June 2008

Welcome to the June newsletter, my first as its new ‘Editor’. First things first… a big thank you to Allison Heward who has produced the newsletter for a number of years, keeping Attfield members up to date with new developments at the theatre. I’ve always enjoyed reading it and – I suspect like a lot of people – always skip down to the end first to read the funny quote! Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping that in. So, to business.

Third Week in August by Peter Gordon ran from 28th April - 3rd May and was judged to be yet another resounding success for the club. The last play in another highly successful season enjoyed full houses every night, which is a huge boost to those on stage, and to our bank balance! Another great set too… several people wanted to book the caravan for a week in the summer!

Next Season

Since 2008 is our 80th year as a club (no mean achievement) we are planning a bumper five-play season to mark the occasion. It’s going to mean a lot of hard work both on and off-stage so there will be plenty of opportunities to get yourself involved.
The plays are:

Death By Fatal Murder. This wonderful comedy is again by Peter Gordon – the second time we have staged two consecutive plays by the same playwright.

Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. A favourite spooky melodrama ideal for those long, dark pre-Christmas nights!

Bouncers by John Godber follows shortly after Christmas to get the new year off with a bounce.

Macbeth follows that in early Spring. Well you can’t say we’re not ambitious! Shakespeare’s tragic tale of greed, murder, ghosts, witches and bloody revenge will be a challenge to everyone involved, but with the the help of a recent Shakespeare Workshop (more on that later) I’m sure we’ll do the Bard proud.

Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig rounds off the season. From the author of Lend Me A Tenor, this is a riotous romp into the inner workings of a theatrical family set in 1950s America.

The point was made in an earlier newsletter that it’s not easy to put on four plays a year, let alone five. We desperately need more people to get involved. If you know anyone who’s got some time to spare and seems interested, please encourage them to come along and join us.

Shakespeare Workshop

A good turn-out. a great success and a big help... That was the opinion of those who came to the workshop over the weekend of June 14 and 15. Run by experienced Shakespearian actor Graham Christopher, the two days covered all manner of Shakespeare-related exercises, readings, improvisation – and a spot of acting too. By the end, and with the help of kicking a few empty cardboard boxes around, we all felt we were getting to grips with iambic pentameter (you had to be there!) So our thanks to Graham for getting our forthcoming production of Macbeth off to a healthy start.

Tickets

Ticket prices will be going up to £6 for the 2008/9 season. This puts us in line with other local groups – and is still a very cheap night out.

Summer Social Jaunts

Ian Collings has been co-opted onto the committe as Social Secretary – a grand title that just means he gets to organise a few jollies during the year to bring as many members as possible together for some fun. Here’s a few dates to get in your diary now:

Sunday August 3rd - The Treasure Hunt. It’ll be another walking one (not a bad idea given the price of petrol these days!) If you want to take part, let Sue Jones know so she can give the Top White a rough idea of numbers for the post-Treasure Hunt buffet.

Saturday August 16th - Season Launch / 80th Birthday Party. More details will follow in the July newsletter – but keep the date free. There will be drinks, nibbles and the directors of the five plays will be there to say a few words.

A date in July! (depending on numbers interested) - Wine Tasting event.

Saturday 1st November – Hallowe’en party. At Ian and Debra Collings’ place. Details nearer the time.

If you have any other ideas, from a barbecue to a theatre trip, or a picnic (remember that rounders match!), or a minibus to Barmouth, or a skittles night or a day at the races, contact Ian Collings

Theatre work

By the time you read this, the new winch and cable should be in place on the auditorium lighting bar and the new intercom system should be installed. This will improve communications between the lighting box, the stage manager and the house manager and will allow actors to hear from the dressing room what’s going on on stage – without that annoying buzz and without interruptions from local taxis! Work is also ongoing to clean up the dressing rooms and scenery dock and put up new shelving. Work is done on a Thurdsay evening from about 8pm until we’ve had enough and head for the pub (that’ll be about 8.05 then). If you can spare a Thursday evening, do pop down and help out.

Jeremy Smith

e mail: newsletter@attfieldtheatre.co.uk