On Friday April 21, ACT presented the classic film 'Office Romance' with all the audio provided by live actors in collaboration with City Cinema. The delightful ‘Office Romance’ (1977) is the Soviet Union’s heartwarming take on a classic screwball comedy. Seven actors provided all the dialogue in a new translation written by Leigh Emerson. ACT was excited to bring this classic film to audiences in PEI in a unique way by performing the film in English ! Live sound effects added even more fun! A portion of ticket sales were donated to the Ukrainian Emergency Fund of Veterinarians without Borders. Over 350$ was raised for this charity! (image copyright: MosFIlm)
This daunting task was taken on by 7 actors (Leigh Emerson, Lambert Garceau, Michelle Neville, Tim Fry, Mathilde Sinnasse, Carrie Weatherbie and Jaimie Neville with producer Marti Hopson)
‘Office Romance’ (1977) is the Soviet Union’s heartwarming take on a classic screwball comedy. Anatoly, a shy statistics clerk, is pressured into a bet that he can win the affections of Ludmila, his strict, career-driven boss. Bringing a movie like this is a new project, and the group considered several films but ultimately ‘Office Romance’ was chosen. Leigh Emerson, who voiced Ludmila, proposed this movie as a timeless, ever-relevant story of love and charming characters. “We’re excited to be bringing this classic film to audiences in PEI,” said Leigh. “By dubbing the film in English with such a talented group of actors, we’re able to introduce one of my favourite movies to a wider audience in such a unique way!”
To start the process of bringing this project to life, Leigh translated the film’s script into English, and the actors started to prepare for the performance. “It’s a tricky combination, to not only match the pacing of the Russian dialogue but also act and pour the emotions out with only our voices, but I know we are more than up for the task,” said Leigh. Another aspect she was excited about is the inclusion of live sound effects to add even more vibrancy and life to the performance. ACT hopes to have future collaboration projects like this one in the future!