You’re invited. Come on in. It’s a small dinner party, just the right size. It smells good in here. You can’t place the aroma, but you’re certain it’s Italian. The host hands you a glass of Prosecco. Everyone is chatting. You know a few people, others are strangers. Candles are lit. A fire is crackling. You talk, you listen, you taste the focaccia. You wish you’d brought a nicer bottle of wine.
Welcome to “Dinner Time.” Let’s eat.
Peterborough’s Firelight Theatre Workshop will debut their sophomore film, “Dinner Time,” at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey, as part of the Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF) on October 1. The film, written and directed by Laura Carden, explores themes of reunion, friendship, longing, art-making, and good food.
Driven by Firelight’s spirit of collaboration, Carden guided the cast through a series of improvised dinner parties in order to build characters and develop a script. What emerged was a sensorial and engaging 40-minute film, featuring new and familiar Firelight actors: Chris Anderson, Nora Fiffer, Rosemary James, Jason Lambert, Aleia Ramsey, and Hejara Russo. Carden, an actor-director, as well as the chef and store manager of Harrisville General Store, united her theatrical and culinary sensibilities to craft “Dinner Time.” She was joined by Cinematographer Dan Kennedy, Sound Mixer Ben Rogers, Composer Noah MacNeil, Music Supervisor and Assistant Director Jazimina MacNeil, Script Supervisor Ian Aldrich, Scenic Designer Sarah Sandback, and Editor Jeremy S. Collins in the making of the film.
Firelight is currently in its sixth season with over 15 productions, including 10 written by the company. Firelight is known for its unique approach: audience members are up close to the action and get to experience performances in intimate, unexpected ways. In fact, viewers can almost taste the focaccia and feel the warmth of the fireplace in this intimate, bittersweet film. Firelight often makes site-specific work, choosing locations that fit the story’s environment. “We always ask ourselves, how can we offer the deepest experience for our audience? How can we take everyone with us on the ride of the story?” asks Co-Artistic Director Nora Fiffer.
Firelight is a 2022 Ewing Performing Arts Award Winner, has been recognized by the New Hampshire Theatre Alliance with awards for Best Director and Best Production, and was given a Best of New Hampshire Editor’s Pick from New Hampshire Magazine for Best Experimental Theatre in 2019.
To stay up to date with Firelight’s projects, visit their website and follow Firelight on Facebook and Instagram.
The team at New Hampshire Magazine and Yankee Publishing | New Hampshire Group would like to congratulate colleague Ian Aldrich, Senior Editor/Features for Yankee Magazine, on his contributions to this outstanding film.