Jim Lovell ………. Name mean anything to you? Nah, me neither! BUT he should have been on Apollo 11 in July 1969! Michael Collins was originally slated to be the Command Module Pilot on Apollo 8 but was removed when he required surgery on his back and was replaced by Lovell, his backup for that flight. After Collins was medically cleared he took what would have been Lovell’s spot on Apollo 11. So the world turns, hey? More about that historic mission later.
MEMBERS’ EVENING
As mentioned previously, our August members’ evening will be held on the opening night of Appointment with Death, namely Friday, 28 August. We will be providing snacks and some free champers after the show (once the hoi polloi has left!). Bookings open on 15 August so make sure you book a seat – we all know how popular the Christies are!
GRAHAMSTOWN FESTIVAL
Raymond Rudolph reports back on the Festival in general and our MVDS show, Hello & Goodbye, in particular:
Grahamstown was great – we had summer weather the whole week – three quarters of my case had warm winter clothes which I didn’t touch – ran out of T-shirts! The trip in the Kombi went off well, despite strong winds buffeting us on the way there and mist slowing us down on the way back. But I’ll never again drive 900km through the night, as I did on the way back: it’s very hard to stay awake, even stopping at all the towns en route. Hello & Goodbye was brilliant, despite a badly sited and too-big venue. Great ovations at all 5 show: we had reasonable but not spectacular houses to begin with, but we got a lovely review (lead article with photo) in the Arts and Entertainment page of the EP Herald, on the morning of the last performance, and we had almost a full house for that show. We were described as “one of the must-see shows of the festivel” Full review at www.theherald.co.za/entertainment/article.aspx?id=441571.
I managed to see about 10 other plays and musicals and a jazz concert. It’s an amazing experience and well worth repeating, probably much better without having the stress of being in a show at the same time. The accommodation in the students’ res was ok, but a pain to have to walk downstairs to the communal showers and loos! The Res breakfasts were outstanding. Would you believe Wesley Figaji and I were chosen (forced!) to participate in Nicholas Ellenbogen’s latest play (A Midsummer Night’s Raders – a send-up of Shakespeare): it’s just he and his son onstage, but they pull in people from the audience, giving them costumes and directions on what to say and do. We were allocated the parts of Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern (from Hamlet) but it turned out that these were the names of the two HORSES which had to pull a carriage of actors onstage – so we hammed it up onstage for about three minutes, to much applause. What a surprise to read the review in the Cue (the daily festival newspaper ) the next day – together with a colour pic of the two horses!
We can all be immensely proud of MVDS – birga, Suzi, Wesley, Roland, and very hard-working Raymond deserve huge accolades for flying the flag so high and so professionally. Terry Best and Celia Musikanth were also there and saw 40 shows in 9 days (Phew!!) which shows Celia describes as “some brilliant, some good, some average and a few down there”.
FUTURE PRODUCTIONS
Appointment with Death welcomes new cast members Janice Budd and Jonathan Duguid on board! Still looking for a wood/canvas deckchair! Tom Byrne looks forward to a good turn-out for his audition on 25 July at 14:00 for Mothers of the Criminal Element.
MASQUE THEATRE
Our beloved theatre had a face-lift in all departments recently!! This was headed by Simon Sutton, whose short report follows:
Masque Maintenance got off to a slow start but this escalated like Cape Town audiences with many missing the show for waking up too late. Nevertheless, we managed to achieve about 70% of our target, which I must say was exhaustive. Thanks must go to our Trustees, Mancom and resident Societies for their openhandedness in this exercise: it has cost a lot of money but we can be confident that many essential and, perhaps, long neglected items have now been attended to. The scope of work was extensive, from completely repainting the exterior of the Theatre to replacing lavatory seats in the patrons’ loos with every area getting its fair share of treatment. As far as the folk involved are concerned, the list is long and hard; mention must nevertheless be made of, in no particular order, Helen Mathers, Sue Bolton, Brett Radloff and Wendy, Shirley Chips, Wally Hodges, ElectroWatts, Wendy Goddard, Scott Gill, John McConnell, Ralph Thornley, M. Ryan Plumbing, Alison King and her boys (Christopher, Timothy, Andrew), Ronnie and Eve Carr, Kim Harris, Michael Samuels, Bob Goode, Andy and Sally-Jane Fletcher, Hayley and Gary Fargher, Celia, Rick and Brian de Jager. And others that don’t come to mind at present, my apologies.
Sincere thanks to everyone, Simon.
Well, as Ron and I are in Appointment with Death which moves into the Theatre on 16 August, we are really looking forward to experiencing all the “updated” features in the dressing and green rooms! A full and impressive list of projects undertaken is attached hereto!!
BIRTHDAYS
I had a little fun with our August birthdays – I have found them all a “twin”! Starting with:
John McConnell on the 10th: shares with Robert Lee “Bobby” Hatfield, born 1940 – an American singer, best known as one half of the Righteous Brothers singing duo.
The 15th sees Tobie Beele’s birthday as well as that of Jimmy Webb, born 1946 – a songwriter whose compositions include “Up, Up and Away”, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston” and “MacArthur Park”.
Sandy Gee and Ralph Lawson share the 20th as does Rājiv Ratna Gāndhī, born in 1944 who became the 9th Prime Minister of India at the age of 40.
Joan Hitchcock shares the 25th with Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 1930), perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond and repeatedly mentioned as one of the most attractive men alive by magazines.
Lastly, Jabu Hallinan on the 27th shares with Mark Alan Webber, (born 1976) the first Australian to race in Formula One since David Brabham in 1994.
So if you haven’t yet had YOUR fifteen minutes of fame at least you share with someone who has!
