NEWSLETTER 6 - SEPTEMBER 2002

Welcome to the sixth edition of our occasional newsletter. As always, the Society is going through a busy period, with rehearsals for our major Autumn show, Guys And Dolls, well under way.

We’ve also got a busy social calendar booked ahead of us, details of which you will find in this issue.

We hope you find this newsletter informative. As always, if there is something you would like to contribute to future editions, please let us know. So, without further ado, lets get on with the show...

Welcome to our New Members

Our recent ‘recruitment drive’ went incredibly well, and we are delighted to say a big hello to all our new members who have recently joined us: Barbara Camelford, Matthew Hardware, Lisa Harrison, Ellie James, Garry Lewis, Jo Matthews, Hannah Morrison, Lyndsay Powers, Siân Robers, Jonathan Southall, Michelle Stevens and Richard Watson.

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to them (and anybody else who may have been omitted from this list), and we hope they will all be loyal members for many years to come. We also welcome back ‘old’ friends Carole Corden, Michael Hawkins and Peter Styler.

A special welcome, too, to Val Archer who has joined the production team for Guys And Dolls as choreographer. Val has the unenviable task of making us all look like Fred and Ginger!

Some Enchanted Evening

Back in June this year, at the Palace Theatre, we performed a Spring show called Some Enchanted Evening.

Those of you who were in the show will remember it as being a most enjoyable week, and thanks must go to the team of Bev, Norma, Pauline and Diane who together produced a great show which was well received by all those who attended.

As you may know, we were quite concerned about the poor ticket sales at the time, since we had spent quite a large amount of money on the production. In the end, we had a somewhat disappointing 50% fill over the three performances, and made an overall loss on the production of around £530.

Not as bad as it could have been, admittedly, but it was a shame that we couldn’t continue the financial successes of Pirates and our recent Concert Tours. Nevertheless, we have learned some lessons regarding the timing of shows, and are unlikely to stage any production at the theatre in a mid-week slot again.

Guys and Dolls Tickets

Whilst we are talking about ticket sales, don’t forget that Ann Duffin, our ticket secretary, is already selling Guys And Dolls tickets.

Some performances, especially the Saturday evening, are already looking quite healthy, but we must all do our utmost to sell as many tickets as possible - especially for the Saturday matinee and Tuesday evening performances, which are often more difficult to fill.

Interestingly, you may like to know that Pirates Of Penzance had an audience fill of 73% over the six performances, and that 60% of the tickets were sold at concessionary rates. Ticket sales for Guys And Dolls has got to exceed the sales for Pirates in order to get close to recouping the budget for this show which, at just over £16,000, is by far the highest we have ever set. So it is all down to each and every one of you. Sell, sell, sell!

Spring Show 2003

Well, the short answer to this is that there isn’t going to be one! The committee have decided that after Guys And Dolls the Society will have a short ‘rest’ during December, January and February. We then hope that everybody will come back raring to go for our major 2003 production of Carousel, for which we will begin rehearsing earlier than usual, sometime in March.

Welcome from your new ‘Social’ Team

We have now taken over the organisation of our social events and are busy putting together a schedule of events for the next twelve months.

Although the socials are important for fund raising they are also a chance for us all to ‘chat and chill’ with past and present members, and also an opportunity to bring along any budding new members.

We are pleased to say that we have just organised a very successful Garden Party on 1 September. The weather stayed fine, and the event was very well attended - we will need a bigger venue next year! Thank you to everybody who came along. A good time was had by all!

Hot on the heels from this event we have got bags of enthusiasm and lots of ideas, but we are keen to hear from you so that we can endeavour to cater for all sections of the society.
The next event planned is the annual Quiz Night on Friday 11 October. For those who haven’t attended before, this is a hugely entertaining evening, which raises a good sum of money for Society funds. Team numbers are limited, so don’t hesitate to get your teams of four together, and put your names down on the list on the Notice Board as soon as possible.

After that, the next function will be the After Show Meal on Sunday 24 November. Again, places are limited for this, so watch out for announcements to be made shortly.

Our main event for the early part of next year will be the Valentine Dance, which will be an excellent chance to get together in the new year prior to rehearsals commencing for Carousel.
This may seem a long way off but keep it free in your diaries to make sure you spend an extra special romantic Valentine’s evening with Redditch Operatic! Maybe we can encourage some romantic singing from the male members!

Hope to see you all at the Quiz Night. Any suggestions for future events, please let either of us know.

Penny Hoy and Janet Howells

Future Shows

There is still doubt about the availability of the Palace Theatre for 2004, so it remains difficult for us to say exactly what we plan to do after Carousel. However, a sub-committee has already been formed, and they will be getting together to study a long list of shows that have already been suggested by the main committee. They aim to have a couple of shows to recommend for final selection early in the New Year.

Guys and Dolls Badges

Continuing our recent trend of producing a memento for all our productions, the design for Guys And Dolls is now available. Jean Leadbeater and Tony Jay will be taking orders for items during rehearsals. Badges are just £1.00 each, and the fridge magnets and key rings are just £1.20. Please get your orders in now.

New Sponsorship Scheme

We have come up with a new sponsorship scheme for Guys And Dolls, with the aim to get at least a dozen organisations interested in placing an advert in the programme.

Paula Eaves has been co-opted onto the committee as Sponsorship Secretary, and she will be approaching you all over the next few weeks to see if you have any recommendations for companies that would like to buy our Sponsorship package, which includes:

• An advert in the programme
• Two tickets to any performance
• Interval drinks or an invitation to our President’s Evening reception
• Complimentary programmes.

All this for an excellent £50!

Photo Time

On Tuesday 24 September, we will take a quick break at rehearsal to have a photograph taken of the entire company. This will then be available for purchase (for all those of you who need something new to stick on your dartboard) and will hopefully appear in the Guys And Dolls programme, space permitting.

Photographs of all principal performers, for the theatre front-of-house display will also be taken on this evening. Don’t forget to scrub up for the occasion!

[ Back to News ]