Contents: This one should make a good dame next year! What d ya think John [Glen]? Richard, I have nae got a Dame! How about it?

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1 Having had what has, at times, felt like a whirlwind immersion into the players since signing up nearly 2 years ago, I had become accustomed to a certain level of dramatic nerves My Players experience began with being strong-armed? No let s go with encouraged to be a stagehand behind the scenes of Pinocchio (Panto 2010). Contents: 1. Editorial Quite an Adventure 2. Review of 2012, So Far a. Shakespeare on the Radio b. A Titanic Production c. Oliver! d. Junior Players Review e. Junior Players Showcase f. Whoops! Sweet XVI 3. SCDA Update 4. Mill Update 5. Lloyds Bank Communities Fund Award 6. Pantomime Planning Meeting 8. Recruitment! 9. Membership Application Forms 10. Players Contacts Actually, I was pretty happily hauling backdrops up and down, scenery on and off and being generally very relieved that I had no lines to learn, cues to remember or stage fighting to do (more on that later). Indeed, all I really had to worry about was who was buying the interval choc-ices. It was a grand few days, and I got an invite to the after-party! Where one not-to-be-named member said: This one should make a good dame next year! What d ya think John [Glen]? Never has a lovely piece of cake I was happily munching on turned to ash in my mouth so fast! With, even the possibility, of that haunting thought ringing in my mind, I thought I d better get some on-stage exposure pretty soon Fast-forward a month or two and there was an evening read-through of the, rather bawdy, A funny thing happened on the way to the forum, which was a very enjoyable evening in the Mill and looked like it would be fun on stage as well. Sadly, casting was bit of an issue and it morphed in to an evening of light entertainment called Strictly Sondheim. I was able to persuade some folks to let me sing a song or two in various dramatic outfits. I even got to be Benjamin Barker [Sweeney Todd - Ed.] albeit briefly and despite this being my first on-stage outing since I was 14 [I am now more than twice that - Ed.] the other cast members and our excellent musical director were very supportive and understanding and the evenings went very well! And then, one September evening, the phone rang Richard, I have nae got a Dame! How about it?

2 Having just auditioned, very badly, for a villainous role, I wasn t exactly confident, but somehow [significant quantities of whisky - Ed] I allowed my arm to be twisted and the prophecy was fulfilled! Panto On-stage? as Dame!?!? I could taste the ash again. I ll never learn all these lines What about the cues? Feel Eric s leg? Seriously? Once again, however, everyone was hugely supportive and encouraging. The young members looked very slick by the time of the performances, and I couldn t help but be impressed by their efforts during rehearsals and their behaviour backstage. So, a few auditions, solos and chorus work achieved, I thought about auditioning for Bill Sykes in Oliver! To be continued In summary, I joined the players as an adult, not having been on stage in years and such has been the welcome, atmosphere and ethos (even in the face of occasional frustration, stress and imperfection) that every moment has been enjoyable! You may be, or you may know, someone who feels as I felt 2 years ago If you are, or if you do, I hope my little narrative here might persuade you to come along and get involved in some way Back-stage, set-building, costumes, acting There s a lot going on and you d be made very welcome! RW Great Shakes was Thurso Players contribution to the Cultural Olympics. We had been asked to produce something relating to Shakespeare as part of a nationwide celebration of the bard. With SCDA and Café Parisienne occupying most of our membership we had a very short time in which to get Shakes together and I wondered if I would be able to cast it. The eight people who carried it through (a good mix of adults and older juniors) did a splendid job. It was done as a radio play in conjunction with Caithness FM so we were able to get it together quickly because we just had to focus on voices and a few sound effects which was a relief because we only had four rehearsals plus the technical at the studio, and managed just one with the whole cast: what busy folk we are! The play lasted about twenty five minutes and was an imagined appearance of Shakespeare and Ben Johnson in a theatre after a play, pursued by a naive reporter from Now Watch magazine. Calum, a surly teenager unwillingly on work experience, gets drawn into the action and finds himself talking Shakespeare. Four voices link history, famous bits of dialogue from plays and a taste of the great variety of vocabulary added to our language by the master. Music and some sound effects added extra colour. Everyone found it interesting working in the Caithness FM studio where Bob Johnson honed our recording skills and put everything on CD ready for broadcasting. (CDs available from TP!) I d like to thank the versatile cast, Neil Mackay for sound effects and Caithness FM (especially Bob and Jackie Johnson) for getting Great Shakes on air. My brilliant producer, Sara Donaldson, new to getting involved in production, was all that a director could wish for. Denise Imrie

