Musicians have a special relationship with the radio play. It runs deeper, in some ways, than actors' connection to this medium. Radio plays are all about voice projections, sound effects, microphones, using only the sense of hearing to convey complex and artful messages.
These are the tools of William Kuklis's trade. As a piano player, guitarist, singer and recording studio producer, he invests exhaustive study to hone these tools in his hands. He is one of the city's most acclaimed resident musicians, building his songs at his in-house commercial recording facility called Vinyl Deck Studios.
To act in a play about a radio play is a role close to his skin - closer, even, than being in say, a musical. This one pushes all the buttons, because it is about pushing those buttons.
"I play six different characters, all these different voices, it's very confusing," said Kuklis about his turn on the live theatre stage. He is one of the stars of the current Theatre NorthWest production It's A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play. "I actually find myself talking to the kids in the character voices when we're just hanging out offstage."
The play is a rendition of the classic Christmas tale It's A Wonderful Life made so ubiquitous by the black-and-white movie starring Jimmy Stewart. The added twist is, the play is also about the actors who are doing this performance in a vintage radio studio set in the 1930s. It's a play within a play.
"Virtually all of us in the cast have those multiple characters and Jessie (Fraser, the on-stage musician and sound effects artist) is going crazy behind us on the foley table. We have to help her out with some of that, too, so we are all really busy, and it really is a lot about sound. Sound is the underlying theme to this. Who doesn't love radio and radio dramas? Kids today have no idea how cool those radio plays were."
Speaking of children, Kuklis is a family man and has had to be absent for large chunks of time during the lead-up to this production. The rehearsal process is detailed and exhaustive, and the performance process is loaded in pressure. He does get to go home and sleep in his own bed each night, though, as a rare local performer. Theatre NorthWest typically uses the length and breadth of Canada to fill their cast from the ranks of professionals.
Although he is not primarily an actor these days, he is one of this city's most experienced stage performers in the acting field nonetheless.
"I did tonnes of theatre down in Vancouver when I lived there," he said. "And then I worked in Barkerville for several years. For the past 10 years or so, I've been focused on music, but theatre actually used to dominate my personal pursuits and came before the music. I love it. Live drama is where I started. I miss it dearly. This opportunity is rare, so when it came up I jumped at it. It's a lot of work but it is so worth it."
The other local actors in the show include Pierre Ducharme, Claire Ramsay, Aleisha Ramsay, Jakob Hellyer and Nash Walker.
It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play is on now at Theatre NorthWest until Dec. 13. Tickets are available at online at theatrenorthwest.com or in person at Books & Company.
