www.holsworthytheatre.co.uk BODMIN STREET HOLSWORTHY 01409 253826
RECENT HATS PRODUCTIONS Pantomime 2017 Goldilocks and the Three Bears The NODA review was written by Dianne ffitch, who attended the matinee performance on 4th February 2017. Here are some excerpts from Dianne s report: This was the first time that I had visited HATS Theatre, and I was very impressed with the facilities at the venue. Everything was clean and fresh, and the society is obviously proud of its home. I also commend the society on performing a 2-week run with 14 performances; the commitment of the actors and crew and indeed their families requires a great deal of time management and energy. I was pleased to see that this commitment was rewarded with a well supported performance, with very few empty seats in the house, and the participation and delight on the faces of the members of the audience, both young and old. This has been a difficult production for the society with a number of characters having to withdraw from the cast mid rehearsals, and the availability of musicians. I must congratulate the society for developing new talent, both treading the boards and back stage. Sophie Sawdust had a magnificent array of costumes that worked particularly well. Baby Bear was an absolute star! The scene inside Deadwood Manor was a highlight, and its Harry Potteresque paintings worked extremely well. The set designs were stunning; a lot of time and effort had clearly gone into set painting. There were some truly lovely costumes. Bright colours, and a good variety for the dame all very appropriate for a cheery pantomime. 2
The stage lighting throughout was generally bright, and appropriate to the production. The choreography throughout was simple, but of a suitable style for the production whose performers are not dancers. The bears dances were particularly fun. This was a very enjoyable afternoon, and the audience were clearly enjoying themselves. It was lovely to see so many young members of your cast, and I hope that your new recruits enjoyed the experience. Sarah, the director, should be very proud of her cast and crew pulling the production together, despite the difficulties experienced. For the whole NODA report go to the HATS website, under Past Shows. See photos from the show on the back page of this newsletter. Further to this report there were very many comments from audience members, invariably full of praise for every aspect of the pantomime. Indeed, one opinion voiced was that this was the best HATS panto yet! The ladies of Werrington WI took the trouble to call the theatre to say how very much they had enjoyed the show, and that it was thought to be better than some professional pantomimes that their members had seen. Sarah O Connor, who directed the pantomime, penned this little ditty, once the show was finally over, to the tune of My Way : And now, the end is here and we have faced the final curtain My friends, I'll say it clear, you all did well, of that I'm certain We've worked so hard its true we've battled each and every highway But more, much more than this you did it my way! Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew But through it all, when there was doubt, I cut it up and spat it out I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way! For what is a cast? What has it got? If not a panto, that makes us fraught? To hide the things s/he truly feels and not the lines of one who kneels The record shows we took the bows and we did it our way! 3
UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS Boeing, Boeing Thurs 27th Sat 29th April; Thurs 4th Sat 6th May 2017 Kay Napier is back in the director s chair for another comedy play, this time by French playwright Marc Camoletti. The Box office will open from Monday 10th April, Monday Saturday 10.00am 3.00pm. The cast members are: Bernard: Alan Eyles Gloria: Sarah Leach Bertha: Terina Ellacott Robert: Stuart Davey Gabriella: Ellie Skuse Gretchen: Jodie Lawson The Hollow by Agatha Christie Thurs 24th Sat 26th August; Thurs 31st August Sat 2nd September Eve Earles is directing this good old-fashioned murder mystery from our greatest crime author, Agatha Christie. You won t see Miss Marple nor Monsieur Poirot, but every one of the twelve characters is important to the plot. There are six parts for men and six parts for women, with ages ranging from late 20 s to young 60 s. Eve presents the synopsis as follows: Gathered at the home of Sir Henry and Lady Lucy Angkatell are various guests amongst whom is Dr John Christow, his mistress Veronica, his ex-mistress and his wife. Veronica ardently desires to marry Christow, but he refuses to divorce, and Veronica unwisely declares that if she can t have him, no-one else will! Within five minutes he is dead. Nearly everyone had a motive and opportunity to murder Christow, but who actually committed the deed has to be discovered by Inspector Colquhoun and Sergeant Penny. So as you can see, a brilliant plot and lots of good acting to be had. I will be setting the play in the 1950 s. You are invited to come along to the readings which will be held on Monday 15th May, 7.30pm in the Green room. 4
