Hollywood

I'm exhausted. Today was the first of two set builds for the kid's show, Movies!. 7 of the older group members came to help the adults hang the backdrop and then paint both it and the two side flats.

After two "Stupid question" phone calls to Setman on a) How to put up the large A frame ladder and b) which rail the drop should go on, we were underway apart from the fact that no one could fathom out how to work the overhead projector which we were going to use to copy the image onto the backdrop. After stupid question c) to Chairman as we couldn't get hold of Producer Him on the phone, we just did a rough line across the drop so that we could start painting before Producer Him arrived to do his thing.

The backdrop is an image of the Hollywood hills with the white sign and searchlights and the side flats are of Oscar statues. I have to say - it looks great - so good in fact that Director Rat and I are wondering if we can use the same backdrop for Rat Pack to save some money and set building time.... We shall see.

In between painting the youngsters asked for the show CD to be put on and proceeded to make more noise singing the songs than all 29 of the group made on Thursday evening when rehearsing. It appears that in order to make kids sing loud they have to have a paintbrush in one hand, an ice lolly in the other and a liberal covering of emulsion paint on their clothes, hands, feet, faces and hair.....

Meanwhile - in the costume corner .... (http://www.allaboutcostumes.blogspot.com/)


Lyric of the Blog: " There's something in the air in Hollywood. The sun is shining like you knew it would. You're ridin' in your car in Hollywood. You got the top down and it feels so good " Madonna

AMBD Rehearsal - Thurs 26th April

Director Witch has been sick for the past two days so Producer Him and Producer Her were left "in charge" last night. Rehearsals couldn't start until 9pm as Room 1 was booked so we had to wait until the Academy had finished before we could start.

The first hour of the evening was spent with Producer Him doing character analysis with everyone, asking questions about what their names were, who they liked and disliked in the prison cell and why, how and why they thought they had been captured and generally expanding on what little we know for certain from the script with the other members of the cast asking each other questions.

Chairman then set up a microphone on my laptop and we recorded the entire script in 6 small chunks which were then ripped onto a CD to help everyone learn their lines.

Lyric of the Blog: " This is how you remind me of who I really am" Nickleback

Cuz

Someone asked a while back why Director Demon calls me "Cuz". Well. As I mentioned in an earlier entry on this blog, we're related. Sort of.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin..... My uncle (My Mum's sister's husband) was brought up by his aunt and uncle rather than by his parents (I think I'm right in saying that they died when he was very young). Anyway. He was brought up by them and lived with his cousin who became more like a brother. That "brother" is Director Demon's uncle. Still with me? - thought not!

As a child, at family gatherings for that side of my family, Director Demon's Great Aunt & Uncle, Uncle and family would be there and Uncle M, Director Demon's uncle, would tease me relentlessly. My parents also went on several holidays to the USA and Australia with my Aunt and Director Demon's Aunt (sister of Director Demon's Uncle M!) after my uncle had died and have stayed with Director Demon's Aunt where she now lives in the West Country.

So the "relationship" is through two cousins who were brought up as brothers. My Mum and Aunt made the connection when they came to see the second show I was performing in with the group in 2000. Director Demon was in it was well in the JCS segue which he also directed, I think.

It may be a tenuous link but as far as I'm concerned, he's just my big Cousin!!

I'm not sure where Director Demon's love of the stage comes from though. Mine was almost certainly inherited. From a Grandfather who was a professional opera singer in Liverpool and sang with a stage name and his wife, my grandmother, who was a pianist and accompanied him. Mum has all the photos and documents in a box at home and Mum herself sang in a choral society for a number of years.

Lyric of the Blog: " Looking back it's so bizarre, it runs in the family, all the things we are" Level 42

Rat Fans

It was my Dad's birthday today. He's 83!

It's been a weird day of not being able to stick to any one job for any length of time due to the fact that a) the volume of work to be done was mounting by the hour. b) the volume of show emails was completely mad following the Rat Pack rehearsal last night and c) I just couldn't concentrate on anything 100% work or shows, no matter how hard I tried. My mind was elsewhere.

