Currently, I am sitting in Dubai city, where the sun is shining brightly and the traffic on the street below (10 lane motorway) is whizzing along with horns merrily blaring. Whilst I am here however, my friends and fellow members of Belper Musical Theatre are planning for their auditions for Me and My Girl tomorrow. I'm so glad that I have got that out of the way.
I do wonder sometimes whether I am unique in the company for my almost complete lack of knowledge of musicals. Each year when I find out what we are performing, it's like a whole new lesson and experience for me. I didn't know Anything Goes, Brigadoon or Copa cabana. So perhaps unsurprisingly I don't know Me and My Girl. But I am really looking forward to doing so.
My initial understanding is that it's all about someone from the lower side of society who has inherited lots of money. I suppose that there is some sort of similar story in Downton Abbey (but less music) and perhaps this new found love of all things aristocratic will encourage people to come along and see the show.
I do know two of the songs in it - the Lambeth walk and The Sun has got his hat on. But I anticipate that, as is so often the case, the notes and rhythms that I know are not quite the same as the official ones as were originally composed.
I am looking forward to being part of the company of this one and hope that I will find many little moments of fun to share with you all through the pages of this blog.
For the moment however, the sun has got his hat on over here, so I think I will pop out, like the mad dogs and Englishmen (is that from a musical?) for a quick top up of my vitamin D levels.
What's the weather like back home?
Saturday 20 October 2012
Monday 10 September 2012
Countdown is progressing!
Well first of all let me start by saying a huge apology to the entire BMT blog fan base who have been checking back at regular intervals to see whether anything new had been posted here on the blog, and have been sadly disappointed to find that there was nothing new. I apologise and promise to try harder for at least a few more minutes. I'm guessing that you don't want to hear my excuses, so I won't make any - but I have had a fun time!
So here we are on the 10th of September, which means that there is less than two weeks to go until the concert - how exciting is that?! The company has been giving up its Sundays as well as Wednesday evenings to finesse the dance moves and add the final touches to the musical numbers so that it really is a show worthy of the BMT name and your spending a bit of your hard earned money.
You will know from previous blogs that we are singing some amazing songs and remembering amazing BMT members, which means that yet again it's going to a be a great evening of toe tapping melody and high on stage energy that will have you humming along in your seats! We can hardly wait to get up there and get on with it.
Our musical director, Terry Bailey, has really done us proud this time by penning his very own little Gershwin medley for us to kick off with. It brings together such melodies as Strike up the band, S'wonderful, You can't take that away from me and I got rhythm. Our choreography team have worked hard to add movement to it and it is going to offer a fun filled and lively start to the whole show.
And then it just keeps getting better.
My advice to anyone who hasn't bought their tickets just yet, is to buy them for the Friday evening show now, then be ready to run straight round to our ticket booth and buy them for the Saturday performances as well! The great thing with songs is that once you know them, you feel ready to join in and they keep getting better.
The community theatre in Belper tiered seating means that there are no bad seats in the house - and our front of house team are making sure that we have some great wine and hopefully kitkats, so that you are sorted on all of the essentials in life during the interval.
We are looking forward to seeing you there.
Just as one final thought here - do you have any requests for our 2014 show? We're doing Me & my Girl in 2013, but what do you fancy coming to see next?
So here we are on the 10th of September, which means that there is less than two weeks to go until the concert - how exciting is that?! The company has been giving up its Sundays as well as Wednesday evenings to finesse the dance moves and add the final touches to the musical numbers so that it really is a show worthy of the BMT name and your spending a bit of your hard earned money.
You will know from previous blogs that we are singing some amazing songs and remembering amazing BMT members, which means that yet again it's going to a be a great evening of toe tapping melody and high on stage energy that will have you humming along in your seats! We can hardly wait to get up there and get on with it.
Our musical director, Terry Bailey, has really done us proud this time by penning his very own little Gershwin medley for us to kick off with. It brings together such melodies as Strike up the band, S'wonderful, You can't take that away from me and I got rhythm. Our choreography team have worked hard to add movement to it and it is going to offer a fun filled and lively start to the whole show.
And then it just keeps getting better.