EVENTS TO DIARISE
Isn’t it Romantic by Wendy Wasserstein, directed by Graham Boxall at the Masque from 17 to 25 July. Essentially a comedy, it takes place in the late 1980’s in New York City and looks at the bittersweet side of relationships.
Mothers of the Criminal Element MVDS Audition at the Rendezvous, Lakeside, 2pm Saturday 25 July, Enquiries Tom Byrne 021 6741470 or 083 962 7233
Quartete Le Jidd plays Bolling at the Masque for three shows only on 31 Jul & 1 Aug. Four musicians perform the “crossover music” of internationally acclaimed Claude Bolling.
Desperate Divas meet Cape Town Tenors at the Masque for three shows only on 7 & 8 Aug. An opera programme including songs from popular musicals.
Wonderful Women – Poetry & Music in the Masque Foyer on Sunday, 9 Aug at 19:00.
Tickets at R60 (R50) include Gluhwein. This showcase of music and art by women celebrates National Women’s Day.
Perfect Score 2 shows on Sat, 15 Aug. Matinee R55 (R50), Eve R45 (R40). This group of seven youthful male singers will show you what can be done with the human voice.
Trap for a Lonely Man by Robert Thomas, directed by Mike Tompson at the Milnerton Playhouse from 14 to 21 August. Bookings on 021 5573206/0822671061
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie, directed by Alastair Duff for MVDS at the Masque from 28 Aug to 5 Sept. Sometime in the late 40s a group of characters meet in Jerusalem and then travel to Petra. It is obvious from the start that something is wrong with the Boynton family and soon someone dies.
The Haunting of Hill House based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, directed by Angela Lee-Wright for Fish Hoek. A group of people spend a summer at Hill House to gain solid evidence of haunting … but the house is gathering its powers …
Please note days, times and prices for Masque Theatre productions
(unless otherwise stated) are Thurs & Fri performances at 20:00,
Saturday matinee at 14:30, Saturday evening at 18:30
NOTE THE NEW STARTING TIMES INTRODUCED FROM 1 JULY 2009!!
Thurs eve and Sat Matinees R45 (Theatre Club members R35)
Other Nights R55 (Theatre Club members R45)
Bookings on 021-7881898
THE “NOTHING-TO-DO-WITH-DRAMA” BIT
Well, I really shouldn’t head it that way ‘cos it certainly was dramatic!! I’m talking, of course, about Apollo 11: the first manned mission to land on the Moon. You all know the “famous facts” so here is a slightly lesser known one: Charles Duke, responsible for capsule communication from the ground during the landing phase, acknowledged the landing with a very flustered “Roger, Twank…Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue here. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot!”, expressing the relief of a Mission Control made nervous by a landing that almost expended all of the lunar module Eagle’s fuel. And why was it called the Eagle? After the bald eagle, national bird of the United States.
AND THAT’S IT FOR NOW FOLKS!
Eve
PROJECTS COMPLETED DURING MASQUE MAINTENANCE WEEK
FOH Box Office Pilot carpeting of the box office; Installation of new computer system; Servicing or all cupboards and cables; relocation of battery recharging facility to the lighting box; rationali-sation of seating
Foyer servicing of all chairs and tables (ferrules, feet, lubrication, etc.); servicing of all doors, lubrication, locks and alignment; installation of dedicated Perspex poster holders; relocation of A0 signage board to the stoep; replacement of canopy down lighting cabling; rehanging of patrons’ board and other paintings; fitting curtain tie backs for balcony door curtains
Kitchen servicing all cupboard doors and shelves
Bar repainting in line with foyer décor; recoating of top counter
Toilets repainting Disabled and gents walls, curtaining; replacing toilet seats; servicing all door closers, washers and plumbing
Balcony skirting and parapet wall top, water proofing; eaves treated and painted; air-condition unit treated for rust; US running lights removed; Signage boards dollied-up and up-lights repositioned; all bolts and nuts lubricated;
Lighting Box – seating rationalized; general tidying up;
– certain control switches cleaned
– 24 hour electrical power plugs installed
– cable to green room laid
Auditorium – all suspect seating secured, lubricated and upholstery attended to
– all aisles repainted, and cover strips secured
– all light bulbs checked
– working light fitting replaced
– hand rail ends attended to
– safety tape checked on all uneven surfaces
– doors and plugs checked
Stage – fly bars and winches serviced
– legs and borders repaired
– faulty lighting extensions repaired
– front tabs mechanism checked
– middle traverse curtains sorted and repaired (rear trav is missing three drops
– blues checked: one fitting replaced
– donation of an industrial steam cleaner for the curtains secured
Green Room – Sinks relocated
– cupboards and shelves installed or repaired
– floor painted (mostly)
– flat bays secured and flats reorganised
– collapsible 450mm rostra bases replaced with 18mm shutterply boards
– most contents of cupboards sorted
– carpet replaced
– donation of radiant heaters secured
– fire extinguishers and hose checked and one f/e relocated
– Xanita board mezzanine repacked
– scaffolding poles relocated to cellar
– dimmer board relays renovated (all 24 circuits now operational)
– special brackets for projection screen supplied
– 24 hr power supply installed for fridge
Dressing Rooms – curtains installed; donation of chairs secured; lighting addressed;
– all material and curtaining tidied-up; carpeting and dress rails sorted to a degree
Toilets – curtains made; walls waterproofed and repainted
Cellar – cleaned and sorted; extractor fan cleaned and lubricated; lighting neatened up
Exterior painted; light fittings serviced; bird spikes installed (experimental); storm water pipe installed on SE side of building; down piping modified
General – pavement and plant mulch, station side chipped stone and drainage attended to
– padlocks oiled, security fencing modified
Claremont Dramatic Society 