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It's Behind Us!
Park Community School, where we present our
annual production, asked us to put on a pantomime for their winter
season in December 2011, in exchange for a reduction in our show costs.
How could we refuse! Ian got to work adapting one of his murder
mysteries and turned it into a panto - He's Behind You! - a first
for the Society. There was the usual long rehearsal period (15 days and
two actual rehearsals) followed by a performance at the school.
The audience's reaction to our very first
pantomime was very gratifying: the children at Park School quickly got
the hang of shouting "Oh no it isn't" at every opportunity and were
suitably frightened by the witch (Sam Spivey) - well, who wouldn't be!
Afterwards, a mother was heard reassuring her child "The lady's only
pretending to be wicked, she's a nice lady really". The real hit of the
afternoon was Clarissa the cow (Mandy and Steph) and there was a rush of
children after the show wanting to have their picture taken next to her.

Encouraged by the success of this
performance and having made the effort to nearly learn the words, we
staged two more performance at Horndean Junior School on 14th January.
The children were kept amused during the interval with colouring sheets
(great idea Julie!). One uncertain little girl was thrilled to meet the
Fairy Godmother, who told her that she would enjoy the show - and she
did!
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See us on TV!!

Denmead Operatic Society's production of
Titanic The Musical was featured on Meridian TV on Monday
26th March 2012.
Click here to see the clip.

Weds 6th - Sat 9th June 2012
Performances at 7.30pm with a
Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
Park Community School Theatre
Middle Park Way
Havant
PO9 4BU
Tickets 01329 310849
Licensed bar available
Click here for
more details
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Olympic
Overtures
Congratulations to Ian for
another super Murder Mystery, topically named Olympic
Overtures.. Suren, Liz and Julie joined us on stage for
the first time and financially, it was a big success,
raising £1000 for the Society. We have been asked to perform
it again for the Mayor of Havant, for his fundraised in
April 2012. |
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Interested in Future Shows?
Click here to be added to our mailing (or e-mailing) list
and we will send you full details in advance of each show. It's
completely free!!
Also, find us on:
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Titanic 1912 to 2012
Planning has been underway for some time,
but now it is upon us - rehearsals have started and the first wave of
auditions is already complete. The ship: Titanic - the Musical
has been launched and is getting ready for her maiden voyage on 6th-9th
June 2012 at the Park Community School Theatre in Havant.
They said it couldn't be done. "It's
a tragedy, for goodness sake," said the experts and even the family and
friends of Peter Stone (story and book) and Maury Yeston (music and
lyrics) wondered why anyone would want to do a "musical" about the death
of fifteen hundred people?
But great musical theatre can deal with
serious themes and do them well - look at West Side Story (one of
the first musical tragedies) and Fiddler on the Roof. Even the
otherwise light-hearted South Pacific does not shrink from the
issues of racism and the colour bar.
Stone and Yeston had a much higher opinion
of the theatre-going public than the "experts" and felt that audiences
would accept the story of RMS Titanic as a fitting vehicle for a
great Broadway show. As Stone pointed out, "Now and again, a true story
will come along that's tailor-made for the stage...Titanic has
become a universal legend, one which combines excitement, romance,
tragedy, heroism, venality and sacrifice."
But we all know it has an unhappy ending!
One wag summed up the story as "Big ship hits iceberg. Ship sinks.
People die." But there is so much more to it than that. The show does
not avoid the inevitable climax but it does end with a hopeful
denouement. In other words, the deaths are not the end of the story. The
lost are surrounded on the stage by the "survivors with their dreams and
hopes and their memories...inspiring them.", as the audience too should
be inspired.
Immediately acclaimed at its opening on
Broadway in 1997, Titanic is now recognised as one of the great
ground-breaking musicals AND an on-going memorial to those who perished.
And finally - if you're hoping for
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on the prow of the ship, you're going
to be sorely disappointed! But never be afraid to try something new.
Remember - amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic.

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Skittles Evening
We held another very enjoyable
Skittles Evening at the Royal British Legion Club on Hayling
Island on December 14th 2011. As always, Kaye Lee-Wright did a
brilliant job organising it. The refreshments were excellent
and, together with a raffle and the "Killer Skittles", we raised
the very useful sum of £216 pounds towards the cost of Titanic.
Kaye is happy to organise another Skittles Evening for 2012, but
if you would like a different format for a change, she would
like to receive suggestions and ideas as soon as possible. |
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Subscriptions
Notice to all members -
subscriptions for 2012 are now due. Please ensure they are paid
as soon as possible - or discuss a payment plan with Mike. |
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Shopping
on-line?
If you do a lot
of your on the internet, why
not raise some money for the Society at the same time? It
won't cost you a penny and you'll still have access to all
your favourite on-line retailers. Just
click here and start shopping.
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
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May 2012 |
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Sat 12th - "RMS
Titanic" |
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June 2012 |
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Weds 6th - Sat 9th - Titanic - The Musical |
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| Click here for further details |
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WEBSITE GUIDE
How to find what you want on
our website:
| Page |
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Contents |
| Home |
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This page!
Contains news and details of our next production. |
| About Us |
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Find out more about
the society's aims, structure and its history and how to get in touch with us. |
| Next Production |
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Full details of our
next production including venues and how to get tickets |
| Archives |
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Details of past
productions, including photographs, and copies of our newsletters "Worthy of
Note". |
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Members' Area |
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General information about the Society and news for and about
members. |
| Diary Dates |
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Keep your diary up
to date with the dates of our forthcoming production and social events. |
| Links |
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Links to other websites we think you might find interesting and
useful. |
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HOW TO CONTACT US
For further information about
the Society, please contact us in any of the following ways:
| Telephone |
023 9259 4452 |
| Email |
DenmeadOperatic |
| Post |
Mrs J. Johanssen
12 Roland Close,
Horndean, Waterlooville,
Hampshire
PO8 9JP |
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...and
we're now on:
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