FEBRUARY 2010
Hello, hello! Yes, I KNOW that Feb is practically over but better late than never!! Did you know that before Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, February was the only month with an even number of days? Februarius, as the Romans called it, took its name from februs, “means of cleansing”. This was the cleansing appropriate to the ushering in of spring and a new year. Further Fab Feb Facts to follow!!!
NEXT MEMBERS’ EVENING
As advised last month, this will take place on Wednesday, 17 March 2010, at 19:30 at the Rendezvous. (You DID have it in your diary, didn’t you?) That date is St Patrick’s Day so we have decided to “go green” and have a Spud & Pud evening! Coming from Irish stock myself, I grew up with potatoes – mashed, boiled, baked, fried! So our main meal will consist of baked potatoes with a variety of toppings: hot, cold, meat, vegetarian – something for everyone! We will finish with home-made mint ice-cream – yum, Alastair – can’t wait! You can do your bit by dragging out your leprechaun outfit or AT LEAST a green T-shirt! There will be a small prize for best-dressed. The entertainment will be “An Evening with Brendan (Begorrah!)” and YOU are invited to read one of the hilarious extracts which have been chosen! Contact Wendy on 021 7158970 or 0834628242 or home@morling.co.za to volunteer and/or to advise that you will be attending – by 10 March please for catering purposes. We will have our normal cash bar but you are more than welcome to bring your own “tipple”.
FEEDBACK
Hey, I FINALLY got a member’s contribution to the newsletter!! Gary Fargher commented on my “year 2000” bit in the January newsletter as follows: “Hi Eve, I’m impressed that you’re the first one that mentions Y2K computer problems (or lack of) correctly – “….after years of preparation for Y2K…. ” pretty much nothing happened, as it was supposed to be. As opposed to the morons that keep saying it was a con!! Funnily though, a Y2K program fix came back to bite us now, 10 years later. When we went from 2009 to 2010, a particular program crashed as the Y2K fix had a bug, in that it did not handle the single digit year to double digit year correctly. Cheers, G”
Well, Gary, thanks for that titbit and thanks for taking time to put “pen to paper” – well, finger to computer anyway!
ASSISTANCE PLEASE!!
YOUR society needs YOUR input!! We can all be exceptionally grateful to Brenda Commins who has very kindly volunteered of her time to gather together all the MVDness from plays gone by and create a MVDS archive! I cannot think of a better person for the job – especially since she will have the assistance of Brian, who has of course appeared in so many of our productions. So, any photos, programs, reviews, etc you may have skulking in a cupboard at home need to be ferreted out and given to Brenda. You can contact her on bcommins@kingsley.co.za or 021 7881290. The Masque Theatre can also be utilized as a drop-off/pick-up point.
And MORE ASSISTANCE …… very much in the same vein ……… CATA are trying to piece together the history of the awards, which appears annually in the CATA Awards Program and for this they desperately need your help! A full list is attached to this newsletter
MEMBERS’ NEWS
We have stacks of new members who have paid their subs for 2010!! The majority of these have already appeared in one of our 2009 productions and obviously realized that they just HAD to become part of our “family”! So welcome to them all – strictly in alphabetical order of course: Belinda Batt (Appointment with Death), Heather Gibbons (Mothers of the Criminal Element), Patrick Jordi (Improbable Fiction), James Pape, Lynwen Roman and Marie-Louise Rouget (Appointment with Death).
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Unfortunately we have had to say goodbye to Jo Darby who has emigrated to Australia – we wish her all the best.
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Very VERY belated congratulations to Tracey Cahill who was married in November last year and is now Tracey Burger-Cahill. Well, when we bumped into her at the volunteers’ party she was certainly looking like a happily married lady!!
GOOD LUCK!
……to Kurt Egelhof whose has opened a movie club in the new Theatre in the Muze in Muizenberg! Kurt will be remembered for his great one man show entitled “Four Generations” recently performed (twice!) at our very own Masque Theatre. Email theatreinthemuze@gmail.com for further details on joining. We wish this venture every success for the future.
