'It's so nice to see live theater again'
As the sun dimmed Sunday evening in Butler Memorial Park, the plot thickened.
The Hob Nob Theatre Company performed “Comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare to a crowd of more than 30 people.
Jim Sinchak of Butler said he knew one of the actors, David Skeele, who played two parts. Sinchak attended the play with his wife, Robin, and their grandchildren, Nash and Mason. The boys said the play was pretty funny.
“Everybody kept getting hit,” they said.Another member of the audience, Marge Bankert of Butler, said she appreciates a good play, especially having been involved in many herself. She said she had acted or worked with all the cast members at some point or another.Bankert said performing a play, even a comedy, is no laughing matter, especially when the actors lack all the affects and niceties of a theatre. She said this theater group pulled it off well Sunday evening.“I thought it was cleverly done,” Bankert said. “It's so nice to see live theater again.”As one of the company's actors, Phil Ball said he can appreciate how well everything comes together in a play like theirs.“You're really cutting down on technical personnel,” he said. “You don't worry about lights, and you don't worry about sound. All you do is focus on the performance.”Ball who played one set of twins, both named Dromeo and differentiated simply by the color of their hat. At one point near the end of the play, Ball had to shift so quickly between characters that instead of retreating behind the backdrop, he simply changed hats on the spot.Ball said he joined the theater group about seven years ago, and they have been doing Shakespeare in the Park annually, also using Preston Park in Butler Township as a venue.He said there is always some level of distraction, like a motorcycle blaring Ozzy Osbourne as it rides by, but one thing is always consistent, a great receptive crowd.“They're here for the show. They're here for the theater,” he said. “We have great respect and admiration for our audiences.”
