Courthouse Theater Company

By Doug Norris
Arts & Living Editor
South County Independent
June 29, 2006

WEST KINGSTON - Last year notions of a new theater company at the Courthouse Center for the Arts were just "Rumors."
Now there's "Proof."

Seeking to help fill the niche left behind in South County when Theatre-by-the-Sea went dark, the Courthouse Theater Company is offering a two-play season this summer, beginning with David Auburn's Tony Award-winning drama "Proof," which opens tonight.

The company, formed last summer by Christopher Simpson, a South Kingstown resident and Princeton University student, features a cast and crew of local college and high school students. It was incorporated last month, with Simpson as its artistic director.

"Proof," running tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., will be its first production as a tax-exempt organization. The popularity of last year's production of Neil Simon's "Rumors" set the stage for the burgeoning company.

"We didn't think of this as a company at first," Simpson said by telephone. "In the fall of 2004 I went to school at Princeton and happened to go to the theater and saw Neil Simon's 'Rumors.' It's a funny show with a large cast of 10 actors, five male, five female. As I watched it, I could see various friends of mine in these roles. So I called the Courthouse and asked if they'd be interested in us doing a show. They were open to it and it was very successful. So Karin Conapask (director of the Courthouse) asked if we would come back and do it again this year."

The group's nonprofit structure has made it "easier for us to organize and do things more efficiently," said Simpson, who answers to a board and holds regular administrative meetings. With the business end settled, the challenge was to develop an artistic vision.

"'Rumors' is a typically hysterical Neil Simon comedy," Simpson said, "with people coming in and out of doors, things falling over, malapropisms. One guy goes deaf for 10 scenes. It's just so much fun. But I wanted to try something different, something that could stretch us a bit."

"Proof" is a family drama with four characters. The plot is built around relationships to an eminent mathematician who suffers from a kind of schizophrenic dementia.

"I think the most interesting thing about it is in what isn't said," Simpson said. "The characters in this play are trying to achieve something that might be different from what they are saying. Not in every situation, but most of the time there's a lot of subtext. I've enjoyed working with the actors to try to get that across."

In August, the company will perform the lighthearted Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman comedy, "You Can't Take it With You," long a summer theater staple.

"This gets back to having fun and having a large enough cast to be able to include the whole company," Simpson said.

With a dearth of theater in the summertime in South County, outside of the Granite Theater and the Colonial Theater Shakespeare productions, both in Westerly, the Courthouse Theater Company has an opportunity to establish itself as an entertaining alternative.

"It's something in the back of my mind," Simpson said. "Especially for an area where so many tourists come through, it's the sort of thing that could be sustainable in summer at least. But right now, I'd be happy to sell 400 tickets this weekend and get a good review. Right now, I'm thoroughly consumed by just getting a costume on one of the characters."

Tickets for "Proof" cost $14 general admission, $12 for Courthouse members and $10 for students. For more information, log on to www.courthousetheater.com or call 782-1018.