Owen is madly in love with his co-worker, Kaley — who definitely doesn’t return his affections.
You could consider the lovelorn waiter a victim of his own demons — except he also becomes a pawn to some real nasty spirits in Central Alberta Theatre’s supernatural comedy, Soul Mate.
The play by Edmonton playwright David Belke opens — quite appropriately — on Friday, Jan. 13, as a dinner theatre at the Black Knight Inn in Red Deer.
It features a couple of meddlesome demons named Moira and Philip who, having eternity on their hands, like to play “The Game” with hapless humans. When Owen comes within their sight lines, they decide who better to bargain souls with than a guy desperately chasing a woman who won’t have him?
The play’s director, Albertus Koett, loves the cleverness of Belke’s script. It was nominated for a Sterling Award when it premiered at the 2006 Edmonton Fringe Festival.
“The characters jumped out to me. I could picture them and I liked them. It seemed like you could really flesh them out,” said Koett, who directed four previous plays for CAT, including Steel Magnolias.
With a cast of veteran community actors, including Tara Rorke as Kaley, Richie Jackson as Owen, Tori Grebinski as Moira, and Jason Steele as Philip, Koett said he’s had a great time in rehearsals. “Eighty to 90 per cent of a director’s job is the casting. When you get that right, you just sit back and let them go...”
The biggest challenge, so far, has been figuring out how to make characters seemingly appear out of thin air. But with some puffs of theatrical smoke and the right lighting, Koett believes he’ll be able to pull it off.
Although many of us have faced situations that have left us wondering: How much would I be prepared to lose to get what I want? Koett believes Soul Mate is more about laughs than profundity.
“I just hope the audience has a good, fun evening out. This play is light-hearted and not too serious. It’s a fun show.”’
It runs to Feb. 11. Tickets from the Black Knight Ticket Centre.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com