Musical for September - Oklahoma

 Oklahoma!

Now an evergreen classic musical with something for everyone, when it was written this was a ground breaking innovation. Its strong storyline, memorable music and the ballet at the centre of the story, were a revelation to post war audiences.

It is still one of the most popular shows for amateur societies to produce, and for audiences to attend.

The love story of the cowboy and the farmer's girl, epitomising the larger story of the territory folks learning to live together in harmony in their brand new state is recognisable to all.

This isn't an easy show. It is big in its setting, requires a lot from its cast, needing strong singing leads, strong dancers, and a chorus that can do both. It is, however, a joy to perform.

Oliver! - (4)

Last blog of this month : Gift ideas for Oliver!

To start at the very beginning – Food! All kinds of foods that are mentioned in the song, pease pudding (can be bought in tins), mustard, custard, cakes or sweets made to look like their savoury counterparts, strawberries (also mentioned in “Who Will Buy”). Perhaps even “Rennies” or similar indigestion remedies. These can be offered for all the children in the cast, whether they double as workhouse children and Fagin's gang or not, with the addition of sausages and fake gin (or ginger beer) for Fagin's boys.

For Fagin's boys too, wallets, handkerchiefs and coins, sweet watches and “jewellery”.

And for Dodger a top hat charm or phone charm, a lockable box (possibly also for Fagin) or if feeling really generous – a gold watch on a chain.

Mr and Mrs Sowerberry – again a top hat, with the addition of some black fabric as a mourning hat, or some Victorian mourning jewellery, possibly jet, depending on your budget.

Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney like their gin, so miniatures of London Gin might make good presents. And Widow Corney keeps a basket of kittens, so a little figurine of a cat, or a soft toy, for her.

The Drama Queen's Drawers has some horse brasses depicting the characters of Fagin, Oliver, Nancy and Mr Bumble, these are vintage items to be found in the Bottom Drawer category.

For Oliver whatever his gift, the wrapping and presentation could be “put in a box and tied up with a ribbon”, just as the lyric in “Who will buy?” suggests. A locket, books, friendship bracelet, strawberries and cream, or a love token.

For Nancy – small pleasures.

Anything Goes - (3)

Blow Gabriel Blow picture from the Rider Waite Tarot pack Judgement card

Gifts that relate to this show include all kinds of nautical paraphernalia, life belts, ship's wheels, anchors, toy boats; plus sailors, and their hats, collars, uniforms.
Angels, and Gabriel's horn (like a post horn or fanfare horn, just a straight one like the picture above)
1930's style gangster machine guns (a nerf gun or water gun perhaps?) or a “Wanted” poster for Public Enemy Number 13
Friendship bracelets, or Forever Friends merchandise (particularly for Reno and Moonface)
Champagne or champagne bubbles (blowing bubbles).
Tap shoe charms, stockings, postcards wishing Bon Voyage or “wish you were here” messages, depending on character or rehearsal happenings. Rehearsals are often the most fertile ground for imaginative personal presents, things that relate to a particular lyric or move that are personal to you and your partner or team.

Anything Goes - (2)

Set on a cruise liner, the nautical theme runs throughout the show, with the added glitz and glamour of on-board cabaret, and the high fashion cult of celebrity which was as prevalent in 1934 as it is today. Lots of design freedom in the costuming, with trousers being fashionable for daywear,, and bias cut evening dresses in fabulous fabrics at the other end of the scale.

Our company had a two tier set, depicting the deck and bridge of the ship, with ladders leading from one level to the other. These were narrow sets of steps that gave the opportunity to vary the height and patterns of the players, so that Blow Gabriel Blow had several of the cast perched on the ladders and formed up across the bridge framing Reno centre stage, and giving everyone exposure to the audience. It did mean that the taller cast members had their heads up among the lighting bars if they weren't careful! At that time our auditorium had a flat floor, so the higher level allowed for some better sight lines for the audience. This is the usual way of setting for this show, but small community venues with low proscenium arch openings may make this impossible, and set your designer and director some headaches in developing imaginative settings that work well on a single level.

