'Stones in His Pockets' a two-man show

Lori Moye makes her directorial debut with "Stones in His Pockets," opening Friday at The Acting Company in Yuba City. The play runs Fridays-Sundays through July 1.

"Stones," written by Marie Jones, is a dramedy set in a small Irish town. The locals are cast as extras in a Hollywood film, and as the two cultures meet on the movie set, the misunderstandings ensue.

Two actors — Anthony Dost and Joe Moye — perform a total of 15 different characters in the fast-paced show.

"They have worked hard at keeping each character individual, so they all have their own quirks about them," director Lori Moye said. "The way they talk, the way they walk, the way they present themselves.

"It's a lot of fun," she said.

"Basically what it's about is a Hollywood movie crew filming in Ireland. So the play's characters include the film director, the assistant director, the third assistant director, you've got your starlet and her entourage — her security guard, her accent coach — and then all of the locals; the Irish are the extras in the film," Moye said.

"So it's about the workings of filming and the locals being excited to be involved, hob-nobbing with the movie stars and making money and what goes on with a Hollywood film crew," she said.

As a first-time director, Moye said that "Stones" has been a good play to "get her feet wet."

"Working with a small cast has been easy. What has been a challenge is having two two-week plays running and trying to rehearse at the same time. And the children's play has also been rehearsing — so we have been juggling rehearsal schedules at the theater, but everybody has been really good," she said.

"Whether you put a play on for two weeks or four — which is our norm — or six weeks — when we have a musical — it still takes just as much work and rehearsal time," Moye said.

Moye said the format of "Stones" closely resembles black-box theater. "There are very few props whatsoever that they use. They each have their hats that they use for some of the characters. One of them carries a script that he's written — a play, supposedly. And that's all of the props that are used," she said.

"All of their portrayals are just the mannerisms, accents and the way they carry themselves to portray the different characters.

"It's a very simple set. There are 15 pairs of shoes along the back wall for the 15 different characters they are representing. And other than that, it's a black-box theater production," Moye said.

Moye said "Stones" is a fun play. "It's entertaining. And it's acting at its best," she said.

"The two actors don't have a lot of other people to rely on. They don't have a lot of props and stuff to rely on. So they have to portray everything up front," Moye said.

"So join us and come watch it — come hob-nob with the movie stars and the locals in Ireland. It's a lot of fun."

CONTACT Susan Benitez at sbenitez@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4773. Find her on Facebook at /ADFeatures or on Twitter at @adfeatures.