NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2001
| The Compton Players'
NEWSLETTER JUNE 2001 |
|
Editorial
It's all the producers' fault
News of Members
Compton village fete
The Autumn production
The Dracula Spectacula
And finally...
The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on 16th May. As a result of views expressed at that meeting Robin Mackness, the Chairman, came to feel, rightly or wrongly, that his vision of Compton Players' future and that of most of the membership no longer coincided with each other and so, after twenty-four hours' reflection, he decided to resign.
Tracey Pearce, our Honorary Secretary, has taken on the additional task of Acting-Chairman and will remain in that position until the next Annual General Meeting.
The Society's thanks are due to Robin for the time, energy and expertise which he has devoted to the Society's affairs during the past eighteen months. And
I, for one, regret his departure.
Other news from the AGM is that the committee members and officers of the Society were re-elected unopposed and subscription rates for members and ticket prices remain at the same level as previously. Play readings were to begin on June 7th and subsequent Thursdays starting at eight o'clock in the Scout Hut. There are no firm plans for either the Autumn or Spring productions as yet but there is the rumble of wheels in motion.
On a more positive and cheerful note, Brenda's first production, It Could Be Any One of Us was a great success. With a first-time producer and a first-time stage manager everyone worked together to surmount problems of production, set-design and construction and the result was a polished and entertaining piece of theatre. Amateur drama
at its best and a very happy production. We should have more of it and Brenda and her assistant producer, Paul, are to be congratulated.
The Newbury Weekly News review of the play is
here
(along with some pictures), together with a contribution by Paul on the same
subject, below. And the usual news, views and other matters as well.
A middle-aged man and woman are seated on a sofa. They look tired.
Brenda If I'd realised how difficult it was going to be...
Pause
Paul But it was worth it. In the end. (pause) Wasn't it?
Brenda Sixteen years I've been in Compton Players. So I thought it was about
time...
Paul You mean nobody else was prepared to do it.
Brenda Well, there was that, yes. But I'd seen other people do it and it looked easy.
Paul It seems a long time ago now, when it all started.
Brenda January. That was when we started reading plays. I wanted to do a play with teenagers in, so we
didn't lose the people who'd joined us for STAR. Finding the plays wasn't easy, but then nor was casting them. Not just the young people,
there's the people in their 20s and 30s we're short of too. Just as it was looking as though we
wouldn't be able to do a play, we managed to get the cast we needed for the Ayckbourn.
Paul Or we thought we'd got them.
Brenda Yes, we had a choice of three girls to play Amy. Then they all dropped out because of their exams
- despair again. But we were very lucky to get Suzi, who was available and had drama experience.
Paul So by February we were ready to start.
Brenda By then Compton was under six inches of water. But we all battled through.
Paul What was the difficult bit, then?
Brenda Well, not the cast. We were very fortunate in having such an experienced cast. It made my job so much easier. They
didn't need telling what to do, and they were a great help when we were talking about the set layout. No, the difficult part was all the administrative bits
- sorting out what needs to happen when, and all the things like liaison with the village hall people and our own publicity people. And of course the set design.
Paul Quite a challenge to get a piano on the set. One that worked.
Brenda Well, nearly worked. There must have been at least a dozen notes that
didn't.
Paul What would you do differently, next time you produce a play?
Brenda Next time! No, that's it. Never again. I might be assistant producer,
that's all. But I think the lessons that have come from this one are, first, to make it very clear from the start what the responsibilities are
- of course, in the end the producers are responsible for everything, it's all their fault when things go wrong, and I felt there was quite a lot of pressure on me
- and second, we should have got the sound and lighting going a couple of weeks earlier. There was too much happening at the last minute. But I thought you and I worked well together.
Paul We seemed to fall into the good cop / bad cop routine. You kept everyone happy and I shouted at them. But the pain will pass. In a couple of years
you'll remember all the good bits and want to do it again.
Brenda Maybe. And there were definitely lots of good bits. And I did enjoy it, apart from my vertigo over Easter. All in all, it turned out better than I could have imagined. We overcame all the problems, and
I'm glad we did it.
Paul I guess we could both do with a break now. You need to get over your vertigo. So have a good rest.
You'll feel so much better. Coffee?
Brenda Tea.
Paul Right.
Paul exits to the kitchen
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Congratulations to Helen Harris, nee Saxton, who married Simon Harris on May 12th. Glorious weather, said Eric, and, of course, glorious in every other way as well. The wedding was at Enborne and was followed by a reception at School House in the garden with marquee, disco and everything. And followed by a fortnight's honeymoon in Cuba from which the happy couple have now returned, deeply tanned. MARY WARRINGTON Some of you will already know that Mary recently suffered a heart attack. A great shock for everyone but especially Mary. Fortunately, Peter and Hannah were in the house at the time and able to summon help immediately. We regret to announce the death of Norma Smith's mother earlier this month. |
This will be on July 14th this year, from 2.00-4.00pm on the Recreation Ground. Compton Players are running a second-hand bookstall: time for everyone to get rid of those paperbacks that have been lying around for the last twelve months or those worthy tomes you bought during your most recent bout of self-improvement and which you haven't read since and donate them to the bookstall. Anyone with books to get rid of or who can help on the day should get in touch with Brenda on Compton (01635) 578693.
There will also be a car boot sale at the fete. Anyone with any thoughts or queries about this should also ring Brenda on the number given above.
So far there are no definite plans about this although there are proposals which seem to be becoming firmer by the day. Neither has a date yet been fixed. Play readings are going ahead in the Scout Hut every Thursday at 8.00pm, partly with a view to choosing a play for the autumn. If you've any thoughts or suggestions about either the play readings or the autumn production please contact Paul Shave on 01635 866800.
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On the same subject, more or less: I recently came across Create Your Own Stage Production by Gill Davies which looks like a useful guide to anyone who's producing, especially a beginner. Clear diagrams, down-to-earth advice and dealing with all aspects of putting on a production from designing and siting posters to the most effective way to run a dress rehearsal. Published by A.&C. Black in the year 2000 at a cost of £14.99p. Dewey classification in the library usually 792.0222. There's also a list of books for the aspiring producer which we compiled some years ago; it's still available. See me if interested.
R.B.
This is the name of a production being mounted by the Young Sinodun Players at Wallingford. And no,
I didn't miss out the final R. It's described as 'a spooky musical' with book and lyrics by John Gardiner and music by Andrew Parr.
The dates are slightly unusual: Fri. and Sat., 6th and 7th July, Tues. and Wed., the 10th and 11th July, and Fri. and Sat., 13th and 14th July (the day of Compton Village Fete) at 7.45 on each evening. Ticket prices are
£6 for adults and £4 for school students - there's no mention of concessions for anyone else. The box office is open for enquiries on Friday and Saturday mornings
from 10arn to 12.30pm. Tel: 01491 825000. To obtain tickets send your remittance with your telephone number and SAE to: The Sinodun Players, The Corn Exchange, Wallingford. No postcode available but presumably the box office will tell you.
A programme note alleged to have been seen at a London production:
Act One ... ... The setting is approximately 2,555 years ago.
Act Two ... ... Ten minutes later.
Recounted by the Adjudicator at the Wallingford Drama Festival.
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