The Music Man - (3)

The settings for Music Man are of the main street of River City, the interiors of the Library and Gymnasium, and Mrs Paroo's house and verandah (Indoors and out), and of the park with a footbridge, where courting couples meet. Quite a challenge for set designer and stage crew, with multiple changes, especially if presented in a small community hall with limited flying facilities. Depending on available space there is also the arrival of the Wells Fargo wagon at the end of Act One, bringing a plethora of brass band instruments for the children. Of course it is possible to dispense with a practical wagon, and have parcels being “unloaded” in the wings. Or at the other extreme, with unlimited space and budget, one can bring in a horse(or pony)-drawn wagon to complete the climax before the interval.

This can be a spectacular show, with costumes and setting becoming brighter and more dramatic as the story goes on, culminating in the arrival of the uniformed Boys' Band. The epitome of shimmering trumpets, clashing cymbals and thundering timpani. 

Music is the central focus of the whole show with piano, pianola, and brass marching band  all featuring in the action.

The Music Man - (2)

The Music Man is set in 1912, so period costumes are required, and some research into the possible attitudes and habits of society at this period. Fortunately this year is well documented, partly because of the Titanic disaster, and the news coverage that has survived from that time, and the films and stories that have been made to tell the story of the unsinkable liner. There is much interest in this story because it is 100 years since it happened, and lots of ideas for commemorative events include costume and hairstyle details, which are very helpful.

Hairstyles relate very much to the hats that were being worn at the time, and wide hats required structured hair to support them, and allow long hat pins to be skewered into braids and buns to keep hats in place. We so rarely wear hats these days that it requires quite a lot of practice to remember to keep one's poise with a large and unwieldy confection of net and lace, feathers and flowers, balanced precariously. Especially when you then are about a foot taller than usual and have to remember to duck through doorways.

Men's hats were not quite so difficult to manage, but remembering to raise your hat every time you meet anyone, when to wear or not wear your hat, removing it on entering a house, carrying it in your hands instead, all of which are no longer part of everyday life. Plus no wristwatches, only pocket watches, so actually using these things and making it seem natural and not contrived, all add to the characterisations of the chorus as well as principals. Personal props all add to the period feel, but are also a trap for the unwary or less experienced members of cast. Few of us recognise the anachronisms of gesture which we use every day, such as looking at your wrist to indicate that you are conscious of time, or of someone being late, even when not wearing a watch at all. It's a gesture of modern convention, but not always easy to avoid.

Who thought there was so much to learn when they first started to engage in amateur drama, and set foot upon the boards?

The Music Man

This month I have been considering which show to concentrate on, and finally decided on The Music Man, which is a selfish choice and a sensible one. I am currently in rehearsals with Loughton Operatic Society for a performance of this show at the end of April, and am therefore becoming more and more immersed in the story and characters. I am taking part in the chorus, and helping to source the required props (including brass instruments for the Boys' Band).

The Music Man is the story of a travelling salesman in Mid West USA (Iowa) who comes to town to sell instruments and uniforms to the parents of the town's children, by persuading them that they need to form a Boys' Band to “keep your young boys pure”.  The story tells of his efforts to woo the town's librarian to his cause, and how he changes attitudes within the town, together with his personal tale of falling in love and therefore not being able to leave when he normally would to avoid the wrath of the townspeople, who have been “conned” by his charm into spending lots of money on instruments and uniforms.

This is my second time of venturing on stage with The Music Man, the first time as a young dancer making the most of the energy in “Shipoopi” and miming my way through the library scene; this time I am a more mature (and larger) lady of the Del Sarte dance troupe led by Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn. I am having great fun with the possibilities of comedy moments in this pastiche of Isadora Duncan's style of dance. ( At least that's the way I am playing it!)

