Tuesday 24 September 2013

WriteFest and the improved auditorium

Preparations for the 8th annual WriteFest are well underway so I arranged to meet with producer Matt Drury to discuss this year's production. One of the roles that Matt and co-producer Emily Goode  take on is acting as key holders. They people in who need to rehearse and stay on the premises to lock up at the end, so he had plenty of time to chat to me while Three Small Words were rehearsing.

There were about 65 plays submitted to WriteFest this year and this was whittled down to eight by the producers and Play Production Committee (an elected group of Progress members who organise the season of plays). The plays are chosen with the authors name removed and it is not revealed until all the plays for the evening have been picked. Submissions are open to anyone in he UK and Ireland. The geographical limit was introduced a couple of years ago after the call for plays ended up on an American website leading to more entries than we could cope with.

I wanted to sit in for a bit of the Three Small Words rehearsal partly to have a peek at the refurbished auditorium and partly because I'd been told it contained face licking. I didn't get to see any face licking but I did get to try out the new, more evenly spaced seats.

WriteFest co-producer Matt trying out the reinstalled seats.

An important part of the Writefest evening is the compere who introduces each play and entertains the audience during changes between plays. The producers are still looking for a confident person to full this role. It doesn't necessarily need to be someone who can deliver gags but they should be engaging and able to give a polished performance. If you think you fit the bill and would like to have a go then contact Matt and Emily on writefest@progresstheatre.co.uk.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Auditions for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Tuesday 24th September 2013 at 7.30pm or Sunday 29th September 2013 at 10am, Progress Theatre

Jazz at Progress, Neal Meets Steele, Friday 27th September 2013 7.30, Progress Theatre

The 8th Annual WriteFest Thursday 17th - Saturday 19th October 2013, Progress Theatre

Auditions for Bold Girls,  Sunday 20th October at 7pm or Tuesday 22nd October at 7.30pm, Progress Theatre. There is also a pre-audition accent workshop Monday 14th October at Park United Reformed Church
 
Details of all our productions and auditions can be found on our website.

Sunday 8 September 2013

Making the most of the summer

There may not have been any plays on at Progress theatre since mid July but things certainly haven't been quiet. We have taken advantage of the natural gap in the programme to carry out some maintenance work. The main work being carried out is some remedial work in the auditorium, this involved the complete removal of all the seats so that the underlying structure could be replaced. A recent building survey reported that while our audiences were perfectly safe we were advised not to let people dance in the aisles!

The auditorium stripped bare

The old seats are going to be put back in but the rows will be more evenly spaced so that there will be no very cramped rows (but of course also no very wide rows). The aisle up the middle will also be straightened to make better use of the space.

Emma Walsh took over the role of theatre premises manager in July so has had to hit the ground running managing this major job. She was already on the committee so knew what she was letting herself in for. While the work in the auditorium is being carried out by professional contractors willing Progress member were called in to spruce up the foyer. It will not be dramatically different but should look clean and fresh for the start of the season. In her new role Emma is planning to draw up a programme of maintenance work for the whole year so that members can see in advance what is planned and what they might be interested in getting involved with.

Foyer decorating team taking a well earned break

Of course the million dollar question was is it all going to be ready in time? Emma said that there had been a delay in the schedule (isn't there always?) about getting the building regulations signed off. Things are now going well  and although we had to move a members social evening the handover date of 25th September means we will be ready for our first public event, Jazz at Progress on 27th.

If you are interested in what goes on at Progress Theatre then sign up to this blog. Enter your email in the box under ‘about us’ and click on subscribe. New postings are made weekly so you won’t be swamped with emails.

Auditions for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Tuesday 24th September 2013 at 7.30pm or Sunday 29th September 2013 at 10am, Progress Theatre

Jazz at Progress, Neal Meets Steele, Friday 27th September 2013 7.30, Progress Theatre

The 8th Annual WriteFest Thursday 17th - Saturday 19th October 2013, Progress Theatre

Details of all our productions and auditions can be found on our website.