Amateur Stage September 2013

amateurstage | overture

>overture

news | events | products | competitions editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk Record-breaking Miss Saigon The forthcoming revival of musical Miss Saigon has claimed a new theatrical record with the largest single day’s sales for a West End production.

Tickets went on sale at 10am on Monday 9th September, and by the afternoon the show returning to London in May next year after an absence of more than a decade - had already passed £4.4 million at the box office. The previous record was set in March when The Book Of Mormon took £2.1 million in a day.

Producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh said: “I’m truly flabbergasted with the box office take today.

“I knew people loved Miss Saigon and had taken it to their hearts but this is beyond my wildest dreams. The atmosphere down at the theatre today is full of excitement and I can’t wait to bring my new production back to the West End.” The show will begin its run at the Prince Edward Theatre on May 3 - 25 years after the production first opened in the West End - and tickets are being sold up to October 25 next year.

For information and tickets visit www.miss-saigon.com/

Goodall Honorary Degree Leading British composer Howard Goodall CBE was recently awarded an honorary degree from the University of East Anglia at Mountview’s graduation ceremony held at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden. The award is made in recognition of his outstanding contribution to musical theatre and the music industry. He receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters.

Howard is an EMMY, BRIT and BAFTA awardwinning composer of choral music, stage musicals, film and TV scores and a distinguished broadcaster. Mountview’s graduating musical theatre students performed two of his musicals, The Hired Man and Girlfriends earlier in the year.

Sue Robertson, Principal of Mountview, said “honorary degrees are awarded to individuals who have made a remarkable contribution to the arts and society. Howard Goodall’s work is both artistically significant and hugely popular, ranging from music to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible to the theme tune to Blackadder. He is a distinguished and important artist whose work has inspired our students. This honour could not be more richly deserved.”

Howard Goodall CBE said “I have been hugely impressed by the quality of Mountview’s students and wish them all luck as they begin their careers in what can be a hugely rewarding career. I am deeply honoured to be awarded this Honorary Degree.”

Previous recipients of Honorary Degrees include Elaine Paige OBE, John Caird, Thelma Holt and Dame Judi Dench.

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Voting has started to find the UKs most welcoming theatre Over 225 arts venues are asking the public to vote for them in the inaugural My Theatre Matters!

Most Welcoming Theatre Award in association with Classic FM, which will be announced at the annual UK Theatre Awards ceremony in London’s historic Guildhall on Sunday 20 October 2013.

Online voting for this new public Award is now open via the Classic FM website - www.classicfm. com/theatre - and closes at the end of September. To ensure a fair and competitive process, the public voting system will be weighted by theatre capacity with the winner decided by number of public votes divided by number of venue seats. Venues taking part range from those with less than 100 seats including London’s Gate and Half Moon Theatres and The Boo in Rossendale, to Edinburgh’s Playhouse with over 3,000.

Organised by the Theatrical Management Association (TMA), the UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to honour creative excellence and the outstanding achievement seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

overture | amateurstage

“Acting is all about putting yourself in other people’s shoes and seeing how far you can come to truly understand them.”

Christian Bale

Merrily to hit the big screen

Torquay group facing ruin

Maria Friedman’s production of Merrily We Roll Along is to be broadcast in cinemas around the UK under a partnership between Cinema Live and Digital Theatre.

TOPS Musical Productions based in Torquay, faces ‘financial ruin’ after seeing poor ticket sales to their £62,000 production of The Producers.

The production, originally staged at the Menier Chocolate Factory and later at the Harold Pinter Theatre, is the first to be distributed under the joint organisations’ West End Theatre Series initiative, which plans to bring commercial theatre productions to cinemas in high definition.

Merrily We Roll Along will be shown in UK cinemas from October 24, with other screenings following in countries around the world, including Canada, the USA and Australia.

“At £62,000 this will be the Society’s most expensive production to date” said Chairman Jeane Frost. “We thought audiences would be keen to see the local premiere of this hilarious and colourful show.”

“We have assembled an extremely talented cast and production team. Rehearsals have been going exceptionally well, but although we have the cash reserves to ensure that all our bills will be paid, unless ticket sales improve dramatically we will not be able to carry on next year.”

The society was founded in 1897 as Torquay Operatic Society and over the years has produced top quality shows. Its most recent major successes include Oliver and Disney’s Beauty & the Beast.

TOPS has provided opportunities for members of the local community to experience the joy of performing in Torbay’s premier professional theatre whilst forming life-long friendships. Many members have gone on to forge careers in professional theatre – including Stephanie Clift who is currently

Rush is on for Drowsy Chaperone Rumors have been swirling for years that Tony and Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush could take on the role of Man in Chair in a movie adaptation of The Drowsy Chaperone. The Canadian Press confirmed that the star will not only be starring in the film, but he’ll also serve as executive producer.

Don McKellar, who co-wrote the musical’s book with the show’s original star Bob Martin) will adapt Drowsy for the big screen. No additional casting or filming dates have been announced.

Rush played Man in Chair in an Australian production of The Drowsy Chaperone at the Melbourne Theatre Company in 2010. He made his Broadway debut in Exit the King in 2009 and won a Tony Award for his performance. Rush won an Oscar for Shine, and garnered additional nominations for The King’s Speech, Quills and Shakespeare in Love. His film credits include The Eye of the Storm, The Warrior’s Way, The Green Lantern, Munich, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Frida, Finding Nemo and the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Featuring a Tony-winning score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, the show within a show tells the story of an agoraphobic Broadway fanatic who listens to the cast album for the 1928 musical

appearing in Mamma Mia in the West End, Lauren Cuthbertson a current principal of The Royal Ballet and Glyn Kerslake who has had many leading West End roles and is to be appearing at the Princess Theatre next month in Three Phantoms.

Mrs Frost said “We are positive that the community of South Devon will show their support of our brave choice of show and help it to become a tremendous success thus ensuring that TOPS can continue to present top quality amateur shows for years to come.”

‘The Producers’ runs at the Princess Theatre, Torquay, from 24th to 28th September nightly at 7.30pm with a matinee at 2.30 on Saturday.

comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. As the recording plays, the characters magically appear in his apartment. The Drowsy Chaperone opened at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre on May 1, 2006, and ran for 674 performances. The production garnered 13 Tony nominations and won four awards, including a Best Featured Actress in a Musical win for Beth Leavel. The Broadway cast also included Sutton Foster, Danny Burstein and Jennifer Smith.

Help us to help you Amateur Stage would like to take the pulse of the amateur theatre community in a detailed survey.

The survey asks about you and your group and seeks to ascertain how Amateur Stage could best help groups in the future.

You can take the survey anonymously or give your details and be in the draw for theatre tokens or iTunes vouchers.

The online survey takes between 5-10 minutes and we’d ask you to share the survey with all your friends in amateur theatre, the more voices we get responding the more comprehensive the answers will be.

Take the survey at www.asmagazine.co.uk

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amateurstage | feature

> future is bright for york light With a history dating back 60 years, York Light Opera Group are still proving a great hit with local audiences and are even branching out with a new youth section - www.yorklight.com York Light Opera Society was formed in 1953 to perform the challenging new musicals of the time.

From Operetta, such as The Merry Widow, through to the post war American musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, notably Oklahoma! and South Pacific, to more recent releases, Beauty and the Beast, The Witches of Eastwick and Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 2003 we became York Light Opera Company Limited for financial reasons, although we remain an amateur group. Throughout our history we have built an excellent reputation for producing shows to

a professional standard; and the Company takes great pride in continuing its tradition of bringing brand new musicals to York as well as breathing new life into old favourites.

Our next major production, March 2014 with be Hot Mikado, set in the 1940s and with the all time favourite score transformed to Jazz, swing, rock and gospel. It promises to be a challenge, and yet great fun for the company to perform.

We are excited to have been granted the rights to perform another new release in July 2014.

Avenue Q will be a completely different type of show to anything we have previously performed and we are all looking forward to it immensely.

Both Hot Mikado and Avenue Q will be at York Theatre Royal and will be directed by Martyn Knight.

We normally perform two shows a year, the winter show which we are fortunate to perform at York’s premier venue The Theatre Royal, and the summer production at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.

For each show we engage a professional producer/choreographer and musical director.

The Company has an active social calendar and holds an Annual Dinner, Christmas Social and theatre trips throughout the year.

York Light Youth is our new venture for the Company and is aimed primarily at young people between the ages of 12 and 18.

This new branch of the York Light Opera Company will be spearheaded by John Hall and Mike Thompson taking on the roles of Director and Musical Director respectively. We are delighted to announce that the inaugural production of York Light Youth will be Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, taking place at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre from 23 to 26 October 2013.

Is your society proving a success? editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk

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amateurstage | feature

>it’s murder at dress rehearsal

Paul Mathews finds inspiration for his new play in the most unlikely of places.

A Hertfordshire playwright has been inspired by his experiences on the amateur stage to write a new One Act murder mystery centred round an amdram group, where the dress rehearsal turns out to be even more murderous than usual.

With Clinton having rubbed the director, co-stars, and even the prompt, up the wrong way, the finger of suspicion falls on everyone – though solving the crime ends up taking second place to making sure that, in age-old style, “the show must go on”.

Playwright Paul, 41, from Watford (pictured above, with gun, in ‘The Thief’), was an active member of his local amateur dramatics group for several years, before he decided to concentrate on writing, rather than performing.

Recounting his dress rehearsal experiences, Paul said: “I acted in several amateur productions, and dress rehearsals were generally fraught for director, backstage crew and actors alike. Fluffed lines, missed cues and forgotten props were par for the course. And while we never actually had anyone bumped off at our rehearsals, at the end, the director probably felt in the mood to throttle one or two of us!”

“The funny thing is, however badly the dress rehearsal went, the actors and crew usually pulled things round for the big night. I’ve used that theme in ‘Murder at Dress Rehearsal’, where the group aren’t perturbed by the leading man meeting his maker just days before the play festival.”

Paul fits writing plays around his day job as a PR professional, and has been writing both One Act and full-length comedy plays for the last seven

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As an amateur performer you may well have been in that delicate position of taking on a role that requires a degree of ‘intimacy’ with a fellow cast member. For amateurs (and professionals) alike this raises a series of delicate questions. Below are examples of how fellow actors approached the situation.

“Last year, I was offered an amazing role that involved some sexual carrying-on. I discussed it with my wife. Instead of taking a stand, I asked her what she thought.

Once we talked it over, she said, “You have to do it. It’s too good a part. But I don’t want to visit you at rehearsals during this one.” That was our particular compromise, and I think it was more than reasonable.”

Paul Mathews’ new play, ‘Murder at Dress Rehearsal’, sees the Piffling Players preparing to perform 1940s wartime London story ‘Ich Liebe Dich’ at the County Play Festival – an inadvertently comic tale of love, spies and bad ballroom dancing.

Already desperately short of male actors, the Players’ hopes of festival glory are seemingly dashed when leading man and local lothario, Clinton Starr, is dramatically bumped off during the final run-through, leaving a murder to solve for the village’s theatrically-inclined Inspector, and a replacement actor for the indomitable director to find.

no sex please...

years. He says his experience of amdram has helped hone his writing skills, for the benefit of both audiences and actors: “Having been on the amateur stage myself, I know what the typical amdram audience enjoys. I also know the kinds of roles amateur actors love to take on – ones with strong characters, good dialogue and lots of laughs. In this case, with a play-withina-play, some actors actually get to play two parts, which offers double the fun.”

“While all the characters are fictional, the people, problems and dynamics within the amdram group in the play are very much based on reality. I hope that, by bringing my experience of amateur theatre to the play, it will appeal to amdram groups looking for a great One Act play.”

This is Paul’s third One Act murder mystery. His first play, ‘Murder at Peculiar Manor’, is a comic take on the traditional stately home murder mystery, and has been performed around the UK. His second script, ‘The Sleuth Slayer’, features caricatures of the world’s most famous detectives, as they are invited to dinner to solve a murder that, bizarrely, happens after their arrival.

Review copies, play scripts and performing licences for all Paul’s plays can all be purchased from publisher Lazy Bee Scripts for a small fee.