CALENDAR
5 – 13 Mar Towards Zero by Agatha Christie, presented by Fish Hoek Dramatic Society at the Masque Theatre. Thomas Royale expounds the theory that murders begin long before they are actually perpetrated. The author, with this theory in mind, uses the first act to set the stage for the murder and the second act to solve it. Christie’s trademark twists and turns are back!
7 Mar Rock ‘n Rouge by the burlesque-inspired cabaret group of the same name, at the Masque Theatre for one show only at 19:00. Tickets R60 (R50 club members). An evening of fun, laughter and entertainment covering a variety of hits from musicals.
10 Mar Have you RSVP’ed for our Members’ Evening???
17 Mar St Patrick’s Day!! And, more importantly, MVDS Members’ Evening.
22 Mar CATA Awards Evening at the Masque Theatre. Bookings through Hayley Fargher on 021 788699 Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 to 13:00. There is no cost but space is limited. Please advise if you are a nominee when booking. Start is 19:30 for 20:00, dress is smart not formal, champagne will be served upon arrival, finger supper will follow proceedings, prizes will be presented by Paul Griffiths, well known professional actor and director.
18 – 27 Mar I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change presented by Bigleaf Productions at the Masque Theatre. Two extra Wednesday shows at 20:00 (R50/R40), Matinees R50/R40, other nights R60/R50. A collection of hilarious scenarios depicting the age-old ritual of the suburban mating game.
27 Mar MVDS’ Directors’ Forum for 2011 productions. 14:00 at the Madhouse, 57 Promenade Road, Lakeside. If you would like to apply for one of our 2011 slots, please prepare a short presentation of the production you have in mind (it would be ideal if the committee could get a copy of the script in advance in order to have read it by the time of the forum), including pros and cons, estimated costs (as best you can!) and any information you might think useful for the committee. Non-members and members of other societies are also welcome to make a presentation. Newcomers (i.e. people who have not yet directed) will be very much appreciated. Why not make a presentation for a one-act play to be presented at one of the 2011 (or even 2010) members’ evenings? Please contact birga Thomas (by Monday 1 March) at birgatom@iafrica.com or leave a message at 021–788 5272 You can also discuss delivery or collection of a script with her.
10 Apr Audition for “Gigi”, a collaboration between Pinelands and Claremont, to be staged at the Masque during December. Details to follow.
25 Apr Masque AGM at the Theatre. Details to follow in a further newsletter.
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
Thurs eve and Sat Matinees R50 (Theatre Club members R40)
Other Nights R60 (Theatre Club members R50)
Bookings on 021-7881898
BIRTHDAYS
We have a nicely spaced crop of birthdays in March, starting with Barbara Bassett on the 2nd. Coleen van Staden follows on the 10th with Val Stephens the day after. Liz D’Alton celebrates on the 15th with Margot Hattingh the day after. We round out the month with Dawn Scholtz on the 22nd and finally, our youngest member, Grace Brain, on the very last day of the month.
Your birthstone is the Amethyst which is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- (“not”) and μέθυστος methustos (“intoxicated”), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication.
Your birth flower is the violet, of the Viola species. One quirk of some viola is the elusive scent of their flowers; along with terpenes, a major component of the scent is a ketone compound called ionone, which temporarily desensitises the receptors of the nose, thus preventing any further scent being detected from the flower until the nerves recover.
FEB FACTS!!
What is that little disclaimer they use in newspaper articles? Something about “the views expressed are not necessarily the views of this publication”? Well, in calling these “facts” I am definitely invoking that disclaimer! But they ARE Feb Fun anyway!
February is the only month that can pass without a full moon.
This last happened in 1999 and will next happen in 2018.
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Much Ado About Nothing is the only Shakespeare play that mentions February
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Anyone born in Sweden on the last day of February in 1812 never had
another birthday. Uniquely, as the country dithered between Julian
and Gregorian calendars, February had 30 days in that year.
PAST PRODUCTION
Improbable Fiction has just finished its extremely successful run at the Masque – hope everybody saw the rave reviews and made sure to catch it! June and Bruce Edwards were responsible for the majority of the props (and, boy, were they something!). See next page for more news on this wonderful production. Firstly here’s a snippet from June:
Our papier mâche wallnut spacepod (1.6m tall, circumference 4.4m) comes close to an item mentioned in the Guinness World Records 2010, namely: “The largest papier mâche sculpture has a height of 2.1m and a circumference of 6.6m. A model of the globe (earth) was presented at Ma’a lot Meshulam School in Rehovot, Israel, on 5 May 2008”.
