Versatile cast stages a fine 'dramedy'

It can be a fine line that separates comedy and drama.

A versatile cast of La Conner student actors, often playing dual roles, showed last weekend that it can deliver multiple fine lines that deftly meld comedy and drama.

The La Conner Drama Club did so with its well-received performances Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon of Mark Dunn's "A Delightful Quarantine," literally the story of what people do when there's no place to go.

Two more shows are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. March 22 and 23 at the Bruce Performing Arts Center on the La Conner campus.

Admission is by donation thanks to support from the La Conner Rotary Club.

Directed by Taylor Pedroza, Alicia Pedroza and Jess Clement, "A Delightful Quarantine" juggles seven story lines as it portrays a suburban Pennsylvania town in lockdown after an extra-terrestrial invasion.

Residents and visitors alike find themselves quarantined for three days, sometimes with complete strangers. In other cases, longtime friends are homebound together, leading to terminated or reinstated relationships.

The play opens with Professor Lucy Fuller (Hallie Walls) conducting a class on the last of alien visits to gather soil samples from Earth. From there, the action transitions to vignettes from the homes and their occupants affected by a mandatory 72-hour quarantine.

The story shifts between overt and subtle humor while taking on edgy subjects like adoption, divorce, cross-dressing, religion and life-threatening illness.

In addition to Walls, the cast features Olaf Phillips, Shawntay Perry, Airin Williams, Annika Keith, Greta June Oh, Jonathan Gonzalez, Tori Herrera, Josi Straathof, Kenny Tronsdal, Hayden Bill, Scarlett Lam and Jack Rose (who also created the production's program).

All deliver wonderful performances, demonstrating poised versatility with an ability to change costumes and seamlessly assume second roles in a play written for two dozen characters.

The trio of directors, who note their passion in forging human connections, have revitalized theatre instruction at La Conner Schools that was stalled by COVID-19. The drama club is an extra-curricular opportunity for students at the middle and high school levels.

"They have worked so hard and come so far," the directors said of drama club members in a playbill message. "We're so proud of them and excited for where this program is headed."

Their take on "A Delightful Quarantine" – one shared by audiences thus far – is that it's a fun show that reinforces the value of connections "that might otherwise lie dormant as we carry on with routine."

"It's fitting, then, that our play is exclusively concerned with disrupting routines and the inevitable fallout of doing so," the directors noted. "You will get to know a cast of characters that have to pause their lives, and take time to slow down, while a force beyond their control runs its course outside their homes."