THEATRE BUSINESS Two of our recent productions were nominated for NODA awards in 2016. Nominated for best pantomime was Dick Whittington, directed by Eve Earles and Phil Barfett. Nominated for best comedy was Black Comedy directed by Kay Napier. Well deserved congratulations go to the cast, the crew and the directors of both productions. Several ideas for plays for 2018 have been received and are being considered by the committee. If anyone else has suggestions for plays they would like to direct for HATS, at any time, please contact any committee member. Note that the deadline for the Spring play 2018 will be the beginning of May 2017. Mary Barfett would like to remind everyone that all items of costume from the pantomime should be returned to the Wardrobe asap. Mary Osborne noted that the auditorium is in need of a deep clean and redecorating. The lights also need a good birthday and the front of the building could also do with a wash down. This is to be arranged after the stage floor has been refurbished. A team is planning to undertake this project in the near future. A donation of 420 was gratefully received from the Kings Arms, Holsworthy. This will go towards the cleaning and refurbishment of theatre. The booster seats which were in use during panto are deemed to have been a great success and it was agreed to buy twelve more. Seats for sponsoring in the auditorium - there are just about 45 seats still available for sponsoring The Wonnacott Shield. There were several nominations for the shield. Tony Prouse was chosen to receive the award this year in recognition of the amount of work, often unseen, he has put in over a number of years. 5
Job vacancies Heather Prouse has been in charge of the sweets, drinks and ice cream sales in the foyer for many long years. She feels it is time to hand this role on now, so please put your name forward if you feel you could help out in this capacity. Get in touch with Heather (01409 253131) or Annette (01409 254757). Heather has also been responsible for the display in the foyer of photos of the cast for each production. Family commitments mean she cannot continue, so we are looking for help with this role too. Sarah O Connor looks after the display of photos for each production in the Peter, Peter and Wright window and she would appreciate a bit of help from someone. Contact her (01409 259409) if you think you can help her in any way at all. Marian Glossop regrets that she would like to hang up her hat as organiser of the Booking Office staff which she has carried out for many years and for which we owe her sincere thanks. Amy Clarke has agreed to take on this role in addition to her role as Events Bookings manager. Amy will be looking for extra help for manning the Box Office and also stewarding, starting with the spring play Boeing, Boeing. The Co-op is looking for local causes to share money generated by its new membership scheme, starting in May. If you shop at the Co-op and are a Co-op member, you will be able to select HATS as your local cause. More information will be given in the next newsletter 6
Publicity The main points that were discussed at the recent Publicity team meeting were: HATS Facebook: a new private group will be created for the use of paid-up members only. The existing page will serve as a public forum for HATS, and it will continue to be monitored. A schedule for creating and distributing publicity for productions will be drafted so that dates of Box office opening and ticket sales can be publicised well in advance. Many thanks to members who have agreed to distribute posters for HATS productions in their local areas. Denise will be in touch soon with posters for Boeing, Boeing. She can send the posters as an email attachment for anyone who can forward them to other groups or societies who would like to come and see our productions. Just drop her an email to let her know (moorleydenise@gmail.com) HATS needs to increase public awareness of the theatre to attract more members. Suggestions were hold a HATS Open Day; invite local secondary schools to visit the theatre and see what goes into putting on a performance; take a stall on town market to publicise events at the theatre; participate in local carnivals with a HATS float. A further meeting will follow up on these suggestions. One idea the committee have agreed to trial is a charity premiere for the first night of future productions. It is hoped that by sharing the proceeds with a locally supported charity, we may boost ticket sales for the first night, and, more importantly, bring more people into the theatre to show what we can do! 7