3 R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg at 11.40pm on the 14th April 1912 and sank less than 3 hours later at 2.20am on the 15th April To commemorate the loss of over 1500 lives, in one of the worst maritime disasters ever, we staged Café Parisienne, a one act play for S.C.D.A. and held a fund raising weekend. The weekend featured a reprise of Café Parisienne combined with staging of 10 musical numbers from Maury Yeston s Titanic the musical interspersed with some poems and personal monologues about the event(s) surrounding Titanic s fateful night in the North Atlantic. We raised for the R.N.L.I. and Thurso Players ( each). Many of the players, who helped compile information - both factual and fictitious - became so enthused by the whole story that they earned themselves the (affectionate) title: Titanoraks Thanks to those who took part on and off stage, to those who donated money for R.N.L.I. and T.P., to the Titanoraks and to all who contributed! Glyn Yes a band would be great said Andrew, Put an article in the Groat Well I did and waited, not really expecting much of a response, knowing how much demand there is on musicians time. But respond they did! 13 assorted musicians arrived at the meet and greet. Glyn and I were both thrilled and terrified. I had never played with that number of musicians and Glyn had never conducted on that grand a scale. Would they all return the next week with their instruments and music stands? Oh, yes they all returned and with such enthusiasm! Glyn swiftly armed himself with a trusty chopstick and we were away. Well we were all somewhere, not necessarily in the same place. However in week three THE BATON arrived and we were well and truly up and running. The sound improved week on week, and we did not have many weeks at our disposal. We all drove our families and friends potty with Oliver. To have been able to play with such an enthusiastic and friendly group of musicians was the highlight of Oliver for me. Watching Glyn increasing in confidence with each rehearsal and myself eventually understanding all the nuances of that wretched BATON was the icing on the cake. Thank you to all The Oliver Musicians who helped the show become the great success that it turned out to be!! Lesley Image 1 - All the classes mingle aboard Titanic in "Cafe Parisienne"

