Review: DRINKING HABITS at Batesville Community Theatre

The arts community is thriving in Batesville, as evident by the entertainment that is being offered by the Batesville Community Theatre, 1295 E. Main St., in Batesville. For our viewing pleasure, BCT presented DRINKING HABITS Thursday, Feb. 9, through Sunday, Feb. 12, which had non-stop laughter from the audience and rightfully so. You do not have to be Catholic to know that this troupe, directed by Brandt McDonald, kept the hilarity going from beginning to end.

DRINKING HABITS, written by Tom Smith, is about a very small convent who is in danger of being shut down. With only two nuns, Sister Philamena (Emily McMasters) and Sister Augusta (Amelia Bowman), Mother Superior (Georgette Sims), Father Chenille (Colyn Bowman) and groundskeeper George (Westley Gibbs), the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing Convent have to scheme and lie, in order to keep their doors open. Sisters Philamena and Augusta have been making bootleg wine for years to pay for expenses, but they have to hide it from Mother Superior, who doesn't even like the word alcohol said out loud. However, their wine has won a substantial amount of award money, and reporters Sally (Charley Merrick) and Paul (Stephen Norris) are secretly snooping around to get their scoop so they can finally be taken seriously as journalists. Also, arriving at the same time, is Sister Mary Catherine (Savannah Warren), who is nun-in-training, but keeps it a secret, because this convent only takes in regular nuns. With all of this going on, Mother Superior is fearful of the spy that is being sent over to check to see if the convent is worth keeping open. There is a lot of mistaken identities, secrets, and a few plot twists that had us laughing all through the show.

This cast really brought the comedic talent to the stage. You could tell they were having a great time. The teamwork was great amongst the group. They acted and reacted well with each other. Amelia Bowman and McMasters were a great duo trying to hide the wine. McMasters innocent character versus Bowman's plotting were a great match. Norris was convincing as a lovelorn boyfriend chasing after his ambitious girlfriend, and you couldn't help but giggle every time Gibbs did..well...anything. Warren, however, really caught my attention as Sister Mary Catherine. She was so expressive and captured her character so well, it was a joy to see her interact with everyone else. Really, though, the whole cast meshed amazingly, and it was impossible to pick favorites. They were a true ensemble that the whole audience loved.

I will say that I loved that they had a reception table full of yummy goodies for their audience. The BCT hospitality knows how to make their guest feel welcome.

Currently, their fundraising efforts are going well. "First, I want to thank our sponsors George's and Old River Package Store," Director McDonald said in the program. "Their sponsorship allowed us to have more performance night and make some nice upgrades and additions to our set and props!" I wanted to learn more about what was being done here at BCT, so McDonald was willing to answer a few questions for me.

BWW: Tell me about your fundraising efforts.

McDonald: OK, so we're working on getting a membership drive back in action. We stopped doing that for a while to do capital campaign, which is what we currently do. There are not really any benefits to the capital campaign, it's just donors. We shout them out and everything like that, but the membership drive is gonna be based on how much they donate.

BWW: Why are you fundraising?

McDonald: To finish our facility first and foremost. We're going have two classrooms- one will be like a dance classroom and where they can do acting classes, and the other one is going to be rehearsal space for either piano, violin, or whatever kind of instrument that people want to practice. We are going to allow private tutors or whatever to use the space so that they can utilize it, and then we can use it as practice space as well. Also, we're working on our kitchen. We're hoping to do dinner theaters and everything like that soon as well. However, right now the donations are going toward everyday expenses, because it's a large building. So, we're trying to keep it up, but we're also trying to make sure things are consistently happening here, even if it's not one of our shows.

BWW: Great! So, what are your goals?

McDonald: Our goal is really to have a full season of six to eight shows, and get more and more directors and actors. We also need more people that do stagecraft of any and every kind. We constantly want something going that brings new people in to make sure that the arts just don't die in this area, because that would be a very easy thing to happen.

BWW: With this much effort, talent, and support, I think the Batesville Community Theatre is going to get bigger and bigger, and I can't wait to see what's next for this group.

For more information on how you can volunteer, donate, or see the next production, visit their website at https://www.bctarkansas.com.

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