You know
when you say something to someone, just by way of testing the waters, thinking
that you already know the answer? Well, be careful, because people have a way
of surprising you! Eighteen months or so ago, I read the article on Calendar Girls
being released for amateur performance and casually said to the ladies of the
theatre “ So girls, are we up for doing Calendar Girls then?” Now, I
anticipated a lot of “No way”, “You’ve got to be kidding” and other,
unprintable comments but what I got was, after the slightest of pauses, “YES!”
And so it
began. Even after a further few months had gone by and we were in a position to
fix our forthcoming plays, I presumed that time would have dulled enthusiasm
and so I reminded them that there would be (tasteful) nudity required and there
could be no compromise on that. So after two readings, packed to the rafters, I
named my cast. Who would have known that so many were prepared to wear so
little?
To make this
production extra special, we took the bold step of extending our run from the
usual four nights to six and the first night, September 1st, to be
designated a “Gala”, black tie event so that we could raise money for four
local cancer support charities. So that was it, plans in place, schedule set
and then Shelley Bethan Morgan, my lovely Celia, added another interesting item
to the mix. “Let’s do our own calendar”, she said. By the time my mind had
whirled through “But, um, well, I…” she had planned it, got the ladies (and
gentlemen) on board and found sponsors for every month! This fantastic project
means that even after the production ends, we can still raise money for our
charities as we’ve decided to sell our calendars up to the end of the Pantomime run – what a stocking filler! Oh, and yours truly, who couldn’t really ask
anyone to do anything she wouldn’t do herself, agreed to be part of the
December ensemble and has somehow found herself front and centre in the
publicity photos too. Ah well, all in a good cause!
Rehearsals
have been an absolute joy; good humoured ,full of enthusiasm, dedicated (lines
learned early!), double entendres galore and endless patience with the
director! It’s been a treat to have such a sense of togetherness - we haven’t
had to “act” any of the camaraderie because our own calendar shoot has helped
us to gel in a similar way to the original Calendar Girls and this is what the
ladies bring to the stage. It helps that we’re all such good friends anyway but
there’s a shared endeavour running right through which is especially evident.
As with any
production, there have been puzzles – how big should the buns be? Do I need to
find a larger teapot? Falling letters *?!* Growing sunflowers? However, with a
bit of head scratching and nail biting I think we’ve got most things covered. Oh,
and expanding foam makes lovely buns – very realistic! We’ve even managed to
make seven of us sound like “the sodding Vienna Boys’ Choir” thanks to our
lovely Ian Palmer – a genius with sound! The wonderful set builders have
listened patiently to my vision of what I’d like, ignored it all and created
something much better! Only joking, we did collaborate … honestly! They just
rolled their eyes a bit and muttered various things under their breath – but
I’m used to that! Lighting is all sorted with my other genius, Nye Brown,
getting very excited about the production until I pointed out that the lighting
desk will be situated at ground level and not up in the usual, highly elevated
tech box to protect my ladies modesty. Despite his disappointment, he’s come up
with some brilliant ideas and I can’t wait to see the full effect.
Which leads
me neatly to the next (and last!) week of rehearsals. Did I just say that out
loud? A week – and an all-important two days – left to fine tune and suddenly
remember things I’ve forgotten! I am so excited, scared, nervous, apprehensive
and about a thousand other adjectives but I am genuinely looking forward to our
production and bring to the Blackwood Little Theatre stage such an iconic piece
of theatre. It’s quite overwhelming to be part of something so big on the
amateur stage and, since we’ve joined the “I’m in a production of Calendar Girls” group on Facebook, sharing in the
exploits of so many other groups doing the same thing is wonderful – everyone
is very supportive of each others’ productions.
As for what
comes afterwards – well, I’ve warned the gentlemen of the theatre that if
nudity is good enough for the ladies, it’s good enough for them … so “The Full
Monty” it is then!!!
Peta xx
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