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Notice is hereby given that
the 36th AGM of the Cheshire Theatre Guild will take place on Thursday July 13th
2000 commencing at 7.30 p.m. prompt at Byley Village Church Hall. AGM/AWARDS
NIGHT
This year we will be hosted by
the Byley Village Players who will proudly be showing off their
"Home" the NEW Church Hall. Where is Byley you ask ? Fear not
you will be supplied with directions described by adjudicator Pamela
Slater as "the most comprehensive I have ever come across".
This year we will again watch
timings carefully to ensure a finish no later than 10.30p.m. Following the AGM
there will be the usual 3 play extracts to entertain you before Pamela gives her
summing up of the year and announces the nominations and winners. Don’t forget
the POSTER COMPETITION - please get these to me by the end of June
by posting to 93, Chester Rd.,
Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 9EU.
The usual reminder to have
salvers, cups etc. from last years winners available for me to collect in time
for re-engraving. I will contact you to arrange collection.
Enclosed with this newsletter
is a ticket application and numbers are limited to 150 - this may seem ample but
remember we do have a much enlarged Guild from a few years ago - get your
request in EARLY to avoid disappointment.
Also you will find a NOMINATION FORM and remember you can put forward any
member of your group to join the committee. ONE ACT PLAY
FESTIVAL.
This year we have 11 entries
in the competition and a programme is in the course of preparation. I have not
yet received all of the scripts and cast lists, so if you have not sent me yours
please do so without further delay.
Our adjudicator Derek Slater
needs your script to read before the event and also a list of your cast so that
he knows who's who when it comes to the awards.
The Guild has a responsibility
to ensure that all entries are performed legitimately so please don't forget to
send me a copy of you royaIty receipts before performance.
Meanwhile GOOD LUCK with your
entries and if you have any questions or problems please give me a ring and !
will do my best to help.
Gerry Card CHESHIRE
THEATRE GUILD LUNCH.
This year' s annual lunch for
Cheshire Theatre Guild chairpersons and secretaries was held on 30th April at
The Club Theatre, Altrincham.
As well as the usual buffet
lunch and opportunity for a chin-wag with members of other societies, this
year's annual lunch featured a mini workshop entitled Bums On Seats and run by
Derek Slater.
The workshop offered the
opportunity for some highly interactive discussion on the ins and outs ofpulling
in the punters. Derek broke the discussion up into four main sections, which I
will share with you now.
Firstly, Derek asked us to
consider what factors determine audience attendance. The play? The quality of
our performances? Value for money? Local competition? It was overwhelmingly
agreed that the choice of play has got to be right. Choose a whole season of
unheard of plays from obscure playwrights (even though they may be excellent
plays), and you'll soon be in the red. On the other hand, if you keep choosing
Hobson 's Choice and When We Are Married you might well end up with bored
actors! Additionally, keep the quality of the performances up - a poorly
produced play may well affect the attendance for subsequent plays in the season.
Secondly, Derek sought our
views as to the make-up of our audiences. Most of us would appear to have
audiences made up (to a reasonable extent) of middle class ladies over 45! I'm
being flippant and generalising - but it is worth considering just what sort of
people you are trying to attract. Do you want more of the same, or do you want
to try to attract other groups? This may affect your choice of play and method
of publicity .
Next, Derek gave us a number
of useful insights into the problems with publicity. A few of the points were:
Take care with how you put
over your play. For example, proclaiming "Contains offensive language"
on your poster is actually likely to put off some people.
Perhaps when they see the play
as a whole and in context, the bad language might not offend them anyway.
Consider the
cost-effectiveness of your publicity methods. Is the £80 you spend on an advert
in the paper going to pay for itself?
Use of the media: careful use
of local papers can yield some excellent articles. But try to find a 'hook' for
the article. "Local amdram society put on a play" is not going to
interest the papers or their readers. "Bert appears on stage only one month
after car crash" is more likely to get printed. Plan your photos and make
them interesting. Consider hiring a photo-journalist to take the photos for you
and deliver the whole article and photo on a plate to the paper.
Finally, Derek recommended
looking at the 'broader picture'. Consider having a logo and brochure
professionally designed. How about open days? Backstage tours? Open rehearsals?
Could your theatre be used for some other function, such as an art
exhibition, in order to get
more people through the doors?
A few thanks are in order for
this splendid event. Thanks to the CTG committee for the organization and the
lovely buffet. Thanks also to The Club Theatre for accommodating us in their
very comfortable theatre. Finally, of course, thanks to Derek for providing such
a useful, informative and entertaining workshop.
Bill
Beton
NORTH WEST
Email LIST
Wilmslow Guild Players have an
email mailing list, which allows people interested in Wilmslow Guild Players productions to receive updates by
email on forthcoming productions and events.
This got me thinking - with
the rising popularity and use of the Internet (and especially email now it is
available on cable and satellite TV systems), wouldn't this be useful for other
groups as well?
I therefore set up the 'NWTheatre'
mailing list, which is intended for people interested in theatre throughout the
North W est area (amateur and professional). Anyone can join the list and send
information to it on their forthcoming productions (or even post a review of a
production they have seen). This posting is sent to all members of the mailing
list.
To join, you send a blank email to. NWTheatre-subscribe@egroups.com
To post to the mailing list, you send the email to:
I hope that this mailing list
will be useful for both audiences and theatre groups, and make it easier for
people to find out about theatre in the North West.
If you have access to email, perhaps you would like
to:
- join the list yourself
- use the list to publicise your group's
forthcoming productions
- publicise the list to your members and audience
(mention it in your newsletter and programme)
If you have any comments, please email me at
bill.beton@virgin.net
Bill Beton FOR SALE .
Step Box as new
Offers please to
Note. This is the first time I can recall inserting
a "For Sale" notice in the newsletter. Why not make use of the
newsletter if your group have something to sell - a set of play copies, a prop
you no longer need, lighting you no longer use etc.. We could also have a
"WANTED" feature for anyone in search of an elusive item" The CTG
is here to help in any way we can. A TEST OF
MEMORY.
Brian Rix recalls an occasion
when help from the prompt corner was unforthcoming. "There was an actress
on stage with Jimmy Haggart in The Young Mrs. Barrington. They had a big scene
coming up and they both dried totally. Eventually he ran off stage to the prompt
corner and she Shouted after him, "Jimmy, Jimmy, come back you rotten sod,
it’s my best scene ! " ,
From Exit Through the Fireplace - the great days of
rep.
SEE YOU ON JULY 13th and GOOD LUCK " YEAR 2000
HANDBOOK
This is now available and has
been very well received - copies were given out at the lunch - a few have been
distributed since but the difficulty is that to post them would be expensive and
would risk damaging them. More will be given out at the AGM/AWARDS and if there
are still groups without a copy special arrangements will be made to get these
to you. |
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