A Guelph theatre company will be returning for its new season with a series of online performances created by a local author.
The project will take the form of four vignettes created by Marion Reidel, based on scenes from her book Cafe Conversations. Each narrative is set in a cafe and aims to recreate the sometimes mundane and other times dramatic moments of daily life.
Each scene will feature a separate cast, with actors including Erik van Dyke, Cathy Goudie, and Paul Elliott. All will be posted online for free, presenting a new challenge for local actors and directors as they combine the stage and the small screen.
Cafe Conversations will accompany a fundraising effort for the Guelph Little Theatre, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary. The theatre typically hosts full plays with local actors and creators. Events like this are often advertised through tools like poster printing and social media. The Theatre plans to follow up the series of scenes with a puppetry and musical performance by Mexican-born Guelph artist Manuel Garcia, also known as Manu. Once it is ready to return to full live performances, it will stage local Tom Reidel’s stageplay Swordfish, followed by the comedy Romeo and Rosaline.
The Cafe Conversations series will be available to view online on the Guelph Little Theatre’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
