'Pologies y'all, for the cowboy-isms OM&M is kinda gettin' to me...
Ed
An awful lot seems to have happened since the AGM in early January, and there's so much to squeeze into this Newsletter that you will have to make do with a prιcis here, or look at the AGM Minutes published elsewhere on the website to read about it in full.
The AGM on 9th January was well attended. We got double booked at the Packhorse so we all squeezed into Gillie and Michael's kitchen with wine and nibbles. Under the influence of these it seems everyone present joined the Committee so we are bulging with enthusiasm and talent. We said a fond farewell to Tony Atkinson who served us loyally this past year and who proffered his wife Val as his replacement. Also new, and very welcome, on the Committee are Denise Gibbons, Den Hunt and Alan Woolley. They join Claudia Berry, Martin Coat, Heather and Philip de Glanville, Geoff Hunt and Lesley Swinburn who all agreed to stand again. Michael Hoskinson will continue as Treasurer (bless him), Ally Maryon as Secretary (praise be) and Gillie Richardson as Chairman (thank God).
The most important news however is that we are in funds again, with a healthy bank balance, and that we are full of optimism for the coming year!
Philip de Glanville reports...
Even allowing for the honeymoon period you sometimes get at the beginning of a production I have to say that Of Mice & Men is going particularly well. We struggled a bit to complete the casting initially but for the past three weeks or so we have been up to full strength and everyone is really buckling down. Morale at rehearsals is exceptionally high and over half the cast are off the book already, which is quite remarkable, when you consider they have been rehearsing for just a month and have two months to go until Production Week.
If we could find a dog now (old, quiet, sheep-dog type) for Candy my joy would be complete! Trixie Collin has very kindly offered her lovely blue collie. However she (the collie) looks pretty fit and youthful at the moment and was full of bounce when I met her (but then so was Trixie, come to think of it). Anyway I have said we must keep looking for the time being.
I wouldn't want to tempt fate by being to over-confident about it but the signs are that this has the makings of an exceptional production. We are doing a Friday afternoon matinee for schools and this is close to being fully sold (187 tickets booked already). The other three performances are also selling well, so please don't leave it too late to get yours. Why not ring the Box Office right now (01373 465949) and reserve them?
The Production team too are pulling together nicely. We had our first meeting in January and already ideas are being gathered and plans to start building the set are well under way. Trixie is doing a great job with sourcing props and is looking particularly for old grey blankets (Army sort) and pillows ideally with old-fashioned striped ticking. Can anyone help? Please email her at Trixcollin@aol.com
We are still open to offers of help with the show either during the set construction phase, starting in the next couple of weeks and masterminded by Alan Woolley, or during Production Week (get in Sunday 23rd April) when we will need some more stage crew, under the direction of Titch who has said he would be happy to stage manage.
We are meeting again at The Red Cottage at 8pm on Monday 6th March, and would welcome new Production Team members if anyone wants to join us. Alternatively, if you have any interest in creating SFX, you could come to Frome Health Centre at 1100 sharp on Sunday 5th March where Simon Bowman will be starting to put together the soundtrack. We will be going from there, with most of the cast, to record some outdoor effects in Vallis Vale which should be good fun, though you will need warm clothing and wellies!
We plan to finish up in the Packhorse at 1400, so you could join us for a drink afterwards too.
Lastly we are having a bit of a problem with Mendip in relation to our publicity boards. Is there anyone who has a suitable garden on one of the main roads in Frome who would be happy to display a board for the two weeks before the show ie mid April? If so please let us know on 01373 472997
PdeG
Philip again... (Again?!)
Yes, I'm sorry but no one else put their hand up when Gillie asked for someone to volunteer to direct the Autumn Production, and so it has fallen to me once more (and probably more than once more, unless we can persuade someone else to have a go).
I am in a bit of a quandary as to what to choose. The Committee are quite keen on either an Agatha Christie or a farce. We had hoped to do Dracula, and we read an excellent version by Liz Lochead in February, but it would be awfully difficult to stage effectively I suspect, and very challenging to perform. We had a respectable turnout for the reading but no obvious candidates for the major roles alas, and we do have to be able to cast our productions from the willing and able amongst our members. I think we may have to keep it in reserve for the time being.
