in a theatre group in White Horse, Yukon. Here is what Brian has to say:

"I love the freedom and the exaggerated movements, voice and actions. My voice in this role is a cross between Walter Brennan and Mr Magoo. To help me lear nmy line I tape them and leave a space for my particular line. "

"I think the Bell Rock Theatre is amazing. The fact that it is a heritage building and has been transformed into a theatre is a great idea. I love the intimacy of it. "

"I love acting because it brings another role to life for the entertainment of the public. To help me get into character, I read the dialogue and enter into the context and understand who you are and then you go there. It happens. "

"I love light hearted comedies. I also love musicals."

Alec de Spoon Ian MacKay plays Alec de Spoon, a regular customer at the Parlour. Alex lives with wife Jane (who also appears in this play) in the Bellrock area. He finds it wonderful to have the opportunity to share in the communities spirit and fellowship in this way. Alex acted in his university years.

"I love this play, most of all, the nonsense of it. It's quite charming with the ridiculous theme and all the amusing one liners that come out through out the play. It really is fun."

"The one trick I use to remember lines is to persist, persist and persist. It's not just learning your own lines, it's knowing when to come in. so you have to be listening to the previous lines, listening for the cue and hoping the others on stage are on their cues too. "

"The BellRock Theatre is charming, just delightful, lovely spot. I am so pleased that they are able to utilize this building for all kinds of community events."

"Acting is fun to step outside one own normal role and routine of life. It provides another opportunity to step into another person's shoes and experience life in a different way and different perspective".

"Costumes help to get me into character. I take the time to think about the play as a whole and my own role in particular and then just move into it as creative as I can. "

"I love melodramas. I enjoy a full range of plays."

Marsha Joelle Farr plays Marcia Mallow the heroine. Joelle has performed in the North Frontenac Little Theatre productions. This is Joelle's sixth play. Joelle has been acting since she was nine months old. In the last few years Joelle has appeared in the Wizard of Oz, Peter Psn, Tom Sawyer, Annie and the Best Christmas Pageant ever.

" I love all the actors in the play. I love how spontaneous the play is. It is a very fun play to be in. "

" I remember my lines by just repeating, repeating and repeating them."

"I like the Bell Rock Theater. I like how close the theater is and it's size. "

"I like the idea about being another person when I act. "

"I love melodramas. They are my favourite type of play."

Ernie John Stephen plays Ernie, the stage struck stagehand. John has performed quite extensively with the North Frontenac Little Theatre perforning in plays such as Oliver, Guys and Dolls, Christmas Carol , Wizard of Oz and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. He got involved in acting 12 years ago. He was driving his 9-year-old daughter to play practice and decided to become involved as well. (They ended up acting in 7 plays together)

"This play is quite a bit different from plays that I have done. Other plays I have done, you never really see the audience, in this play, everything is played to the audience. I really like that aspect of it. I like all the people in the play. They are really good performers. I am learning a lot as I go. It is fun."

"I like acting, gets me into a different head space, a different person. I like getting into the character, getting under his skin."

"As I start learning my lines, interact with the other characters, put the script down, then I can move around and put the emotion in, that is when I start getting into character."

"I like drama, This is my first melodrama. I will let you know if I like melodramas after we open."

Walt Michel Alarcon plays Walt Nutz, a waiter at the Ice Cream Parlour. Michel was born in North Africa (when Morocco was a French colony). He now lives in Tichborne with his family, two kids, 17 rabbits, a dog and two cats. Michel has acted with the North Frontenac Little Theatre and played the lead role in "Getting Sara Married. "

" This is a fun play to be in. I really like the people and appreciate the director, his views and his approach."

"To help me learn the lines, I put myself into the character and think about what I would say at that moment. Memorisation works to a certain point, however putting myself into character and responding to the lines makes it a lot easier to remember."

"The BellRock Theatre is a very, upcoming wonder."

"I like acting because it enables the expression of character, the expression of what I could be or have been. I like the freedom that it offers."

"I love comedies."

Debbie Debbie Lingen plays Nana Peel, Pop's sister. This is Debbie's first play since high school plays( many, many years ago.)

" I love this play. It is impossible to go through an evening of practice without cracking up at the funny dialogue. I think the audience is going to love this play. The actors are marvellous and fill their roles perfectly."

"I fed my lines into my phone's tape recorder along with the cue lines ( using a different voice for the other actors). I left a pause between the cue lines and my lines so I can play the tape recorder, say my lines and then listen to the recorded response to make sure the lines are correct. I get the weirdest looks from my dog as I practice with the recorder."

" I love the BellRock Theatre, I look forward to seeing many more plays here. It is so nice and conveient."

" I love acting. I am a real ham at heart and of course comedies are my favourite type of play."

Cody Cody Steeves plays Robin Baskins, the hero. Cody has acted extensively during his young career. During public school he played the roles of King Arthur and Robot Santa Claws. In high school he played the starring role of Peter in Peter Pan and Cobweb in Mid Summers Night Dream.

"The thing I like most about plays is that I can put myself in a situation where I normally would not be in and being in someone else's shoes is very interesting."

"My tricks for learning lines is reading it regularly, knowing your cues and getting someone to read the other lines. This helps me with the timing of the lines."

" I actually really like the BellRock Theater. It is a peace of history and a great place to have plays."

"What I like about the play is that it isn't very serious. We have been having a lot of fun with it and the people involved make the experience much sweeter.

"To get into character it helps me to put the costume on and put myself in his shoes."

" The type of play I most like to be in are comedies and ones similar to the one we are doing now."