4 It s often said that no actor should ever work with children. But of course, we at Thurso Players tend to ignore this. With the junior membership levels hovering around 70, it would be difficult not to. And the past year has been no exception, with the juniors being as busy as ever before. I ve been junior rep, along with my gaffer Sharon, since May, and have been involved in some way in most of the junior productions for the past year. We ve had Whoops, we ve had Oliver, SCDA, we ve had pantos, and we ve had the Junior Showcase. Plenty to be keeping our junior section busy, I m sure you ll agree. First of all, the high point in any junior s calendar; Whoops! Two years of it, since the last newsletter. I regret to say that Whoops XV Fifteen Minutes of Fame, in the summer of I unfortunately couldn t make the Friday night performance, but the juniors did what they do best and persevered. They managed to replace me and work around my absence easily. A little easier than is comfortable, but still. Anyone who has been to Whoops during the two weeks we spend writing, casting and rehearsing, will know how much hard work is put into Whoops each year. No different was Whoops XV, with 21 sketches being performed, with everything from the first all-male dance act, to talking tractors, to cheesy Star Trek references. And not forgetting our rapping Bible Group, thanks to Paul there. I m sure there were a few tuts and Oooh myyyy! s in the audience after that one. But, as every year, Whoops XV was a huge success, selling out both performance nights. Apart from a last minute t-shirt swap, things went swimmingly. Relatively speaking, of course. Another year, another Whoops, another 21 sketches! We celebrated Whoops Sweet 16 th this year, and it promised to be one of the best in memory. We had drama with Existence, we had education with CO2 Debate and comedy with... Well, with the rest. Perhaps the most memorable sketch of the evening was devised during one of those late-at-night Aw man, wouldn t it be awesome if we did THAT?! conversations between our own Mac n Cheese and JackJack. It was decided that the music video from Queen s I Want to Break Free would be re-enacted. I honestly think wardrobe had more fun with that than the rest of us. Doubly impressive was the surprise appearance of the backstage water heater in this sketch. At the time, it didn t have a place to live, so we brought it on stage and gave it purpose. I m sure it would have thanked us if it could. Along with other dance numbers from the 80 s and the London Riots, and a selection of Sweet 16 songs for the finale, Whoops XVI turned out to be just as successful as the previous year, if not more so. We had plenty of Whoopsies to contend with, the little slip ups that happen every year. This included painted curtains, corpses being left on stage and Craigs being dropped. Just another year at Whoops, folks. Now, of course, the big one... Oliver! As I mentioned earlier, it s said that no actor should work with children... Or animals. In Oliver, we managed the do both. A lot of the juniors were on stage for the first ever time, along with Merlin, our performing dog. I can only imagine how it must have felt having Oliver as a first performance. Most of us start small and work our way up, but these kids were thrown right in at the deep end. And handled it brilliantly, I m sure anyone would agree. Children obviously play an important part in the casting of this show, with all of Fagin s gang and the workhouse children made up by juniors. The younger members of the cast combined with the, shall we say more experienced cast, the orchestra, the back stage and production crew and a brief cameo of Twang to lead up to that all important line; Books you ordered from the bookseller, sir! Yeah. I nailed that line. May was a sad time for the Juniors. It was time to say goodbye to Philippa and Alison, who had been the Junior Reps for the past year. It was clear that whoever was going to replace them had some pretty big shoes to fill. A hugely successful showcase and a year s worth of fantastic Friday night workshop, it was never going to be an easy job replacing them. Whoever was going to do it would need dedication, charisma, intelligence, wit, dramatical ability and brilliant organisational skills! Instead Sharon and I were chosen for the job. So that was good. We ve served about half of our sentence already, and looking forward to a nice little break over Christmas. But we have the Halloween party to go first, which is shaping up be one to remember! I m sure you ll hear

5 about it in the next newsletter. So, a very busy year for the Juniors. The Showcase was the biggest event of the year for the Juniors though, but I m leaving the chronicling of that part of the saga to the Junior Reps who organised it. All I can say now is here s hoping next year is just as action past as the last one has been. Oh, and to whoever said never work with children or animals, try it. You ll find that it s a much more rewarding experience than you might think. Merlin was great in Oliver, he was lovely. He behaved really well and everything. As for children... Well, let s see how the rest of the year goes, shall we? Calum Rosie On Friday 23 rd and Saturday 24 th of March 2012, we as Junior Reps, took on the challenge of having about 60 juniors aged between 8 and 18 years old on stage at one time. The biggest cast on stage to date we are told! Our idea was to show family and friends what we do at a Friday Night Workshop. We started off the way we start every Friday Night with a warm-up and then gradually we made our way through all aspects of drama, from dance to make-up to real life serious sketches. It was a lot of hard work but in the end it all paid off and everyone on and off stage seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. We would like to thank each and every one who helped us make the showcase such a success and especially all the Juniors. It doesn't seem like 16 years since the first Whoops! was devised and performed in the Mill by our Junior Players and though I confess to never having had the time to assist in any way in any of these productions, I have attempted to see as many as possible over the years. In all of those years, I cannot recall ever having left the Mill without a smile on my face followed by endless post show family discussions about the novelty and ingenuity of what we had seen. Sweet XVI was no exception and all the Whoopsers from the junior Juniors to the most senior Juniors should be commended for their performances. To conceive an idea from scratch, write the scripts, become directors, producers and actors, all in two weeks is an awesome undertaking and always amazes me as to how accomplished the final production is. Not only did I leave with a smile on my face with memories of phantom sweet stealers, bodies pinned down by snipers, and 'I Want To Break Free' (which brought back my own personal memories of hoovering the stage!), but also those thought provoking and challenging sketches such as 'Existence' and 'The Princess and the Frog' which again prompted much post show debate. After sixteen years it was no surprise to see that some of the original Whoopsers are now listed as 'Old Codgers' (I ll bet that makes them feel old) and I look forward to future productions when I'm sure some of today s performers will transmute into 'Old Codgers'. Well done all involved. Eric Alison Gerrard and Philippa Lisle

