Frome Drama Club Newsletter

June/July 2005

SUMMER PARTY

We had rather a good FDC party in December, when people came in silly hats and we played theatrical sort of games, so the Committee thought we ought to get together again this summer, particularly since we have quite a lot to celebrate!
The FDC Midsummer Party will be on Sunday 12th June in the garden of Philip and Heather’s house – The Red Cottage, 35 Fromefield. If you aren’t sure where that is, do please ring for directions (01373 472997). We will be barbecueing, playing croquet and other outdoor pursuits, and no doubt Gillie will be swimming in the leat as darkness falls. No, DON’T bring a costume...
The revelling will start at about 6pm. You will need to bring £5 each to cover food and softish drinks, but if you intend to consume a lot of alcohol please bring some of that too.
Let Heather know asap if you are planning to come – email her at pmdeglanville@blueyonder.co.uk or phone her on 01373 472997. We will need numbers by midnight on Friday 10th at the very latest.

AUTUMN PRODUCTION

Sadly we have to announce, for the second year running, that we haven’t been able to cast R&J. It is not for want of trying. Bob Gooding held a well attended workshop in April and was inundated with potential Juliets and up until about a week ago it looked as though he had found a very promising Romeo, as well as some of the other teenage male parts. But the arrangements have fallen through alas, and it looks as though it is now too late to recruit anyone because of the imminence of the exam season. So it is back to the drawing board… The Committee are meeting this Wednesday (1st June) and will be discussing other options. Watch this space.

FULL HOUSES FOR COLD COMFORT FARM!

Well – one full house at least! The public response to our Spring Production was phenomenal. Even on our opening night we were over 2/3rds full, there were only 15 seats left unsold on the next night, and they were turning people away on the final night of the run of Cold Comfort Farm. We took well over £4000. Not that the final profit was that great, because we spent quite a bit more on the production than we had originally intended, but we are hoping it will be about £1000 once the props are sold and all accounts are settled.
It is a good many years since we had such a success. The last time FDC put out the ‘house-full’ notices was in Autumn 2000, for Macbeth, and on that occasion quite a few seats were taken up by schools with block-bookings. That wasn’t the case with CCF. As far as I know there were no school parties at all and the Merlin tell us that people were coming from far afield, many of them for the first time ever.

I can not let another day pass without writing to thank you and all the cast for that literally breathtaking performance of Cold Comfort Farm.
It was just magical from beginning to end; impossible to cite one performance above another, everyone was exceptionally good.
There is just nothing else I can say except congratulations and thank you for a wonderful evening, one and all.

Yours sincerely
Peter Fussell. Oakhill
Peter has since become a Friend of FDC

Why was the show so popular? Clearly the story is well known and well loved and this must have helped, though there were at least some in the audience who had their doubts about whether an amateur performance would do it justice.
Fortunately Paul Doust’s adaptation was excellent, and in the event it would seem that the majority of Stella Gibbons fans were pleasantly surprised by how well the book came across on stage.

Aunt Ada ensnares her family in the dreaded sukebind

But the surprisingly good advanced sales must have been due mainly to the extra effort we made with publicity this year. Having an eye-catching poster probably helped (and printing it in full colour was certainly worthwhile), Geoff Hunt’s banner went up in good time and he is steadily increasing the number of roadside boards, Lesley Swinburn’s display in the Library created a lot of interest, the large cast generated extra audience in terms of family and friends, and perhaps most importantly we had very good press coverage in the weeks leading up to the production, thanks to Claudia’s hard work and enthusiasm.

The production of Cold Comfort Farm by the Frome Drama Club at the Merlin Theatre on Saturday, April 16, was truly exceptional.
The professionalism of this amateur group would be difficult to surpass. The casting really worked and every actor played their part well.
Congratulations to Claudia Pepler-Berry for her intelligent and witty performance as Flora Poste, and to Martin Coat for his sexy, sultry rendition of Seth.
Thank you Frome Drama Club for a fabulous evening.

Valerie Stanley, Stoke St Michael.

Press cutting

The audiences really did seem to enjoy themselves, in the main, judging from the feedback we have all had since, and from the gales of laughter and the spontaneous applause we got for some of the set pieces. Caroline Wood, writing in the Somerset Standard, described the casting as “sublime” and said that Cold Comfort Farm was “a hoot from start to finish”. Gay Pirie-Wier, reviewing the show for the Fosseway, complimented Claudia on her delightful performance and said that the whole thing was “an excellent example of ensemble work”

The Starkadder family in the kitchen

It is difficult for me to be objective about it, having been so close to the play for so long, but sitting at the Merlin a couple of weeks later watching the video playback with quite a few of the cast and crew, I could see why our production had such a broad appeal. It is almost impossible to capture the atmosphere and fun of a live performance on video, but Adam Bowman did an excellent job, using two cameras (his own and one operated by Myles Painter) and he edited it with great skill and imagination. I think, on reflection, that the pace could have been tweaked up quite a bit, and I know that audibility was a problem for some people towards the back of the theatre, but the whole thing looked wonderful, it flowed well and it was certainly amusing and entertaining.

In the chapel with the Quivering Brethren

The essence of a production of this size and complexity is teamwork and I think the quality of performance from everyone involved was exceptional. I was particularly pleased with the many ensemble pieces, which were so detailed and always interesting, and with the way people worked on their characters to make them ‘real’, in a theatrical sense. There were no passengers at all in a cast of 21. And this is truly remarkable considering that approximately a third of the them were new to FDC and had had little or no previous experience on stage.

