HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- Bill Lamoureux got his start onstage at the age of 60, performing in outdoor theater and Gilbert and Sullivan light opera while living in Connecticut.
In 2011, he and his wife, June, moved to Hot Springs Village. Just days after arriving, she read an article announcing auditions for "Dracula" with Hot Springs' Pocket Community Theatre. Lamoureux landed the lead in it, but then learned of the Hot Springs Village Players, and has given his time to that organization since.
He said the Players average three productions each year, and he's had his hand in each one somehow, either with set building, acting or both.
To mark a life goal off his bucket list, Lamoureux will be taking a new role in the winter Players production. He will serve as director for the Reginald Rose play, "12 Angry Men."
Made famous by the 1957 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, the story revolves around the 12 jurors in a murder trial and their deliberations on the defendant's guilt or innocence. Varied personalities come into play, and tension is felt almost immediately and throughout the story.
When Lamoureux offered to direct, he did have one insistence -- that the drama take place as a theater-in-the-round production. A raised stage set up in the Coronado Community Center will allow audience members to be situated on both sides of the platform, and the minimal set will allow for almost no view obstruction.
Lamoureux said of his role, "I've never directed before. ... I've had great directors and not so great directors, and from that experience, I'm trying to direct and treat the actors as I would like to be treated as an actor."
He feels like the best directors read the play thoroughly, have an idea of what they want it to look like, and give the actors liberty to do what they think will work.
Less desirable traits include a director asking a cast member to do things that are unnatural for a particular character, and, he added, "The worst thing a director can do is not respect his cast, not give them the freedom to create, to be creative."
With this play, the cast includes three actors who have never been onstage before. Lamoureux said, "I tell them that it's hard for an actor to grasp the concept that if it seems like the right thing to do, it probably is. ... Acting is being natural."
He does realize, though, for the real acting to come forward, early memorization of lines is key. He said, "Once you know the lines, now you can become that character," adding that it takes courage to get away from the security of a playbook.
"I'm hoping that these guys get into it so well, that after a performance, they have perspiration running down their heads, that they just live this every time."
Though offstage voices of two female cast members will be heard, everyone visible will be male. The juror cast is made up of Alan Trippel, Mickey Jordan, Jack Iafrate, Herm Dobscha, Matt Pulscher, Bill Jervis, Michael Dollar, Glen Robertson, Frank Nilson, Ken Silvers, Gary Brandt and Peter Emery, with the guard portrayed by Roger Cannell.
The director explained there will be music played to set a mood in the CCC before the play begins, and an audio set-up of the crime will precede the actors' entrance. He said, "I think it will be very entertaining. The theater-in-the-round scenario, I think, is going to be fascinating."
Lamoureux feels he'll be a better actor after this experience of directing, but regardless of his role, one thing never changes -- his enjoyment of the process.
"The thing I love about theater is the journey you take," he said. Though the cast starts out as individuals, there always comes a time when they all become one for the play.
Showtimes for "12 Angry Men" are set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27, 2 p.m. Feb. 28, and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29. General admission tickets are $12 when purchased in advance, or $14 at the door, if available.
Local on 02/12/2016