More next week.... I have to go in search of some more books. How many constitute a library I wonder?

Half A Sixpence -(4)

Hat Pincushion

This one is handmade in red velvet with satin ribbon.

Half A Sixpence is a show where you can go to town on presents that relate to weddings, favours, charms, old-fashioned wedding photos, a “ Family Album”

The period costumes (1912 approximately) lend themselves to hats, parasols and pincushions for the ladies, and cravats or straw boaters for the men.

Also picnic hampers and umbrellas,(If the Rain's Gotta Fall) even a banjo.(If I Had Money to Burn)

Sixpence coins are still available from coin dealers, or maybe you have a stash of old coins in the back of a drawer somewhere that might be worth investigating.

A crafty friend of mine made tiny (doll's house size) carrier bags with Shalford's Emporium labels, and enclosed a sixpence in the bag.

Then of course there is champagne, or bubbles and blowers in the shape of champagne bottles, or liqueur chocolates. And for those " All in the Cause of Economy", cola bottle sweets.

Have a look at the Half A Sixpence category on my website for ideas with a list of characters and musical numbers to remind you of names and relevances.

Half A Sixpence -(3)

Beside the umbrellas and telescope, there is also the incident of the broken door glass when Kipps cuts his hand... toffee glass is great, but quite often breaks while trying to get it into the door panel, cellophane just doesn't give the same effect, and you don't really want to injure your leading man.

Your stage crew and props have to be on the ball for this show!

One of the more difficult props to engineer is the camera and flash for “Flash Bang Wallop”. At the time of the story it would have been magnesium powder in a tray that made the flash, but even if you could arrange the necessary health and safety procedures to use that nowadays, there is the problem of repeated flashes in time to the music......not so easy at all. It requires your “photographer” to be able to manipulate a flash at the right time, yet still appear to be an integral part of the action. In our original production we used flash cubes linked to a hand held flash, but with the advances in digital photography these are no longer widely available, so a different strategy needs to be employed, and the inventiveness of your stage crew tested. Like any props that require some kind of action “Murphy's Law” is bound to be involved. (That is the one that says “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it is rarely the thing that you are prepared for”)

This can be quite a heavy show for props, the set dressing can be quite lavish; for Shalford's Emporium, there is a requirement for more than one counter which has to be dressed with goods, and covered and uncovered with dust sheets during the action, then the upper crust cricket match and party with ornate seating and champagne being served. Never mind the pub, with bar and tables for the customers, and the classroom with the practical door as above. The action moves through many different scenes, some of which are merely suggested by the scenery and differentiated by the props.

It really is worth being nice to your stage crew and props people, at least get to know their names and say “Thank you” . Most crews for amateur shows are only around for the week of the production, and are friends or colleagues of the Stage Manager, and if they are good at what they do, you really want to keep them on-side ; good volunteer crew are worth their weight in gold.

Once upon a time the crew were presented with a case of beer at the after show party, and that was their thank you for the week. Times change, and nowadays fewer crew members are beer drinkers, and they too appreciate a memento of the show as much as the cast.

One of the things we as a company did on “ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” was to set up a Lumberjack's Tea for the crew between the matinee and evening performance; providing sandwiches and cake (and pies for Sevens) and serving them as our customers.

This could be done as a cricket match tea when doing Half A Sixpence, or a garden party style tea with cucumber sandwiches etc., although maybe avoiding the champagne between shows.

Half A Sixpence -(2)

Following a successful week's run at our local community assembly rooms, we were lucky enough to be invited to take our production to Malta; to the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. This beautiful theatre usually houses professional opera and dance companies and orchestras, so we were thrilled to have the chance to perform there.