Identify skill areas of HATS members. In almost all departments of the theatre there is a lack of manpower. We need to identify which areas of the theatre each HATS member is happy to help out with. At the AGM we will all be asked to indicate where we would like to help out so the information can be collated and referred to when, for example, extra help is required for stewarding or setchanging. The main areas where help is needed are: Theatre department Stewards/Box Office Booking events Wardrobe Lighting / Electrical Sweets / Ice creams Props Backstage Music Publicity Other departments/ Secretary Person to contact AMY CLARKE AMY CLARKE MARY BARFETT TONY PROUSE HEATHER PROUSE SUE PAINTER MALCOLM WITHALL MIKE WONNACOTT DENISE MOORLEY ANNETTE DENNIS Contact details 01409 254683 01409 254683 01409254914 01409 261 641 01409 253131 01409 253840 01409 254 803 01409 254 080 01409 241033 01409 254757 If you would like to offer your services to a particular area now, don t wait for the AGM give a call to the person who coordinates that department. Bring a friend or relative along too if they are interested in experiencing the buzz that we all get from creating live theatre! 8
MEMBERS NEWS Dinner and Dance A splendid evening was enjoyed by all those who attended and it was declared a great success with heartfelt thanks to all those who worked hard to organize the event, in particular Annette Dennis and Charles Jeffrey-Hudson. The next one is already in the process of being booked. HATS Summer BBQ Peter and Sally are proposing to repeat last year s successful BBQ at their home. Look out for the date in the summer newsletter. Sue Painter has suggested that we could hold an Arts and Crafts event at the theatre. Many HATS members create beautiful objects and it was thought that they might like to show them off to other members and sponsors. If this would interest you, either as a participant or a customer, please let Sue know. Her number is 01409 253840. Summer open air theatre in Holsworthy s Badock Gardens Saturday 29th July The Emperor s New Clothes 5.00pm (For ages 5+years) Tuesday 15th August Murder on the Terrace 7.00pm Tuesday 22nd August The Mikado 7.00pm HATS theatre will be open in the interval for the sale of ice creams and the use of toilet facilities. Also, a big thank you to members who have their newsletters sent by email, at quite a saving to the Society. So far, about two-thirds of members do this. Remember to let me know if you change your email address or your postal address. Contact me on moorleydenise@gmail.com or 01409 241033. The deadline for the summer newsletter is Friday 9th June 9
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 27TH 29TH APRIL; 4TH 6TH MAY 2017 BOEING BOEING A COMEDY PLAY BY MARC CAMOLETTI Directed for HATS by Kay Napier Tickets 8 and 6 from Box Office 10 April 30TH JUNE 2017 TAKE A CHANCE ON US A TRIBUTE TO ABBA Show starts 8.00pm Tickets 10 from HBH Woolacotts, Holsworthy (01409 253280) or Amy Clarke (01409 254683) 15TH JULY 2017 JSLN DANCE COMPANY PERFORMS VARIATIONS OF POINTE (TBC) 22ND JULY 2017 CAMERON MILLS AND FRIENDS IN CONCERT A musical evening produced by HATS member Cameron Mills Tickets now available 6 Contact info@cameronmills-singer.co.uk 24TH 26TH AUGUST; 31ST AUGUST 2ND SEPTEMBER 2017 THE HOLLOW A CRIME DRAMA BY AGATHA CHRISTIE Directed for HATS by Eve Earles Booking from end July 7TH OCTOBER 2017 EVENING CONCERT PERFORMED BY MEVAGISSEY MALE CHOIR (TBC) 29TH JANUARY 10TH FEBRUARY 2018 ALADDIN THE PANTOMIME Directed by Amy Clarke and Terina Ellacott and performed by HATS AUTUMN 2018 BLACKADDER GOES FORTH Comedy play, directed for HATS by Sarah O Connor To be performed on a charitable basis, with 75 per performance to be paid to Comic Relief NOVEMBER 2018 LEST WE FORGET A COMMEMORATION OF THE END OF WORLD WAR ONE Directed for HATS by Mike and Lesley Wonnacott 10
PANTO PICS 2017 GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS 11
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