More than 40 Cambie secondary students are set to deliver a gut-buster when they open the theatre doors to the public for Check Please, a comedy that takes the audience on a journey of atrocious dates that finally lead to true love.
Drama remains a popular class at Cambie, and teacher Megan Preston hopes to continue the school’s strong tradition in the arts by publicizing the students’ work during Education Week.
“They’re working hard on this, it’s coming together really well,” said Preston during a rehearsal in their cozy theatre, in early February.
Check Please chronicles a regular guy and girl (referred to in the play as Guy and Girl) who go on one bad date after another. Finally, they meet one another near the end of the play and appear to hit it off.
“People can expect to laugh,” said Preston.
Grade 12 student Kyle Sangha takes the co-leading role as the guy.
Last year, Sangha played Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so he says he’s comfortable in the spotlight — although that’s not always the case in the classroom.
“I’m usually a pretty quiet guy and get my work done,” said Sangha.
Sangha’s down-to-Earth attitude plays well in his role as the guy, as he is constantly faced with over-the-top dates who test his patience and will to find love.
While he aced the role of Lysander last year, he said he prefers comedies.
“I like to let loose in the theatre,” said Sangha.
His theatre partner is Grade 12 student Susan Luong, who also acts out a series of bad dates where she’s left to wallow and cry on the shoulder of a friend.
“I was surprised to get the role,” said Luong, who perfectly executes the hopeless lovebird.
The play is easily adaptable for present day situations, despite being written in 2003; Preston’s crew has created some hilarious bad dates.
For instance, the guy has to endure a date from hell when his dinner partner, played by Jersey Flores, is constantly on her smartphone.
Of course, some dating situations never change, such as when the girl meets an overly-eccentric date, played by Kayson Lam, who can’t sit still and digs himself into a hole with a litany of bad jokes.
Some of it may seem over the top, but that’s exactly how writer Jonathan Rand devised Check Please; throughout the play the audience can sense the frustration and discomfort of the daters, all the while laughing.
In all, there are 18 actors in the Cambie play with 25 other students helping stage it.
Check Please at Cambie Theatre runs March 1-4 at 7 p.m. Tickets at the door cost $7/10 for students/adults. Proceeds go back to the theatre department.
Call 604-688-6430 for more information.
