boardtreader
January 2013
Shinfield Players’ Theatre’s mission is to provide a venue for creating and
experiencing theatre in all its forms. We aim to continue to train and develop our membership,
so that everyone may enjoy socialising, working together and participating in theatre.
We are extremely fortunate to have our own building to allow us to accomplish this. By
providing this public social and entertainment centre, we are able to fund Shinfield Players by
producing public dramatic performances.
From the Editor: A Happy New Year to everyone! It’s Panto season again which
means that there are lots of opportunities to get involved. It’s probably the busiest
time of the year for the theatre, and with many members already in the cast or
working backstage, it would help if as many other people as possible volunteer for
FOH and Bar duties. Contact Cara - cara@shinfieldplayers.org.uk. If you are able to
help backstage, contact Ellen at ellenrhunter@gmail.com . Please remember to
book your tickets in advance for the show as a large number of tickets have already
been sold and you don’t want to be disappointed! Gill Sharp
ROBIN HOOD
There are 8 performances over the weekends 11-13 Jan and 1820 Jan. Friday eves start at 7.30pm and Saturday eves at
6.00pm. Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2.00pm. All
tickets are £8. Come along and bring all the family! Ring 0118
975 8880 or email shinfieldtickets@hotmail.co.uk
BAR TRAINING is Thursday 10th January at 7.45. It will last for one hour max.
Please come along so we have more bar-trained people to cover performances.
Initially, you can be paired with a more experienced person so it doesn’t matter if you
haven’t done bar work before.
+ AUDITION REMINDER + + AUDITION REMINDER + + AUDITION REMINDER +
EUROBEAT…ALMOST EUROVISION
Read/sing-throughs: Mon 14th and Wed 16th January at 7.45
Auditions: Wed 23rd (at 7.45) and Sun 27th January (at 3.00)
Show Dates: 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th and 27th April
+ AUDITION REMINDER + + AUDITION REMINDER + + AUDITION REMINDER +
Play Submissions for 2013-14 Season
We are looking ahead to next season now, and want to build a
strong selection of plays into the programme.
We are looking for directors and suggestions for plays and invite
you to submit your plays for consideration by Monday January 21st 2013.
The play reading group will meet shortly after this date to consider all plays in
light of their quality, set requirements and cast needs.
You need to submit:
 A copy of the play
 An indication of whether you are free for the November, March or June
slots.
 Any other relevant information
Any plays already submitted will be considered as part of this process.
We aim to give feedback and decisions by the end of February.
Thanks, Cara , Gordon and Karen
P.S. Please let us know asap if you are planning to submit a play. We’d love to
hear about your suggestions!
SPT Front of House/Bar T-shirts.
All FOH staff and bar staff are asked to wear the SPT t-shirts at all performances. They are
available to borrow but if you would like to purchase one please send an order to Dilys on
dilys50@btinternet.com with details or leave information and money behind the bar.
There are 2 types:
1. Short sleeved £10
a) SPT logo in gold (for FOH/Bar)
or b) SPT logo in dark grey (for back stage)
2. Long sleeved £12
a) SPT logo in gold (for FOH/Bar)
or b) SPT logo in dark grey (for back stage)
SIZES/SHAPE
1. Please give chest/bust size
2. Round neck or V-neck
3. Standard shape or ladies fit (goes up to size 18 only)
Reminder - Please can all cast and backstage crew/FOH/bar/lighting park their cars in
the Foster Wheeler car park on show nights and not in the theatre car park or on the road
outside. This is vital for panto since many parent’s cars and coaches will be turning up.
Black Comedy – Advance Notice
The team that brought you ‘Abigail’s Party’ (Liz George and Karen Bird) have
joined forces again to bring you ‘Black Comedy’ by Peter Shaffer. This really is a
farce in the dark!
