Denmead Operatic Society

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NEWS

NEXT PRODUCTION

NEWS

The Deadly Pillows -
...Part II

With a slightly revised script and cast, "Harry Potter and the Deadly Pillows" was performed for a second time at the Tipsy Teapot in Selsey on 31st October. I am not saying that the performance space was small, but forty five paying guests crammed into a room no larger than a shoe box made the Havant Arts Centre seem positively palatial!

While Act One was met with interest, and Act Two with some vocal interaction and laughter, Act Three was almost a riot. The wine had kicked in by this point and all the performers (who had not touched a drop) manfully managed to carry on despite a lot of heckling.

Congratulations to all who took part and, of course, to Ian who wrote it. It was great fun and we get the benefit of a reduced bill for our costumes for Guys and Dolls. With most of the cast still learning their lines seconds before they went on, we have decided that the new name for the murder mystery company should be "By the Skin of the Teeth Productions"!

The Deadly Pillows cast

GUYS AND DOLLS

Come along and join us for our first show at the AIR CONDITIONED Park Community School Theatre. The show is on from 2nd to 5th June at 7.30pm and there is a matinee performance on Saturday 5th June at 2.30pm.
 

Click here for further details. To order your tickets, please contact Mike Powell on (023) 9283 8683 or print and complete this form:

Quiz Night

Join us at Horndean Junior School on Saturday 6th March for an evening of good food and great fun - our annual Quiz Night with Fish and Chip Supper! The fun starts at 7.30pm and there will be a fully licensed bar available. Tickets are £7.50 per person, which includes entry to the quiz and your fish and chip supper.

To book your tickets, please phone Ann on 01329 310849. It will be a great  night, so why not bring all your friends as well?

Quiz night - 6th March 2010

Skittles Evening

On a cold December evening, just before Christmas, a band of hardy souls descended on the RMA Tavern in darkest Eastney for a skittles evening, organised by Kaye and Nadine. To start with, we stood around taking in the warmth of the pub, not really wanting to venture out into the cold skittle alley but, encouraged by Kaye and Tony, we braved the cold and were rewarded with a marvellous buffet which had been laid on by the landlord Kevin.

The immediate thought was "let's eat and go home", but no, we were here to play skittles and play skittles we did. Divided into five teams, we each took turns to roll (or hurl, in some cases) the balls towards the skittles, ably assisted by Liz and Steve's sons Matthew and Olly, who risked life and limb at the business end of the alley setting the skittles up again.

For the record, John Dalby returned the highest aggregate men's score and Chris Cox the highest ladies score, but who's counting? Certainly not our Hon Sec, Ann, who went home with the metaphorical wooden spoon!

The team event was then followed by a round of "killer skittles" in which 28 participants, all having paid £1 to enter, played in a sudden death, miss and you're out, one ball at a time at however many skittles were standing after the previous player's go. The last man standing was Ray Hunt who won the pot, which he kindly donated to the society.

In between, the buffet turned out to be just as good as it looked and the pub's profits were raised considerably by our visits to the bar!

Thanks must go to Kaye for organising a truly splendid evening and also to Nadine who dedicated many hours to finding such a good venue and for providing most of the raffle prizes. The raffle raised approximately £80, contributing in no small way to a total profit for the evening of £141 for Society funds - not least the cost involved in putting on Guys and Dolls.

For all those who could not attend, you missed a very enjoyable evening


.

Rent-a-Choir

The Denmead Wedding Choir

Ian, our Director, was asked by a friend if he would be willing to sing at their wedding. He said yes, but with a little help from some friends.

So on the 4th July a small group of us attended the wedding of Joanne and Robin at St Margaret’s Church at Ifield, near Crawley, a beautiful 14th century church where Ian had sung as a boy chorister (ahhh!) The choir sang “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Howard Goodall) and “For the Beauty of the Earth” (John Rutter) and received a generous donation of £200 for the Society.

So if you know of anyone needing a choir for their wedding, speak to a committee member, and remember volunteers to swell the choir would be welcomed.

P.S. Rumour has it that somewhere there is a photo of Ian in his choirboy gear, looking too sweet for words. Your reporter will try and trace this historic document - no doubt a tasteful sepia print - for general publication!

Guys and Dolls Cast

The show has now been cast - click here to see the full cast list.

Retiring Members

The AGM also saw the retirement of our Treasurer of many years, Brian Youngman, and his wife Liz who has acted as ticket secretary for almost as many years. This year also saw Christine Cox, the longest standing member of the Society, relinquish her role as makeup co-ordinator. What will we do without Christine's calming influence before a show as she gently applies our makeup? We are pleased to say that Christine and Brian will continue to be part of the Society. We expressed our enormous appreciation to Liz, Brian and Christine for their hard work in the usual liquid and floral fashion.

 

Another Sad Farewell

Sadly, we bid farewell to another former member of Denmead Operatic Society - Rosemary Barbara Platt.

Barbara's daughter, Susan Harvey has written the following tribute to her mother.

"She died on the 23rd January 2010 at QA hospital after a very long illness.   The funeral will take place at the Southdowns Burial Site East Meon on the 12th February at 1.30 for 2.00.   Any members of the Society are welcome to attend.

She had been looked after for many years at Orchard House Rest Home, Orchard Road where they said she would enthusiastically join in the singing even though her speech had been lost to her after suffering a stroke.

My mother was a member of the society for 25 years and in that time sang mainly in the chorus.   Most of her family regularly attended these concerts and her sister would join her backstage in the intervals and relate to us the enjoyment my mother obtained on these occasions.   She would embellish her props be it umbrella, hat or fan in order that we would see it and know where she was on the stage. Unfortunately due to her Alzheimers she had to leave the society when her memory faded."

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

 

March 2010

6th March - Quiz and Fish Supper

June 2010

2nd - 5th June - Guys and Dolls

July 2010

6th July - Annual General Meeting

17th July - Shakespearean Murder Mystery

October 2010

'Allo, 'Allo

 

Click here for further details

WEBSITE GUIDE
How to find what you want on our website:

Page   Contents
Home This page! Contains news and details of our next production.
About Us Find out more about the society's aims, structure and its history and how to get in touch with us.
Next Production Full details of our next production including venues and how to get tickets
Archives Details of past productions, including photographs, and copies of our newsletters "Worthy of Note".
Members' Area General information about the Society and news for  and about members.
Diary Dates Keep your diary up to date with the dates of our forthcoming production and social events.
Links   Links to other websites we think you might find interesting and useful.

HOW TO CONTACT US

For further information about the Society, please contact us in any of the following ways:

Telephone 01329 310849
Email DenmeadOperatic
Post Mr Mark Donalds
19 Southleigh Grove,
Hayling Island,
Hampshire
PO11 0SH

Denmead Operatic Society is a Registered Charity
No. 1021763

Supported by
Supported by Hampshire County Council

Web Space provided by Hampshire County Council

Theatrical Jottings

Want to read the latest interviews with people in the local world of amateur theatre? Why not take a look at Theatrical Jottings - a wade through the world of local theatre with Felix and Harry and freinds. Click here to read more.

 

Last updated: 01 February 2010 22:05:36

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