Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
The Montana Actors' Theatre is going on the road, and the group is looking for some fresh faces to take along the way.
MAT is holding auditions tonight for "Rugburns," the first play begun by president Jay Pyette. He's worked on it on and off for about eight years, said MAT vice president Grant Olson, who is directing the play.
The play will run in Havre Nov. 9-12 and Nov. 16-19. After some fine tuning this winter, the group plans to take the show to theaters along the Hi-Line from Cut Bank to Glasgow, with other possible Montana stops including Fort Benton and Missoula.
Several veteran MAT players have moved out of state, leaving plenty of room for newcomers, including those with little or no experience, Olson said. There will be at least seven roles to audition for tonight at 7 in the MAT theater at Cowan Hall.
"We're looking to get some new people in," he said. "If they have a little talent, we'll be able to spot it and work with it." Production personnel also are needed, he added. The set will be built by a Montana State University-Northern drama class.
The group is flexible with evening rehearsal times, but opening night will come about quickly for this play, Olson said.
"Rugburns" is still a bit incomplete - Pyette and Olson plan to tweak it as they go. A new character may be added if necessary, and lines will be reworked and improved, Olson said.
The play centers around a piece of carpet.
At the opening, a couple is having an argument while preparing for dinner guests. The husband attempts a little marriage counseling by bringing out a piece of carpet saved from the pair's old apartment and making a few rules.
"Whoever stands on the carpet, gets all of the attention," Olson said. "His wife thinks it's the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard."
She doesn't follow the rules, and he won't get off the carpet, even as the dinner party begins. Soon, the guests join the fray.
"If you're standing on the carpet, you're supposed to tell the truth," Olson said. "It gives them the chance to say what they really feel about each other, and it's not very nice."