So many people saw the pod in progress and asked what it was. As the pod grew, during construction, so did an interesting list of names for it and references to it. When it landed at the Masque it was recognised for what it is. Aubrey Hindle took one look and asked: “What is the giant walnut for?” My reply was: “Thank you Aubrey you made my day!”
It started out as :Birdcage (when it was just a skeleton clad with garden mesh), then grew into: The dome thing; Beehive; Bird’s nest; Nest with worms; Funny round thing; Cupcake; Easter egg; That egg thing; Acorn.
To put the cherry on the cupcake, a patron phoned Celia to ask for a booking for “The Alan Acorn show”.
Thanks to June for a good laugh!! On a more serious note but still with reference to the play: Sue Hallinan knows someone who is in email contact with Sir Alan Ayckbourn himself and who sent him the following email:
“Dear Sir Alan, I’m in Cape Town and today a friend came by and told me how much she’d enjoyed Improbable Fiction. She enacted practically the whole play and said the audience adored it and the amateur cast was terrific.”
To which he responded
“Dear Geraldine, Thanks so much for the message. So glad Improbable Fiction is still entertaining people. I hear now and then that amateur societies in particular seem to be having fun with it. Thanks so much for letting me know.”
Now isn’t that tremendous??!
Enjoy what is left of the shortest month of the year, folks!
Eve
CATA – HISTORY OF AWARDS
In each category for each year of every award, they need the following three things:
Name of the person who won; Name of the winning production; and Name of the winning society.
You will see below the info that is missing. Could you please look through the list and forward any “answers” to Lynn Moss at lynn@dramaticsolutions.co.za
Key for societies listed on the awards…
1018 = 1018 Players
AK = Akademiespelers
AP = Anchor Players
BATS = Belville
BDS = Bergvliet D.S.
CDS = Claremont D.S
CTP = Constantiaberg Theatre Players
FHDS = Fish Hoek D.S
FP = Festival Productions
G&S = C.T. Gilbert & Sullivan S.
HHDS = Hottentots Hollands D.S.
MADS = Muizenberg D.S.
MTP = Masque Theatre Players
MP = Milnerton Players
PP = Pinelands Players
PR = Pinelands Reps.
PT = Parow Toneelvereniging
RT30 = Round Table 30 George
SOE = Sons of England D.S.
SP = Sentinel Players
* denotes missing info
THE HARRY HARGREAVES CUP for BEST SET
1990 Jill Cooke for ‘Uncle Vanya’ – *
1991 (no record)*
1992 (no record)*
1994 Barrie Howard for ‘The Importance of Being Ernerst’ – *
1995 * for * – HHDS
1996 John Farrell for ‘Steel Magnolias’ – *
1997 Jack Matthee for ‘Little Foxes’ – *
.. Barrie Howard for ‘Little Foxes’ – *
1998 (no record)*
1999 Jeremy Blackburn for ‘Sleuth’ – *
2000 (no record)*
2001 (no record)*
2002 (no record)*
2003 (no record)*
2004 (no record)*
2005 (no record)*
FIONA CHISHOLM CUP for BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE
1998 Barrie Howard in * – PP
IMPS SHEILD for MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
1998 Karin Barrish in * – *
1999 Shaun Holley in * – *
2000 Carina Bartram in * – *
2001 Tamzyn Murphy in ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ – *
2004 Stacey Rae in * – *
2006 Thandeka Magona in ‘Vukani’ – *
2007 Marlisa Dubell in * – *
THE AWARD for BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY
1990 Veronica Suckling in * – *
.. Ann Buxton in * – *
1991 (no record)*
1992 (no record)*
1993 Celia Musikanth in ‘Lettuce & Lovage’ – *
1994 Michelle Galloway in ‘My Mother Said’ – *
1995 Julie Summers in ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ – *
1996 Ruth Allsopp in ‘The Scottish Play’ – *
1997 (no record)*
