All Over

Well, unfortunately the big crowds stayed away, though we had a very good turnout on the very last night. The majority hadn't pre-booked, so hopefully that meant that word-of-mouth spread the word on what a good production we had.


Graham Collier as Ken Harrison & Ellie Bradley as Dr Scott

Both Friday and Saturday's performances were just about as good as they could possibly have been, and the audience on Saturday started applauding even before our carefully timed final blackout had completed! Great enthusiasm and even a few people standing to give their ovation.


Graham & Ellie with Sandy Hurle as Dr Emerson

I feel proud of what we achieved and incredibly proud of the fabulous work and performances from our cast and crew. Absolutely elated on Saturday night - I couldn't stop smiling!

Now - the come-down. No more rehearsals. No more planning, excitement, expectation. Just memories of a fabulous and very happy time.

Thanks to everyone who took part and everyone who came to watch.

I'll upload some reviews here, if we get any!

And... Relax!

Opening night last night.

I was a little nervous for everyone involved. Not that I needed to be, as I knew that all the people involved in this production are approaching it with the utmost concentration, professionalism and a huge dollop of talent.

It's been a manic week so far. Get-in on Sunday went well enough that we had a run-through on Sunday night. Albeit with a few finishing touches for the set still pending.

Monday we carried on and finished the set, whilst Jonathan (our fantastic lighting guy, borrowed from Runnymede Drama Group) set about focussing the lights. Then in the afternoon, Jon and I worked out the lighting plot, after which Tim, the sound-man, arrived and we ran through the lighting cues and worked out the order of events for the opening and closing of each act.

Then the tech rehearsal on Monday night. It went extremely well. If you've ever attended a 'tech' you'll know how stressful they can be. But we were finished by 21.30, and that was after running Act 1 cues twice and Act 2 once.

All that preparation meant that the Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday was a breeze. A perfect performance from all concerned. Though we also spotted a couple of places where the lighting plot could be tightened up and we re-worked the end of Act 1 as it wasn't flowing well at 'full-speed'.

So, last night it was all down to everyone else. My job is done. Though I doubt that will stop me sneaking backstage and giving a few helpful notes to try to improve things further. And to pep up those actors who need a boost of confidence.

I daren't post a review here myself. I'm far too biased. But I think it's a fabulous production; the credit for which goes to all those people on-stage and behind the scenes when the show is running.

If you miss it, you'll have missed out on a treat!

Having Fun

Last night was our last rehearsal before we get-in.

I decided we needed to have some fun with it, to remind everyone of why we take part in am-dram, before we get into the serious (and seriously quick & intense) business of getting the play working in the actual theatre.

So, after playing a concentration game, I announced that we would be doing a speed-run. Everyone was to play their parts at double the normal speed, only without gabbling their words.

It was great fun. Barely a prompt was needed and everyone picked up their cues with no problem. So hopefully the exercise will have given everyone confidence that they don't need to worry or be nervous about what they're doing.

The speed-run also gave everyone a bit of license to mess about with the show a bit. They exaggerated certain expressions and ad-libbed bits of business as it occurred to them. Hopefully this will give everyone the confidence to leave a little freedom in their performances, without losing the intention of the author.

Unfortunately, in amateur theatre, we are discouraged from 'exploring' the text of a play. The terms of the license from the publishers do not allow us to change any of the words without prior permission - even though a good actor will be able to find acceptably alternative ways of expressing the same feeling, emotion or opinion that the author intends.

Anyway, it's nice to be able to start the get-in and work on all the technical stuff (building sets, plotting lights and sound) without having half a mind worrying about the standard of the performance. I know it's going to be something very special indeed.

Nearly There

We open in one week's time. Which is nice, because the show is definitely now ready to open.

Last night's rehearsal was excellent. The entire cast really buckled down and concentrated on what they were doing. Entrances and cues were picked up quickly. Concentration levels were excellent. And all of them are still finding more and more depths to their characters.

One more rehearsal before get-in.

I can't decide what we will do on Thursday night. Part of me wants a repeat of last night's 'performance'. While it was excellent, there were 2 or 3 tiny glitches - nothing serious, a couple of hesitations over lines, which I know they will be able to ad-lib around on the night - but it would be good to see another run with NO glitches

On the other hand, I'm now certain that the show is in as good a shape as an amateur show could be and part of me wants the cast to have some fun with this, so we might do a speed-run and play some games instead...

