Allie Platt will direct the Orange Theatre Company's Wedding Singer production

She has been involved in countless productions during her near two-decade long stint at the OTC, but what may come as a surprise is that Ms Platt has yet to direct a play...up until now.

Ms Platt took the reigns for this year's production of The Wedding Singer, which will open to audiences this Friday night.

"It's definitely been different being on the other side of things," she said.

"I've been really lucky in that, being with OTC for so long, I've worked with lots of different directors and that's really helped me in learning what to do and what not to do."

Like many, the OTC was struck hard during the height of the COVID pandemic, with show after show having to be cancelled. This even included a production of Mamma Mia! which Ms Platt was meant to star in.

"It's been a really tough couple of years for people and a lot of that is still continuing," she said.

"It's really nice to be able to do something that's an escape from reality for a little bit where you can have a creative outlet, forget about your everyday issues and everything that stresses you out and enjoy some good music, good dancing with some good people. It's really nice to bring that to people who are on the stage and off the stage."

That escape has also come in way of social media.

The OTC Facebook page has posted nearly a dozen videos of behind-the-scenes work, from bloopers, to character introductions.

"It's nice to show that we are real people and we can have a good time off the stage as well," Ms Platt said of the videos.

"It's nice for audiences to see that little snippet of what rehearsals are like outside the stage. It's a fun way to showcase our cast and all their different personalities."

So how have rehearsals been anyway? Well according to the first time director, they have gone as good as she could have hoped for.

"It's been really nice to just have this experience that's been smooth and easy," she said.

"The cast have been incredible. They work so hard every time they turn up to rehearsals. It's been a great couple of months."

So why would she encourage people to turn up to the show at the Orange Civic Centre?

"I think if you ask people what their favourite decade is, a lot of them would say the '80s. It was a time of really big, fun energy," she said.

"There's lots of colours and sounds from our band. I think it's a really heart-warming show that is this beautiful love story that's got with all these big, high energy numbers. It's a musical that appeals to everybody."

The Wedding Singer will run on back-to-back weekends with eight shows in total. The night performances will start from 8pm on Friday and Saturday, while the matinees will begin at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, with the first show starting on October 14.