The Community Theatre of Emporia is going on a road trip.
The annual holiday road show will open Thursday at Burlington’s Carnegie library before moving on to Emporia, Cottonwood Falls and Emporia again. This year’s roadshow features eight short adaptations from Mark Twain.
There will be no set. No props. Just cast members who will sit and read from the script rather than having a set, said director Nancy Boyce.
“Each reader is a character in a story,” she said. “It’s much like an old-fashioned radio show where audience members listen in.”
The Twain pieces are:
• Advice to Little Children, a piece on how to behave properly — when Mom and Dad are looking, anyway.
• The Story of the Good Little Boy, about a child who decides to act just like the kids in his Sunday School books only to meet with some unpleasant surprises.
• The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, the famous Twain piece about a man who will bet on anything, including which of two frogs will jump the farthest.
• The Great French Duel, in which Mark Twain acts as a second in a French showdown that runs a little differently than he expected.
• Punch, Brothers, Punch, a tale of the world’s catchiest jingle.
• How I Edited an Agricultural Paper, a fictional account of Twain’s attempt to run a farm journal despite having no agricultural experience.
• Noah’s Ark, which shows what would have happened if the great ship had to meet modern naval regulations.
• Mark Twain’s Letter to Santa Claus, which closes the show in sentimental fashion by recounting a letter St. Nick sent to Twain’s little daughter, Susie Clemens.
The quick changes from story to story can be a plus for audiences, Boyce said.
“If you get tired of something it changes,” she said. “You have something new all the time.”
Mark Sherman, a cast member, said he’s in most of them. He said the production is unique from past shows.
“They are short complete stories,” Sherman said. “And it’s all about the voice in it.”
The multitude of stories also poses some challenges, Sherman added.
“You are doing multiple parts at the same time within the same story,” he said.
Andi Schneider, another cast member, said she is filling in so that other cast members don’t have to double up on parts as much. This is her first time in community theatre.
“It’s fun,” Schneider said of the production. “I enjoy the people. They’re funny and they make you laugh. They are very dedicated.”
The challenge for Schneider is enunciation, she said.
“It’s been challenging to work with that,” she said. “Another challenge is jumping from voices. But (some of) mine are Oklahoma and Missouri (accents). I can enunciate that quite well. It’s kinda scary!”
After Thursday’s opening performance, the road show will play 7:30 p.m. Friday at Plumb Place, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls and 2 p.m. Sunday at the restaurant Styx, 402 Merchant St. The Emma Chase is preparing dinner before the Saturday show; diners should arrive about an hour and a half early. Dinner is not included in the ticket price.
Tickets are $5 at the door. For information or updates, call 341-9283.