When Ron Babin and Marcel Gauthier began Valley Community Theatre, they were growing tired of the long drive back and forth to Sudbury for rehearsals and auditions.
They wanted all the wonders of live theatre, without having to leave the Valley.
Fast-forward more than a decade, and the theatre company is alive and well.
Della Gauthier, wife of Marcel and the theatre's current president, said the company is about to celebrate the first anniversary of its permanent home at the Capreol Millennium Centre.
Prior to that, Gauthier said the theatre worked out of local schools. While the educational institutes offered the company the chance to develop young actors, it made for its own set of challenges.
Tearing down and constructing sets daily to accomodate daily learning in the classrooms in which they rehearsed was never a pleasant task.
While their space at the Millennium Centre is small, it offers everything the company could want.
Thanks to recent renovations, Valley Community Theatre now boasts a more professional theatre setting, complete with lighting and all the bells and whistles that go along with a stage.
“We've been able to do some things we couldn't do in our other locations,” Gauthier said.
To celebrate the new space's first anniversary, VCT is putting some seasoned actresses on the stage in the comedy Kitchen Witches.
The play is an hilarious look at two competing cable TV cooking show hosts who are forced to overcome their differences and work together to stay on the air, said Gauthier.
“It will be a unique experience for the audience since they become part of the action as the live cooking show audience. Starring two local actresses, Heleene Cameron and Samantha Frost, this production is sure to tickle a funny bone or two.”
Kitchen Witches runs June 20, 21 and 22 at 7 p.m., and June 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at the M&R Grill in Capreol, Pharmasave in the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre or by phoning 705-929-5863.
Visit www.vct10.com or like Valley Community Theatre on Facebook for more information.