Last night the Rat Packers were in the hall for a rehearsal for their 'Green Room' production called "Songs from the Rat Pack". A green room show basically is a show that someone puts on an invites the cast to perform in rather than openly auditioning for it. This is being done primarily as a fund raiser for the group as it's a medium of both song and theatre which we don't get to use too often in our other shows during the year and various members of the group love.

Eight singers - Mr Chairman, Director Demon (Devils), the Ginger One (Mort) and Sarah the Cook (Dick Whittington), Princess Keli & Footnote (Mort), Marta (Company) and Aladdin (Aladdin) along with Aladdin Jnr as Barman will be gracing the stage to sing Rat Pack numbers.

The band will be headed up by MD (Dick Whittington) and playing are MD, Mr Keys, Bass Guitarist and Drummer Boy.

Having handed over costumes to Aladdin for a fancy dress party and spoken to The Boss Man about wine orders for both Rat Pack and the summer show, I headed home.

Lyric of the Blog: " Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars. In other words hold my hand. In other words darling kiss me.
Fill my life with song and let me sing forevermore. You are all I hope for all I worship and adore. In other words please be true. In other words I love you " Frank Sinatra

Trials

We had our annual quiz night on Sunday evening which meant that Secretary and I spent our day buying and 'doing' food. After a trip to Costco at Reading we had a brief cuppa in the garden with the robin and blue tits who are nesting before heading off to PC World for printer cartridges for Director Witch so that he could print the rest of the answer sheets. Then back to Tesco to collect ourselves some lunch which we finally ate at 4pm (we were starving!) and a trip to the garden centre to buy Secretary some pots for her tomato plants.

Secretary was taken royal on Sunday. Not sure if she was understudying Queenie or Helene Mirren but she suddenly realised that she hadn't got her purse with her so her loyal subject paid. The loyal subject did let her carry the bags though!!!!!

Secretary is actually on Jury Service at the moment. Another trial!!!

We were doing a Ploughman's Supper. A good excuse for a dry run to see what it would look like for the food for the summer show audience. Secretary and I arrived at the hall along with Calm Woman, Treasurer and Matt to set tables and prep food.

Certainly didn't get any complaints about it so other than the fact that the paper plates were far too floppy and the pickled onions too big, maybe, it was deemed a success. If we sell out the summer show that's 384 audience plus cast and crew to cater for!!!!!

GuyMan is also on trial this week. He appeared at rehearsals last night with some sort of mobile ECG machine type thing wired to him with various sticky patches and insisted on showing us all his chest to prove it. (Wolf Whistle!) Can't remember exactly what it was for but I suspect it might be Asthma related as he's a fellow sufferer (and fellow chocoholic too!). At last check the machine seemed to think he was still alive.

Movies! Wardrobe Assistant confided last night that GuyMan saw rather too much of Producer Her's legs recently and reckons she's got a decent pair of pins on her. I'll leave it to your imagination as to the shade of red that Producer Her was at this point but she was very flattered. (Poor Guy. Am sure he must be able to think of something better to look at than Producer Her's legs!!!)

Lyric of the Blog: " The crown will plainly show, the prisoner who now stands before you was caught red handed showing feelings. Showing feelings of an almost human nature. This will not do." Pink Floyd

Demon Rehearsal - Mon 23rd April

I was involved in the rehearsals for Movies! so wasn't around when rehearsals first started although Corinne did hand me a cheque for subs when I went into the room before read-though briefly. Producer Him started the rehearsal whilst waiting for Director Demon to arrive.

Unfortunately the part of Vicky will have to be recast for The Demon as the person playing her now has to be in Cologne for work on two of the show performance dates. She's gutted. So are we but she's going to help Director Demon instead so she'll still be involved.

After Movies! and Demon rehearsals were over Producer Him and I finally got chance to sit down for 5 mins to discuss the remaining items on the show budget. We also rang Director Witch, expecting him to be at home (it was 11pm) only to find him still in transit on his way home from work. 5 mins turned into an hour, as it does but we do at least have everything in place now, money wise.

