Ready to Hobnob?
A local couple aims to bring works of the masters to the stage in Butler County. To that end, Ken and Elizabeth Smith of Donegal Township recently launched the Hobnob Theatre Company.
“Butler loves going to the theater. Our love for classical theater, especially Shakespeare, influenced us to start a group that focuses on the classical genre,” said Liz Smith.
The couple hopes to ignite the interest of audiences and performers to the classical playwrights and classical literature.
“We seek to engage and enrich the community with a dynamic array of theater as an art form by producing popular and forgotten classic plays, modern plays of exceptional merit, original works, small musicals, and theater for young audiences,” Smith said.
“The phrase 'hob nob' first appeared in printed form in Act 3, Scene 4 of William Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night,” where Sir Toby tries to frighten Viola by describing Sir Andrew as a ruthless knight,” said Smith. “He is a devil in private brawls. ... Hob nob is his word, give't, or take't.'”
The phrase derives from the older English, “hab nab,” “have or have not,” and Shakespeare alters the meaning slightly to “give or take.
“We love the 'give and take' of theater: the way it asks questions without providing the answers; the way it holds a mirror up to ourselves to remind us of who we are, or who we may become; the illusion of seeing oneself portrayed by another; and the way we both lose ourselves, and find ourselves in that illusion,” Smith said about why they decided to start the company.
The husband and wife team has a wealth of stage-related personal experience. Ken is an accomplished musician who has served as musical director for several high school musicals in the Pittsburgh area.
“I've also acted with Latshaw productions in Pittsburgh as well as Sight and Sound in Lancaster,” he said.
He holds a bachelor's degree in interpretive speech.
Liz has directed high school productions as well as community theater shows and has performed in both college and community shows. She holds a bachelor's degree in theater and English from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.Two to three shows per year is their goal. “We also hope to offer workshops for students who are interested in the theater process,” she said.They recently announced free coaching for students who would like to perform in the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Shakespeare scene and monologue contest. “We also anticipate regular Shakespeare play readings in Butler,” she said.Launching their group included a social media effort involving Facebook and a website that netted almost 50 people for their initial auditions for their first production, “A Christmas Carol,” coming in December.They chose to produce “A Christmas Carol” to create a holiday tradition for Butler County residents.“It is a familiar all-time favorite classic Christmas story with a powerful message of charity, redemption and transformation,” Liz said.“We wanted to create and include the Butler community in a new Christmas tradition as well as introduce the community to our vision as a theater company. Our hope is to see this as an annual Christmas event for the Butler community,” Ken said.Currently most of the business of the theater company is operated from the Smiths' home.“St. Peter's Anglican Church on East Jefferson has allowed us use of their parish hall for rehearsals during the week. They have been so gracious to our group, and the space is a perfect location,” Liz said.As with any organization or effort, it takes people to make it happen. “We are definitely looking for backstage help as well as production help with props, set construction,” she said.Anyone interested in helping with the productions can access the volunteer page on the group's website, www.hobnobtheatre.com.
<B>WHO: </B>Hobnob Theatre Company<B>WHAT: </B>“A Christmas Carol”<B>WHEN: </B>8 p.m. Dec. 21 and 22<B>WHERE: </B>Succop Theater at Butler County Community College<B>TICKETS: </B>$10 for adults and $5 for students, available starting today at www.hobnobtheatre.com or starting Monday at May's Music Shoppe, 247 E. Jefferson St.<B>INFO: </B>www.hobnobtheatre.com