For more information, visit Paul’s website at www.watfordwriter.com You can also follow him on Twitter @Watford_Writer

If you have a new play in production, we want to hear from you: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk

“I was directing a production of the musical ‘Company’ a while back. In it, the character of Bobby is in bed under the covers with April, a quirkily flight attendant. At one of the rehearsals, Bobby asks to speak with me alone. The actor was newly married and he told me that his wife was uncomfortable with him doing the comedy sex scene and could I block it with them not in the bed. I must have stared at him with a psychotic look on my face for the longest time until I finally said in a raised voice, “Are you kidding me?” He stood up. I stood up and we walked back into the room to resume rehearsing. I don’t know if he said anything to his wife but they wound up doing the scene in the bed and under the covers. His wife came up to me after a performance and said she loved the show!”

“Perhaps you should think twice about dating an actor/actress if you can’t deal with them “playing someone else” on stage.

This is a same question an alcoholic should ask before dating a bartender.”

“I’m in a very committed relationship of five years and have a very jealous partner who forbids me taking roles that include kissing and sexual scenes.”

“If you love someone, and he or she loves you, and you’re good for each other, doesn’t that count for something? No role, as far as I’m concerned, is worth trashing a loving relationship.”

lighting feature | amateurstage

>lighting states Robin Lambert continues his series on Lighting Design with an insight into lighting on a tight budget and how much fun it can be if you let your creative juices flow.

If you are the director or producer reading this, stop now. Rip the pages out (or copy them) and hand then to the bloke (it’s usually a bloke) who does your lighting. This is a luvvy-free zone, reserved for nerds and geeks. So, arty-fart directors, move along now, there’s nothing for you to see here.

This series is intended for the smaller “village hall” groups with little or no budget and even less technical knowledge. So, wherever possible, I won’t be talking about “movers”, expensive units or equipment which has to be hired in. I’ll also talk a lot about basics because not all amdram Lighting Directors have been taught the fundimentals, most learning “on the job”. This series is intended to be about making do on a budget, with little money but lots of enthusiasm. The true soul of Amateur Dramatics.

I love amdram. Really. My day job may be dealing with a bunch of egos and tantrums locked together in a studio but amdram is simply good for the soul.

Amateur theatre does seem to attract nice, friendly people. Granted there are a few nutters and divas as well but it all adds to the eclectic mix.

This week I’m lighting a box set for a nearby market town production using their gear which I suspect Mr. Shakespeare bought secondhand for the Globe before selling it on when it got too old fashioned. It does what it’s supposed to and tungsten looks wonderful on flesh tones compared to leds. It has been a refreshing (and challenging) experience to see what can be achieved with a two figure lighting budget. This is a case where the village hall really can compete with the local rep.

There is a warmth to tungsten which simply can’t be replicated... yet. And, of course used gear is cheap to buy at the moment.

Before I go into technical details I’d like to point out a few basics which you should keep in mind.

Firstly, house train your director. Get him or her to One of the most useful tools a Lighting Director can have is a “Lee Swatch” which is a small booklet filled with samples of the various gels available from Lee filters.

The best bit is that they’re free! Simply go to www.leefilters.com, click on “contact support” and then on “Where can I get a swatch” Follow the online instructions... Simples.

tell you what mood they want and the impression they want the audience to get but try not to let them dictate where lights should be. That’s your job. It’s up to you how you do this but I find subtlety, tact and a good hard slap works a treat.

Secondly, use terms like “luminaire” instead of “light” and never, ever call a bulb a bulb. It is a lamp. The adage is “bulbs grow, lamps glow”. If you can’t blind ‘em with brilliance, baffle ‘em with bull.

Also, don’t show them exactly how you do an effect. Like a magician, when you produce a shaft of sunlight from nowhere they will be impressed until they know that it’s just a luminaire and a gobo.

Finally, learn to love lighting. If you just turn up at the tech, hang some lights and try to do as little as possible, you’re missing out on the fun. Honestly.

Last month we had a look at filter gels and how they can add that extra dimension to the most basic lighting. It’s not just a case of whacking a sheet in front of the lens and hoping for the best.

Oh no. This is where you can really let your artistic side go wild. It’s not just actors who can go all weepy and gooey, get a really well lit set and even if you’re the most hardened lighting director, you’ll be wiping a tear from the corner of your eye mumbling “I did that, it’s beautiful.” sniff, sniff.

Staying on the general theme it pays to learn the “language” of light. We talk about the yellow and red end of the spectrum being warm light and the blues and greens being cold. This is something our brains have evolved to accept. The sun, fire and hot things tend to be red or yellow. Snow, water, and ice tend to be blue. Warm sunlight is yellow, cold moonlight is blue. It doesn’t matter whether this is scientifically true, the fact is that a warm (but subtle) rose or light amber wash on the stage will lighten the mood of the scene, a faint blue wash will dampen the mood.

As in all things lighting, there are no hard and fast rules about this but be aware of it. A comedy or farce would normally be mainly lit with warm colours, a drama with neutrals and a horror with blues and greens but...

The most common mistake is to make everything warm or cold, then wonder why it doesn’t seem to be working. The answer is simple. The brain compensates. It’s why you don’t notice that your eco-bulbs in your home have a strong green spike.

As part of your learning, look at lighting in movies and television dramas. Look at how the cinematographer has created an atmosphere with light. Use the pause button (until the other half starts shouting and swearing at you) to work out where the light is coming from. It’s not the same as stage lighting but will give you an appreciation of how lighting can be used creatively.

Your brain knows what colour the walls, the carpet and the kids should be and compensates. This happens on stage too and this is why you should have a “reference” to stop the brain doing a sort of internal white balance.

Be warned though. For short lighting states of a few seconds, the brain doesn’t adjust but, after a while it starts to “correct” the colour balance and this is where it’s essential to have some sort of clue that there is a deliberate lighting colour washing the set. Some people like to keep the key light as near to neutral as possible just using coloured backlights and fill lights to create atmosphere.

Others like to have a white fill light. Where the whole scene is a strong colour a few “white” back lights will provide enough of a visual clue to stop the brain ignoring the mass of colour in front of it.

When I talk about a “white” light I mean a neutral tungsten without any filters faded up to over 80%.

We’ll be looking more closely at key, fill, hair and back lights later in the series.

I mentioned last month that Lee gels can be bought in sheets for about a fiver. It really is worth starting a collection of various colours. Try and get a few new colours for each show. You can cut between ten and sixteen individual gels from each sheet depending on your luminaires. This is the fun bit. Try out the different colours. Involve the cast in a “pre-tech” and show them how the colours affect the scene. A really good “trick” is to light a cast member with one luminaire with a sheet of Lee 202 half-blue and then change to a sheet of 506 Marlene and watch how the skin tones shift from “nearly dead” to “vibrant and alive”. Once the cast understand that you spend time in the technical rehearsal “tweaking” to make them look good, you’ll find that they’ll have a bit more patience with you.

Next month we have a look at the exciting world of gobos. Try to contain your excitement. Oh you can hardly wait can you?

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amateurstage | feature

>amateur theatre give it a chance Alison Norton who writes for the MNA Media Group - Britain’s largest independent regional news company, recently wrote a superb article in support of amateur theatre.

Who hasn’t poked fun at the local amateur theatre group, with their endless Rodgers and Hammerstein obsession, their over enthusiastic, ridiculous dance routines and the leading lady who is at least twenty years older than the character she is portraying?

Perhaps it was one of those “you had to be there” moments, but everyone was laughing so much it almost stopped the show! The wonderful lady performing as Bianca, carried on singing as if nothing had happened - a trooper indeed! Always leave them laughing they say!

Who hasn’t laughed to themselves as friends and family transform into unlikely cowboys with gingham clad gals on their arms, or would be knights in home-made suits of armour with bendy swords?

Well that is how amateur theatre used to be, but “times they are a changing” and believe me, the standard we now see from amateur groups up and down the country is exceptional.

It must be amateur theatre!

I was reminded of a hilarious incident the other day whilst reminiscing with a good friend of mine, which occurred during a production of “Kiss Me Kate” back in 1991.

During the number, “I’m a Maid Who Would Marry” sung by Bianca and her three suitors, the gentlemen in question were wearing wigs. Now wigs and amateur performers are not always the best combination, as some of you may have experienced. Not only did the wigs fly off and ended up looking like road kill on the stage, but one of the suitors trod on one, slipped at least ten feet and narrowly missed the orchestra pit!

With the introduction of performing arts based courses in schools and colleges, coupled with the growing amount of dancing schools and children’s theatre groups, more and more wannabe superstars are striving to be the best, be different, be West End Wendy’s and lap up the applause.

And nine times out of ten, they start off in amateur theatre groups.

And is that such a bad thing? I don’t think so.

Amateur theatre is such a wonderful hobby. Not only does it provide you with the opportunity to improve your performance skills, but it offers you a family atmosphere, will improve your confidence, help you to make friends, give you impeccable deportment, assist with public speaking and generally offer you an interest for life which is

addictive and time consuming, but at the same time so rewarding that very few once bitten by the bug crave the antidote.

As far as amateur theatre in the community is concerned, it brings together groups of people from all walks of life, keeps families close and offers lovely social events and opportunities to work as a close-knit team to create something special.

And that’s not all, to quote a tune from Chicago, “Nowadays”, when money is not so easy to come by and theatre goers have to tighten their purse strings until this awful recession eases, amateur theatre offers excellent value for money.

What about those who simply have never been to the theatre? Amateur theatre prices are just the ticket (pardon the pun) to introduce them into our world. Ok, so we can’t perform the West End smashes yet, but our time will come and when it does, look out! It will be hard to tell the difference between amateur performances and professional shows because we will be so amazing.

Amateurs are also branching out and performing some of the lesser known shows too, which offers variety rather than the endless round of plays and musicals we know and love (detect a note of sarcasm?)

Last year I saw the musical, Parade, performed by a group called Impulse Productions, which is without a doubt the best amateur show I have ever seen or reviewed. It was performed in a tiny theatre by a group of youngsters, the oldest of whom was probably only 21 and not only were their performances exceptional, but they had also produced, directed, choreographed and dressed the whole piece themselves. That performance will stay with me forever and I just wish you could have all seen it.

So good things often come in small packages they say and amateur theatre is just that. No longer are we a bunch of misfits in the church hall, but exceptionally talented groups of performers who long to bring pleasure to others.

So go on guys, give amateur theatre a chance, you won’t regret it!

The cast of Worle ODS production of The Sound of Music

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feature | amateurstage

> loserville

on general release

Following a relatively fallow period of ‘new releases’ to the adult amateur musical theatre groups, Josef Weinberger recently announced the release of ‘Loserville’ - Julian Cound explores its history and potential as a crowd pleaser.

“It’s 1971. Michael Dork may be a computer geek but he’s invented something that could change the world. He’s also discovered girls: a prospect (almost) as exciting as his love of binary.”

So heralds the arrival of a new musical to the adult amateur theatre circle. It’s new, it’s colourful, it’s fast and it’s written by James Bourne and Elliot Davis. Names you may not be familiar with but James was one of the founder members of ‘Busted’ and has written songs for the likes of McFly, Pixie Lott and the Backstreet Boys (so I guess you get the idea of the style of music

included in Loserville). Elliot co-wrote the book of Soho Cinders with Anthony Drew (music by George Stiles) as well as working as arranger on the likes of Pippin, Betty Blue Eyes and the 2011 Union Theatre production of Fings Ain’t Wot They Used t’Be. Loserville originally played at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in the summer of 2012, transferring to the Garrick Theatre in October running until January 2013. Think Big Bang Theory meets High School Musical and add a touch of Grease would probably be the best way to describe the show.

Set in 1971, the ‘nerds, can’t stop quoting Star Trek, class brain-box Holly has just discovered ‘The Female Eunuch’ and spectacle-wearing Aaron is on the verge of creating something that will change the world forever - email!

It’s farcical stuff but fun at the same time - the way High School Musical is unashamedly cheesey and so impossibly lovable. The fast paced story-line is as saccharine and as predictable as its pop-punk soundtrack - the nerds claim victory over the cool kids, learn how to talk to girls and acknowledge the importance of friendship - but it does remain amusing throughout.

With a fast, pop-based score set in a high school and a fast paced story, Loserville should be an attractive proposition to groups with a young, vibrant membership or for groups who want to attract young blood into their ranks. Audiences crying out to see something ‘new’ will appreciate a diversion from yet another rendition of ‘Oliver!’ or ‘South Pacific’.

All to often, however, audiences who cry out for ‘new’ don’t always come to see ‘new’ because they “don’t know any times in it” - the frustrating catch 22 so many amateur groups are faced with, but wasn’t Oklahoma! once ‘new’?

