Notice is hereby given that the 43^rd AGM of The Cheshire Theatre Guild will be held on Wednesday July 4^th 2007 at Frodsham Community Centre commencing at 7.30pm prompt. This will be followed by the usual play extracts – the adjudicator’s comments and presentation of awards for the 2006/07 season. A ticket application form is  attached.

Please Note

To ensure a prompt start (and therefore a finish no later than 10.30pm) THE BAR WILL CLOSE AT 7.20 pm and will not re-open until the first interval.

You have been warned so please arrive in good time. Thank you.

This years AGM/Awards will hold some surprises – including the new trophies I told you about in the last newsletter. We also have 2 play extracts that your committee think you will find particularly interesting – one is a controversial play because of it’s theme and strong language. The other is a play that has received very few performances – possibly because of the challenge in staging. Both were hugely successful for the groups concerned – come and see for yourself.

Trophies

I will need to collect these for the new winner’s names to be engraved and will be in touch with the people concerned over the next week – all clean and polished please.

Poster Award

In order for the posters to be judged before the AGM please ensure that these are sent in by Monday 18^th June at the latest.

The posters must be for a play performed during the 2006/07 season – it doesn’t even need to have been adjudicated.

Please send your posters to:

             Mrs Maureen Melville, 24 Forest Close, Cuddington, Northwich, Cheshire CW8 2EE.

Please note if you post your entry in a large envelope you will need to pay postage at the highest rate. I have already had to collect a poster entry from the sorting office at a fee of £1.26 underpaid amount plus a penalty).

Changing Times

I was loaned a 35 year old programme for “The Day After the Fair” – lovingly kept by a theatregoer from when she saw the London production at the Lyric Theatre. My special interest was that I am directing the play at Nantwich Players for early May performance (see diary).

The following caught my eye and I thought you may also be amused.

The management wishes to draw the attention to their patrons to the special service of Tea at matinees price 20p and coffe with buiscuits, price 10p at evening performances, which are served by the attendants. To facilitate service patrons are requested to order in advance. Also available from the attendants, ices at 10p, squash at 5p and chocolates at usual prices.

There was also a notice in the  programme “the use of cameras and tape recorders in the auditorium is strictly prohibited”. With the coming of mobile phone cameras – more difficult to detect – a problem the National Trust with it’s “no photography” rule are finding as I know from my work as a volunteer.

As you will have realised from past newsletters I have athing about mobile phones, so I was none too pleased when at the start of act 2 of “Hay Fever” at Venue Cymru – Llandudno a mobile rang and rang and rang again – didn’t the idiot owner know how to turn the thing off?

Out of the Mouths of Panto Babes

The performance of “Cinderella” at the Crewe Lyceum theatre on 29^th December 2006 was brought to a standstill by a 6 year old child from the audience, brought up on stage for the song sheet. When asked by Buttons ”what do you want to be when you grow up?” the highly focussed tot replied “”A barrister by day and a pole dancer by night”.

And Finally

London cabbies have been given hundreds of free tickets to West End shows including Billy Elliot and Guys and Dolls. On slow nights, theatres invite cabbies to fill the seats, in the hopes they’ll later serve as “ambassadors” for the production.

See you at the AGM.