20th February 2008
MINUTES of a meeting of Tewkesbury Amateur Dramatic Society held on
20 February 2008 at The Roses Theatre. Meeting started at 8.05 pm.
1. Present: Geoff Guy, Richard Hughes, Oonagh Hughes, Paula Fancini-Hooper, Jane Hughes, Liza Otter, Mike Babb, Steve Goodchild, Bernie x, Amanda x, Tony Guy, Brenda Read-Brown.
2. Apologies: Penelope Tubbs, Martin Oakes, Debbie Lannen, Hannah Moore, Kate Aston, Greg Aston, Suzanne James, John Williams
3. The Minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.
4. Matters arising
Richard and Jane had attended Man of la Mancha at Tewkesbury School, and found it an enjoyable production.
Richard is not sure that he will be able to write a play for outdoor performance, although he will still aim to do this for summer 2009.
5. Treasurer's report
Changes since the last meeting have been due to the production of Pride and Prejudice. The accounts for this are as follows:
Income
Rehearsal subs £265
Donations £258
Programme sales £97.30
Net ticket sales £5076
Expenditure
Annexe hire £30
Publicity £272
Costumes £457.81
Set £86
Licence £105
Programmes £33
Roses hire £1938.75
Net profit from P&P was therefore £2773.
In the absence of the Treasurer a full report of accounts was not available.
6. Previous productions
It was agreed that Pride and Prejudice had been an extremely successful production - one of the best things that TADS have done. Jimmy and Isabel, and Janet and Pete Lines, have sent very complimentary cards. John Dixon (Tewkesbury councillor) had sent a letter to TADS and also to the Echo (in which it was printed, complete with the flyer photo) again commenting on the professionalism of the production. Oonagh has written to John Dixon to thank him for the letter. Emma Luther has written a piece about the show on the Echo website.
Most people had read the very favourable adjudication.
Director's report (abridged)
TADS needed a show to bring in some new talent and put bums on seats, and Pride and Prejudice succeeded in both aims. The publicity helped - 5000 posters and flyers were distributed, and Richard was interviewed on local radio; 680 tickets were sold.
Richard felt lucky that in the two readings of the play, all the right people turned up, and he was able to assemble an excellent cast. The Boys Brigade hut was unavailable for rehearsals, and again we were lucky that Liza was able to step in with the offer of her hall, with its Aga, kettle - and icy chill. The cast survived the cold, however. Deadlines for learning lines were met, but attendance at rehearsals was not good, and this made it difficult for the Director; there was no time to work on deeper characterisation. By Christmas, though, it was clear that this would be a special show, and Richard could concentrate more on style and pace.
Jane produced a vivid and imaginative array of costumes, assisted by some from Maskerade; other hired costumes, however, were of poor quality, needing frequent repair. Martin made his usual superb contribution by managing the lighting; this was especially effective in the singing interludes - which were beautifully sung, and made the production unique. The set was great. And for once, the Roses techies gave us all we had paid for.
The cast all performed with confidence and ease, and were a pleasure to work with. Penny was a very capable stage manager and deserves a special thank you.
This was the first full-length straight play Richard had directed, and it was as good as an amateur production could be. The profit of over 2.5k proved that the production was an immense success of which TADS can be very proud.
Only two problems were met. The bar was under-staffed, and audience members found it difficult to get served; and the local newspapers failed to give any pre-show publicity.
Action:
Brenda to get the Echo piece from the website and email it to Oonagh.
7. Present production – Once this was a poet
Brenda, Richard and Paula had had the first read-through of Brenda's one-act play, Once this was a poet, just before the meeting and it had gone well. The meeting voted to agree that this should be TADS' entry in the GDA One-Act Play Festival in early June. Rehearsals will be held on Sundays - Paula is moving to Yeovil at the end of February but will come back each weekend to rehearse. The Morecambe Room will be used for early rehearsals, with Liza's hall towards the end of the rehearsal period. Other members of TADS will be invited to the dress rehearsal; this is especially important to accustom Richard and Paula to their nude scene.