The West End run of Loserville had fantastic marketing at the time, it was everywhere. In today’s climate any show has to be pushed and pushed to ensure break-even figures are reached, add the dimension of a ‘new’ show and your marketing team will be working overtime.... but Loserville has all the right ingredients and is a marketing person’s dream come true.

Loserville is available through Josef Weinberger Ltd www.josef-weinberger.com Images ©Tristram Kenton

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amateurstage | feature

> campaign for felixstowe

Felixstowe blogger Chris Gosling is starting a new campaign to create a community theatre for Felixstowe, he told Amateur Stage all about it.

“After losing the Spa Pavilion as a theatre venue, and since the fire at Trimley Memorial Hall, Felixstowe has become a place where it’s much more difficult to go out for an evening without finding any real live entertainment,” he says, adding, “The town has a growing evening economy, with more successful and popular restaurants and cafes, and a small, local theatre would enhance and complete the range of activities and interests available in one of Suffolk and East Anglia’s busiest coastal towns.”

right choices, can be a big problem. It’s easy for so-called community groups to become effectively owned and managed by a self-contained clique, or by a small part of the community, and that would be something to be avoided at all costs.

Personally, I think it would need a committee, with a member from each of our local theatre companies, and maybe a part-time manager on a short-term contract, with a strong commercial background in a public-facing business, but not tied to any of the performing groups.”

Gosling says he was inspired when he saw a preserved and now permanently-parked travelling theatre, The Century Theatre, in Coalville, Leicestershire. He filmed the theatre, and when he got home made a film about it, which is now on his Felixstowe News website:

Chris Gosling says the idea has been well-received by a wide range of people – and that, after money, the next most mentioned perceived problem is that Felixstowe’s new Academy has a theatre.

He says, “The Academy’s new theatre is simply a red-herring, a easy excuse for councillors and officialdom when we say that Felixstowe needs a proper theatre. School-based theatres are fine, but they serve the school, not the community, and the school’s needs come first. A dedicated community theatre in our town could be in use 3 or 4 nights a week, every week. It could provide an excellent venue for lunchtime and evening concerts, it could host daytime business conferences and seminars for port-based companies, and it could act as a focus for much of the towns art, music and drama community.

www.felixstowenews.tv He believes that a suitable size theatre would only need around 150 to 250 seats, saying, “The biggest problem with the Spa was the sheer size of the place – even the most popular local groups with the greatest shows hardly ever got it full. But if a show managed to get 600 seats filled over 3 nights in the Spa, that would equate 3 full-houses in a small theatre – moving from failure in a large commercial theatre, to a outright raging triumph in a small, volunteer-run community theatre.”

Gosling says that money would be less of a problem than many people believe. “The first thing that people say is: where is the money coming from? But in reality, money shouldn’t be that much of a problem – what we need is enough to start the ball rolling, and then we’d need people with the know-how and ability to fund-raise, and to apply for all the lottery, European and other grant-based funding available. It won’t be easy, but it should be possible over two or three years, with the help of other local organisations, businesses and people who believe in our town.”

Gosling believes that the one key factor in success is getting the management structure right. “For non-commercial enterprises and community groups, finding a management structure that is open enough, but decisive enough to make the

18 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

To help get people together, Gosling has created a Facebook page called Felixstowe Community Theatre, which will be joined by a proper website soon. He says that a community theatre needs to be supported by the whole local community, not by one specific sector, like the amateur theatre community, and that the more opinions and popular support the project has, the more likely it is to happen.

“I’d love to see Felixstowe Community Theatre in action,” Gosling said, “with a show on stage most weeks during the winter, local artists’ work in the bar and foyer; with two or three nights of summer show performances every week during the summer holiday season, and with businesses and organisations using it for conferences and product launches, bringing in more hotel and restaurant guests and customers throughout the year.”

les mis on top The Boublil and Schönberg musical Les Misérables has been voted the greatest musical of all time by listeners of JemmThree, the UK’s first 24/7, presenterled radio station devoted to musical theatre.

Wicked, by Stephen Schwartz, was voted number two in the Top 100 Musicals chart followed by The Phantom of the Opera, by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, at number three.

Stephen Sondheim tied with Lloyd Webber at having nine musicals in the top 100, though Sondheim increases to 12 entries if you also include his works as a lyricist.

Sondheim’s highest ranking musical was Sweeny Todd, which came in at number four in the chart.

The highest placed Rodgers and Hammerstein show was The Sound of Music, at number 10, while overall the writing team had five productions listed on the Top 100 Musicals chart.

The 1980s proved to be the most popular decade for musicals with 21 shows featured in the top 100. The noughties produced 18 entries followed by the 1970s, with 13 shows.

45 Broadway musicals appeared in the Top 100 list against 26 West End debuts.

“Reaction to the Top 100 Musicals of All Time has been incredible,” said JemmThree Managing Director Robin Crowley.

“Listeners were fiercely discussing and arguing over the results throughout the seven hour countdown on Twitter, Facebook and the JemmThree chat room.

It was great to see musical theatre such a hot topic and shows just how passionate people are about musicals,” Crowley added.

“JemmThree offers fans of stage and screen an important voice, and we’re pleased to be the UK’s first radio station dedicated 24/7 to the world of stage and screen that’s available now, online or via the JemmRadio or Tune In app.”

JemmThree is the UK’s first internet radio station dedicated to stage and screen musicals, with a focus on contemporary shows. Presenters include actor and director Tim McArthur, award winning producer Robin Crowley and actress and LBC 97.3 presenter Brooke Burfitt.

You can view the complete list at www.jemmthree.com

feature | amateurstage

> season greeting how it’s all sorted

Cynthia Marsh, Artistic Director for the 2013/14 season at Nottingham’s Lace Market Theatre, tells Amateur Stage how she approached her production choices.

The Lace Market Theatre is in the centre of Nottingham and we are fortunate enough to have our own building, with a small auditorium (118 seats), a studio space (50 seats), a bar and on-site rehearsal facilities (but not in performance weeks).

We have a membership of over 300 and a thriving youth theatre. A loyal core of member volunteers, older and younger, cover the administrative and functional needs of running a small theatre. In addition, the city is full of students, approximately 65,000 over 16s up to postgraduate level, according to recent statistics. This is a notoriously shifting and changing population, and they come and go, but constantly feed a young, enthusiastic element into our activities. Some, indeed, go on to drama school, others come to give their free time and enjoy themselves.

Nottingham has two major professional theatres, the Playhouse which produces its own repertoire, and the Theatre Royal, which is a major receiving house, bringing in everything from musicals to mystery thrillers and recent London successes. In addition, there is a lively club, bar and restaurant scene, a concert hall, an arena, the Lakeside Arts Centre at the University, an independent film theatre as well as the usual cinema chains.

And we are in spitting distance of Stratford, Leicester, Sheffield and Derby, and only a couple

of hours from London. We have to compete for our audiences in a very rich and crowded market place. Consequently choosing a season of plays has to hit multiple targets.

The theatre’s historic mission (the club traces itself back some 75 years, 40 years in the present building) is to tackle the kinds of theatre not always available or possible now in the professional theatre as well as bring a reflection of the current popular and developing national (and foreign) repertoires. At the same time the season has to be commercial to keep the theatre financially afloat. Sources of income are the bar, membership fees, wardrobe hire, and theatre or room hire. If uncontrolled, production costs (staging, costumes, scripts, copyright) can undermine income from ticket sales. It is important, the treasurer impressed on us, to maximise our ticket sales.

Appointed Artistic director in March 2012, for the 2013-14 season, I set about recruiting a programme advisory group (PAG) of 6, with me making the seventh. My strategy here was to ensure I had a designer, a couple of directors and performers on the group, and that at least half of them regularly attend shows at the theatre, and the rest are keen theatre goers. It was also important to have a spread of ages. Potential younger

members under 30 were usually too busy to be able to commit to PAG. In the end the ages ranged from 40 to late 60s.

We canvassed suggestions from the membership, and among ourselves, and set up an initial list of some 70 texts. I read everything as chair, and parcelled out the rest among the group, with the proviso that each text was read by at least two people, and anything which got onto the short list was read by everyone. Many of the texts can be got in multiple copies from our city library, others were traced on-line, from personal libraries or from second-hand sources. We usually have a repertoire of 14 productions, including a youth theatre project, running from September to July in any one season. Our tradition is to name the whole season in one go, necessitating only one brochure, but meaning that when we appoint them (in March 2013) directors and designers have to commit up to a year in advance. My role as Artistic Director means that I am also responsible along with the PAG team for getting the season to run in 2013-14, so any withdrawals would give me a problem, or mean that I could find myself directing, or indeed performing, if I cannot find a willing volunteer. That keeps the brain alert as to plays we might finally choose!

Our strategy took into account such aspects as historical anniversaries in our season, some natural partnerships between plays, that there should be range of play type (comedy, thriller, etc.), demands on wardrobe, on staging, gender balance (too easy in our national repertoire to have a bias towards male parts), age balance (particularly for female roles), good writing wherever possible, and ensuring we had commercial as well as the less widely appealing but more serious or lesser known stuff. Above all my personal agenda was a contemporary (i.e. predominantly the last 50 years) repertoire, and one which did not repeat our recent productions. I am very well aware that younger generations cannot always afford the professional theatre, or have so much else to choose from that they are often unaware of the theatrical mindbenders from even the recent past. It is important to check availability of rights early in the process.

This can now be done easily online, but of course is not a cast iron guarantee. The professional world of theatre is notoriously serendipitous, and you suddenly find that your cherished play (or plays; we

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 21

amateurstage | feature particular shows in close proximity, so we have Howard Brenton’s Anne Boleyn followed up with Rebecca Russell and Jenny Wafer’s Regina Monologues (Henry VIII’s six wives transposed to modern times). We are marking the build-up to WWI with a play showing England in 1912 (Githa Sowerby’s Rutherford and Son), followed by the stage version of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful (adapted by Simon Reade) in the studio in June/July 2014.

had to discard 3 this way) is being withdrawn due to a professional production. In other words, you have to keep on checking until the point where you actually need to pay for the rights.

We soon began to reduce the list: some plays simply do not read well after 50 or even fewer years; some rest so strongly in their own times, that substantial changes would need to be made to reach our modern audiences (early Ayckbourn figured here); others would be difficult to stage, demanding computer graphics, for example, or complex building (we have restricted height and cannot fly in scenery, objects or people). I was mired in controversy over Othello for a while as we regrettably could not guarantee an actor of colour to take on the role. As a theatre, we have a tradition of Shakespeare and a musical, but the committee came to unanimous agreement that it was time for a change. Other tantalising texts presented problems over rights. I chased all over America for one story/film, which I was prepared to adapt, only to find the rights are still restricted on an annual basis, and therefore unavailable.

We eventually delivered a proposed repertoire to our Management Group at the end of November 2012, after 6 months of reading and discussion.

It was to our eyes a huge compromise on our ambitions, but it was found to lack sufficient ‘bums on seats’ appeal, the treasurer had impressed on us, and one or two items were regarded as too controversial. I agreed with the last point: I had argued for Sarah Kane, and some early Dennis Potter, and the committee had agreed to include them, but others found them too near the bone.

It was actually valuable to have this third point of view from the Management Group. So back we went for further discussion. In fact, this discussion element in our meetings (approximately once a month) is the part that endures in my memory along with the extensive reading. Both were deeply enriching experiences. After some more fast reading and discussion, we came up with 4 different shows which replaced the excisions. The

22 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

“As a theatre, we have a tradition of producing Shakespeare and a musical, but the committee came to unanimous agreement that it was time for change”

next thing was to shape the season to spread high demand shows (wardrobe, cast, gender), capture specific seasonal audiences, and to provide a means to publicise and actually sell the season. The season had also to be presented to the membership at the AGM in March 2013, which focused the mind no end (!), and once accepted was to be circulated to potential directors and designers.