The March reading may clarify things a bit we are going to have a go at Murder In The Vicarage, which is a Miss Marple murder mystery with an ingenious plot (aren't they all!) and a good range of characters of all ages. Not too difficult to do, nice period style, and likely to be very popular with our audiences, after a relatively 'highbrow' Steinbeck classic.
And in April we are going to read It Runs In The Family probably one of Ray Cooney's best farces, and this one is truly hilarious, though it does need some very fine/experienced performances both male and female. I have seen it done twice by amateurs and laughed to the point of exhaustion on both occasions.
We are doing our best to find plays which have appeal to both actors and audiences, but we do need members to come to readings so that we can see how they might work. So, if you think you might be up for something fun/funny in November do come to both . It will help a lot.
PdeG
With thanks to MH for this inspired headline
And looking further into the future, Michael (Hoskinson) has come up with a bold idea for Autumn 2007 he suggests we redress the gender imbalance created by having a mainly male play this Spring and go for a mainly female one in 18 months time specifically Stepping Out, by Richard Harris.Those who know this wonderfully uplifting play may be somewhat stunned at the proposal since it involves getting at least seven ladies (and by and large
I mean ladies, not just youngsters fresh out of Jill Wigham's), and one man, to learn to tap dance well enough to be convincing and entertaining. The idea is to book weekly tap lessons at the individual's expense, probably with Janet Alden, who has a dance school on Christchurch St W, and start this September with a view to casting 12 months later. Oh, and one of the ladies has to play the piano rather well and the male has to play it very badly.
It is a tall order, but lots of the female Committee say they are up for it and it seems possible therefore that there will be a similar response amongst the Membership, once they have had a similar amount to drink.
What do you all think? Email Michael at m.hoskinson@virgin.net
Actually it isn't completely, but your editor will always bend the truth shamelessly for another appealing headline.
Unfortunately our one-act play entry in the Merlin Festival Lunch by Stephen Berkhof, which Emily Lewis is directing, has run into a series of snags.
Rehearsals were going well but have ground to a halt these past two weeks because one of the cast has been ill, and so plans to enter it in the County Drama Festival in 10 days time have had to be abandoned. Now the Merlin Festival has also been cancelled because three of the entries have been withdrawn and sadly, for the moment, we have nowhere to perform it.
Moreover Claudia Berry, who was playing 'The Girl' is going into rehearsal for An Evening With Gary Lineker quite soon, to be directed for the Memorial Theatre by Martin Dimery, and so has had to withdraw.
Emily has therefore decided to mothball the production for the time being but will be thinking about re-casting. An email will be going round when we have more news on this.
The Committee has long felt that we should have at least some involvement in the Frome Festival and that we should be encouraging a swing towards a bit more theatre in what has been mainly a music and visual arts affair. To this end we have persuaded Martin Bax to promote a play reading (well, it's a start) and we've decided to dig out Alan Bennet's Habeas Corpus because it seems to be everyone's favourite. We will be reading it in The Packhorse on Monday 10th July, 8pm as usual, and will hope for a good turnout. You will be getting reminders of course and it will be in the Festival Programme.
In addition Emily is hoping to get Lunch up and running again and to perform it at the Griffin Inn during the Festival probably the first week in July. More news on this in May's issue.
Monday 6th March
OM&M Production Meeting
35 Fromefield at 8pm
Monday 13th March
Playreading:
Murder at the Vicarage
Lunch
by Agatha Christie
The Packhorse, 8pm
A possible contender for our Autumn Production.
All welcome!
Monday 10th April
Playreading:
It Runs in the Family
by Ray Cooney
The Packhorse, 8pm
A possible contender for our Autumn Production.
All welcome!
Thursday 27th
Friday 28th
Saturday 29th April
Spring Production:
Of Mice & Men
The Merlin, 7.45pm
Box Office 01373 465949