Naively, we hadn't realised that we were going to be performing on the weekend of one of the most important elections in Maltese history, nor did we realise the passions involved in the politics – until we got there, that is. For a contingent of British people who were quite used to laid back political voting, and low turnout at elections, the rallying and 96% turnout were a revelation; not to mention the fact that once the result was announced there were cavalcades of trucks and lorries banging dustbin lids and firing rockets into the air that went on all night. A public holiday was announced, and suddenly our two performances were reduced to one because the orchestra (the house orchestra of the theatre) were not going to work on a public holiday. OK, we thought, we'll cram as many people into the theatre for our one performance as possible, and therefore announcements were made on the local radio and the news that anyone wanting to see us had only this one chance.

There were many things that we had not considered in advance, it had all sounded so easy...

We were a large group of families and singles, all booked into the same accommodation (a hotel for the first few days, and then an ex-army sergeant's mess, I believe) which was great, we would all be enjoying a holiday and topping it off with a fantastic performance at the end of the week.

Except that our plans for scenery that had been sent ahead, and we expected to be done when we arrived, had not translated into action by our hosts in Malta. They hadn't understood how to turn our drawings into scenery, but had happily answered “No problem” to every request. So all able bodied men and women were roped in to paint scenery for the first few days, and to rummage through the theatre's props department for anything that would help to create the atmosphere of Folkestone in 1912. A promenade telescope? A white railing fence? The theatre basement was an Aladdin's cave, but mainly of things none of us recognised.

With the help of MADC  (Malta Amateur Dramatics Club) we managed to find enough props, and to paint some flats. We had brought our costumes with us in our normal luggage, but had also flown in some back cloths. These were discovered to be being held at customs, and were only released on payment of a bond, on the understanding that we were not bringing them in to sell at a profit. We finally got them a day before we were due to perform. You can imagine the scenes of our director and stage manager tearing their hair out.

Still, we had a fabulous time, spending glorious days at the beach, or exploring the beautiful islands of Malta and Gozo. Those of us with young children hired cars and shared the babysitting so that we could all enjoy a proper holiday. One of the highlights was our visit to the “Popeye” village... Sweethaven was the film set built for the live action film of Popeye starring Robin Williams, and is still there as a tourist attraction.

We rehearsed in the foyer of the theatre, which is all marble staircase and statues, and it felt as though we could have been in a Degas painting of a rehearsal. Our dressing rooms had windows that opened out over the street, with tiny wrought iron balconies, and were miles away from the stage. So we had to re-time our quick changes and entrances to allow for rickety staircases and mazes of corridors.

We also had to pack our costumes as we took them off, and rush to carry everything to the bus which we had hired to take us back to our residence, because the bus driver wasn't going to work after midnight, and we had to meet him at the bottom of a run of steps.(Valletta is pedestrian friendly. The streets being so narrow it is impossible to drive through them, so motor vehicles are banned. And it is set on a high promontory, so the only way to move around is up and down steep sets of steps) So at the end of the performance everyone was loaded up and sent as quickly as possible to relay everything we had brought, including rolled cloths that were huge. Running up and down stairs in the dark!

The after show party back at our residence was raucous and adrenaline fuelled, everyone had a tale to tell, and we all needed to let off steam. Some of our older more staid members had never been seen to be so “tired and emotional”.

Despite all our difficulties in getting on stage we were incredibly proud to have been invited, and to play to a full house in this glorious old theatre. It was an experience I wouldn't swap for anything, and the memories are flooding back as I write.

Amateur drama has given me so much to enjoy and share, I would recommend it as a hobby (lifestyle choice; obsession) to anyone.

This Month's Show - Half a Sixpence

Set in the early 1900's and having for its theme the difference between the middle and the working classes of Folkestone. This was originally a vehicle for Tommy Steele as the hero Arthur Kipps, who inherits a fortune and loses it again. The man who plays this part is almost never offstage, and requires a lot of stamina to keep up with the many musical numbers. There is a new version which I have only seen and not performed in, which has some big changes to the score from when I was taking part so some of the numbers I mention may not be familiar to those who come to perform now. For instance “The Party's on the House”, a big production number, is no longer in the new version, and “The Old Military Canal” has been replaced with a cricket match.