Lyric of the Blog: " Money makes the world go around" Cabaret

AmDram Free Day!

When you're knee deep in costumes for a kids show, preparations for a revue, producing a summer show and shopping and catering for a quiz the following day - there comes a point when you need a day off. I needed one. Badly. I made a bargain with myself yesterday to have a completely and utterly CAST free day today as the weather forecast was good and it meant I could spend a much needed day in the garden, clearing weeds and re potting plants in the patio tubs.

I am a miserable failure!

At 12:15am I was still sewing white aprons.

When I'd just got back from parting with far too much hard earned cash at the garden centre -the Chairman rang! 45 mins later!!!!!!!......

I texted someone connected to the group.

I then had a phone call from a group member about a costume hire for a fancy dress party which meant that after I'd finished gardening I emailed her photo's of costumes.

and I've just done a "quick" ha! update on the group website. And I've Blogged.


Lyric of the Blog: " Oops, I did it Again!" Britney Spears

AMBD Rehearsal - Thurs 19th April

Director Witch and I had discussed various options and his thoughts on how he wanted to run this rehearsal. When I got to the hall I raided the loft for night lights and a bin bag so that we could reduce the light levels in Room 1 to simulate a prison cell.

Having closed every door, barred the window and shut out all the light it certainly created the right cold chilling atmosphere - but no one could could see to read their script so we ended up with a light on anyway.!!! Apparently I didn't do much to aid the ambiance by eating raw carrot either. Hey Ho.

We read the script through 3 times with Director Witch listening. Once with different people playing each others parts. Once with everyone playing their own parts and a third time in our own parts with an American accent. This prompted a wide range of accents from across north america during the course of the read-though and great hilarity. Neat Woman was almost crying at one point. When I say 'our parts' I should clarify here that I'm understudying for Old Woman until we manage to cast someone in the role.

Both Boy and Girl both commented on how much they felt the 'darkness' of the play on the second read-through. Director Witch will no doubt add his own comments on he feels the evening went. I was amazed at this early stage how much thought had gone into each character and how they had got into the situation they were in (tried for witchcraft, imprisoned and awaiting hanging).

Lyric of the Blog: " cause its witchcraft, wicked witchcraft And although, I know, its strictly taboo" Frank Sinatra

Revelations

I suffer from a nut allergy which I've had since I was three. Eating them without realising it would, at best involve a lengthy conversation with God down the great white telephone and at worst it could mean a short ride in a sleek black taxi, a long sleep in a wooden box and a 'not so' eternal fire. So I avoid them - at all costs.

I was having a discussion at work about chocolate yesterday and recalled a conversation with the cast crowd about the idea about playing a game of Russian Roulette with a bag of Revels. At this point I got a very puzzled look from one of the guys as apparently there are NO PEANUTS in Revels any more. Masterfoods (MARS!) stopped putting them in, approx. 3 YEARS AGO and there are raisins instead. So I've spent approx. 1095 days of my life avoiding something which I could have been eating.

Did any one of my so called friends think to tell me this. NO!

This prompted a trip to the shop within the complex at work to peruse the wrapper of a packet, just to be 100% sure and to buy some. I had to know if I'd been missing out for the past 35+ years.

CAST readers are now at this point wondering what the hell this has got to do with the summer show......

Revelations is Act 2, Scene 29. Or, to put it another way, Book No 66. It talks of the second coming of Christ and of Satan, the devil.

Peanuts are the devils food!

Lyric of the Blog: " In the midnight hour she cried - "more, more, more" With a Revel yell she cried- "more, more, more" In the midnight hour babe- "more, more, more" With a Revel yell- "more, more, more" More, more, more.

Another Birthday

It's Producer Him's birthday today. Two production birthdays in three days! Director Demon and I have to wait until October and December for ours.

Unfortunately, Producer Him has been AWOL since Saturday due to a heavy cold and vast quantities of snot (his words, not mine). Thoughtfully, he decided not to give it to the rest of the cast and stayed at home. Hopefully he's feeling better by now though as he's back in the land of email.

