Amateur Theatre & Writing Scripts

I'm wearing what?

Thinking ahead to our next production, our script for that is already at the fore front of our minds (in amateur theatre, you've have to think one, probably 2 plays ahead!).

Our next amateur theatre offering in Wolverhampton and Codsall will is our highly enjoyable, and warmly recieved Children's Play. Bright colours, crazy costumes and dancing that once every 12 months we use to make fools of ourselves doing, all for the enjoyment of a packed houses of children and adults alike. Last year was Snow White, but we've also staged, Dick Whittington, Robin Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Jack & The Beanstalk, Aladdin and many more wonderful productions have been staged.

  But the next one hasn't been performed in a while, and frankly the script is stale. Re write time!

That brings new amateur theatre challenges. Balance? There are hundreds of things to consider, not least the available cast. The audience, the cast, the budget, all need considering!

Writing a script is a challenge, and not oen I've ever successfully undertaken. Thankfully, there are far more talented people than me in the society. I look forward to reading their finished product. Because no matter what, its going to be well worth the wait!

Want to get involved in amateur theatre in Wolverhampton and Codsall. Visit Codsall Dramatic Society or like us on Facebook. Come see our next amateur theatre production in Wolverhampton and Codsall, The Memory of Water, by Shelagh Stephenson, 25th-28th September at Codsall Village Hall.

Starting Amateur Theatre

Starting...

So cold...

In amateur theatre, there is a very simple process to follow:

1. read the script
2. cast it
3. read it with the cast
4. get it on its feet

In Codsall Dramatic Society's latest offering, The Memory Of Water by Shelagh Stephenson, we've begun getting the show up and on its feet. Yes we've got some tables as a bed, a water bottle pulling double duty as a whiskey bottle and a phone(?!?), but things are starting to come together.

For me, in amateur theatre and when reading plays in general, a script is a blank slate. There is no identity in the words themselves. Yes theres stage directions, and a lot of scripts these days come with a set layout but restrictions in amateur theatre can lead to a lot of wiggle room.

In amateur theatre as in all theatre, the director calls the shots. 

An amateur theatre production is the vision of the director. But while it's not always possible due to time restraints, there's a wonderful feeling of collaboration. The cast in this amateur theatre production feel confident in suggesting things, and discussing the finer points with the director.

Amateur theatre is brilliant in that respect. It is the directors choice, but the odd suggestion from the cast is welcome. It will often meet with "lets try it" at the start of the production. But once all is blocked, there can be no more compromise. Already over a third of the way through the play, this amateur theatre production is gathering pace...

Want to get involved in amateur theatre in Wolverhampton and Codsall. Visit Codsall Dramatic Society or like us on Facebook. Come see our next amateur theatre production in Wolverhampton and Codsall, The Memory of Water, by Shelagh Stephenson, 25th-28th September at Codsall Village Hall.

Amateur Theatre - A Stressful Business

Amateur Theatre is a stressful business. There can be no denying that. Whoever has even come within a sniff of acting in/directing/producing/helping/selling tickets/making the tea in an amateur theatre production will explain that it's quite difficult.A great deal can (and invariably does) go awry. I'm not going to mention any specifics (but I'm certain you are able to all tell your own amateur theatre horror stories!), but there seems to be something about it that causes a variety of problems.
These can come anytime throughout an amateur theatre production. A member of the cast might break a leg, the Director might lose their mind, the backstage manager might drink all of the "pretend" gin for your pivotal scene. An item of vital electrical equipment might short at the eleventh hour, a passing ant might sneeze and knock the set over, or someone might lose that glass eye that was so fundamental to that parlor scene at the conclusion of act one, necessitating a marble to be found at the eleventh hour.
And even should your amateur theatre production makes it to opening night with all of its parts still intact, it does not necessarily mean the Gods have smiled kindly on you this time. How can you tell what the audience will think, just how much whiskey has the dsm been drinking, and where are those que cards you spent days making, that you can't do without, you start to wonder the reason why you even bothered..........
And then it's curtain up....
The lighting is upon you.....
That first line, the joke on which everything hangs.....

.....and the audience roars with laughter. You feel your spirit soar, Noel Coward himself couldn't do it better than you, Dench would be your understudy, Branagh is back stage making the half-time drinks!So you remember. You remember why you go through it. That sense of achievement, that joy at the completion of the task. No matter what you've done, the way you did it, you did it. And that's the joy of amateur theatre. That feeling of winning, against impossible odds. It's impossible to ever take that away from you.

Want to get involved in amateur dramatics in Wolverhampton and Codsall. Visit Codsall Dramatic Society or like us on Facebook. Come see our next amateur dramatics production in Wolverhampton and Codsall, The Memory of Water, by Shelagh Stephenson, 25th-28th September at Codsall Village Hall.