Show Dates Weds 5th- Sat 8th June 2013
Read throughs: Tues 12th March and Thurs 14th March 2013 7.45pm
Auditions: Sunday 17th March 2pm and Tuesday 19th March 2013 7.45pm
This is a play with five male and 3 female parts and further details will be sent
out in the New Year. However, I already have scripts so if you would like to
borrow one or would like further information please get in touch. My e-mail
address is liz@shinfieldplayers.org.uk New and ‘old’ members welcome!
Many thanks
Liz x
TAKING STEPS REVIEW by Martyn Washbourne
Alan Aykbourn’s Taking Steps was a wonderfully chaotic and confused
farce set in an old Victorian house, with polished performances by the
whole cast. For those who didn’t watch it, Mr Crabbe (Chris Pett) wants
to buy this old house and the fresh, young solicitor Tristram (Eamonn Dunne) and
cynical builder (Brian Nixey) are there to complete the sale. What could possibly go
wrong? With Mr Crabbe’s wife (Melanie Sherwood) wanting to leave him, her brother
Mark (Phil Duquenoy), his fiancée Kitty (Esme Bates), noises up the stairs and
chaos in jim-jams, plenty!
Here’s just a few of the many highlights for me: Eamonn was brilliant at nervously
mangling the English language in front of the impeccably belligerent Chris Pett.
Melanie Sherwood was the perfect put upon wife, with a truly athletic stretch routine.
Esme’s helpless slapstick with the leaking roof and the bucket was a joy to watch, as
were Brian’s winces when the Martini was way too strong. Phil delivered a
performance and direction to be justifiably proud of. The set worked immensely well
and the costumes were great, especially Brian’s motorbike outfit!
Really enjoyed it!
AROUND THE THEATRE............WITH ADAM
AND EVE
Good Day to 'E all and a Happy New Year. Hope you had a
wonderful Christmas. December has been a month for inside
working with little happening outside of the Theatre 'cause of
all the rain we've had. A couple of items have been noted:
when locking up after the "Street Feet" booking on a Sunday
night in November we were pleased to find a live hedgehog
in Mushy's food bowl. He was quite a good size, but he should have been hibernating by
then. Suppose he was just stocking up for the winter. Secondly, we have at last got our new
external light working on the exit gate. It is on a time switch which has been set for "normal"
operations i.e. 7pm to 11:15 weekdays but with no Saturdays and a small slot on Sundays.
In addition, it will light earlier on Wednesdays for the Youth Groups.
Internally, December is Panto building time and a lot has been achieved so all will be ready
for 11th January, Oh yes it will!!!. We successfully celebrated 40 years at our current base
with a party attended by over 50 people just before Christmas. A fresh initiative for securing
a lease for the land we sit upon will be launched in January, so fingers crossed we can
secure it and make some long term improvements soon.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
What is a chaperone and why do we have them at
the theatre?
A chaperone is someone who supervises the 16-and-unders during dress
rehearsals and performances. These days there are some pretty strict laws
surrounding this, and this theatre comes under the watchful eye of Wokingham
Borough Council. When on duty, a chaperone is a representative of the Council
(not the theatre) and their primary responsibility is the health and well-being of
the young people in their care. The children must be supervised at all times and
although it may seem a little strange escorting a 15-year-old to and from the
toilet, it is the law of the land!
Most of our chaperones are parents (though not all) and we are always looking
for new people to take on this role so we can spread the load. You have to be
prepared to have a CRB check, provide references and take part in an evening’s
training session. If you think you might be interested in doing this then please
email Gill at gillianssharp@btinternet.com
CHAIRMAN’S POSTSCRIPT
I’d like to wish everyone a very happy New Year! A couple of
quick points:


A big welcome to Katie Armitage who has recently joined
the stage crew.
I’m pleased to announce a new initiative regarding the lease of the land the
theatre occupies. A meeting will be held with our solicitors on 9th January to
kick-start a new approach to the M.O.D.
DEADLINE FOR NEXT BT – 25/1/13. Please email items to:
shinfieldboardtreader@hotmail.co.uk