6 Hello, Fiona Murray reporting here. I m the Thurso Players SCDA Rep, and part of my job entails communications between Players members and the Caithness District Committee of the Scottish Community Drama Association. As we dust off our trophy collection from this year s wonderful winnings, the Caithness District committee is making plans for next February s Annual One-Act Play Festival. Here are some 2013 calendar dates for all you festival groupies. Caithness District Festival - Combined Youth and Open Festival: 23rd and 24th Feb 2013 Thurso High School Dr. Russell Boyd to adjudicate Highland Divisional Festival: 5th 6th April, Nairn Tony Rushforth to adjudicate National Scottish Final: 18th 20th April, Pitlochry Brian Majorbanks to adjudicate Budding playwrights and directors interested in submitting a one-act play of 50 minutes or less, for youth or open sections of the festival must get in touch with our SDCA Secretary Clare Crawford to receive a registration package ASAP, to avoid December deadline disappointments. If you are eager but unsure of what s involved, Clare or I 1 can put you in touch with Thurso Players directors from previous years, who will be glad to share their advice and adventures. The District Committee is currently actively looking for a new Treasurer, Festival Stage Director and a Thurso Players Rep to shadow me, and take over my role next May. The annual commitment is not huge, but obviously focussed at the festival period. If you re an avid theatre hobbyist, but prefer a job out of the spotlight, our friendly committee welcomes new membership. Please contact me for details. As some of you will be aware, we have had our share of difficulties this year with the Mill. The problems really centre on 2 main areas, one being the potential for flooding from local drainage systems that interact rather badly in the space beneath the Mill s floor; the other being that the roof is rather run down (some areas more so than others). Sadly, the flooding issue is not one that we can do much about, at least in terms of preventing future floods We have however, managed to react very well when this year s flooding took place. One incident happened during a rehearsal for Oliver! earlier in the summer. The area was identified and closed off very quickly - we were even able to divert some the flood water away, to minimise damage but, inevitably, some water got in and gave our downstairs carpet a good soaking! Soon after that though, the guys from the council were on scene to remove the offending blockage in the system beneath our feet, and the de-humidifiers were roaring away to try to clear as much of the soaking as possible. It was a few days, but quite soon we were back to normal! The roof is in our power to fix and a small working group has been put together to get repairs under way. The latest hot off the press information is that our planning has been approved! So were looking forward to having everything in place for work to commence during the summer of Regrettably, this is very likely to have an impact on our programme for the summer, but a fixed roof will stand us in good stead for the future! RW 1 Contact details in the players contacts section of this newsletter

7 In the spring of this year Lloyds and Bank of Scotland Bank Managers from all across Britain were asked to nominate Organisations in their Community which they considered were offering support, and were providing opportunities to develop the potential of young people in their area. Nominated organisations would then be eligible to compete for a financial award from the Lloyds Bank Communities Fund. After consulting with some of the great and the good in Caithness, Thurso Players were nominated in the Orkney, Shetland and North of Scotland Area. We were asked to submit a summary of our activities, with particular emphasis on the work we do with the juniors, and set out how we might utilise the Prize Money of 5,000, if we were lucky enough to win. After an anxious wait we were informed that we had made the short list with a number of other Projects in Orkney and Shetland. The money will be extremely useful in supporting the work Thurso Players undertakes in support of the thriving Junior Section. I d just like to say a big thanks to all of the Thurso Players members who worked so hard to drum up support, and an especially huge thanks to all the people of Caithness, and further afield, who took the time and trouble to vote for us. All the Players, but especially our grateful Junior Section, will be thinking of you all, when we come to put our Prize Money to good use. Philip Arthur Thurso Players Treasurer We were told that the winner would be decided by public vote, which would close in September. Since we were informed that we had been shortlisted in May, this meant a long campaign. Thurso Players members Sara Donaldson and Alison Gerrard then undertook the responsibility for the publicity campaign, utilising all the electronic tools now available, Facebook, Twitter, Texting, etc. and more old fashioned methods such as posters and word of mouth. After a long campaign, with both online and text voting, Thurso Players were delighted to discover that we had come top in the voting for our Region, and on Friday 19 th October local Bank of Scotland Manager Karen Smith presented Thurso Players with the official certificate and cheque for 5,000. We were honoured to be nominated by our local Bank in the first instance, but were even more delighted that the community supported us in such numbers, which culminated in us coming top of the Poll.

