Number 2: Friday 24 August 2018

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1 Number 2: Friday 24 August 2018 Hi everyone, and welcome to BTS News 2. Thanks to everyone who came for the BTS photo and another big thank you to everyone who came to the stage rehearsal weekend. It was great for the Cast to see that there is this huge group of people working to support them and make the Show happen. In the past few weeks we have had our last major rehearsal with the Cast at Belmont, which marked a major milestone where we achieved our goal to get all the material learnt and in place so that we can spend the rest of the time polishing. Then we had our Second Camp. This was a full weekend of rehearsals at Brookfield during which we ran the Show and worked on polishing individual items. We finished up with a full run through on Sunday afternoon. We also presented scarves and woggles to cast members and to those helpers who were at camp. Last weekend we were in theatre for the first time, which gave the cast a chance to perform on the stage, get used to the space they will be working with and get to sing with the orchestra for the first time. So we are now well into what we call the Last Few Weeks. This consists of wardrobe fittings and Camp, followed by Stage Rehearsal at the Little Theatre (all of which have now been done), followed by a polishing rehearsal at Belmont (26 August) and then the Technical and Dress Rehearsal weekend (1-2 September) before we open on the 3rd. This is a very busy but also very exciting time as all the many, many months of work that you and the Cast have all put in come together for what it is all about the performances! Most of this newsletter is dedicated to explaining how these last couple of weeks will work and how they will affect you. Carparks and Security Just a reminder, the carparks directly outside theatre, the church carpark, are 2 hours only. And the carpark is only for church attendees on a Sunday. If you park there for longer than 2 hours, it is likely you will get a ticket. There is also no parking outside of the stage door, only those with a pass may park there, otherwise you will be towed or ticketed by the Council.

2 With the number of people at theatre, and the new Health and Safety Act, we have to be strict with security. This means that everyone needs to be wearing their name tag. Mike and Rob will be going over the other health and safety aspects when you get to theatre, but it is really important that we know who you are and that you are meant to be in the back stage area. The Game Plan The basic game plan from here is to get the Cast comfortable with everything they need to know and do for opening night so that when we get to the 3 rd, they know exactly what is going to happen and there are no surprises for them: Making sure they have all their performance aspects completely nailed (that was the major focus of 2 nd Camp); getting them used to working with all the props and those costume items that will impact their performance (this was also the focus of the camp and at the theatre week-end too); Getting them used to performing on the stage at the Little Theatre with all the curtains, set and projection effects; and with the orchestra rather than canned music (this was the focus of the Stage Rehearsal, and we will be continuing at technical rehearsal); Getting them used to performing with lights and sound and in full costume (this is the focus of the technical rehearsal and first dress rehearsal on Saturday 1 September); Getting them used to performing with makeup on and in front of an audience (this is the focus of second dress rehearsal on Sunday 2 September). So what follows is based on that game plan. Final Belmont Rehearsal: 26 August This is a final polishing rehearsal for the Cast. Other teams (construction, props, wardrobe, etc) will no doubt use this weekend for their final preparations too. Pack In: Thursday 30 August We pack in to the theatre for the Show from 8am Thursday 30 August. This involves moving all the set, props, costumes, lighting and sound equipment into the theatre, and setting it all up. It also involves organising the dressing rooms and calling area (this needs to be completed by Friday night). Mike and Rob will coordinate arrangements and timing for this day which will involve stage crew, props, lighting, sound and wardrobe.

3 Non-Cast Technical Rehearsal: Friday 31 September Friday 31 August will be spent completing the technical tasks both on stage and in dressing rooms. We want to have all of this finished no later than noon. The afternoon will then be spent doing a non-cast technical rehearsal: positioning and marking of set; programming and focusing of lights, sound checks, AV practice etc. This will involve a run through of the whole Show but without cast. Stage Crew, props team, projection, lighting and sound team will be required for this. Sound check for the orchestra will be at 6pm that evening. All the orchestra is required for that session which will involve getting all the amplification of the orchestra sorted. We are not sure how long this will last but allow 2-3 hours. After that the rest of the night will be spent on finishing any technical rehearsal work probably mostly lighting. Cast Technical Rehearsal: Saturday 1 September The Cast technical rehearsal will start at 9am on Saturday 1 September. This will involve running various items to make sure our lighting and sound decisions from the previous day are ok. We will do at least some of this in costume. This means that all Stage Crew, Props Team, Calling Team, Lighting & Sound Teams, Wardrobe Team and Dressers will be required from 9am for the rest of the day. We are hoping that we will be able to get through the tech rehearsal by 11am. At that stage we will do a full run through of the Show in costume with lights and sound. The Cast will be in dressing rooms for this with full normal calling operating. After a short break and the presentation of scarves and woggles to BTS team members, we will run the Show again. This is the First Dress Rehearsal. This run-through will be a nonstop run through in performance conditions. So it will involve everyone as per a normal performance, including the catering team. We won t do general makeup for First Dress but we will do specialist makeup and hair. So the Makeup and Hair Team will be required that day from 1 pm. The aim is to finish the Saturday rehearsal by 6pm. But if we have to run a bit later to get it all done we will some Shows we haven t finished until close to 8pm. Also on this day, the front of house team will be getting themselves sorted, including working out how the foyer area is going to be set up.

