For the eighth year, the Stoughton Community Players hosted theatrical productions at the Stoughton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
This year, they performed in front of sold-out crowds on Dec. 6, 7, 13 and 14.
Danielle Hoffman, one of the directors and treasurer for the nonprofit group, said that they have raised over $140,000 in the past seven years, returning the funds back into the community.
Each year they receive sponsorships from local and area businesses. They also received a sponsorship from Jonathon Lake's Estate, as he had a passion for theatre.
“It is important to keep theatre alive,” said Hoffman.
In the summer, they offer free movies in the curling rink, as well as popcorn and drinks.
For the first time, they hosted a film camp, with 10 children attending. This group did everything from the writing, editing, filming, making the costumes and props, and then showing the crowd what the end result was.
Hoffman said this is all in the efforts to keep theatre alive among young people.
This event is not possible without all the volunteers, and it takes an army to pull it off.
Organizations are asked to come and help work or serve, and through their help, they benefit from the proceeds. A meal is prepared by everyone, as a list is sent out and people offer up which salads they will bring.
Roast beef and chicken were on the menu, with piles of different homemade salads, and the dessert table was filled with treats.
Seventeen kids took part in the Stoughton Community Players show this year. Hoffman said the kids were similar to herding cats – they go in every direction, yet their young minds are like sponges, and they soaked everything up to be ready to perform for the crowd.
She asked everyone to be incredibly quiet as some of the children were young and had soft voices.
The Ever After setting was in a talk show that invited guests who had been estranged for 20 years. The show is punctuated by questions from obnoxious studio audience members and hilarious infomercials for fairy tale-related products.
The twists and turns from the fairy tale characters had the audience laughing, as the prince was slowly turning into a frog and needed to be kissed to stay a prince.
The plays were all one-act performances, so when The Ever After show was over, a short break was held for stage setup.
Next up was Café Murder. Set in a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of an annoying hypochondriac who was allergic to water, and was celebrating with her sisters. The plot thickened when the sister was supposedly murdered.
For the last play called My Narrator, a young artist makes bad decisions, so she hires a narrator to help her not make bad choices. Lacy and Miles fall in love with hilarious results. Lacy is a starving artist that Miles questions, and Miles cannot hold down a job.
The narrators struggle to keep these two love birds in line.
A 50/50 draw was held through all four shows and the winning ticket was pulled on Dec. 17. It will be posted at the town office and on their Facebook page.
If it is not claimed by Dec. 24, another ticket will be drawn and held until Dec. 31. At that time if no winner comes forward, the money will be added to the proceeds of the play.
