Latest news from CADS
January 2020 newsletter
(January 14, 2020)Pantomime bits and bobs
Our pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk is very nearly upon us and early reports suggest that it will be a great show! Certainly advance ticket sales have been encouraging, with both Saturday matinees now effectively sold out.
Our Front of House manager is currently assembling a team to run refreshments, sell tickets on the door and so on, If you'd like to get involved (and it's a great way to introduce yourself to us, as well as getting to see the show for free!) please contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible. You need only help out at one of the performances if you like, or you may want to assist at more - it's up to you. No previous experience necessary!
To remind you, Jack hits the stage at King James Academy, Senior Site (formerly Meridian School) on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January and again on Friday 31 January and Saturday 1 February. Evening shows are at 7.30 p.m. and Saturday matinees are at 2.00 p.m. You can book online via this website or by ringing the Box Office on 07925 674967
CADS is also pleased to be supporting Royston youth theatre company Divergent Theatre, whose younger members will be borrowing the set of Jack to perform their own show Jack and Jill Climbed Up the Beanstalk at 11.00 a.m. on the two Saturday mornings, 25 January and 1 February at King James Academy, before the CADS matinee performances.
Divergent Theatre is run by professional actors, focusing on vocal and movement training. It believes that drama training is integral to all ages in all walks of life. It encourages members to perform regularly and helps them to grow in confidence. Tickets for their show, which is suitable for all ages, are available by phoning 0208 004 5557 or by e-mailing [email protected]
Strangers on a tour
Our one-act play Strangers on a Film has now been entered for two local drama festivals - Sawston (19-21 March) and Welwyn (11-16 May). Adapted by local author Roy Maddox from a radio play by Stephen Wyatt, it imagines a series of increasingly heated meetings between film director Alfred Hitchcock and novelist Raymond Chandler in 1950, when the writer was asked to come up with a screenplay for Hitch's latest movie. Martin Maynard plays Hitch and Michael Young plays Chandler in this two-hander and Michael is also directing the piece. As adapted, the play combines live action with some projected film, animation and still images.
Michael is holding a meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday 15 January (8.00 at 10 Dacre Green, Royston), for anyone interested in being a non-speaking "extra" in the show, This would involve acting out some key scenes from the play as well as helping move furniture and props on stage during the action and playing "bit parts" such as a secretary or a delivery person. As there are a couple of sequences that call for a certain amount of physicality, it would help if our "extras" were reasonably able bodied!
If you can't make the meeting but would like to be considered, please contact us at [email protected] as soon as possible.
Evening meetings
Our next scheduled evening meetings - which happen at roughly six-weekly intervals and are each hosted by a different person - are as follows:
- Wednesday 19 February - drama quiz, hosted by Pauline Rowe
- Thursday 2 April - workshop: "Musical theatre", hosted by Limitless Academy
The first of these takes place at the Coombes Community Centre in Royston and runs from 7.00 to 9.00 p.m. It's planned as a team event but if you want to come along and try your luck individually, that's fine, too, or we could place you with an existing team if you prefer. Oh, and there will be prizes!
The Limitless workshop will take place actually at Limitless Academy in Melbourn Street, Royston, and will run from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. for reasons.outlined below. We're particularly grateful to our friends at Limitless for agreeing to run this workshop for us; their experience in this area of theatre are considerable and the evening should be great fun!
There's no need to book for either of these meetings - just turn up on the night - and they're completely FREE! If you're lucky, we might even manage to provide some refreshments...
Oh no, it's the AGM show!
Yes, it's that time of year when we all get together to review the preceding twelve months and outline plans for the next, as well as voting in the new committee and answering any of your queries about the group (except, of course, "Why?"). The Annual General Meeting this year is being held immediately before the Limitless workshop described above, and will therefore also be held at Limitless Academy, starting at 7.00 p.m. on Thursday 2 April and (hopefully!) finishing in time for you to attend the workshop at 8.00 p.m.
Committees such as ours always need new faces and fresh ideas, and some of our key members have announced that they intend to stand down this year, so if you're thinking you might like to join us - we're quite friendly, really - do please come along and register your interest!
Extra-mural
There are a couple of non-CADS events taking place shortly that feature CADS members. Joe Daintrey has been involved with designing and operating the lighting for this year's Barkway pantomime Toad in a Hole (or Where There's a Willow There's a Way), which - as you might guess - is inspired by the Kenneth Grahame classic. It takes place at Barkway Village Hall on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 February with evening performances at 8.00 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 2.00 p.m. Tickets for this one always sell fast so if you want to book, you'll need to ring 01763 797101 or book online through the Barkway Players website at https://www.barkwayplayers.org.uk
Meanwhile over in Letchworth, Rebecca Aloneftis (last seen as Maudie Miller in Flare Path) is appearing in the Settlement Players' production of Queen Margaret, an adaptation and reworking with additional material of some of Shakespeare's lines from Henry VI telling the story of the Wars of the Roses through the eyes of the eponymous Queen. It's being performed on Friday 13/Saturday 14 March and Friday 20/Saturday 21 March at the Little Theatre at the Settlement adult education centre in Letchworth and tickets will be available from David's Music in Letchworth from next month or online via the Players' website at http://settlement-players.co.uk/wppaspec/oc1/cv0/ab82/pt523
Committee
Our next "ordinary" meeting is on 25 February so if there's anything you'd like us to consider or discuss, please feel free to contact any of us at any time via the Contact page of this website!