Open Pit Theatre is offering an opportunity to indeed clap for The Wolf Man, in all its venerable, cinematic glory. Released in 1941, it is just one of the movies in the lineup of the Silent Horror Film Night, a fundraiser for the theatre company being held on October 26.
But the audience will be clapping to more than just the vintage classics on display. The celluloid gems on-screen will be polished with concurrent live performances, both musical and theatrical.
Two well-known local musicians will improvise an original soundtrack–live–as the action unfolds. Andy Slade will be tickling the ivories on piano, while Olivier Clements jazzes up the proceedings on trumpet.
“Clap for the Wolfman, he gonna rate your record high,
– The Guess Who
Clap for the Wolfman, you gonna dig him till the day you die…”
Bringing a third level of creativity to the show, Kate Clark is leading a troupe of actors. These masters of the macabre are tasked with inventing dialogue for the misters, monsters and madams miming their mutterings in these movies!
“They’re all very talented, and it’s always a lot of fun,” says Geneviève Doyon, co-artistic director of Open Pit. “The actors are very funny, and on some films there will only be the musicians, so they can get as loud and as crazy as they want!”
Doyon says they have run similar events in the past, but the timing of this year’s event was an opportunity to get foolish and ghoulish. And that includes the audience members.
“It’s a dress-up event,” Doyon said. “We wanted to have a spooky feel because it’s just before Halloween, and people here seem to really like their costumes. And we have a photo booth as well.”
The playlist includes ‘The House of Ghosts,’ ‘The Man Who Laughs,’ and a German expressionist film that some consider the first horror movie, ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’.
While horror is the theme, the event will still include one of the most popular activities from past fundraisers. The paper airplane contest was introduced to honour Air North, Yukon’s Airline, a sponsor of the theatre company. But Doyon says it has become a crowd favourite.
“People wait for it and practise at home. They really get into it,” she said. “They get really competitive and into their plane-making. And it’s really exciting to see a hundred planes going all at once.”
The contest also has an exciting prize. The plane that comes closest to the target wins a return flight from Air North. Other prizes include a punch pass for the Eclipse Nordic hot springs, and a print with hand-applied gold leaf by local artist Rosemary Scanlon.
The event gets underway at the Old Fire Hall, at 7:30 p.m. on October 26.