8 Preparations and construction are well underway for this year s Panto production, written and directed by John Glen The Pied Piper! A small army of set builders, backdrop painters, costume designers, technical advisors and, of course, cast members have been assembled and are quietly beavering away during evenings, weekends and any other spare moments to get ready for the production, which will be showing at Thurso High School, 12 th 15 th December. Without wishing to give away any plot spoilers, an audience might perhaps expect: Scurrying rats Hordes Cheese In more ways than one Overbearing Dame Only one, thankfully Assiduous Lawyers Evil always comes in threes! Well-meaning Mayors Well, more than one would create a power struggle Double-entendre Plenty Gunge Bucket-loads A Good Sing-Song As much as can be crammed in! Certain Players members have even heard tantalising rumours relating to impressive pieces of moving set! Advance Booking Forms available to subscribed TP members from the Mill Theatre! Our annual brainstorming session, to decide or at least strongly suggest what productions we might put on next year, went ahead only a few days ago. The TP committee will have the final say (and work on the roof may cause bother during the summer months see Mill Update article), but there were some very interesting suggestions made including, but not exclusive to (and in no particular order): The Witches Roald Dahl Panto 2013 [Details still a little Hush-Hush Ed.] Art Yasmina Reza Sugar (a musical based on some like it hot ) Julie Zinnie Harris Out of Sight Out of Murder Fred Carmichael Dr. Seuss day Possibly Lorax or Grinch based Tom Sawyer Musical Based on novel by Mark Twain Bugsy Malone We thought this might make a good club night theme Thurso Gala Day Street Theatre As always, some juggling of timeslots would be inevitable Watch this space! RW RW

9 I imagine that, quite frequently, many people may have a short thought process - within their inner monologue - that might go something like this: That Thurso Players crowd are a reasonable bunch They put on the odd silly play about stuff, but they re usually quite entertaining, and they do seem to enjoy themselves whilst they are doing it [All true! Ed.] I wonder if I could get involved in some way. Maybe I could give them a hand with something? But they re so well organised and slick, they ve surely got all the jobs covered [Erm Less true. Ed.] What could I possibly do for them? Well As it happens A few classifieds for your consideration: Scattered in amongst the 6-10 productions you can expect from the Players (and our juniors) in any given year, there is occasionally an evening where we just get together and like to perform things on a more informal basis. Perhaps a musical number from a west-end show performed by a few members; perhaps a short scene from a play or movie; perhaps a moving or comic or just plain interesting poem that a member would like to share with us Perhaps an excuse to get dressed up and put on some dramatic make-up (like Shakespeare s birthday or International talk-like-a-pirate day ) presents itself, and some drama lovers get together and enjoy the spirit of the occasion. We d really like someone to volunteer assume the mantle of Co- Ordinator for such events. Any person who did would likely be asked to: Willing Volunteers Needed! To assist with front of house duties this December before, during and (a little) after the 5 performances that will take place this year, from the 12 th Dec. If you have it in you to, smilingly, guide people to seats, sell them programmes, ice creams, raffle tickets and badges and to linger a little to help reset the furniture afterwards, then we d love to hear from you! Identify 2 or 3 occasions in a year where we could take over the mill, and indulge in some informal drama Get chatting with our membership to see if any of them had ideas for themes, occasions or content for such a gathering Attend the occasional committee meeting so that resources can be made available Encourage as many people to get involved as possible Please contact TP secretary Lesley Jackson if you d like to be involved Please contact TP secretary Lesley Jackson if you d like to volunteer!