He emailed Box Office Boy yesterday to get him to prepare for us a database of all our audiences for the last three shows and forthcoming two. That will keep Boy busy for a couple of hours, possibly. I emailed him last week to ask him to prepare a snazzy 'forthcoming productions' leaflet to use for events such as our Annual Quiz night on Sunday to give to any outsiders. Six hours later I had the first draft in print on my 'desk'.

Lyric of the Blog: "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Producer Him, Happy Birthday to you"

Pieces of paper

There are lots of important pieces of paper involved in putting on a show. Most of mine are contained within the script. However two very important ones arrived in the post today. The licence quotation, which becomes an authorisation to produce our two plays on payment of the performing rights fees, and the form with which to pay the fees. This is the point at which the production becomes an official show.
It cheered me up to find that waiting for me when I got home. Over the past two days there have been so many negative emails going around about other aspects of our group that it was nice to return to the sanctuary of our two plays. At least producer her always makes sense. Well almost always...!
Went round the village tonight with secretary on another of those lovely chores - putting up parish council meeting minutes on their noticeboards. We got it down to a record 30mins tonight - only three pages of the minutes. It's a chore we do because it gives us access to the noticeboards whenever we need it to put up posters for our shows.
Also gave me a chance to pop a birthday card through producer him's door. He's six tomorrow.

Wise words: 'Two dinosaurs sitting in a pub drinking beer. One dinosaur says to the other: "If we have many more of these we'll be Tyrannasaurus Wrecks!"' On the front of producer him's birthday card. Secretary said the picture looked like him and me at the village hall bar. Charming!

First Job Done

I have been mostly talking in feet and inches. Every task involved in show production is a learning curve or minefield which once understood and mastered becomes considerably easier for future events.

So: I've done one of my first jobs today which was to get a quote and to book the large round tables which we use for our supper night shows. 4 foot round tables seat 8 comfortably. 5 foot tables seat 10. So now you know!!!!!

Whilst I was at it, I've also booked the tables for another fund-raising event we are doing in June, which is a Rat Pack show.

I've also been swapping emails with Boy about the measurements of walls (rivetting! but wonderfully acurate) and pricing up black fabric. More on that some other time.

Lyric of the Blog: " Inch worm, Inch worm, measuring the Marigolds. You and your arithmetic, you'll probably go far. Inch worm, Inch worm, measuring the Marigolds, Seems to me, you'd stop and see how beautiful they are. ...."

Demon Rehearsal - Mon 16th April

The first of many. 6 of the 7 members of the cast assembled at CVH to start work on the play which will form the second act of the show.

The first task was to record the script with everyone playing their characters as this is a great way to help learn lines. I stood in for Emma who's an NHS Direct nurse and works shifts.

The remainder of the evening was spent with Director Demon doing character analysis and talking through various aspects of the play, which I wasn't involved with, as Producer, so I ended up in the bar talking through Production issues for Rat Pack, logistics for the forthcoming annual quiz and 'stuff'.

Called in on Director Witch on the way home.

Lyric of the Blog: "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You. Happy Birthday Director Witch. Happy Birthday to you"

It's my birthday

But then if you've read my profile you will know that already. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday director witch, happy birthday to me.
Good news from the weekend. We have a great person now taking on the role of Girl, after audition by director witch and producer her on Saturday morning. The three of us plus secretary read through the script and really scared ourselves. It felt quite cold inside the house and I'm glad it was a bright sunny day outside. Girl said she felt she needed to walk into the sunlight afterwards. It really is a first rate script.
We also have someone great who is thinking about the role of Old Woman. I really, really hope she says yes. She has both the experience and acting skill that this show needs
Today has been barmy. I have had 31 emails come in related to CAST matters and have had to send out 20 myself. It's just like producer her says - it feels like you are playing email ping-pong at times. Only about a third of them were about this show, but it still keeps me very busy on my busiest day at work.