What happens when an entire cast of actors, the stagehands and even the director allow their personal lives to affect their work?

One might conclude that the result would be absolute chaos.

Anyone who had the extreme pleasure of seeing the production “Noises Off” knows that complete chaos was never so funny.

“Noises Off” by Michael Frayn is the story about the delicate lives of a producer and all those involved in the play he is producing.

Basically, it is a play about the making and producing of a play.

The story portrays the cast and crew’s professional as well as personal lives from the beginning of the play’s opening night until nearly the end of the performance season.

The story focuses on how the relationships between the characters change, and the hilarious back stage antics that result.

The story comes complete with a torrid love triangle, an older woman/younger man love affair, a comical alcoholic actor and much, much more.

“Noises Off” was performed in the Stevens Building last year. However, due to the tremendous performances, the cast and crew were asked to bring their show to the Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles, where they performed the play all summer.

Luckily for De Kalb, “Noises Off” came back to the Stevens Building this past weekend for two encore performances.

What made the play so tremendously entertaining was the way each actor created a flow, or a rhythm with actions as well as line delivery.

It appeared that timing was the absolute base of this production.

The majority of every single act required precision for almost every line and movement of each actor. Every word and stage stunt flowed perfectly into the next, and no one ever missed a beat.

The cast worked together and it was this unity that helped make the story believable.

Everyone I spoke to after the show had nothing but rave reviews. However, it hits especially close to home for anyone who has ever been involved with a theater production. The realism is distinct and those with theater backround can only shake their heads and laugh at how true many of the scenes can be.

Every actor performed to the highest degree and if there was a proverbial “wink link” in the cast it certainly wasn’t evident.

As usual, Jonathon Ellers was excellent with his natural humor and exciting stage acrobatics and stunts.

Aside from the acting, the technical aspects were also way above par.

The set was brightly colored and well crafted in addition to being decorated with careful attention to detail.

The lighting was also significant in that there were no drastic light changes to distract the viewer.

For those who saw the play “Noises Off” it is likely to be a wonderful experience they won’t soon forget.

For those not fortunate enough to see the performance, you really missed out on some excellent acting and a few hours of great comedy.