A group of girls decide they want to be celebrities, so they choose the easiest path to that goal — they break up with their boyfriends and start dating celebrities.
Not to be outdone, the boys start up their own fake boy band, complete with a hit single. The girls want to win them back but what happens when they find out the boys' band is a ruse?
That's the general plot to Totally Over You, the new play being put on by Revelstoke's youth theatre troupe Flying Arrow Productions.
"It's about how everyone wants to be a celebrity," said Jade-Lyn Harder, who plays Sinita, one of the celebrity-obsessed girls, and is also doing the hair for the play. "These girls show how obsessed they are with wanting to be famous and wanting everyone to love them. The guys show how ridiculous the girls are."
Flying Arrow Productions is the company of Anita Hallewas, a veteran theatre director, who started the group as a way of engaging youth with all aspects of theatre production.
Hallewas serves as artistic director, acting as mentor and teacher to the youth. Sarah Harper is the technical director, teaching youth skills like lighting and sound design. Bex Reid-Parkin is the production manager.
The bulk of the work is done by the kids.
"The whole premise of the project is the youth are mentored in production skills," said Hallewas.
I caught part of a rough rehearsal where part of the 23-member cast and crew was missing because they were off on a band trip.
Some just act, others are involved in the production side, while a few do double-duty. Hailey Christie-Hoyle is the principal director and she is being helped out by Hanna Busch and Riley Olson. Alice Dunkerson is in charge of production design — everything from the costumes to the posters. Other youth are in charge of sound and lighting.
"It's a lot of fun doing out of school plays because you have lots of responsibility and it feels more real," said Roman Beruschi, who plays Dan, one of the members of the boy band.
The play doesn't require a set, but it does feature lots of technical sound and lighting work. One scene, where the boys play their hit song (called Totally Over You), requires fancy lighting, lots of sound cues and a video playing behind them. "We're having laser and smoke machines, so that's exciting for the technical team," said Hallewas.
This is the second production being put on by Flying Arrow. Their last one, Heritage, was a big hit in the fall and about half the youth taking part in Totally Over You were involved in Heritage.
"What I really enjoyed seeing is the kids who were in Heritage are bringing a level of professionalism we're striving for," said Hallewas. "Our aim is to run a professional-quality show, but also teach them how a professional show runs."
Totally Over You will be performed at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre from May 28–30 at 7 p.m., and May 31 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and children and $10 for adults.