Ian and Pam have been asked to play the other two parts, but this has to be confirmed. The play will cost very little to produce, with no room hire fees, and minimal amounts for costume or props. Cast members will be asked to pay £1 a week rehearsal fees. Oonagh has agreed to be the stage manager, and Martin will look after lighting and sound effects.
It was suggested that another performance of the play might be possible at the Tewkesbury Festival.
Action:
Brenda to contact Julie Wood about performing OTWAP at the Tewkesbury Festival.
Brenda to give rehearsal schedule to Richard.
Richard to book the Morecambe room.
Brenda to get on with all the rest of it.
8. Next productions
Mediaeval festival
Bernie had brought in several copies of the script for the mediaeval play, A Ryght Evil Place, and these were distributed for members to read. The play requires a cast of about 30, including a large number of non-speaking parts; most of these would come from the ranks of the enactment societies (who would provide their own costumes). It was hoped that TADS members would take some of the key speaking parts. Some children were needed; Geoff has contact details for the children and young people involved in the Factory and Christmas Carol.
The play would be presented in the Abbey, the week after the festival weekend. Tickets would be free, although donations for the Abbey might be asked for.
Two read-through dates were provisionally booked for 11th and 17th March. A final decision on TADS' involvement will be made after the read-through.
Action:
Oonagh to contact everyone when the two read-through dates have been confirmed. It was important that Hannah should be present on at least one of these because she had expressed an interest in directing the piece.
Ghost train.
Hannah has proposed a production of Ghost Train for next February. TADS put on a rather unsuccessful production of this play some 15 years ago, but this should not affect the decision about whether we should do it again. It has a good reputation as an amateur play. Although only one set is needed, the special effects are crucial, and would need the Roses' large stage. Hannah would want to set the play in a WWII period, and her sister has promised to compose some original music for the beginning and end. Hannah would ask the GWR for sponsorship. The performance fee is £85.
Geoff commented that he had hated the play; the characters are two-dimensional, although it works as a thriller and has some humour and plenty of action (guns, etc.) It would be suitable for a matinee audience and could be done as a 2-day, three-performance production. There was concern about whether this would be a step backwards for TADS, not just because we have done it before but because of the nature of the play. However, it would be good to encourage Hannah as a new director. Some copies of the play were distributed.
Actions:
All to read the play.
Hannah to present a proper proposal at the next meeting.
Geoff’s two plays
Oonagh has now read the full-length play, Seeds of Discord; like Hannah, she enjoyed it but would not want to direct it. Liza is reading this play now. No-one present at the meeting has read the one-act play yet.
9. Any other business
Jane asked that if any further culling of TADS costumes takes place, she should be consulted. The last clearout resulted in the loss of a number of costumes that had taken effort to make and that might have been useful in the future. Brenda pointed out that the clearout had had to be done in a rush; people were asked to help and few came forward; and no-one had offered any other space as an alternative to John's loft.
Jane has been contacted by Mrs. Minchew, complaining that nobody had contacted her daughters about appearing in TADS productions. Any future such contact should be answered by pointing to the website, and the information held there about forthcoming productions.
Oonagh gave an update on other GDA productions.
Oonagh read a letter from Tewkesbury Council who have offered support in kind - the use of the Watson and/or Town Halls, up to the value of £500. Oonagh has replied to accept the offer, but deferred any confirmation of dates until a decision has been made on our next major production.
A query was raised about membership and subs among the cast of P&P. It's not clear whether all the cast were joined up, or whether rehearsals fees were collected assiduously.
Brenda mentioned that Ring Round the Moon (which we nearly presented a couple of years ago) is showing in London. Richard, Liza, Oonagh, Amanda and Paula would all be interested in going to see this.
Action:
Brenda to look into arranging an outing to RRTM.
10. Next meeting
The next meeting will be the AGM, on 28th March, in the Morecambe Room. This will start at 8 pm, with membership fees to be paid 7:30 onwards.
Oonagh will contact everyone to inform them of this meeting.
The meeting closed at 9.55 p.m.
…………………………………
Oonagh Hughes (Chairman)
Emma Luther's review for the Gloucestershire Echo can be found at by clicking here