A bit off topic but  you might like to read “The Cricketing Versions” by Wendy Cope, a gently humorous poem from her anthology Serious Concerns (there is a quote on this forum)

All that said, and despite being a show depending on the strength of the actor playing Kipps, there is a lot of chorus work, and some decent supporting roles in the apprentices and shop girls, and the Walsingham family.
Costume varies from fancy bustles and parasols for the upper class ladies and morning suits or tail suits for the men, to blazers and whites, or shop uniforms and summery dresses for the working class. We had umbrellas for “If the Rain's Gotta Fall” which had to withstand being twirled and opened and closed in time with the music and dance steps, and to mimic the design of parasols, so being lacy or frilled.  For these we found some children's toy umbrellas and lengthened the handles with wooden dowelling. Covering the clear plastic with fabric to make them look right. Great! Until the week of the show, when in performance the spokes started to break and had to be mended with whatever was to hand....gaffer tape of course. I found myself going home every night with two or three umbrellas to mend or to cannibalise from some spares that hadn't been used. All part of the fun, and a big lesson in making sure that props/costume are fit for purpose. This became even more important when we were invited to take our production of Half A Sixpence to Malta.... more of that next time.

Seven Brides for Seven brothers - (3)

My suggestions for presents for this show tend to be centred round the themes of “love” and “weddings” . As mentioned before; garters, bouquets, lucky horseshoes, all kinds of wedding favours can be used as gifts, and as the final scene is of a “shotgun” wedding, rifles and toy guns can also be added.

But there is also a birth ; so baby themed gifts for Millie. (Our poor little Hannah doll had a last night prank Moustache to match that of Adam!)

Lots of snow : so snowmen and snowballs (sweets, chocolate or cakes) or a snowman keyring (here).

Spring too, with all kinds of baby animals to choose from, lambs, chicks, soft toys if you feel so inclined.

And then there are the pies; apple pies, cherry pies, anything you might have taken to a social dance such as Millie would have cooked. Or a pie plate, there are lots of fancy plates to be had at the moment, whether from a department store or a junk/antique shop.

I stock these when I can find them, but they tend to be one-off buys and unrepeatable.

I hope I have given you some fun ideas and inspirations for presents for those involved in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”, there are some more to be found in this category on my website, together with a list of characters and musical numbers to remind you of names and relevances.

Writing of these has reminded me of the fun I had finding gifts for my friends, and I hope to share that enjoyment.

Seven Brides for Seven brothers - (2)

It has taken me a while to find the photos I wanted to include in this week's blog. They are of the dresses which we had for our “Spring dance” which were completely made of patchwork and created by a lady of our wardrobe committee (we were lucky to have three or four ladies who took responsibility for hiring and making costumes, so that our directors could let their imaginations run wild, or at least to have some creative input into the costumes!) Their houses were like Aladdin's cave for seamstresses, full of bits of material, sequins and feathers for creating just the look that was required.

These were our patchwork dresses :

the seven brothers had shirts to match.

Our wedding dresses were hired in, each of us having a different colour, again matching the brothers shirts.

Lovely as these were they were much more difficult to dance in, and so heavy that in the final dance when our choreographer had the brides doing pose turns in a diagonal line across the stage, instead of single turns, the weight of the dresses carried us on to doubles and triples, and made it very difficult to stop!

The fact that we were colour co-ordinated made it quite easy to get presents that were the same for everyone, just in different colourways, so little bouquets and ribbon garters for the brides were favourites.

