NLCT delights with presentation of Welfarewell

Tim Brody - Editor

After months of practice and hard work, the curtain rose on the Northern Lights Community Theatre’s (NLCT) presentation of “Welfarewell”, a comedy written by Cat Delaney, which had three showings at Sioux North High School May 4, 5, and 6.
Audience members were quickly introduced to the character of Esmerelda Quipp, 80, a former theatre actress, who had fallen on hard times financially. With her telephone and heat already cut off, things continued to get worse for Quipp when her sole companion, her cat Merlin, passed away. After being escorted to the police station when she was caught by her landlord trying to bury her cat in the backyard, as she was unable to afford a proper burial or cremation for it, Quipp hit upon the idea of robbing a bank to avail herself of the comforts of prison. After the public defender got the charges dropped, she scrounged together some money picking through recycling for bottles to purchase a toy gun to try again to rob a bank. It was later discovered the “toy gun” was actually real, a discovery which eventually led to the bust of a crime ring and a large sum of reward money coming to Quipp, who was then able to buy herself a house and help out friends she made along the way.
Ashely Edwards, who took on the role of Quipp, shared after the performance, “I’m going to miss it. I’ve been getting into the role of Esmerelda Quipp since January and I’ve gotten to become her and understand her plight and the reasoning behind what she does. I really feel for her and I’m going to miss her. This has been so much fun and getting to be with all of these people has been amazing and I’m really going to miss it.”
Edwards, who was in almost every scene in her role as Quipp, said, “It was a lot of work. We got to about mid-March and I started to become really nervous because, I actually counted them, I have 455 lines and I was not feeling great about the Shakespeare stuff… but Kym (Caldwell), being the most supportive director, her sharing some tips and tricks, she really made me confident and made me feel like I’ve got this.”
This was Edward’s second time performing with NLCT, taking on a much smaller role in their production of “Jack of Diamonds” in 2019, where she had about 20 lines comparatively.
“I’ve discovered something about myself, I love theatre. I’m really excited to a part of this theatre. I just recently joined the board of directors for the theatre company and I’m really looking forward to working with them and helping them do more,” she said, adding, “We’re so lucky to have this theater company in our community and I really think that more people should just give it a try. It’s amazing.”
Kym Caldwell, making her directorial debut with NLCT, shared, “I think it went fantastic. This production was plagued with a lot of different things that happened throughout. There were a lot of family emergencies for the cast, a lot of illness happening, we also had an actor who declined the role halfway through… I think the acting was top notch, especially since everybody here has a day job, they’re all volunteers,” she shared. 
“It resulted in really great show that the community loved and that we loved putting on and that we’re pretty proud of,” Caldwell said.
Audience members The Bulletin spoke with on the third night of the performance enjoyed the show. Carrie Quoquat said she loved it, “I was just amazed that Ashely and all the actress and actors remembered their lines. It was done so well. I’m amazed. It was beautiful.”
Phyllis Wills, said it was, “Great! I enjoyed it.” Sherry Baum called the performance, “Fantastic.”
Cindy Henrickson shared, “I really enjoyed the show. I think I had a permanent smile on my face the whole time. I appreciate all the work that went into the production. It was really well done and very entertaining.”
More than 300 people attended the performances.
“Those who have gone to the show have thanked us for putting it on, they’ve said how wonderful it was, how the production seemed quite smooth and some even though we were paid actors and production people, which was a huge compliment for us, because again, we’re all amateurs, we’re all volunteers, we all have a love of theatre and unless we’re retired, we all have a day job.”
Producer, actor, and NLCT Board Member Anita Bruins-Burke, who has been with NLCT for 10 years, commented of the performances, “I was really happy with how it turned out. It was really nice to see old faces returning and also a mix of new people… It was a really great experience.”
“Thank you Sioux Lookout. It’s a wonderful place to live. I love the fact that people are willing to come out and volunteer and we hope to do something again next year,” she added.
Kobe Collin, a new actor with NLCT, said it was a privilege to be in the show, adding he hopes to be part of future performances. 
Juliette Makar, also new to the stage, said, “It was a lot of fun. It was great to work with a bunch of people coming together.”
Irene Starratt also made her acting debut and said, “It was good. I got to meet a lot of people, a lot of late nights, but it was good and it was a lot of fun.”
Aimad Elhani, the performance’s Lighting designer and stage manager, also acted in the show.
Having been involved in theatre back in Morocco, Elhani said it was wonderful to be part of this production.
George Hoggarth, who has performed in each of NLCT’s performances, shared, “The first play I was in I had about three lines. I was a butler in this play.” When he got his first larger role in a subsequent production he said of taking to the stage, “I described it as terror and exhilaration.”
He said he was hooked after that. 
“It’s great working with a lot of different people. This year it was lovely to see all the new people out. 
It’s a great feeling to give back to the community,” he said.
Mary MacKenzie, chair of the NLCT board, said after the three performances, “I think it went very well. It was a lot of work. I commend everyone involved, especially Kym Caldwell, the director.”
She added, “I thought we had a really diverse cast, it was a very large cast (at 17 members).” 
“The support from family and friends is excellent and from the community and from the businesses and organizations,” she said. 
NLCT dedicated the production of Welfarewell to the Memory of Monika Orzechowska, described as, “A true friend of the theatre.”