I may end up leaving the decision to the group. The most impressive thing about this cast has been their willingness to work hard. On occasions I've given them the choice between working on and finishing early and they've opted for working. This is by no means the usual reaction! Drama is, after all, a hobby for us all, and in many shows people would be saying "well, it's good enough, now let's get to the pub". I'm incredibly lucky to be working with a group for whom "good enough" cuts no ice. They all want this show to be perfect.

Having said all of that, the number of tickets sold so far is a little on the low side. Which is a shame as these actors have slogged their hearts out to produce a great show, and they deserve as large an audience as possible to see it.

So, pick up the phone, dial 01932 702091 and order some tickets for yourself and your friends.

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

6th - 9th June, 2007 at 7.45pm.

Tickets £10 (concessions £8)

Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking.

3 Weeks To Go

Just under 3 weeks actually. And then we'll be under way.

Today we start rehearsing on Thursdays, in addition to the Sunday and Tuesday that we've been doing for the past several weeks. That gives us 6 rehearsals before we get into the theatre and things become really nerve-wracking!

Though, actually, I'm not really that nervous. The cast have all been nearly word perfect for a couple of weeks and they have all been putting more and more depth into their characters as time has gone by.

We've still got a couple of bits of technical blocking to work out (now that we've actually got a bed we can use in rehearsals!) and we've got the sound and lighting plots to nail down (which will hopefully happen this coming Sunday), but so far I am very happy with the way it's all going.

Spit and Polish

It's all coming together. Which is nice.

We've still got five weeks to go and we're now running each act a couple of times at each rehearsal.

Last night we did Act 2, which is starting to come up to the standard of Act 1. As everyone starts getting their lines off-pat and being confident as to where they are and what they are doing they are all beginning to react to each other in a real way, which is really bringing it to life.

I found myself with barely any notes to give. I think this is partly because I was absolutely shattered after a long week, but also because the whole group know what they are doing and now it's just a case of running the play over and over until it's polished.

Of course, we may run into the problem of people being too complacent then. But we'll see...

Teechers...

A 2nd post in 5 minutes!?!

Just to urge anyone who reads this to get their tickets for Teechers ASAP.

Award-winning local drama group, Ottershaw Players, present 'Teechers'. The play, by John Godber, will be performed at 7.45pm, on 27th and 28th April 2007, at the Brook Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw.

It's the end of term and 3 school-leavers put on a play to say goodbye to a much-liked drama teacher. Fast moving, inventive and highly entertaining, Teechers vigorously evokes life at a modern Comprehensive, sketching a drama teacher's progress through two terms of recalcitrant classes, cynical colleagues and obstructive caretakers until he departs for the safer waters of a private school.

Director Clare Groome says, “It has been great fun working with such a talented trio of young actors. We received plaudits from colleagues, friends and family for our production of Act One of the play at last year's Woking Drama Festival, so we were really happy to get the chance to present the whole play at Brook Hall for a local audience.”

Tickets are priced at £8 for adults, £6 concessions, and can be purchased from the Ottershaw Players box office on 01932 702091.

Onwards

A bit of a gap since I last (first!) posted.

We had a week off from rehearsals, over Easter, and I've been feeling a bit disconnected from the play. I think that's mostly due to the house move and the fact that I'm still settling in to the new job.

But we're now halfway through the rehearsal schedule and things are starting to come together:

Sunday night was the first chance for our props lady, Claire, to see the show; along with Brian who's going to ASM. And they were very positive about the work in progress (we worked on the first third of the play this week).

Having a bunch of props certainly helped, and everyone's taken my request to work on their lines during the time off very seriously, so characterisation has taken leaps forward.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how it's going.

The Story So Far...

Well, this has been a long and convoluted process!

Ottershaw Players' committee originally decided to produce The Merry Wives of Windsor in the June 2007 slot at the Rhoda McGaw.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances, we were unable to cast that play and we had to choose another option.

Now isn't the time or place to review the (to some) contentious process by which we ended up with the play and cast that we have today.

Suffice it to say that we have now been rehearsing for 3 weeks, the cast seem to be having a good time, the poster design is now finalised and the backstage crew are starting to work on the set, props, furniture, sound and lighting.

The juggernaut is definitely in motion.