1998 (no record)*
THE AWARD for BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
1995 Vicki Berg in ‘West Side Story’ – *
1998 (no record)*
THE AWARD for BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY
1991 (no record)*
1992 (no record)*
1993 Wesley Figaji in ‘The Foreigner’ – *
1994 Norman Sargeant in ‘Nuts’ – *
1995 John McConnell in ‘The Good Doctor’ – *
1996 John McConnell in ‘The Crucible’ – *
1998 (no record)*
THE AWARD for BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
(no records prior to 1995)*
1995 Donal Slemon in ‘West Side Story’ – *
1998 (no record)*
2000 (no record)*
2003 Oliver Stevens in ‘Hells Bells’ – *
DORIS TANSLEY CUP for BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
1988 Vivian Baard in * – *
.. Elize Meiring in * – *
1989 Yvonne Copley in * – *
.. Linda Denham-Botha in * – *
1990 Miranda Lewis in * – *
1992 June Ball in * – CTP
.. Linda Barrans in * – MP
1994 Yvonne Copley in ‘My Mother Said’ – *
.. Pam Ross in ‘Lloyd George Knew’ – *
1996 Marion Hind in * – MP
1998 Colleen van Staden in * – MADS
.. Suzy Gehr in * – AP
2000 Denise Dubber in * – MADS
2001 Julie Summers in ‘Return Engagements’ – *
WALTER SWANSON TROPHY for BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
(history prior to 1995 lost with cup*)
1998 (no record)*
2000 (no record)*
GEOFFREY TANSLEY CUP for BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
1988 Louie Cowen in * – *
1989 Rick Rogers in * – *
1990 Alan Kenyon in * – *
1991 Willie Sass in * – *
1992 Brian de Kock in * – *
1993 Graham Boxall in ‘Pippin’ – * !!!!!!!!!! see Actor in Musical
1994 Tony Stiglingh in ‘The Mikado’ – G&S !!! see Actor in Musical
1996 Graham Boxall in * – MTP
.. Simon Sutton in * – MP
1997 Nigel Sweet in * – MP
1998 Bob Connell in * HHDS
2000 Mark Pile in * – MP
2002 Mike Tompson in ‘When we are Married’ – *
DOWNEY CUP for BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
1989 (no record)*
1990 (no record)*
1991 (no record)*
1992 (no record)*
1993 Graham Boxall in ‘Pippin’ – *
1994 Tony Stiglingh in ‘The Mikado’ – G&S
1998 (no record)*
2000 (no record)*
CODS – LITTLE THEATRE CUP for OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SERVICE TO AMATEUR THEATRE
2003 (No record)*
JOSEPH MANCA CUP for BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
1991 (no record)*
1992 (no record)*
1994 June Wells – * – *
.. Philip Hoole -n * – *
1996 Kyla Thorburn – ‘Half & Half’ – *
1998 (no record)*
BERTIE STERN CUP for BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
1988 Norman Sargeant – * – *
1989 Rozelle Edwards – * – *
1990 Estelle Knott-Craig – * – *
1992 Brenda Gray – ‘The Dining Room’ – *
.. Joan Turner – ‘Once Upon A Time’ – *
1993 Terry Best – * – MADS
.. Sheila McCormick – * – MP
1994 Estelle Knott-Craig – * – *
1995 Sol Rodsell – ‘Gaslight’ – *
.. Barrie Howard – ‘The Heiress’ – *
1996 Kyla Thorburn – * – G&S
1997 Brenda Gray – * – MADS/MP
1998 Celia Musikanth – * – MADS
MARCIA LAWTON CUP for BEST MUSICAL
1986 ‘Caught Napping’ – PR (Runner up !!!!!!!!!!!)*
1987 ‘Die Fisici’ – AK (Runner up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)*
hi there. I am not sure if this is the correct way to contact your society about getting involved. I am a young lady with a fair amount of theatricalgabl training and experience in a variety of fields. I have recently moved from johannesburg and i live in the area. How would one go about auditioning for your productions and get involved with your society. Kind regards, nicola hetz.
Hi Nicola
Welcome to Cape Town!
The next audition coming up is for Gigi. Details are in the Claremont Chat – March, including all the contact details.
Break a leg!