When Bryce Lambert (Rotary E-Club of Canada One) heard that the Rotary Club of Westlock was planning to cancel its annual dinner theatre due to the pandemic, he approached the club with a proposal to preserve the 25-year tradition with a concept for the times.

“The dinner theatre has been a major fundraiser for the Westlock Rotary club for so many years and lots of money has gone to some really incredible projects, both locally and internationally,” he says.

Bryce, who grew up in the community, has been involved with the Westlock club’s annual fall production for the last 18 years through his company Kiwi Productions, which has provided sound and lighting for the plays. The company also was a sponsor and provided technical support for the Vision 2020 Virtual District 5370 Conference in September.

“We thought we could try something no one had tried before,” Bryce says. “Would the club be interested? Would the members be willing to give it a shot?”

The Rotarians said, “Sure, what’s your idea?”

“We said, ‘Why don’t we try doing a movie? It would be a pay-for-view. People would buy tickets online to get access to a viewing portal to watch this movie and the money would go to the Rotary Club of Westlock.’ ”

The club was open to the idea and work began to turn the concept into a reality. The result is Koot’s Quarantine, a 50-minute pay-for-view movie that will run for nine evenings between October 23 and November 7.

Tickets are $20 each and on sale on the dinner theatre’s website. Each ticket will give purchasers 24-hour access to watch the show.

Watch-parties are being encouraged on the understanding that everyone in the group will have a ticket.

“If you have four people in the room watching it, we hope you have bought four tickets,” Bryce says. 

The script was written by Bryce’s wife, Praneeta, and features characters created for earlier productions by Bunnie Arth, who with husband, Dick, originated the dinner theatre as a fundraiser for the Westlock Rotary club.

The romantic comedy follows ‘Ole Koot and Beatrice, whose journey to New Zealand to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary is interrupted during a refuelling stopover in Fiji. The airport authorities quarantine them for two weeks in a hotel, with no escape.

“They are stuck together in close quarters and they rediscover little quirks about one another that test their relationship,” Bryce says. “In the end, they realize that each person’s strengths is the other person’s weaknesses, and vice versa. They re-fall in love.”

Most of the movie was shot in the Lamberts’ home and aboard a private jet.

“The Edmonton International Airport lent us a private  jet for us to do some of the shooting, which built more authenticity for the scenes” Bryce says. “They were a big supporters. I even got to do a cameo as a pilot.”

Bryce predicts that if the club achieves its target from ticket sales, the virtual dinner theatre will provide income similar to the traditional productions in previous years, with less effort.

“It will have been literally half the effort to get the project done for about an eighth of the cost, with more return,” he says. “They don’t have to worry about the venue, they don’t have to worry about food, they don’t have to worry about the staff and things like that. All the money goes to them.”

Sponsorships from local businesses, which are listed on the website, have covered all the production costs. “That means that every single dollar from the purchase of tickets goes towards projects that the Westlock Rotary club is looking to support,” Bryce says.