It is, as they always say in situations like this, invidious to single out any particular actor when the overall standard was so high, but I’m sure you will understand that I must pay special tribute to Claudia, whose performance as Flora Poste was pivotal to the success of the show. She understood her character from the outset and she gave her life, so much so that it seemed sometimes that the part had been written for her. I think this is often the mark of a great performance. She made it look easy, but I know how hard she worked to create this role, and how much of herself she gave to it, and how justly she deserves all the plaudits and congratulations which have been showered on her since.

Claudia as Flora Poste

I must also pay tribute to the Production team who gave the show its ‘professional’ quality and its authentic look:
Heather’s costumes were outstanding throughout, and dazzling, even, at the Hautcouture Ball. The high standards she sets herself, and the trouble she goes to, do pay off and the overall effect was beautiful. There were a lot of very fast changes too - 65 different costumes in all - but she and her wardrobe team (Gilly Richardson and Den Hunt) didn’t put a foot wrong.
Which reminds me also to mention and to thank Saz Kiernan, who gave up so much of her time in rehearsal to teach us to waltz and to jig. I think most would agree that the waltzing wasn’t too awful in the end, and that the jig was, in a cheerful sort of way. But no one seemed to mind very much at that stage of the play and I was pleased to see on the video that what we lacked in skill we more than made up for in joyous enthusiasm.
Ally Maryon’s props gave her quite a headache in the run-up to the production but they were all just right on the night, and she and Carla Besley ran their department backstage with military precision.
Alan Woolley’s contribution as set builder and Stage Manager was enormous, and his son Ian (who happened to be at home on holiday and got roped in as usual) was largely responsibly for all the wonderful set painting. Ian, with Geoff Hunt (who also constructed the gorgeous Hautcouture staircase) also formed the backbone of the stage crew, and their quiet efficiency was an inspiration, but we couldn’t have managed without the additional people recruited to help on various nights (Dave Fussell, Jim & Bev Pateman and Will Adcock) and we are very grateful to them all.
And lastly an enormous thank you to Simon Bowman, who cheerfully created and played the very complex soundtrack with his customary enthusiasm, skill and quiet efficiency, and to Chris Samuels, whose imaginative lighting was of the highest quality as always, and whose support of us as FDC is without parallel.

The engagement is announced – Hautcouture Hall

To have had a ‘hit’ with Cold Comfort Farm was probably just what we needed at this stage; attracting new audiences, unearthing new talent and recruiting new members, as well as having a great deal of fun, is all healthy life-promoting stuff. And we hope it has set the seal on what appears to be a renaissance in FDC’s popularity.
But we must now build on it yet further, by doing plays which are not only artistically satisfying but which are also ones people want to see, so as to maintain a loyal audience base, and enable us to budget realistically in future. We spent far more on this production than we could afford, but fortunately the gamble paid off. It would be nice to get to a point where we can rely on audiences to come and support FDC productions whatever they are, just as (we hope) they can rely on us to make it worth coming, so that we don’t have to gamble again.
Philip de Glanville

Shakespeare in Bath

David Riley giving us his Malvolio with gusto, in Victoria Park.

The club was approached recently by the charity NCH to contribute to a day of Shakespeare in Victoria Park, Bath as part of the city’s Festival week. At fairly short notice we came up with the idea of “The Gulling Of Malvolio” extracted from “Twelfth Night” and, at even shorter notice, came up with a director in search of six actors! (Apologies to Luigi Pirandello)
After some hurried rehearsals, Philip de Glanville (Sir Toby), Gareth Leake (Sir Andrew), Lesley Swinburn (Maria), David Riley (Malvolio), Geoff Hunt (Fabian), Keely Beresford (Olivia) and Michael Hoskinson (director) took up position last Saturday, 28th May before the park bandstand in a force 8 gale and strutted their stuff.
As the NCH had billed the event (for some reason) as Natural Shakespeare, it had been suggested that we perform in the nude. Typically, however, none of the actors felt that their part was big enough. In view of the cold wind we encountered, this would undoubtedly have been true.
Instead, the actors did the club proud with an excellent performance which drew many a passer-by and a well deserved round of applause at the close. Sadly, we were only one of three drama groups from a large catchment area who agreed to perform and it will not have proved a big fund raising event. Even so, the NCH charity organisers were very grateful to the club for all the time and effort involved. Well done all!
Michael Hoskinson

Playreading

Some 16 of us turned up at the Packhorse on 11th May to read Alan Ayckbourn’s wonderful comedy “A Chorus of Disapproval”. The basic plot involves a small amateur operatic society putting on their latest production which is to be “The Beggar’s Opera” by John Gay. Into this setting arrives a newcomer who, almost unwittingly, impacts on everyone’s lives both inside and outside the society.
It is Ayckbourn at his best and it reads so well off the page. One or two people came to sit and listen while the remainder all took up various parts during the evening. It was a really enjoyable night and, once again, provided an excellent opportunity for new people to come along and find out more about FDC and its members.
Next reading will be Thursday, 16th June. It is scheduled to be “The Rise & Fall of Little Voice” by Jim Cartwright.
Confirmation in the press and by e-mail. MH

Website

www.fromedrama.com
The keen-eyed computer-literate amongst you may have noticed that at the head of the last and the current Newsletter it now says ‘printable version’. Some magic gismo now enables you to click on this and turn the scrollable version into something more printer friendly, so you can get a hard copy to read, in colour, if you like. Still no nice columns though...

FDC Programme

Sunday 5th June
Barn Clearout:
Lots of you have volunteered to help – meet at Red Cottage 2.30pm. Please park in the road.

Sunday 12th June
Summer Party
Red Cottage from 6pm
Please see article ref letting Heather know numbers in advance. Bring a fiver.

Thursday 16th June
Playreading: The Rise & Fall of Little Voice
The Packhorse, 8pm All welcome!

Playreading in July: TBA