4 Sunday 2 September: Second Dress Everyone gets the morning of Sunday 2 September off. This is deliberate to allow the Cast (and the rest of us) to have a sleep in and to get into a relaxed frame of mind for the performances. If there is any non-cast stage or technical work that needs to be sorted we will do it that morning. The afternoon is Second Dress Rehearsal. This will be done in front of a guest audience, so, as well as everyone else, the front-of house team is required for this rehearsal (Morris will advise who from the front-of house team is required). As part of this performance the front of house team will also practise with their duties with the live audience. The timeline for Second Dress is the matinee timing i.e. curtain up at 2 pm. The Cast have been told that they need to be at the theatre by 12 noon (the following Saturday it will be pm). This is to allow time for them all to put on makeup this always takes longer the first time. This means Callers, Dressers, Wardrobe, Makeup and Hair need to be at the theatre by 12 noon too please. Orchestra, Stage Crew, Props, Lighting & Sound need to be at the theatre by 1 pm please. Front of House by 1.15 pm please. Catering is required in time to do their thing for interval. Immediately after the performance some special presentations are going to be made. We hope that we will all be out of the theatre by 5.30 pm, 6 pm at the latest. Performances All the evening performances are curtain up at 7.30 pm. Cast, Callers, Dressers, Wardrobe, Makeup and Hair all need to be at the theatre by 6 pm each night. Everyone else except front of house should be there by 6.30 pm; front of house people need to be at the theatre no later than 6.45pm. There will be tea & coffee available before the Show and at half time for all BTS Team people. We do not have access to any kitchen facilities at the Little Theatre, and no-one will have access to a microwave. So anyone bringing dinner with them to the theatre will need to plan accordingly. We expect that the curtain will close about pm and that it will be somewhere close to 11 pm before we leave each night.

5 The Saturday matinee performance (8 September) is curtain up at 2 pm. The Cast, Dressers etc are required at pm, everyone else at 1 pm (front of house at 1.15pm). There will be a meal provided for the Cast and BTS Team between the two Shows that day. If any BTS Team will be at that meal AND has special dietary requirements (e.g. gluten free) can you please Maggs Kerslake (mpkerslake@hotmail.com) and let her know. Show DVD and Photo CD We will be producing a DVD of the Show. This will be filmed by a professional videoing company (Provid Ltd) and we know from working with them in the past that they produce a high quality recording of the Show that is a great keepsake for those who wish to buy one. Sally Fleury is also taking photographs of rehearsals and the performances. A CD of those photos will also available for purchase. Both the DVD and CD will need to be pre-ordered. We will advise the cost and distribute order forms soon. Ticket Sales At this point we have sold about 80% of the seats for Shows. Tuesday and the Saturday matinee are almost completely sold out. This is exciting, but we need to pretty much fill every performance to breakeven. So please encourage everyone you know to buy tickets: friends, family, neighbours, work mates, church mates, your Scout Group and Guide Unit everyone. We REALLY need everyone s help selling tickets. So please get at there and sell, sell, sell. A message from Richard (our ticket manager): pencil bookings must be paid for ASAP or the seats will be forfeited. The seat allocation is not made until payment is received, with the result that as the theatre is filling up seats may be placed in the sides or right up front. If anyone wants to buy tickets, Richard will be at the theatre any time we are there. Well that s it for this newsletter. Thanks for everything you are doing to make this Show a success - and we are sure it is going to be! See you behind the scenes (at the Theatre). Andrew and Mike Andrew Rodgers and Mike Lock HVGS 2018 Organisers