Another year speeds by, one which saw us return to the boards after ‘that’ enforced two year break. One which saw us perform two plays – Ayckbourn’s FlatSpin in May and then Chris Paling’s The Final Test in November.
We are taking our winter break now and will resume our activities in the new year when we will begin rehearsals for Par For The Course which is scheduled for May. (Details can be found by clicking here. )
Meanwhile, may all of us at the Petuaria Players wish you a wonderful festive season and our best wishes for 2023. We hope to see you in our audiences again soon.
To bring out that seasonal spirit here’s a reminder of our favourite Christmas play A Kick In The Baubles. May your holiday be as fun (but not as wild) as this one – scroll through the gallery for a smile.
And for a cosier moment, this old rendition of the lyrics of Frosty The Snowman. Click on the green title to play (goes to YouTube).
As promised we have edited and prepared our gallery of images from the last play and are now ready to share them with you.
If you want to browse a selection of the photos we took during dress rehearsal for Chris Paling’s The Final Test then read on!
Early promo
As usual our thanks to photographer Dave Hackett for coming along to our Dress Rehearsal and shooting away as he watched our performance though his viewfinder.
To view the photo selection click on the link below to take you straight to our galleries page. Enjoy!
If you are really, really – and I mean really interested you can view the full album of photos from dress rehearsal (including some earlier images and set-build shots) by clicking on the link below. This will take you to outside this blog to my Adobe Lightroom Album online. (289 to scroll through…)
And so that puts this wonderful play to bed and we now take a break before moving on. But we will back soon. Thanks for following us.
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Yes it’s over a week since the end of play and we all walked back to the pavilion (or The Forum in our case). We have been resting and taking a break from what was a very popular and enjoyable production run of Chris Paling’s The Final Test. Thanks to all the audiences that supported us and to our non-member helpers who assist with set-building and refreshments during the play nights.
Shortly we will be posting photos from the play but first a look back on our preparation and first night.
The stage is set and almost ready to go
The set had been finished a few days before the show so we were finally able to test out all our rehearsal moves in the proper acting space for both tech and dress rehearsal nights. Our stage is not big but we managed to create a space that featured the three focal points of the garden chair, the French doors and the inside of the house.
Dressing roomGetting ready on stageThe set – not so bonny from the actors’ side!Secrets of back stage
Obviously the illusion of the set is broken when you are on the stage as these pictures reveal.
Waiting to go on..Props backstageDual roles – Stage Mgr and actorYour Box office favouriteFront of House – are we ready to go?All ready for the first night
A few nerves yes, but on that first night there was real excitement at the prospect of being able to deliver our weeks of practice to an audience at last.
And then, suddenly, it was all over, Saturday night, emotions high, adrenaline flowing, buzzing. Tables were set up on stage afterwards (very appropriate – it looked like a party in Peter and Ruth’s garden, the summer sun under the hot floodlights). No photos exist of the bacchanalian and epicurean feast that took place that night – perhaps that’s as well as they would reveal merely a few beers and take-away pizzas and a tired crew.
The next morning a busy and tiring Sunday dismantling the set and the auditorium and packing vast amounts of everything away into confined spaces that defy dimensional space until at last we could relax. Flop. Sleep.
Post-play General Meeting night
The following night was our society meeting including discussion, analysis and lessons learned from the production.
So what’s next? Our next play is due in early May 2023 but more on that another time. Meanwhile you can expect to see a gallery of photos of the actual play from dress rehearsal night in our next post. Don’t miss it.
Petuaria Players 