Shaping, or providing a coherent run to the season, had in fact been part of our discussion from the beginning. We also wanted to give opportunities to young and /or new directors and designers. We run a programme of 9 main auditorium shows, intermixed with 4 studio evenings. Shaping also emerged from running

To represent our 50 year span we have two state-of-the-nation plays, John Osborne’s The Entertainer, as the opener to the season, has its background in Suez of 1956, and Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, an hilarious and cynical view of modern Britain from 2009 is the closing show. We also have three themed items which bring opportunities for younger and less experienced directors as well as older hands: a Samuel Beckett auditorium evening, matching the experimental and the extraordinary: Not I with Happy Days; and in the studio: a Caryl Curchill evening, with two of her short, lesser known but audience challenging plays (Blue Kettle, This is a Chair), a ‘Crime Shorts’ combination showing, two one-act spooky thrillers. Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, with Little Dolls by Nancy Harris. The other shows are God of Carnage, a sophisticated comedy from Yasmina Reza (translated by Christopher Hampton) and familiar to many from the film version. For Christmas and for all the family, there are exotic Russian fairy tales, Neil Duffield’s The Firebird; then in early spring, a thriller, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, followed at another extreme by a farce, Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy. Our Youth Group present Pride and Prejudice at the beginning of the Easter school holidays, and then a week-long visit from our friends from Karlsruhe, which is twinned with Nottingham. Performing in German, they bring a welcome international flavour to our activities.

Once all these items and their placing were decided, and we had plenty of offers to direct and design (all appointed by late April early May), we went hell-for-leather with our (new) publicity group to get the brochure out before the end of our current season. It was achieved two days before the final show of the current season opened in July. The programme is now visible at a glance.

As I write, the first two shows are already cast (June /July), and auditions for the third is underway (late July), and ‘our’ season opens in mid September, probably as you are reading this piece... The active work for me and the PAG group is now starting. All of us in the group participate as casting advisors, chairing post-show discussions and talks (the first of four is advertised, the others yet to be arranged), and as a new venture for members help to run our four play-reading sessions, called ‘The plays that got away’, ones we could not include in the season for various reasons and regretted. We begin with Othello at the end of September. www.lacemarkettheatre.co.uk

amateurstage | feature

>cannons

proving far from loose

Julian Cound recently spoke to possibly the smallest amateur group in the UK, Loose Cannons based in Anglesey, about their successes in writing and producing their own work. they realise that they were both young men doing the same job.

The Anglesey group Loose Cannons have been christened the smallest group in the Principality by the Drama Association of Wales having only three actors. This is one of the reasons they write and perform their own material, rarely having enough funds to afford buying scripts and paying licence fees. Their latest production The Visitor is a one act play set in 1969 and tells the story of seventy year old Harry Jones a veteran of World War One who is living in a home for the elderly.

He is cared for mainly by Sylvia and the two have become close in the time Harry has been a resident. But even after over fifty years he is still haunted by his experiences as a very young soldier in France during the Great War. Harry has become accustomed to the almost daily invasion of unwelcome memories, but today is not just another day. Today Harry has a visitor and they both have a shared experience from 1916. His visitor is Eric a German who fought against Harry in the battle of Mametz Wood and he has a very special reason for coming.

Allan Williams is a founder member of the group and the author of the play. He has always had

a great respect for veterans and wanted to do something for Remembrance Day 2012. So he decided to try and write something about the First World War but with a different slant.

The Visitor tries to cover both sides of the soldier’s story by revealing some of their lives before, during and after the war and what affect it had. I wanted both characters during the course of the play to discover that although they were enemies they had certain things in common. And as the story is told

He decided to use his local regiment the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the battles in which they were involved and it took a great deal of reading, some hours on the internet and local research in the Regimental Museum in Caernarfon. The play took approximately six months to write with constant rewrites. Having only three actors can be a blessing he said as we have come to know each other well, and I know how each one will tackle a part and what they will bring to it, also the rehearsal process is a lot easier with such a small cast. Obviously the audition process doesn’t exist in such a small group so that’s another plus.

Loose Cannons have been performing Allan’s plays for about five years and have had some success winning a variety of festivals and being Welsh and British Finalists for the last four years. It is always exciting to take new work to festivals as there is no benchmark for the play. A well-known piece has that drawback of being “well-known” and everyone has an idea of how it should be done. Original work has to be judged on its own merits and audiences don’t have a preconceived idea.

The audience reaction to The Visitor has been incredible with audience members coming around to the actors after the performance to talk about their family members who fought in the war, and we have had quite a few tears. It has won a number of festivals including Anglesey, Leverhulme and Wilmslow along with several Best Actor awards, and was also invited to be part of the British Finals. One adjudicator was so taken with the play that she invited the group to perform it as part of Wirral Remembers 2014 a festival to commemorate the start of World War One which will take place in the Floral Pavilion New Brighton.

The script is now under review for publication by Lazybee Scripts.

Got a story to tell? editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk 24 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

feature | amateurstage

> break a leg...

and other mis-haps in southend

Jacquee Storozynski tells Amateur Stage about the many mis-haps that have blighted her directorial career... I’m sure we all have many tales to tell.

Of course, all Amateur Drama groups have their share of mishaps otherwise Michael Green wouldn’t have written his book on The Art of Coarse Acting. Certainly, the groups that I’m involved with in Southend have had their share.

We have had props disappear on opening night as the local charity that we shared the hall with, thought they were for their jumble sale. The fish used in Spring and Port Wine, was thrown away during performance by an over zealous props person. It was found in the bin, flattened and covered with raffle tickets. A lighting box caught fire once, and one young actress accidently disrobed under a CCTV camera. As a result, half the lads of the local youth club got a free performance of a striptease. We also had our picture in the local press covered in red tape. Our production of Blithe Spirit couldn’t go ahead as the local council rejected our license application as being out of time.

However, the worse thing that can happen is for anyone to say to me, ‘Break a Leg!’ It makes my blood run cold and sends a shiver up my spine.

I’m afraid my response is usually unprintable. The trouble is actors literally keep doing that in my productions.

It all started a few years ago, when I directed Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton, the elderly actress playing Madame de Rosemonde fell over and broke her leg. We tried to cut her out, by other members of the cast covering her lines, but she would have none of it. As a result, she went on in a NHS wheelchair, not at all the thing for the 18th Century. The actress wasn’t too pleased when she realised she would have to sit in the wings for the duration of the play, as there was no way of getting her off stage.

Pictures of her with a plaster cast and leg up in the air went in the local press. As a result, it generated a load of publicity, and although we had to postpone the play, when it went ahead, we had the biggest audience that we’d ever had.

In The Tempest, one actor broke his foot and had to drop out and the chap playing Ferdinand had to go on with crutches, as he’d broken his leg playing football. In another production, the leading actress had to sit on a sofa for the whole play as she had torn ligaments in her leg, and couldn’t walk.

Recently for a production of Winter Glory by Peter Coke, the lady playing Dame Beatrice had broken her leg when she was knocked down by a dog when out walking. As a result, we had to alter most of the important actions, as she couldn’t bend her leg and had it stuck out when she was sitting down. This annoyed the other actors, as they kept falling over it, on stage.

When I directed Somerset Maugham’s Home and Beauty, a short time before performance week, the leading actress playing Victoria went out on the razzle, jumped off a wall and broke her leg.

In the same production, the actress playing Mrs Coyle of smelly dog fame, broke her foot and had to go on with a large surgical boot. I luckily survived without a broken leg when a method

actor literally threw me across the stage. I was acting in Communicating Doors and the part called for him to roll me up in a carpet. As a result, I received a bruised hip and a minor concussion.

The actor involved has never acted since.

Therefore, anyone wishing me to ‘Break a Leg’ before any of my productions, will get short shift, and be forcibly escorted from the theatre.

Got tour own stories to tell? Send them to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk www.asmagazine.co.uk | 27

the musical produced | amateurstage

>musical produced avenue q

Oil Lamp Productions, based in County Durham was formed just over a year ago. Creative Director, Beth McFaull, tells Amateur Stage about producing their first full-scale musical, Avenue Q. Introduction Avenue Q is a laughter inducing, heart-warming, puppet filled musical conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx who wrote the lyrics and music, with Jeff Whitty writing the book. Following the format of an episode of Sesame Street (although having no connections to the Jim Henson Company), it tells the story of a recent graduate named Princeton and his quest to find purpose in his life as he moves into downmarket Avenue Q. The show made its debut as an off Broadway production in March 2003 and transferred to Broadway in July 2003 where it won three Tony Awards.

Although it is often close to the knuckle, Avenue Q is never vulgar; it doesn’t poke fun at anyone, it simply encourages you to laugh along with the characters. That is part of its charm and probably why Whitty, Lopez and Marx get away with as much as they do. The audience can’t help but fall a little bit in love with the show, which is why the fan base is so huge and dedicated.

Casting Casting the show was an unusual process.

Voices and mannerisms became paramount, as well as how well actors worked together. Open

auditions were announced and the response was overwhelming.

The cast was made up of three live actors, three ‘live hands’ puppets, and a mixture of double and single rod puppets. The live hand puppets proved the most difficult to cast as they took two actors to operate. This is where the swings became very important. They played the smaller roles like Mrs T and Ricky but they also had to play the right arm of Trekkie and Nicky so they had to work closely with the actor voicing those puppets.

Director Gary Ian Ward decided that he wanted to cast the show in the same way as the Broadway production with one actor playing more than one puppet and Gary Coleman being played by a woman. However, the auditions gave so much talent it was decided to split some of the roles, so the cast grew.

The production team were thrilled with the talent and commitment of the final cast.

Rehearsals There was so much more to Avenue Q than ever anticipated. Blocking and music took up a large part of the first weeks of rehearsals. The set of rehearsal puppets were arriving eight weeks before opening night so the cast had to be off script by then. It’s impossible to use a puppet while you still have a script in one hand!

It was obvious that each and every one of the actors knew the show inside out, at least from an audience point of view, however none of them were prepared for how difficult the puppets were to use.

The cast were fortunate enough to spend a day in a workshop with Sam Lupton, the lead in the 2012 national, professional tour. This workshop proved to be an invaluable experience as well as giving an amateur cast the thrill of working closely with a professional, working actor. Sam began the workshop with the basics as well as preparing the cast for the pain of having a puppet on your arm for two hours. We learned about focus, expression, character and transferring this to the puppet. The first four hours were spent on arm positioning and checking focus was correct, only after this were they allowed to use the puppets.

During the show the puppeteers are present, unconcealed on stage so the audience are expected to suspend their disbelief a little more than with a conventional musical in order to ‘hide’ them. The puppeteer must become the legs, body, voice and ultimately heart and soul of the puppet without becoming noticeable. If this connection is broken the illusion is ruined, subsequently a great deal of time was spent with each actor individually on creating character.

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 29

amateurstage | the musical produced of working closely with Peter Archer at A1 Stage to design the set to fit the theatre being used. It is based on the set that was used for the 2012 tour.

Although most of the production team and cast were very familiar with the show, no-one was prepared for the amount of time that would have to be spent preparing for this show. Three rehearsals a week weren’t enough so this led to an intense rehearsal schedule in the two weeks leading up to the show.

Musically, it is intelligent, beautiful and very funny.

The vocals challenged the actors; however, under the guidance, teaching and encouragement of our Musical Director, Jo Turner, they did the harmonies justice.

Costume/Make-up The costume and make-up budget was spent on the puppets; there is no getting around it. There was no question that they were the focus of the show and would make or break the performance.

There are a number of official sets available including the set that we decided to hire from Josef Weinberger, designed by Rick Lyon and built by Character Translations Inc. (the creators of the show). Again, this was decided based on perceived audience expectations. We felt that the fans of Avenue Q would expect nothing less, although it is permitted to make your own puppets (with the condition that they break no copyright laws).

During the show there are a number of costume changes for the puppets. These were only received

30 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

with the show puppets and it became apparent very quickly that this was a job for at least two people. I was fortunate enough to have Olivia Bowern’s help with the costumes as well as taking the puppets to the actors for the quick swaps, particularly between Princeton and Rod. Set The set had to be very specific, it is a fixed set with flying scenery that suggests location changes and the scene changes are very quick. Although the avenue is a downmarket neighbourhood it had to reflect the bright, colourful nature associated with children’s television. The upstairs windows and downstairs doors needed to be functioning as each one has a specific purpose during the show.

Our Director and Stage Manager had the privilege

Sound and Lighting Sound Engineer, David McSparron, got in contact and his previous knowledge and love of the show was apparent straight away. Ten Sennheiser G3 lapel radio mics were hired from Hi-Lights Theatrical Services. These were necessary as some of the actors in Avenue Q are often playing more than one character on stage and voicing a different puppet to the one they are holding. David also live mixed the hugely talented six piece band (playing over 12 instruments between them as well as all of the sound effects) and balanced that beautifully with the singing.

