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Avonside Players
the Drama group of Stratford-upon-Avon Methodist Church
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AVONSIDE PLAYERS is an
active and friendly group.
We have two productions each year in March/April and November and
present our plays at the Wesley Hall, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon.
There are many social events for members - theatre visits, play
readings, summer walks, a barbecue, workshop days and a Christmas Quiz
evening.
New
members are always welcome. If you are interested, contact the Players
chairman on maureenbeckett@hotmail.com
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NEWSLETTER MAY 2010
SPRING PRODUCTION
Congratulations to all involved in making the production of 'Farndale
Macbeth' such a great success - all the cast, the technical team and
all the backstage support, especially costumes. Special thanks and
congratulations to Graham who was prepared to take this project on
(completely unlike anything we have attempted before) when 'The Ghost
Train' had to be abandoned after 3/4 weeks of rehearsals.
The review in 'The Herald' by Sandy Holt, was, I think, a good one. The
coverage was very prominent and her comments were, on the whole,
favourable, but then her last sentence had a sting in it.
Financially the production was a great success. Audience numbers were
good, and after the expenses have been paid, the net result should show
a good profit, which will be put towards the stage-lighting fund. The
final figures should be ready at the AGM.
When we struck the set, we carried on with the good work previously
done on clearing the shed, etc. Now all the stage flats are stored
under the stage.
RUTH COPEMAN
Ruth was able to come to a rehearsal one evening and worked with the
'Farndale' cast on the Shakespearian part of the play. Everyone found
this very helpful and beneficial. In appreciation of this, the Society
bought Ruth a small gift.
ANNUAL DINNER
This was duly held at The King's Court Hotel, King's Coughton, nr
Alcester on March 26th. 16 members/friends attended and it was a very
pleasant evening, enjoyed by all.
AUTUMN PRODUCTION
Sheila Giles is directing 'The Shell Seekers' a play adaptation by
Charlotte Bingham and Terence Brady of the popular book by Rosamund
Pilcher. The production dates are November 25/26/27
Sheila was encouraged when 16 people came to the first preliminary
reading on May 10th. After another evening for some unable to attend
the first, she is hopeful of being able to cast the play.
N.O.D.A. NEWS
In the recent Spring issue of the regional magazine there is the
following review by Tony Jones (now retired) of our 2009 production
'Silhouette' 'Director Graham Taylor selected the play because
having read all of Simon Brett's novels, he thought this a marvelous
story and little produced. He was certainly right as the
'back-to-front' murder mystery unfolded and we were hanging on every
word. However, shortly before this production was staged, the leading
man had to drop out, and Graham bravely took over the role. He did this
magnificently while simultaneously directing he play. The cast
responded with an alertness and team spirit that enhanced the evening,
while the set with personalized pockets and three-four specialist
acting areas was meticulously created. Congratulations to all.'
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This is on Monday, June 21st at 7.45pm in the Church Lounge. A formal
notice is enclosed herewith. Please make a note of the date and make
every effort to attend
Subscriptions, remaining as before at £5 and £2 for under 18's and
friends will be due at and from the AGM for the year to AGM 2011. The
Secretary gave notice at the AGM last year that he would not be
continuing after this year's AGM. So far no one has offered to take on
this position, so there is an urgent need for this post to be filled,
which will have to be decided at this year's AGM.
It is hoped that details of some summer activities such as an evening
walk, and 2 play reading evenings at Jan/Paul's and Bill/Sheila's will
be announced and also some positive, definite news about the stage
lighting.
THE BEAR PIT
The Arts Showcase Weekend was deemed by the Bear Pit Committee to have
been a wonderful event. We had volunteers manning our allotted space in
the Hall on the Saturday and in the evening we took part, along with
many other groups, in 'The Best Bits' Programme.
Following the success of the Showcase weekend, The Bear Pit Committee
have been approached by the RSC, as part of their commitment to work
more closely with amateur performers, to provide an evening of
entertainment in the new Theatre. The format will be similar to Bear
Pit Showcase evenings, and will involve providing your own material,
and submitting to an RSC audition. We hope to be included in this -
Graham Taylor is working on a possible script for us, and Mike
Wakefield also suggested looking at the possibility of repeating part
of Chekov's One-Act play 'The Proposal that we did in April 2000.
PLAY SCRIPTS
With a new Music Librarian at Warwick and cut backs generally
everywhere we cannot always borrow sets of the plays we want to do so
it was decided at a recent Committee Meeting that in future all cast
members in productions should purchase their own copies of the play. We
are able to get them via Frenchs at a small discount. We have already
purchased a set of 'The Shell Seekers' ready for the autumn
OTHER GROUP'S PRODUCTIONS
Second Thoughts 'She Stoops to Conquer' by Oliver Goldsmith Halls Croft
Gardens July 14th—24th
Wilson Roberts Production ' 'Toad of Toad Hall' Civic
Hall July 27th-31st
Bill Giles (S/A 296789)
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