Those of a more crafty nature made patchwork pin cushions or full size cushions, and our choreographer had had made a full set of knitted dolls representing each of the couples. (I still haven't found the pictures of these, but will add them when I find them)

This Month's Show - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Another “Dancers'” show, this one requires at least 14 men who can at least move, if not cope with learning dances. My group was extremely lucky to find not only seven "brothers" who could dance, but also seven suitors who were also prepared to have a go at learning quite difficult and complicated dances. And for me, as one of the brides, an opportunity to play a part rather than be one of the dancing chorus. There was some resistance from the company as to whether we could do the show; did we have enough people who could both sing and dance? In many amateur shows the singers and dancers are separate teams, with only a few who could cross between the two disciplines, “Sevens” requires people who can do both, although it is possible for Adam Pontipee to avoid the main dance numbers, Millie has to be able to dance and sing, and to lead the brothers and the brides in the most famous numbers; “ Goin' Courtin'” and the Social Dances. (in the film this is the barn raising sequence, on stage it becomes a challenge circle dance).

Our committee had been applying to the film makers for permission to perform this on stage since it first appeared in cinemas, and for many years the rights holders resisted any attempt to bring out a stage version of any kind. However eventually in 1979 there was a version written for the stage, it was finally opened for amateur performance and in 1990 we took to the stage with our exuberant version, transferring in 1991 to a local “proper” theatre for a one week run. How excited we were to get the chance to reprise a show where we had such great fun.

It is fast-moving and full of life, needing quick changes in the wings to be able to go from one scene to the next. The brothers changing from their winter clothes to nothing but blankets, when Millie steals their underwear for washing, is a very quick change requiring almost to be choreographed in the wings so that each is ready in time for his cue. We worked it so that each “bride” was the dresser for her “brother”, dealing with discarded clothes and making sure that the blankets provided decent coverage of the modern underwear underneath. That was followed by a quick change in the second act for the brides from winter into spring, which was managed by the expedient of wearing winter clothes over the top of the spring dresses.  The final quick change into wedding garb for the shotgun weddings of the finale we actually did on stage behind a front cloth, while Adam and Millie have some dialogue going into the scene. This time it was the brothers who had to help the brides, doing up zips and holding head-dresses and bouquets while we frantically changed from our patchwork spring dresses into various pastel shaded wedding dresses. You can imagine the opportunities for things to go wrong ! But, actually I don't think any of them did, and no-one missed an entrance or got the wrong costume.

To be continued.

West Side Story (3)

I have always managed to take a week's holiday from work to be able to concentrate on show week, which meant that I did not have to be quite so rigorous with my make up removal, or hair styling. I have hair that behaves better if I don't wash it every day, so I tended to try and keep whatever style was required in place for as long as possible. Sometimes this meant coming home to have my hair done up in rags or rollers as soon as I got in, and sleeping in them, and leaving them in till the last minute the following day. I have friends who bemoan their wavy hair, but mine is straight and won't hold a curl without being bullied into doing so, and I don't begin to understand what they have to complain about!

We also used greasepaint when I started out, the joys of Spotlite Klear Peach Special by Leichner! Which went on beautifully but was a devil to get off, with lashings of liquid paraffin and cold cream; body make up was a coloured liquid, based on calomine lotion, which dried your skin. If you didn't have a combination skin when you started, you did by the end of the week. It was also worth making sure you had your oldest sheets and towels available for use, as no matter how good you were at cleansing, the make-up had seeped into your pores and you would wake in the morning to find smears of bright orange on your pillow. By the second production, when I had to use a darker make up as a Puerto Rican girl, pancake make-up which was applied with a wet sponge had arrived, and that was much easier to get on smoothly and to wash off. It still took about an hour of layering coat after coat of it on to get the right shade under the stage lights (you couldn't do it at home, because you always looked washed out as soon as you went into a properly lit stage.)

The luxury of time away from work also meant that I had time to spend socialising, and we often went for lunch together during the week, or to dinner all together on the Friday night after the show, which meant the crew could come along too, with nothing that needed to be done to finish up. Our local Chinese restaurant would stay open for us, knowing that at least 20 people would be ordering a full meal even if it was after eleven when most of us got there. Nowadays it is more common to visit an Indian or Chinese restaurant, but the choices were more limited in the 1970's, although there were a lot more pubs around, most of them only served food up until 9pm at the latest and their menus were of the steak and chips variety.

