Chairpersons Lunch (venue The Club Theatre Altrincham)
This
is to be held on Sunday April 30th at 11.45 am for a prompt start at
12 noon. This year we have decided on a slightly different format, there will
still be time to chat and get to know people from other CTG groups and to ask
the CTG committee any questions or to offer any suggestions as to how we may be
of help to you. However, this will be combined with a talk / mini workshop led
by Derek Slater who should need no introduction! His subject will be getting
BUMS ON SEATS or to be more polite – publicity and selling tickets to ensure
full houses. This talk has already been given by Derek at other venues. A prompt
start is essential and we will aim to finish at around 2.00pm.
The
letter with details and reply slip has been sent to all chairpersons and the
invitation is for one other person from the group, and possibly this should be
your publicity officer but the decision is yours.
Summer Courses
With
this newsletter you will find details of the Summer Courses run by the Drama
Association of Wales and RADIUS. There are other week long residential courses
and an article in the March issue of Amateur Stage covered these very
comprehensively. I have never managed to participate in one of these, the
nearest I got was a week-end course run by the Drama Association of Wales and
great fun it was too. If any CTG members do attend one of these longer courses
could we have an article for this newsletter please? There are also short
workshops run by the Chester Gateway Theatre (and others). Some feedback on
these would be appreciated.
One Act Play Festival
The
letter / rules / entry forms were sent
out by Gerry Card some weeks ago, he now awaits your response. The dates are 24th
/ 25th June and the venue is the Wilmslow Guild Players “home”.
The adjudicator is Derek Slater.
Free Paint
Dulux
ICI are offering free paint to voluntary organizations with the proviso that the
redecoration is carried out by volunteers. Full details of the scheme can be
obtained by sending an A4 sae with 60p postage to DULUX COMMUNITY PROJECT
SCHEME,PO box 343, LONDON, WC2E 8RJ.
Don’t
delay in sending, the present offer started in March but I believe will not
continue indefinitely.
Love Begins at Fifty
A
flyer for this modern farce by Raymond Hopkins is sent with this newsletter. It
must be mentioned that the author has dedicated his personal royalties to
Multiple Sclerosis Research.
Millennium Play
Early
in the year you received a letter re this proposed production for the end of May
/ June with Jeff Brailsford as director.
The
replies were slow to come in but eventually we did have sufficient names
including some very talented actors and actresses, we had technical support and
the offer of a venue and rehearsal space.
This
was to be a joint production and the CTG committee felt that at least half the
groups in the Guild should be involved in some way i.e. around 12. Sadly, only a
handful would have been represented and it was reluctantly decided by the
committee and Jeff that under these circumstances it would be wrong to proceed.
There was an atmosphere of gloom at the CTG committee meeting when the decision
was made because we do not like to fail to get a project off the ground.
However, we did learn some lessons and from the feedback we received it could
well be that we will have another try at some future date to stage a Cheshire
Theatre Guild Production.
A Name Change
When
Davenham Players and Sandiway and Cuddington Players decided to combine
resources the name “Phoenix Theatre” was chosen – and a very good choice
too. Unfortunately, the Charities Commission did not agree as the name was
already in use by another company. Consequently the group will now be known as
The Davenham and Sandiway Players (The Players for short) and will operate from
Church Street, Davenham.
The Things We Do For Art
The
production of “Girls Night Out” (see diary) required 4 males prepared to
strip and Don, Tudor, Dave and Gary decided to take this very seriously. This
included a daily workout, diet, tanning and body toning designed by a fitness
trainer who has also banned alcohol.
I
am reliably informed that at least one of the cast was seen sneaking a pint of
Guinness in the bar after rehearsal!
Sir Alan Ayckbourne Remembers his Early Days
Sir
Alan Ayckbourne recalls an embarrassing situation . “I remember playing a
south sea servant in a play called South Sea Bubble by Noel Coward, wearing a
sarong and completely covered with brown make-up from head to toe and rather
self consciously climbing the fly gallery ladder in my sarong to operate the
flies up there”.
Sometimes
an acting ASM could be working quite happily in one part of his job
specification, only to be catapulted with very little warning into the other.
Sir Alan Ayckbourne again “I remember going on at short notice. I was in the
scenic workshop at Worthing painting away, an obscure ASM, and somebody ran up
and said Alan can you come down a minute, they want to see you in the theatre.
This was on a Saturday afternoon. I was drawn to one side by the producer and
stage manager and they said Look, a very grave situation has arisen. We had the
run through this morning and the juvenile actor ran out of the theatre, he’s
had some sort of breakdown and we open on Monday and we want you to take over.
They gave me the script and I went home and I sat up all Sunday learning it,
with my landlady running the lines, and I went in on Monday morning and they
took me through it and in the afternoon I went through it with the company. I
went on on Monday night and I thought, This is it , the dressing room with the
star on, and at the end of the opening night, at the curtain call, the leading
lady Elizabeth Spriggs hugged me and said Well done you have saved us all! The
manager bought me a drink in the bar afterwards and he said Oh Alan, I’ve got
some good news, we’ve got a proper actor coming down tomorrow and I was back
in the workshop! I thought Well, this is the reality of showbiz. But I carried
on playing small parts, which was nice, usually covered in scenic paint.”
From
“Exit Through the Fireplace” the great days of rep by Kate Dunn published by
John Murray.
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