10 Thurso Players need a willing volunteer to replace our present Representative to the Scottish Community Drama Association in one years time. TP are proud to participate in SCDA festivals and events. Our productions are very well received in competitions and we have enjoyed quite a lot of success within the activities of SCDA. This voluntary post will entail shadowing the present Rep for the remainder of her time in the post and assuming her duties after her departure. Typically, these duties include: Attending TP committee meetings (8-11 meetings per year) Point of contact, for TP, with SCDA central organisation Attending TP productions for SCDA If you d like to be involved, or would like more information, please contact either: Lesley Jackson TP Secretary Fiona Murray TP SCDA rep. (Contact details at end of newsletter) General Adult Members Wanted! We are very proud to say that our junior section has been going from strength to strength! Membership is very high and attendance is regular! Whoops! and the showcase were both fantastic productions! Now we d really to like to see the adult section grow in the same way! The Mill Theatre, Millbank, Thurso, KW14 8PS Tel: Treasurer: Philip Arthur Tel: Membership Secretary: Lesley Jackson Tel: lesley.jackson1@btinternet.com Application for Full membership I would like to *renew/become a Full member of Thurso Players Name Address Postcode Tel No: Membership Fees Full Concession PLEASE WRITE YOUR ADDRESS VERY CLEARLY per annum per annum Concessions for Full membership are available to Students, Senior Citizens (65+) and the Registered Unemployed I enclose the appropriate membership fee of: Any cheques payable to Thurso Players I am a taxpayer and wish this payment to be considered as payment for Gift Aid *Yes / No Please send completed form and fee to the Membership Secretary. We occasionally photograph or film junior workshops and productions, these photos appear, at times, in the local press. If you do not wish your child to be photographed please contact me at the above address, or by . If you wish to join but would like to pay by alternate means (like standing order or direct debit) please contact me at the above address, or by . Lesley Jackson Membership Secretary & Child Protection Officer Some Printable Application Forms In case you want to recommend a friend! Date received... Scottish Charity No. SC (*Delete as required)

11 The Mill Theatre, Millbank, Thurso, KW14 8PS Tel: Treasurer: Philip Arthur Tel: Membership Secretary: Lesley Jackson Tel: Application for Junior Membership I would like to *renew/become a Junior member of Thurso Players Name Date of Birth Address Postcode Tel No: PLEASE WRITE YOUR ADDRESS VERY CLEARLY Junior Membership is available to young people aged 8 to 18 years old at a cost of per annum. Please send completed form and fee to the Membership Secretary. Any cheques payable to Thurso Players You will receive a quarterly newsletter, advance notice of all events and advanced bookings for most shows including the annual pantomime. This can be by post or more conveniently by . If parents are taxpayers: the annual payment may be considered as payment for Gift Aid *Yes/No We occasionally photograph, or film junior workshops and productions. These photos appear, at times, in the local press. If you do not wish you child to be photographed please contact me at the above address, or by . The Mill Theatre, Millbank, Thurso, KW14 8PS Tel: Treasurer: Philip Arthur Tel: Membership Secretary: Lesley Jackson Tel: lesley.jackson1@btinternet.com Application for Associate Membership I would like to *renew/become an Associate member of Thurso Players Name Address Postcode Tel No: PLEASE WRITE YOUR ADDRESS VERY CLEARLY If you would like to support Thurso Players in a non-active role you could take out Associate Membership for 5.00 per annum. You will then recieve a quarterly newsletter, advance notice of all events and advance booking for most shows including the annual Panto. This can be done by post or more conveniently by . Please send completed form and fee to the Membership Secretary. Any cheques payable to Thurso Players I am a taxpayer and wish the annual payment to be considered as payment for Gift Aid *Yes / No Lesley Jackson Membership Secretary & Child Protection Officer Lesley Jackson Membership Secretary & Child Protection Officer Parental signature... Date received... Scottish Charity No. SC (*Delete as required) Date received... Scottish Charity No. SC (*Delete as required)

12 Secretary: (Incl. membership) SCDA secretary: SCDA Rep: Lesley Jackson or Clare Crawford or Fiona Murray or