Hard to believe bur it’s a whole week since we took our final bow on stage. Although we are still riding high on the exhilarating experience of A Kick In The Baubles, it really is time to put it to bed and to start thinking about our next production – The Hallelujah Girls (which incidentally has already sold a good number of tickets). But before we do let us think a little about these last three months of hard work.

It was a great experience to work with a professional director – Gareth and ourselves both thoroughly enjoying the experience. For him, a different world of working with an amateur group – stretching rehearsals over twelve weeks, working evenings not days, and a pre-assigned cast from within our group for his raw material, rather than auditioning actors for parts. But, despite being a small society, we were able to impress with our enthusiasm and eagerness to learn and our abilities to meet the technical requirements for the show. The more he found our level of capabilities, the more he pushed us, asking for more. Hard, demanding work, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

For us, it was an opportunity to learn. Our production and stagecraft skills have been developed and enhanced over many years since we formed in the 1960’s but that learned experience is mostly from within the confine of our society. Gareth introduced us to different production techniques and ways of working, new approaches to direction and delivery of lines, challenging our assumptions, daring us to step outside of our comfort zones. We asked him to push us and he did, using the same approach as he would for a professional production.

So now we are having a brief rest before rehearsals begin for the next production. But we do so armed with a new confidence in our abilities and with new skills and techniques in our drama toolbox.

Any thoughts, comments or anything I’ve missed? Petuaria Players or friends and followers feel free to comment below.