Lighting was designed based on the 2012 tour using over 70 statics and moving fixtures (finishing with over 200 lighting cues). The director of the show was also the lighting designer, so lighting effects and atmosphere had been a clear vision right from the beginning. Although the set was fixed, the lighting of one scene flowed seamlessly into the next, from the dingy avenue to the seedy cabaret cafe to the exuberant, vibrant dance numbers and the nightmare scene.

The show also depends on a number of video cues. This posed a problem as a television screen permanently on the stage would be a distraction.

the musical produced | amateurstage Stage Manager, Harry Scott solved this problem by flying the 48 inch flat screen TV. These short videos are important to the flow as the characters interact with them.

Marketing Most of the marketing drive was focussed on social media and our website’s SEO, as the target demographic for Avenue Q was 14-35 year olds, although anyone familiar with children’s television in the late 70’s and early 80’s would also enjoy it.

Facebook and Twitter were predominantly used with a paid Facebook advert being tested for a three week period. This saw the audience reach figures almost quadruple for those posts. As Facebook competitions are banned unless run through an external app, we decided that Twitter would be the place for our competition. We chose

a ‘scavenger hunt’ which saw our Twitter followers dashing all over Durham trying to ‘Hunt Trekkie’ to win tickets to the show.

This ran alongside the traditional methods of flyers, newspaper articles and local BBC radio stations.

Director, Gary Ian Ward, took two cast members to BBC Tees to chat to Alex Hall on Songs from the Shows. This consisted of an hour long interview interspersed with some of the less risqué songs from Avenue Q. As this was simultaneously broadcast on both BBC Tees and BBC Newcastle the potential audience reach was larger than first expected.

Conclusion Filled with laughter, tears and a little bit of smut, Avenue Q left the audiences wanting more (with

some heading straight back to the box office for tickets for the next night). Most knew what to expect from the show as its reputation precedes it.

However, those who didn’t know the show and the sensitive yet straightforward way it handles delicate topics such as racism, homosexuality, relationships and friendship, left the theatre enthusiastic and full of praise.

Everyone involved is proud to have been part of the first amateur production outside London. The joy, passion and enthusiasm for this incredible musical was engrained in every member of the company, from the cast, musicians, and crew to the production team. Avenue Q is one of those shows that gets into your heart. You understand the characters, you recognise them and you begin to feel real emotion for them, even though most of them are puppets. It is the most honest musical out there.

Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx Avenue Q book by Jeff Whitty based on original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Amateur production is given by permision of Josef Weinberger LTD on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York.

Puppets built buy Character Translation Inc. for distribution by Josef Weinberger. Original designs

by Rick Lyon.

Colour images copyright of Deborah Kemp and black and white images copyright of Beth McFaull.

Want to showcase your latest production?

Send your story following this template to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 31

the play produced | amateurstage

>the play produced the hex factor

As it’s our 68th birthday this month, Amateur Stage are publishing a musical and a play produced. Bridgewater Players tell us about their April 2013 production of “The Hex Factor”.

Introduction “The Hex Factor” is a sister play to the popular “Ex Factor”. Both are farces, both set in the same fictitious farm-cum-bed-and-breakfast in the rural English countryside. The Bridgewater Players staged “The Ex Factor” five years ago and the success of that made the production of its sequel inevitable. That in itself put pressure on casting, since those who had a role in the first one expected the same role in the second, where such a thing existed. In fact the two major roles of the first, Jane and Phil, were fairly small roles in the second, but one of the real character roles was the same – the rustic, lusty farm hand Ron. The Set The set was different too, the first being set in the farm house and the second being on the first floor above a barn, necessitating the atmospheric addition of metal-rung steps off R to telegraph arrivals of all but Ron, whose boots, by his own admission were quiet because of all the manure out there.

The set was deliberately simple – the main entrance door (at the top of the aforementioned steps), an archway L leading to the kitchen and bedroom and a window USC. Considering the room is supposed to have been recently converted from its former agricultural use, simple, plain décor was the order of the day. In fact the real danger

was that the set itself could lack character and atmosphere, so the set designers added rustic elements such as overhead beams to ensure we were in a barn conversion and not a domestic house.

The only other sound effects consisted of distant car arrivals/departures, shotgun blasts and farm animal noises, none of which gave any problems thanks to speakers placed outside the window and main door.

Lighting and Sound Some of the scenes were set at night, with the mood playing its part, and others during the day, so the only real complexity of lighting was a combination of generic and LED lights to add atmosphere outside the window and echoing there when the main door was opened.

Properties Suitcases, clothes, pots and pans… no problems.

Shotgun and farm-style pitchfork… ah! Does any farmer use a pitchfork any more? Well, luckily for BWP one, who happened to be a friend of a friend of someone’s brother, did have one “somewhere”.

Problem one solved. He also had a shotgun we could use and sent it along to rehearsals. Problem unsolved. This shotgun was part of a computer game, the kind of pump-action lock-and-load macho weapon that may just have been OK if Arnold Schwarzenegger was playing Ron, but was way out of character for a real farmer. We ended up at Howarth Wrightson, a wonderfully old-fashioned props and weapons supplier who, luckily, are quite close. We rented a deactivated 12 bore for a week for £25 and that problem was now resolved too, apart from ensuring the firearm was placed in a secure place following each performance.

The plot suggested the electricity supply was less than reliable, with frequent power cuts, something Brendan uses to his advantage in the play’s séance scene, but these fairly frequent power cuts needed full concentration from the lighting engineer.

One minor difficulty was when, during one of these power cuts, both Brendan and Carol had tossed their mobile phone on the sofa, but one then rings.

Of course it would, in real life, light up, but the inherent unpredictable delays from mobile phones meant we could not find a way to make the phone ring and light up right on cue. The solution, in the end, was an SFX ringtone and a quick grab of their phones by both actors. Pressing a button on the phone made it light up just as it came into the audience’s view.

Plot and Casting One of the problems with casting plays for small amateur drama groups is finding enough people to match ages. Frequently roles can be aged one way or another, but plays with relationships in, be they romantic or from generations of families, demand actors of compatible ages. The cast of “The Hex Factor” was fairly flexible, with the central roles being Brendan, Carol, his fiancée and Barbara, Brendan’s mother. Obviously Brendan and Carol had to be of ages consistent with being engaged and Barbara had to be 18 years or more older.

Farm hand Ron could be any age, so no problems there, but the other characters, Jane and Philip, reprising their “Ex Factor” roles, were man and wife. Bridgewater Players, thanks to an unfortunate combination of work commitments, holidays and illness, didn’t have two such players available, so the part of Phil had to be carefully altered to be Jane’s father.

The other potential problem for casting – another one not uncommon for small amateur groups, is that Carol spends a lot of the first act dressed in her underwear – always decent, of course,

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 33

amateurstage | the play produced but nevertheless requiring an actress confident enough to carry it off. Luckily for BWP, Cat Mercer, an experienced actress, had no great qualms bout it. She did have some qualms about a small “love scene”, however – again nothing blatant, consisting of kissing Howard, who played Brendan.

This required another minor rewrite whereby, in true farce style, the couple sinks behind the sofa for their scene, anything lost by that being made up for by the arrival of Barbara back on stage wondering where they’d gone and various added excuses involving supposedly-lost cuff-links.

Rehearsals BWP rehearses twice a week – in this case for 7 weeks. It seems a good rule up thumb that is you have 7 weeks, everyone agrees at the dress rehearsal you need 8 weeks. Tuesday rehearsals are in a local village hall in Lymm, Cheshire and Thursdays are in the Thelwall Parish Hall, which is also our 180 seat performance space.

Again a problem that separates the small amateur groups from the likes of “Little Theatres” is that BWP does not have its own premises, as mentioned in the opening paragraph. In this case the stage itself is permanent, but the entire space is used by other community groups throughout the weeks. We have to build and deconstruct the sets immediately before and after the run, but that’s not the only problem – the cast, while rehearsing on the actual stage, do not know where the set itself, including entrances and exits, will be. OK, we mark out the salient parts with tape and chairs and cones, but some of them find getting onto the actual set a bit of a shock.

For the first time ever, thanks to being able to get the script in a suitable format, two of the cast used Kindles rather than paper books for rehearsals.

I cannot amplify enough the range of abilities and facilities between the “church hall” type of group and those upwards. There are advantages, such as a mere £5 a year subscription, but the disadvantages of the lack of access to the performance space negate them. We also have a range of commitment and dedication. Thankfully a growing membership means competition for roles in BWP plays is getting fiercer (holidays and sickness apart) which in turn brings out the desire to be the best in all members of the cast and

crew. As a director who believes the real crux of good performance is developing the character and not just telling the actors when to sit/stand/ move/breathe gives a focus towards giving good performances from all, and the sense of achievement when this ultimate of team efforts captivates the audience makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Dress Rehearsal This is worthy of a subtitle of its own purely in light of Cat’s first performance partially disrobed. It’s a hurdle to climb, and not always an easy one.

She had to overcome any shyness and the rest of the cast had to get over whatever pseudo-funny comments they were always going to make, but the fact everyone, Cat included, knew what was going to happen yet had not so far happened heightened the tension of the moment. Luckily Cat is sufficiently professional to waltz through it, and quite witty enough to provide a riposte to any jokes aimed her way. She really should have warned her husband about it beforehand, though – his face was the most shocked of all.

Performance A lot of work for three nights’ performance. The tension of not knowing how an audience would take to a brand new, first performance of a farce.

One word that seems to line up perfectly with the word “farce” is “timing”. Get that wrong and it falls flat. “Pace” is another word not far removed.

Thankfully the BWP cast and crew set off at, and maintained, the frantic pace this kind of farce demands if it is to be successful. And once the audience started to respond, thanks in large part to Andy Rushman’s commanding portrayal of the larger-than-life Ron, it never sagged. Even the necessary change of pace of more intimate and quiet moments didn’t cause any problems.

This was always going to end happily for the characters involved. With Brendan and Carol, his inheritance ensuring a bright future for both, sat on the sofa while Ron pursued his romantic intent with Barbara amid the manure outside. “I’ve got all my own teeth,” he tells her, “Or I will have when I’ve finished paying for ‘em.”

Cue a final power cut. A happy ending for the audience too.

bath, time for new musical Following the triumphant double award winning new musical The Decent Rogues, Music is Life Productions return to the Rondo Theatre in September with their latest brand new musical, Pencoweth, a heart-warming tale of 1850’s Cornish life, full of stunning music and rousing ballads.

Set in the harbour of Pencoweth, two young fishermen set out to test the love of their respective fiancées prior to their impending nuptials. However, their plan of disguise and deception has a devastating impact on the community from which they must trust the raging seas one more time.

With a completely new score and book

by Bath-based writers & musicians Dan Lashbrook and Rob Pratt, it is hoped that Pencoweth can emulate and surpass the success of their debut show.

Within a year of its premiere at The Rondo Theatre, The Decent Rogues had achieved a second sell-out run at Bath’s Mission Theatre, and a week-long run at London’s Bridewell Theatre, during which it was listed as one of Time Out’s Top Ten Musicals, and the cast performed a showcase of musical numbers at Dress Circle, the West End’s legendary showbiz shop. For Pencoweth, they once again reunite with director Petra Schofield, who helped The Decent Rogues to achieve the prestigious NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) Awards for Outstanding Achievement, and for Best Musical Production of 2011.

Pencoweth has been kindly sponsored by the BMI Bath Clinic through it’s association with, Dan Lashbrook a Bath GP (in his day job!) Other local companies and businesses lending a hand include Gardenalia who have been instrumental in bringing a 19th century Cornish village to life on a Bath stage.

Pencoweth is at the Rondo Theatre, Bath from Wednesday 25th - Saturday 28th September www.pencoweth.com

34 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

Davron Hicks as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray at ROSS Summer School, 2013

feature | amateurstage

> back to school for the summer

Even with 30 years experience of performing on stage behind him Julian Cound, editor of Amateur Stage, explains why he still goes back to school every summer.

If you are involved in any aspect of theatre - either professionally or as an amateur, you have to be constantly learning, open to new ideas, willing to push your boundaries - otherwise we just go stale and become a watered down version of ourselves.

For the technical side of theatre there is more of a need to be constantly improving as new techniques emerge, modern equipment becomes available and theatre technology moves on - if anyone saw the West End production of Ghost, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

As a performer the learning process is less tangible but all the same just as important. You can’t simply take a new acting process out of a box, read the instructions and press the ‘on’ button.

