Angelo Lascelles
Meet Our New Director
Meet Our New Director
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When Angelo Lascelles joined the cast of Laff-it-Off in 2016, he didn’t think years later he would be directing it.
Excited and a tad nervous about his new role for the show which starts in January, he said while he never considered he would be directing the cast of stellar actors, he was not opposed to doing so.
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For Angelo it’s about maintaining what Laff-it-Off is known for while bringing a fresh approach to theatre and entertainment especially now, after the world paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020.
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It is not Angelo’s first role as director though. In 2019, he directed a piece for one of his theatre students.
Over his career, he worked extensively on countless local and international film, theatre and radio productions centred around the promotion and advancement of Caribbean heritage and identity. His most recent credits include ‘Carry me down’ (2022), ‘Lick out e’ Stumps (2022) and ‘Panama Blues’ (2022) for ‘Voices’ book launch; ‘Man Up’ (2021), ‘Tales in de Forest’ (2021) for UNCTAD 15; ‘Whats Good for the Goose’ (2018) & (2019) – for CariFesta XIV, to name a few.
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What’s directing like so far?
“It’s not difficult. It’s a matter of getting myself into the role of seeing the show from beginning to end. When you’re in the chair of a director you must see how each scene will flow into the other. You also have to put yourself in the seat of an audience member and ask, ‘how will they see this show on stage?
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“The difference between Laff-it-Off and the other show I’ve done is that there is not one storyline. Yes, we have the story line scene, but we also have a lot of inserts- political content, current affairs, and other funny scenes. So, it’s about how we get those to tie together to have a complete show. It’s been a little nerve racking but every day something new is coming in my head,” said Angelo.
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The proud graduate of the Barbados Community College’s Theatre Arts programme, he has since continued to lend his time and energy to mentoring upcoming theatre practitioners to explore their fullest potential; the same approach he uses as a teacher of Theatre Arts to CSEC students many of whom go on to pursue theatre at the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies.
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Angelo additionally teaches Social Studies at CSEC, and Sociology and Law at CAPE.
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At the core of his work has been an appreciation for and a determination to tell the stories and uplift Caribbean people as we continue to shape our identity.
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With his goal set on transitioning into writing and directing, he is on his way. He has written scenes for this season, along with the members of the cast.
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Although the actor is already missing the stage, he is embracing his new role and everything that comes with it.