As West Side Story was my first show as an adult I was not really prepared for the gift giving between my fellow thespians, and I don't remember what I bought as gifts at that time. I think it was sweets, probably tubes of love hearts, or balsa wood planes for my fellow “Jets”. Later I got more creative with my ideas, and found tubes of American hard gums for my Shark friends, along with toy sharks, various pencils and erasers on a shark theme, and some other bits that arose from jokes and events at rehearsals. There was a tendency to name dance steps after food, and croissants (entrechats, if I remember rightly) and potato in a basket (pas de basque) made their appearances in the gifts that were given between dance partners.

Next time..... some gift suggestions

West Side Story (2)

Both productions of West Side Story that I was involved with performed in a community hall, with no raked seating, no fly tower, and only minimal lighting, so everything had to be hired in. The set consisted of scaffolding platforms to give two levels on stage, and a couple of trucks that set the scenes: a graffitti wall for the prologue, a door and mannequins for the dress shop, Maria's bedroom set on a high platform to one side of the stage, reached by a ladder from the wings. A very stark and basic setting with an eye to safety in its construction, and as much space as possible available for dancing. The lighting designer had a real task to perform, and for the first production our follow spot operators were housed on a high scaffold platform at the back of the auditorium. By the time of our second production there had been provision made for them in a room on the second level with a hole in the wall to allow follow spots a reasonable field of operation. A great advance.

Costumes were hired in for the most part, although there was a vast collection of costumes in the company wardrobe, it was a new venture to be using “modern dress” although not modern enough for us to be able to wear our own clothes. My dress as Graziella should have fitted me perfectly, however the lady for whom it had originally been made was a buxom size 10, I was anything but buxom, and had to take huge tucks in the bosom of the dress to make it stay in place. As I was dancing the exhibition dance in Dance at the Gym I could not keep hitching up the shoulder straps or fidgeting with my underwear. Luckily I had a sympathetic wardrobe mistress, who helped me to make it fit, and added a line of sequins to the side split in the skirt to draw the emphasis to my legs.

With the second production I was luckier , and was given a fantastic 50's design halter-neck dress with a tiered skirt in a bright yellow, that I would love to have taken home and kept, because it fitted beautifully without any adjustments and made me feel like dancing as soon as I put it on. Just like a child with a new party dress!

For me, the whole event from first rehearsals to final performance is a joy. Building on the learning of lines and dance steps at the beginning through to the fun of first run-throughs where very little goes as you expect it to, and on to being fitted for costumes, hearing the band for the first time at band call, and then to tech rehearsal, and dress rehearsal. Even when things go wrong, that is what brings the cast together as a team, and the addition of the technical expertise raises the game to another level. Until by first night the sense of working together brings something special to a performance, and invites your audience to join in and enjoy a special event.

By last night, no-one wants it to end.

At that point, last performance, was when our company gave “show presents” to our partner, other members of the team, and “Thank you” gifts to all those who helped to get us on stage. Those of us who had time made little presents, my most memorable being a tiny handkerchief embroidered with “Graziella – West Side Story – 1976” packed into a gift box, which I still have tucked away in a Treasures Box. Others bought sweets or little trinkets, just token souvenirs for our colleagues, and clubbed together to present larger gifts to our director, choreographer and MD. From this is where my own business grew.

And then of course, the de-rig. That had to be done before the exodus to the after show party, or at least, most of it had to come down and be packed ready to be dispatched back to the suppliers. No-one would want to be getting up early Sunday morning to be taking down lights or sorting costumes, so it would be all hands on deck to clear away as much as possible, before the hall caretaker insisted it was time to lock up. Sunday morning was still for clearing, but the more we could get down the better.

Many of you will recognise this series of events, for it is much the same with any show, as is the anti climax afterwards, and the need to get together again in the following week, whether to pass on audience congratulations, see the show photos, or start on the next project..

More next week