This is where performance workshops and summer schools can be invaluable to an amateur performer. The opportunity to work with different people in different surroundings. To work with and be directed by a completely new production team on a piece of theatre you would not get the opportunity to experience in your home society.

To place yourself out of your comfort zone in an atmosphere of support and encouragement is a truly liberating experience.

would be surprised what you can take in and remember in such a short period of time. Add to that each class is double-cast so one set of principals perform in the afternoon while the evening principals work as ‘chorus’ and vice-versa, meaning many individuals have to retain twice as much information.

Of course, there is the social aspect of any summer school to look forward to. Any newcomers to the ROSS School soon become a member of the ‘family’. For people who have been attending the school for many years it is an opportunity to meet life-long friends but also an opportunity to discuss everything to do with amateur theatre, bounce ideas off people and pick up a lot of valuable information that may help your home society in future productions.

Being a 9 day residential Summer School there is the financial aspect to take into account.

Personally I believe the school is worth every penny. Many younger people may find it out of their reach financially, I would encourage any society committee to ‘sponsor’ a young member of their society to attend the school as a student, the return on your investment will be huge.

“As a first time student I learnt so much, watching different people interpret roles in their own way. I never thought we would be able to get everything done in such a short space of time but the school really focusses the mind.” Ben Connor - DarlingtonOS Images here are from the School in 2013 where the extracts were taken from Hairspray, Into The Woods and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. In 2014 the extracts will be from Jekyll & Hyde, Our House and Ragtime with a new fourth ‘Directors Class’ for students who want to learn about all aspects of being a Director.

Full details from www.rosssummerschool.co.uk

I have been attending the annual ROSS Performance Summer School for more years than I care to remember. The format of the School is quite unique - three different classes produce a 40 minute long extract of a show - fully staged, costumed and lit... with just 4 days of rehearsal.

The concentrated rehearsal schedule - 9.30am to 5pm every day, truly focusses the brain, you

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 37

feature | amateurstage

>putting the fun into fundraising

Midlands musical theatre group, Backstreet, have raised over £14,000 towards an ambitious staging of Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical. Amateur Stage wanted to know more...

The group, based in Cannock, Staffordshire was first established over a decade ago, but reformed in 2010 with a fresh purpose. “We set out to do musicals that other groups in the area wouldn’t necessarily tackle”, explained Backstreet’s Chair, Jo Goulding. “Things we can put our own mark on that were not part of the standard musical theatre repertoire.”

She means shows like Rent, the tale of bohemian 80s New York, which the group performed at Cannock’s Prince of Wales Theatre in 2011. They followed this in 2012 with another tale of modern love and sexuality, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. This distinctive choice of material has built the group’s reputation, but has its drawbacks. “When we reformed we had no cash in the bank,” continues Jo. “and we had to start fund-raising from scratch. But when you’re doing shows that the public don’t instantly recognise it’s not easy selling tickets or raising funds.”

And their upcoming show, Jekyll and Hyde, is a big one. The group have stepped up a gear and hired the set used for the professional tour, starring Marti Pellow. It meant a massive fund-raising push.

Undaunted, their enthusiastic members have worked tirelessly to meet the target. Carol singing last Christmas in Victorian costume raised over £500 in two hours. Bag-packing at supermarkets has raised over £500 a time. As the supermarket themselves might say, ‘every little helps’.

A large chunk of their fundraising, though, comes from taking their singing talents out into the community. Over the summer Backstreet ran their first children’s workshop. Not only did this generate income, but publicised the upcoming show to families and, maybe, helped in recruiting the next generation of singers.

At the other end of the age range, they’ve taken performances to nursing homes. “We learnt a wartime set especially,” enthuses Jo. “We got a few donations, but the main thing is getting ourselves out there and hopefully, the residents have a trip to the theatre to look forward to.”

Another recent trip saw them singing outside Lichfield Cathedral as part of Lichfield Festival.

“We’re not afraid of doing things for free because you never know where they might lead. For example, we sang at Bridgetown Parish Council’s

Anniversary Meal, a thirty minute set, an hour of everyone’s time. All for free, but off the back of it, one of the chair people offered us a free rehearsal room at the Community Centre, which has benefited us hugely in the long run.” The group did free work for the local council too, which led to paid gigs doing flashmobs in pubs for the council’s Christmas drink awareness programme.

For sure, it’s a demanding schedule of fund-raising events on top of rehearsal time, but Backstreet’s trick is getting everyone to help out. “Our ethos is ‘we do it as a team’. You’re expected to contribute to everything - the show, the sales, the fund-raising. It’s even on our membership form.

It runs through everything we do. At the end of shows we don’t take individual bows, we bow as a team, regardless of who’s a principal and who isn’t. The team ethic shows and it works.” One might expect the younger members of the group to shrug their shoulders at the thought of extra work, but Jo assures they’re only too happy to muck in. “New people coming through see the older members down at the supermarket bag-packing and it inspires them to give up their Saturdays to do it.”

On the thorny issue of ticket sales, Jo explains Backstreet’s tactics. “Anywhere we can flyer, we’re there. It’s a knock out, Sunday markets, craft fairs, that sort of thing. We also always support other societies by going to see their shows and

hope they’ll return the compliment. We’ve been to performances of Jekyll and Hyde around the country and told societies who are performing it in the future to come and see ours. We’ve even leafleted schools, because it’s on the syllabus this year. Hard work, but it pays off.”

Such a get-up-and-go attitude has been the backbone of Backstreet’s success since their reformation, and they seem set to take their revival to new heights with a stunning performance of Jekyll and Hyde.

Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical is at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Cannock from 26th - 28th Septemeber.

Got an unusual fund-raising story? Email: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk www.asmagazine.co.uk | 41

amateurstage | feature

> a star is

bournemouth

Amateur Stage Editor, Julian Cound, recently spoke to the driving force behind a new amateur group with professional values in the fabulous seaside town of Bournemouth.

For a town with such a wonderful range of performance spaces and a thriving young population of students and young professionals it always surprised me that the theatre on offer in Bournemouth was quite limited. The opening of venues such as Pavilion Dance and the re-launch of the Lighthouse in recent years has gone some way to addressing this, but there still seems to be something missing within the local theatre community. Musical Theatre in particular seems to be pigeon holed into the standard classics that appeal to an older audience with little to attract the new generation. If this continues the future of live theatre in Bournemouth could be destined to die out.

With this in mind, a new company, Bournemouth Musical Theatre Productions (BMT), have formed with a view to revitalising the genre. A young, energetic and forward thinking team consisting of Lisa Appleyard, Dougie Gubbins and James Dixon-Box are getting ready to storm into local performance spaces and shake things up a bit.

Their vision: To nurture and develop local talent, to promote musical theatre as a unique art form and, in doing so, expand appreciation for this unique art form.

“Many of the young people in our area nowadays fall into the trap of thinking that musical theatre is cheesy and not for them,” says James. “We want to stage modern musicals that challenge this perception and open their eyes to the huge range of styles in the genre.”

42 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

This is a big task and this team are taking some risks by undertaking the challenge and they are starting off with an entirely self-funded budget! “We know that there are no guarantees in this business, but we have a strong faith in what we are doing,” explains Lisa. “We have spent hours developing budgets and are being very strict with our finances.

We are very lucky that we have a huge number of contacts and friends locally who are helping us with PR and marketing. There is a wonderful buzz about what we are doing and people want to get involved.”

Dougie continues, “We are starting off with a gala event showcasing some of the styles we are looking to perform in the coming years. We plan a fantastic night including a champagne reception, a meal and, of course, some great entertainment.

We aim to raise some more funds at this event to put towards our first shows in 2014.”

As well as modern musicals already made popular within the industry, BMT have been in discussions with various local composers with a view to workshopping and developing new works.

Creating links with local education providers such as Bournemouth University and the College with their fantastic Jellicoe Theatre, the support for this side of the project seems to be growing rapidly.

“Our vision lends itself to these projects,” says James. “It is no use promoting musical theatre by purely putting on shows. Developing local talent through the creative team and performers will only increase the potential of theatre in Bournemouth.”

A project like this is certainly exciting, but Lisa, Dougie and James are taking it very seriously with very detailed plans. The research they have undertaken is extensive; looking closely at what companies around the country have done before, For example, a recent survey of amateur companies in the UK concluded that the optimum budget for marketing and promotion of a show is 12% of your total budget. This sounds like a lot, but BMT are determined to get this side of the business right. “A lack of marketing and proper research seems to be where a lot of companies stumble,” Lisa says. “We are focusing serious time and effort on social media to get our message out to the right audience. We are going to Bournemouth University Fresher’s Fair later this month and will be the first local theatre company to attend. This is exactly the type of audience we want to engage with and is a great source of talent. We were surprised no one had tried it before.” It doesn’t stop there; BMT have compiled an incredibly thorough marketing timetable built around each future production. “You can have the best shows that can blow audiences away, but unless you market your show properly you won’t have any audiences to impress.”

With the launch night on 1st December and three productions planned for next year, this company is not hanging around; hitting the Bournemouth theatre scene with a bang!

For more information on upcoming auditions or productions email info@bmtproductions.co.uk

show diary | amateurstage

>show diary To get your productions listed here for free visit www.asmagazine.co.uk and go to the Diary Listings page - simples!

2014 IOM MADF Easter Festival of Full Length Plays 19 - 25 April 2014 various Gaiety Theatre Douglas, Isle of Man 01624 600555 www.madf.im

Ali Baba & the Faulty Thieves 09 - 14 December 2013 Manifest Theatre Group Manifest Theatre Manningtree, Essex 01206 391309 www.manifesttheatre.co.uk

39 Steps, The 14 - 17 May 2014 Burnley Garrick Club ACE Centre NELSON, Lancashire 01282 661080 www.thegarrick.org

All My Sons 30 October - 02 November 2013 Southside Players Chestnut Grove Theatre @ Chestnut Grove school Balham, London SW12 8JZ 07914657524 www.southsideplayers.org.uk

42nd Street 02 - 07 December 2013 Walton & Weybridge AOS The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse Walton-on-Thames, Surrey 01483 770130 www.wwaos.org.uk

Annie 12 - 16 November 2013 Centenary Theatre Company The Brindley Theatre Runcorn, Cheshire 0151 907 8360 www.thebrindley.org.uk

Accrington Pals 04 - 08 March 2014 Lindisfarne Palace Theatre Westcliff, Essex 01702 351135 www.southendtheatres.org.uk

11 - 15 February 2014 Arbroath Musical Society The Webster Memorial Theatre Arbroath, Angus 01241 435800 www.webstertheatre.co.uk

Acorn Antiques - The Musical 08 - 12 April 2014 ELODS The Wyllyotts Theatre Potters Bar, Herts 07770 871 140 www.elods.org.uk After the Dance 17 - 26 October 2013 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders 09 - 12 October 2013 Woodmansterne Operatic and Dramatic Society St Peters Church Hall Banstead, Surrey 020 8405 9669

Annie Get Your Gun 1999 Broadway Revival 20 - 23 November 2013 CarpetBaggers Theatre Group Guiseley Theatre Guiseley, LS20 9BT, West Yorkshire 01535670354 www.carpetbaggerstheatregroup.com Audience With Christopher Biggins, An 28 - 28 September 2013 CarpetBaggers Theatre Group Guiseley Theatre Guiseley, LS20 9BT, West Yorkshire 01535670354 www.carpetbaggerstheatregroup.com Avenue Q 11 - 14 September 2013 NK Theatre Arts The Forum Theatre Romiley, Cheshire 0844 877 3377 www.nktheatrearts.org.uk

Aladdin 09 - 21 December 2013 The EK Rep Theatre The East Kilbride Village Theatre East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 01355 261 000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk

Barber of Seville, The 04 - 12 April 2014 Stanley Opera Company Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 848194 www.stanley-opera.org.uk

22 - 25 January 2014 HANDSWORTH & HALLAM THEATRE COMPANY THE MONTGOMERY THEATRE SHEFFIELD, SOUTH YORKSHIRE 07586 293546 www.hhtc.info

Barretts of Wimpole Street, The 13 - 16 November 2013 Abbey Foregate URC Drama Group Abbey Foregate URC, St. Nicholas Hall Shrewsbury, Shropshire 01743 368932 www.abbeydrama.com

