Forget smooth scene changes or perfectly timed cues; Candlewick’s Manitou Regional Sr. High Drama Troupe is gearing up to deliver a show where everything intentionally goes wrong. Their latest production, The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Murder Mystery, is a tongue-twisting title for an equally tangled evening of laughs, line flubs, and collapsing sets. “It’s a show within a show,” explained actor Kai Hildebrand, who juggles three roles, Mrs. Reese, Regine, and Patricia. “Everything in the play keeps going wrong. We have cues missed, lines forgotten, sets falling apart, and somehow the show still has to go on.” Chaos is part of the plan For Cash Guilford, who plays Inspector O’Reilly and Gordon, the comedy comes naturally, especially when things are designed to fall apart. “The laughing just comes on its own,” he said. “We don’t even have to pretend. The characters are trying to stay serious while everything around them is collapsing.” Meanwhile, Zoey Funk, who plays Rose Bishop, says timing is everything, or rather, mistiming. “We need everything to not work, but work in a sense,” she said, laughing. “It can’t work in the play, but it has to work for us to be able to get on and off stage.” The art of acting badly The actors admit that it’s harder than it looks to perform badly on purpose. “It’s fun to play an actor who’s supposed to be a bad actor,” said Hildebrand. “It’s a challenge to be worse than you are!” Her character, Regine, is introduced with a bad French accent, which is particularly funny since two of the cast members are actually fluent in French. “My pronunciation is so bad they can’t even look at me sometimes,” Hildebrand said. Related stories: 'Time-bending,' 'prairie-rooted': Ambitious production with network of local talent to debut Grade 11 & 12 students get a taste of "what's next?" at the 2025 W.C Miller Post-Secondary Day/Local Career Showcase Expect quick changes, collapsing furniture, and audience clues Costumes are simple this year, partly because each actor plays multiple roles and needs to change outfits in seconds. Costume designer Tanya has made sure every character has a distinct look without slowing down the chaos. And for anyone hoping to sit quietly in the back row, beware, audience participation is part of the fun. “My character, Mrs. Reese, talks to the audience a lot,” said Hildebrand. “There’s even a murder mystery quiz in the middle of the show.” From three-legged wheelchairs to upside-down fireplaces Every actor has a favourite disaster moment. Funk’s includes a malfunctioning wheelchair with three legs, which makes moving across the stage a comedy routine in itself. “The brakes are on, you idiot!” She shouts at her friend in the scene, in what she calls her best (or worst) accent. For Guilford, it’s an upside-down fireplace. “It falls down and they put it back up, but it’s upside down, so the fire’s in the air. I still have to warm my hands over it like nothing’s wrong,” he said. Performance details The Candlewick Players will perform The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Murder Mystery this Friday, October 24 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, October 25 at 2:30 p.m. at the Manitou Opera House. Tickets are available now through the Candlewick website. As Hildebrand summed it up, “It’s ridiculous, unpredictable and a lot of fun. You’ll laugh at things that are supposed to go wrong, and some that maybe aren’t.”