In the year 2000 a special event took place in Penticton. The Bare Bones Theatre was born. Mind you, at the time no one knew how special that was. Penticton is home to a number of theatre groups, and here was one more. Unpretentious, too.

A young man named Tom Cowles had rented a small space in the old building known as The Cannery. The stage was so tiny it was almost laughable. The audience had to be cozy, eighty people might be tucked in, with a shoehorn!

But it soon became known that the plays appearing on that tiny stage were of top quality. They had to be carefully chosen, of course, because of the space limitations. Many involved only two players. And the sets proposed a challenge. Somehow that challenge was always met. Cowles' background was not theatrical. In fact, he had dallied with a number of other professions, including Child Care work, and had lately been working as a House Painter. But somewhere underneath all those choices was a born actor and director.

And luck was with him when Jamie Eberle appeared on the scene. Eberle had his Masters' Degree in Drama, and about ten years' experience with various amateur, professional and semi-professional companies, including Theatre Calgary and resident companies at the University of Victoria, and the University of Calgary. In Eberle, Cowles had a "find."

And, of course, there were the volunteers. Penticton is known for its high- quality volunteer material. It seemed the small city had just been waiting for this opportunity. Before too long, Bare Bones' first venue was outgrown. Everyone pitched in to move to a larger space in the old, but solidly built building. The present theatre seats one hundred and twenty. Eberle began searching for plays that called for more space. "I read hundreds of them", he confided. "I'm always searching, always reading. And they had to be 'meaty', too. I agreed with Tom that we should never produce 'fluff.'" That remains the rule. So audiences continued to grow as viewers never failed to leave the Theatre without that feeling of satisfaction that a good production leaves in its wake.

Sets have always been cleverly designed. The one appearing with the most recent offering, "The Caretaker", has been called the best yet.

Players seldom seem to forget lines. But when the unexpected happens, results can be hilarious. A year ago a full house witnessed a few moments of fun when one of two characters carrying out a conversation through an open window forgot his lines. In his confusion he slammed the window down, leaving his partner marooned on the ledge outside, unable to move or speak!

A play necessitates at least forty hours of rehearsal, and even that requires players who have already memorized their lines. Fifty or sixty hours are much better, Eberle says. Because of those interfering "day jobs", the fewer characters to bring together, the easier--another reason for choosing plays involving fewer characters.

The list of plays already produced is impressive--over thirty in so few years! Choosing a familiar name is bound to ensure success. Many of us laughed or cried over "Steel Magnolias" or "On Golden Pond'. No doubt those same people are looking forward eagerly to "The Odd Couple." This is a classic Neil Simon comedy. The incredibly funny script will certainly explain why the playwright is second only to Shakespeare in being chosen for production.

The Odd Couple opens on a hot summer night in the twelfth floor apartment of New York City's sportswriter Oscar Madison. A few months earlier, before Oscar's wife left him, the apartment had apparently reflected the modest luxury of its Riverside Drive neighbourhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. But times have changed, and now we get a look at the hilarious characters which are part of the lives of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. Most of the Bare Bones audience will have seen the popular screenplay, which starred Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. No doubt those spectators will already be looking ahead gleefully to the stage production, which opens at Bare Bones in early February, and runs till March 11th.

Bare Bones has already branched out into Drama Classes. Youngsters from the age of five to thirteen are involved from January to March--after which they will participate in a delightful adaptation of Orwell's Animal Farm. Another cultural opportunity for lucky Penticton children.

It's rumoured that Tom Cowles is committed to theatre in Penticton for the long haul. Let's hope that rumour has developed into fact, because we are wondering already how we ever functioned without Bare Bones in our midst!

2006-03