Ali Baba 10 - 18 January 2014 The Oxted Players Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01883 724852 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk

Bedfull of Foreigners, A 18 - 24 May 2014 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org Blackadder 2 10 - 14 December 2013 Playgoers

Theatre Royal Workington, Cumbria 01900 602122 www.workington-playgoers.org.uk Boeing Boeing 12 - 21 September 2013 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.millercentretheatre.org Cage Aux Folles, La 22 - 26 October 2013 BROS Hampton Hill Playhouse Hampton Hill, Middlesex 07594 960560 www.brostheatrecompany.ticketsource. co.uk Calendar Girls 06 - 08 November 2013 Seaham Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society Easington Social Welfare Centre Easington, Co. Durham 07515396459 www.saods.co.uk 24 - 26 October 2013 Stewarton Drama Group Stewarton Area Centre Stewarton, East Ayrshire KA3 5AP www.stewarton-drama-group.co.uk Carmen 19 - 23 November 2013 Guildford Opera Company Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483444789 www.guildfordopera.com Carrie’s War 14 - 15 March 2014 The Young Oxted Players Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01883 724852 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk Cheshire Cats 10 - 12 October 2013 Lindsey Rural Players The Broadbent Theatre Wickenby Nr Lincoln, Lincolnshire 01673 885500 Chorus of Disapproval, A 16 - 19 October 2013 Penarth Operatic & Dramatic Society THE PAGET ROOMS PENARTH, Vale of Glamorgan 029 20712260 www.pods-penarth.org Christmas Carol, A 02 - 07 December 2013 Erewash Musical Society Duchess Theatre Long Eaton , Nottinghamshire NG10 1EF 01332 875350 www.erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk Christmas Evening with Gervase Phinn , A 15 - 15 December 2013 Theatre Fundraising Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 847676 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk

Cinderella 09 - 12 January 2014 Rainhill Musical Theatre Company Rainhill Village Hall Rainhill, Merseyside 0151 292 4458 rainhillmusicaltheatrecompany.wordpress. co.uk Comic potential 23 - 26 October 2013 The EK Rep Theatre The East Kilbride Village Theatre East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 01355 261 000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk Company 19 - 23 November 2013 Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire 01234 269 519 www.sharnbrookmilltheatre.co.uk Crucible, The 26 - 29 March 2014 Burnley Garrick Club ACE Centre NELSON, Lancashire 01282 661080 www.thegarrick.org Curtain Up 24 - 28 September 2013 Playgoers Theatre Royal Workington, Cumbria 01900 602122 www.workington-playgoers.org.uk Damn Yankees 14 - 19 April 2014 Ripley & Alfreton Musical Theatre Company Alfreton Grange Arts College Alfreton, Derbyshire 01773 745082 www.ramtc.org Dancing at Lughnasa 31 October - 02 November 2013 Dinghouses Dramatic Society Friargate Theatre York, North Yorkshire 01904653181 www.dringhousesdramaticsociety.org.uk Day after the Fair, The 29 September - 05 October 2013 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org Deathtrap 13 - 22 March 2014 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org 19 - 22 March 2014 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com Deep Blue Sea, The 23 - 29 March 2014 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org

www.asmagazine.co.uk | 45

amateurstage | show diary Dick Whittington 03 - 07 December 2013 St Matthew’s Theatrical Society Rastrick West Yorks St Matthew’s Parish Centre Brighouse, West Yorks 01484 314587 17 - 25 January 2014 Thringstone Pantomime & Drama Society Thringstone Community Centre Thringstone, Leicestershire 01530 834575 www.tpads.org.uk Die Fledermaus 09 - 12 October 2013 Stanley Opera Company Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 848194 www.stanley-opera.org.uk 18 - 22 February 2014 Thrapston Plaza Opera Thrapston Plaza Thrapston, Kettering, Northamptonshire 01832 733586 thrapstonplazaopera.vpweb.co.uk Drowsy Chaperone, The 10 - 15 March 2014 Erewash Musical Society Duchess Theatre Long Eaton , Nottinghamshire NG10 1EF 01332 875350 www.erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk 18 - 22 February 2014 Southport Spotlights MTS Southport Little Theatre Southport, Merseyside 07976 977058 www.southportspotlights.co.uk Entertaining Angels 26 January - 01 February 2014 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org 27 November - 30 November 2013 Burnley Garrick Club ACE Centre NELSON, Lancashire 01282 661080 www.thegarrick.org Exorcism, The 18 - 22 March 2014 Riverside Players Heswall Hall Heswall, Merseyside 08447 391296. www.riversideplayers.org Farndale Avenue Housing Estates Towns Womens Guild Operatic Society Present ‘The Mikado’, The 28 - 31 October 2013

Vane Tempest Theatre Group Seaham School of Technology Seaham, Co. Durham 0191 5819631 Female Transport 16 - 21 September 2013 Hurstpierpoint Players Players Theatre Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex BN6 9PU 01273 833696 www.hurstplayers.org.uk Flint Street Nativity, The 06 - 09 November 2013 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com 11 - 14 December 2013 Encore Productions Pyramid Arts Centre Warrington, Cheshire 01925 442345 www.pyramidparrhall.co.uk 25 - 30 November 2013 Droylsden Little Theatre Droylsden, Manchester 0161 370 7713 www.droylsdenlittletheatre.co.uk Foot in the Door, A 10 - 12 October 2013 Blaby drama group Blaby Social Centre Blaby, Leicestershire 0116 2771157 Blabydramagroup.org.uk Footloose 11 - 16 November 2013 Cassio OS Watford Palace Theatre Watford, Herts 01923 225671 www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk 19 - 22 March 2014 Epsom Players Epsom Playhouse Epsom, Surrey 01372 742555 www.epsomplayers.com Full Monty, The 15 - 19 October 2013 Waveney Light Opera Group Beccles Public Hall Beccles, Suffolk 01501 770060 www.becclespublichall.com Gang Show 24 - 26 April 2014 Hinckley District Scouts Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 847676 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk

Worle ODS - The Sound of Music, October 3rd - 5th

46 | www.asmagazine.co.uk

Girls’ Night 09 - 12 October 2013 Cosmopolitan Players The Carriageworks Leeds, West Yorkshire 01132243801 www.thecosmopolitanplayers.btck.co.uk Glanfa Stage 05 December 2013 Kinetic Theatre arts WMC Cardiff, glamorgan 07557220155 www.kinetictheatrearts.com Glorious 17 - 21 September 2013 Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire 01234 269 519 www.sharnbrookmilltheatre.co.uk God of Carnage 19 - 23 November 2013 Riverside Players Heswall Hall Heswall, Merseyside 08447 391296 www.riversideplayers.org Gondoliers, The 01 October 2013 Havant Light Opera Berry Theatre Hedge End, Hampshire 01489 799 499 www.theberrytheatre.co.uk Goodnight Mister Tom 26 - 28 September 2013 North Devon All Starz Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple, Devon 01271 324242 www.northdevontheatres.org.uk Grand Duke, The 05 October 2013 Christchurch G and S Society Berry Theatre Hedge End, Hampshire 01489 799 499 www.theberrytheatre.co.uk Grease 02 - 12 April 2014 DarlingtonOS Darlington Civic Theatre Darlington, Durham 01325 244659 www.darlingtonos.org.uk 23 - 26 October 2013 HSAP Harrogate, North Yorkshire 01423 502116 www.hsap.co.uk

Ferneham Hall Fareham, Hampshire 01329231942 www.stageoneyouththeatre.co.uk Guys and Dolls 13 - 16 November 2013 Southend-on-Sea Operatic and Dramatic Society Cliffs Pavilion Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex 01702-351135 www.southendoperatic.com Half A Sixpence 05 - 09 November 2013 Worthing Musical Comedy Society Connaught Theatre Worthing, West Sussex 01903206206 wmcs.org.uk 21 - 23 November 2013 Felixstowe Musical Theatre Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge Woodbridge, Suffolk 01394 276770 www.seckfordtheatre.org Hay Fever 16 - 19 October 2013 Broughton Astley Drama Scoiety Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 447483 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk 22 - 25 January 2014 The Tamaritans Theatre Company Devonport Playhouse Plymouth, Devon 01752 606 507 www.thetamaritans.org.uk Hello Dolly 06 - 17 May 2014 Hinckley Concordia AOS Concordia Theatre Hinckley Hinckley, Leicestershire 07855746520 www.concordiaos.co.uk Hello Is There Any Body There?

18 - 20 September 2013 Tickety-Boo Theatre Company Pontefract Town Hall Pontefract, West Yorkshire 01977 799740 www.ticketybootheatre.co.uk High Society 13 - 17 May 2014 Winchester Operatic Society Theatre Royal Winchester Winchester, Hampshire 01962 840440 www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk

31 October - 02 November 2013 Stage One

To get your production/publicity photos published simply email them to editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk

show diary | amateurstage HMS Pinafore 07 - 09 November 2013 Battle Light Opera Group Battle Memorial Halls Battle, East Sussex 01424 211140 www.battlelightoperagroup.org.uk Holywood Nights 17 - 22 March 2014 The Tinhatters Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 610010 www.tinhatters.co.uk Hot Mikado 27 November - 07 December 2013 Sedos Bridewell Theatre London, London www.sedos.co.uk Improbable Fiction 07 - 09 November 2013 RADS The Georgian Theatre Royal Richmond, North Yorkshire 01748 825252 www.richmond-ads.org.uk Inspector Calls, An 09 - 12 October 2013 Trowbridge Players The Arc Theatre Trowbridge, Wiltshire 01225 766241 www.thetrowbridgeplayers.co.uk Into the Woods 19 - 21 September 2013 Simply Theatre Rhoda McGaw Theatre Woking, Surrey 07786002744 www.simplytheatre.net Ira Levin’s Deathtrap 14 - 16 November 2013 HODDESDON PLAYERS BROXBOURNE CIVIC HALL Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire 01992 465665 hoddesdonplayers.org.uk Jack And The Beanstalk 08 - 12 January 2014 New Forest Players Memorial Hall New Milton, Hants 0845 166 8775 newforestplayers.com 03 - 07 December 2013 Gainsborough Operatic Society Trinity Arts Theatre Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 01427 676655 www.gaos.org 06 - 07 December 2013 Hempstead Dramatic Society Hempstead Village Hall Saffron Walden, Essex see notes www.hempstead-essex.org.uk 08 - 19 January 2014 Jersey Amateur Dramatic Club Jersey Arts Centre St. Helier, Jersey CI 01534 700444 www.artscentre.je 08 January - 01 February 2014 Pantomine Company Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 07528 231379 www.pantomimecompany.com 27 November - 01 December 2013 Pleasure Folk Ormskirk Civic Hall Ormskirk, Lancs, L39 1LN

01695580755 www.pleasurefolk.co.uk 29 November - 07 December 2013 Hook Players Live Theatre Elizabeth Hall Hook, Hampshire 07709214679 www.hookplayers.co.uk Jekyll & Hyde The Musical 02 - 05 October 2013 GDS Productions The Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone, Kent 01622 758611 www.hazlittartscentre.co.uk 26 - 28 September 2013 Backstreet Theatre Company Prince of Wales Theatre Cannock, Staffordshire 07884 431346 www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk Jesus Christ Superstar 29 April - 03 May 2014 Worthing Musical Comedy Society Connaught Theatre Worthing, West Sussex 01903206206 wmcs.org.uk Lady in the Van, The 02 - 11 January 2014 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org Larkin With Women 06 - 09 November 2013 Lighted Fools Theatre Company Riverhouse, Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, Surrey 01932-253354 www.thelittleboxoffice.co/riverhouse Les Miserables - Schools Edition 06 - 08 February 2014 Erewash Musical Society Youth Group Duchess Theatre Long Eaton , Nottinghamshire NG10 1EF 01332 875350 www.erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk Life and Beth 24 - 30 November 2013 Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham Little Theatre Altrincham, Cheshire 0161 928 1113 www.alttheatre.org Locked Room, The 11 - 14 December 2013 Guildburys Theatre Company Electric Theatre Guildford, Surrey 01483 444789 www.guildburys.com Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime 30 October - 02 November 2013 Plays for Laughs Palace Theatre Westcliff, Essex 01702 351135 https://southendtheatres.org.uk Love Letters 02 - 03 November 2013 New Theatre Players - Studio Production Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 611604 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk Macbeth 29 October - 02 November 2013 Sedos Bridewell Theatre London, London www.sedos.co.uk

Mack and Mabel 09 - 12 October 2013 Eldorado Musical Productions Bob Hope Theatre Eltham, London SE9 5TG 0208 850 3702 www.bobhopetheatre.co.uk

Natural Causes 21 - 24 May 2014 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com

22 - 26 October 2013 Ingatestone Musical & Operetta Group Ingatestone Community Club Theatre Ingatestone, Essex 01277 226726 www.imog.org.uk

Nunsense 14 September 2013 All Round Theatre Group Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 456958 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk

Madness of George III, The 04 - 08 March 2014 New Theatre Players Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 613345 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk May One Act Play Festival 12 - 17 May 2014 The EK Rep Theatre The East Kilbride Village Theatre East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 01355 261 000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk Me and My Girl 17 - 21 September 2013 Preston Musical Comedy Society Preston Charter Theatre Preston, Lancashire 0844 844 7714 www.prestonguildhall.com Memory Of Water, The 25 - 28 September 2013 Codsall Dramatic Society Codsall Village Hall Codsall WV8 1PL, West Midlands 07792784908 www.codsalldramaticsociety.co.uk Mikado, The 30 September 2013 Fareham Musical Society Berry Theatre Hedge End, Hampshire 01489 799 499 www.theberrytheatre.co.uk 17 - 22 February 2014 Hinckley Community Guild AOS Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 847676 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk Monty Python - And Now For Something Completely Different 03 - 04 May 2014 New Theatre Players - Studio Theatre Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 611604 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk Moonlight and Magnolias 22 - 31 May 2014 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org Murder is Announced, A 17 - 21 September 2013 Centenary Theatre Company The Brindley Theatre Runcorn, Cheshire 0151 907 8360 www.thebrindley.org.uk Music Man, The 07 - 12 April 2014 Lewes Operatic Society Lewes Town Hall Lewes, East Sussex 01273 480127 www.lewesoperatic.co.uk

30 October - 02 November 2013 Epsom Players Myers Studio, Epsom Playhouse Epsom , Surrey 01737 279289 www.epsomplayers.com Odd Couple ( female version), The 24 - 26 October 2013 Trinity Players Trinity Parish Hall Southend, Essex 01702 584201 https://www.facebook.com/ groups/263471796252/ Of Mice and Men 07 - 12 October 2013 Droylsden Little Theatre Droylsden Little Theatre Droylsden, Manchester 0161 370 7713 www.droylsdenlittletheatre.co.uk Office Party 25 February - 01 March 2014 Cosmopolitan Players The Carriageworks Leeds, West Yorkshire 0113 224 3801 www.carriageworkstheatre.org.uk Oh, Clarence!

04 - 07 December 2013 The Argyle Players Tovey Hall, Central United Reformed Church Bath, Somerset 01225 858112 www.bathcentralurc.btck.co.uk Oklahoma!

08 - 12 October 2013 Wigan Musical Theatre Group St Michael’s Parish Hall WIGAN, LANCS 01942 706106 29 October - 02 November 2013 Northampton Musical Theatre Company Cripps Hall Theatre Northampton , Northamptonshire 01604 258666 www.nmtc.me.uk/index.php?page=boxoffice Oliver!

09 - 12 April 2014 Sidcup Operatic Society Bob Hope Theatre Eltham, London 020 8301 2681 www.sidcupoperaticsociety.com 19 - 22 March 2014 Encore Productions The Brindley Theatre Runcorn, Cheshire 0151 907 8360 www.thebrindley.org.uk 19 - 23 November 2013 Oxted Operatic Society Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 07530 528094 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk

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show diary | amateurstage Oxford House Bethnal Green, london 07944 949807 blackbookevents.co.uk/#/the-sketch-isthe-thing/4551532180 Sleeping Beauty 05 - 08 December 2013 PENARTH OPERATIC & DRAMATIC SOCIETY THE PAGET ROOMS PENARTH, Vale of Glamorgan 029 20712260 www.pods-penarth.org 16 - 25 January 2014 Knutsford Little Theatre Knutsford, Cheshire 01565633000 www.knutsfordlittletheatre.com Sleuth 30 October - 02 November 2013 New Forest Players Ballard School New Milton, Hants 0845 166 8775 newforestplayers.com Snake in the Grass 12 - 15 February 2014 Burnley Garrick Club ACE Centre NELSON, Lancashire 01282 661080 www.thegarrick.org Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me 03 - 05 April 2014 Woodford Players Woodford Community Centre Stockport, Cheshire 0161 439 7535 www.woodfordplayers.co.uk Sound of Music, The 05 - 16 November 2013 Hinckley Amateur Operatic Scoiety Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 07855 746520 www.concordiaos.co.uk South Pacific 01 - 05 October 2013 Bath Light Operatic Group Theatre Royal Bath, BANES 01225 448844 Www.theatreroyal.co.uk Southern Counties Drama Festival 24 February - 01 March 2014 SCDF Barn Theatre Oxted, Surrey 01959 561811 www.barntheatreoxted.co.uk

Spring and Port Wine 06 - 09 November 2013 Stafford Players Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Stafford, Staffs 01785 254653 www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk Steamie, The 15 - 19 October 2013 The Lyric Club Hutchesons’ Grammar School Drama Studio Glasgow G41 4NW, Glasgow City 07411 977851 www.lyricclub.net Stepping Out 09 - 12 April 2014 New Forest Players Ballard School New Milton, Hants 0845 166 8775 newforestplayers.com

26 - 29 March 2014 Eldorado Musical Productions Bob Hope Theatre Eltham, London SE9 5TG 0208 850 3702 www.bobhopetheatre.co.uk Treasure Island 05 - 07 December 2013 Mawdesley Amateur Dramatics Society Mawdesley Village Hall Mawdesley, Lancashire 07894587397 www.madsociety.co.uk Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore 04 October 2013 Pocket G&S and Southampton Operatic Society Berry Theatre Hedge End, Hampshire 01489 799 499 www.theberrytheatre.co.uk

21 - 30 November 2013 The Miller Centre Theatre Company The Miller Centre Caterham, Surrey 01883 349850 www.miilercentretheatre.org

Trying For The World 22 - 26 October 2013 Playgoers Theatre Royal Workington, Cumbria 01900 602122 www.workington-playgoers.org.uk

Strictly Musicals 23 October - 02 November 2013 DarlingtonOS Darlington Civic Theatre Darlington, Durham 01325 244659 www.darlingtonos.org.uk

Unoriginal Sin 15 - 16 February 2014 New Theatre Players - Studio Production Concordia Theatre Hinckley, Leicestershire 01455 611604 www.concordiatheatre.co.uk

Teechers 30 October - 02 November 2013 CADOS Mornington Hall Chingford, E4 7EN 0208 524 4380

Up Pompeii 21 - 24 May 2014 Cosmopolitan Players The Carriageworks Leeds, West Yorkshire 0113 224 3801 www.thecosmopolitanplayers.btck.co.uk

Ten of the Best 2 25 - 26 October 2013 Eclipse Performing Arts The Core Theatre @ The Cube Corby, Northamptonshire 01536 427427 www.eclipsepa.org Thoroughly Modern Millie 08 - 10 May 2014 Battle Light Opera Group Battle Memorial Halls Battle, East Sussex 01424 211140 www.battlelightoperagroup.org.uk 11 - 14 September 2013 CUDOS The Victoria Hall Crewkerne, Somerset 0146074380 www.cudos.org.uk/index.htm

Wedding Singer, The 23 - 26 October 2013 Whitefield AODS The Met Bury, Greater Manchester 07582683636 www.waods.co.uk We’ll Always Have Paris 13 - 17 May 2014 Riverside Players Heswall Hall Heswall, Merseyside 08447 391296 www.riversideplayers.org What’s All The Fuss About?

26 - 30 November 2013 Rockhopper Productions Stoke Repertory Theatre Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire 0844 870 0887

When We Are Married 06 - 09 November 2013 Ruislip Dramatic Society Compass Theatre Ickenham, Middlesex 01895 675343 www.ruislipdramatic.org 24 - 26 October 2013 Theydon Bois Drama Society Theydon Bois Village Hall Theydon Bois, Essex 01992812250 www.theydondrama.org Whisky Galore 09 - 12 April 2014 The EK Rep Theatre The East Kilbride Village Theatre East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 01355 261 000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk Whistle Down The Wind 22 - 26 October 2013 ELODS The Wyllyotts Theatre Potters Bar, Herts 07770 871 140 www.elods.org.uk Wiz, The 22 - 26 October 2013 Stevenage Lytton Players The Lytton Theatre Stevenage, Hertfordshire 01438 357407 www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/41610 Wizard of Oz, The 10 - 12 November 2013 Rainbow Youth Theatre Harraton Community Centre Washington, Tyne & Wear 01914163454 www.rainbowyouththeatre.co.uk Woman of No Importance , A 23 - 26 October 2013 BELMONT THEATRE The Pump House Theatre, Watford Watford, HERTFORDSHIRE WD17 2JP 07917 324179 www.belmonttheatre.co.uk Yeomen of the Guard, The 05 October 2013 Opera Comique Berry Theatre Hedge End, Hampshire 01489 799 499 www.theberrytheatre.co.uk 20 - 23 November 2013 Maidenhead Operatic Society Desborough Suite, Town Hall Maidenhead, Berkshire 01628 671589 www.mos-uk.org

Keighly Playhouse - Duets

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amateurstage | curtain call

>my top five We’d like to invite you to contribute your ultimate list of plays or musicals. Tell us what you like about them and why they hold a place on your ultimate list. Email your choices and reasons to: editor@amateurstagemagazine.co.uk

Stephanie Powell has always enjoyed being on stage. Starting at an early age with her local drama school and taking part in school productions. She got her taste for musical theatre at the age of 12 when her local society Alton Operatic and Dramatic Society put on Fiddler on the Roof. After that she was an active member of AODS both on and off stage. After university she moved to Somerset and joined local society Weston Operatic Society taking part in a number of productions as part of the chours. She moved to WODS musical theatre company in 2009 and has enjoyed taking on the challenge of having minor roles to play and is now secretary for the society - www.worleoperatic.co.uk

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Miss Saigon To find your true love is hard enough, but to find it in time of war is sometimes harder. Especially if you find it in the ‘enemy’. A young girl (Kim) comes to Saigon to escape a pre-arranged marriage and falls in love with a GI (Chris). When America are forced to leave the city Chris has a hard decision to make and leaves his young bride behind, unknown to him already pregnant with his son. Years later Chris still dreams of his young bride and goes to find her, with the help of a friend. Kim has been struggling to raise a ‘half cast’ child who is rejected by both nations. A hard decision to make Kim decides that her son would be better off with his father and chooses to end her own life to make this happen. I love this show with the plot - touching on a subject that so often is forgotten due to the nature of the Vietnam War.

Blood Brothers The story of twin boys separated at birth, one kept and brought up with little and the other with everything money could buy. The musical narrates how they grew up and how, in the end, their lives ended - “born and died on the very same day”. The plot is so moving and nothing can compare to the decision a mother has to make for the sake of her child. “Tell me it’s not true” is still one of my favourite songs.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Having had the opportunity to take part in this musical and then seeing it in the West End has heightened by love for the diversity of music. Using comedy to lighten the topic of cannibalism is brilliant. However it is never far from our minds that determination of Sweeney to seek revenge for the ‘death’ of his wife and manipulation of his only daughter Joanna at the hands of Judge Turpin. I would like to say it all ends happily ever after...but it remains a dark show from start to finish which make a nice change to other musical productions.

The Secret Garden A very moving production. We follow the story of Mary Lennox as she moves from India to Yorkshire. As she discovers a hidden garden in the grounds of her uncle’s home the magic spreads throughout the household. Meeting her cousin, Mary uses her faith in magic to help him. “Come spirit come charm” is a beautiful song that sees Colin start to walk again. There are other songs that move you close to tears, and the one for me is ‘Lilies Eyes’ a duet between brothers Archibald and Neville as they compare Mary to Lilly (Archibald’s wife).

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s production of “Macbeth” A fabulous play based on Shakespeare’s play, but with a twist. The old superstition of mentioning the ‘Scottish play’ in a theatre is ripe in this production. Everything that could go wrong does. One of the witches breaks her leg on her way to the theatre, Lady Macbeth is taken ill and the stage manager (one of only 2 men in the show) has to stand in. I loved being part of the production. This is a great play to put on if you have a female heavy society.

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