My advice to anyone who hasn't bought their tickets just yet, is to buy them for the Friday evening show now, then be ready to run straight round to our ticket booth and buy them for the Saturday performances as well! The great thing with songs is that once you know them, you feel ready to join in and they keep getting better.
The community theatre in Belper tiered seating means that there are no bad seats in the house - and our front of house team are making sure that we have some great wine and hopefully kitkats, so that you are sorted on all of the essentials in life during the interval.
We are looking forward to seeing you there.
Just as one final thought here - do you have any requests for our 2014 show? We're doing Me & my Girl in 2013, but what do you fancy coming to see next?
Tuesday 24 July 2012
"Oh what a beautiful morning!"
Well what can I say? - After several months of cold, dark, wet British weather, what a joy it is to be waking up having the decision whether to wear a short sleeve shirt! - Something really in July that should be a given rather than - "Shall I take my umbrella with me today?"
I always find that whenever the weather is nice in a morning I just wake up feeling in a great happy mood and wanting to sing my lungs out - the song that came to my mind this morning - and consequently has been going round and round in my head ever since I started singing it in the shower is a fantastic song from "Oklahoma!" called "Oh what a beautiful morning!"
Consequently, we are actually singing a really bright upbeat medley from "Oklahoma!" where this song features, having spent time learning the notes, words and now learning the movement - I am even more excited for the Autumn concert this year called "We can't stop the beat!"
It really is shaping up to be a great one! - if you can, make sure that you clear your diaries for either Friday 21st September at 7:30pm or Saturday 22nd September at either 2:30pm or 7:30pm - come and sing along to some of your favourite show tunes. Tickets are only £9 and £7 for concessions. - More details to follow so keep an eye out!
Next time you wake up, look out of the window and think "Oh what a beautiful morning!" - Just remember us, you too could be there singing along! - Hope to see you all very soon!
I always find that whenever the weather is nice in a morning I just wake up feeling in a great happy mood and wanting to sing my lungs out - the song that came to my mind this morning - and consequently has been going round and round in my head ever since I started singing it in the shower is a fantastic song from "Oklahoma!" called "Oh what a beautiful morning!"
Consequently, we are actually singing a really bright upbeat medley from "Oklahoma!" where this song features, having spent time learning the notes, words and now learning the movement - I am even more excited for the Autumn concert this year called "We can't stop the beat!"
It really is shaping up to be a great one! - if you can, make sure that you clear your diaries for either Friday 21st September at 7:30pm or Saturday 22nd September at either 2:30pm or 7:30pm - come and sing along to some of your favourite show tunes. Tickets are only £9 and £7 for concessions. - More details to follow so keep an eye out!
Next time you wake up, look out of the window and think "Oh what a beautiful morning!" - Just remember us, you too could be there singing along! - Hope to see you all very soon!
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Grumpy old men
According to the lady I share my office with, today I am a grumpy old man. Admittedly this has nothing at all to do with Belper Musical Theatre - the reason for my grumpiness is being expected to remember hundreds of usernames and passwords for online accounts that I only use once or twice a year, then having to jump through hoops to try and find out what they were. Maybe I should follow the approach of one of my fellow train travellers and just write them all down in a book...
Anyway, it reminded me that at our last committee meeting, Richard decided to preface one of his little outbursts by excusing himself for starting to become a grumpy old man. In all truth he did then demonstrate that he will one day be an excellent grumpy old man, having started on the way already!
So in the same way that my Aunt told us that she thoroughly subscribed to the sentiment in that wonderful Jenny Joseph poem 'When I am old I shall wear purple, and a red hat..' I wondered if there was an equivalent verse for us guys on the lines of 'When I am old I shall become grumpy'.
It seems to me that there is an almost inexhaustible supply of things to be grumpy about - for example adverts on the BBC but only for their own programmes - and a real delight to be had in doing the grumpiness well.
There is however also a great joy to be found in leaving all of the grumpiness behind and being part of a group of like minded folk and singing fab songs. You know (and I am sure are looking forward to) that I plan to tell you a bit about our programme on this blog. Perhaps the one that is most appropriate for today is 'You raise me up'. You will probably have heard the song already, whether in the version by Josh Groban or Westlife, or indeed for those of you fortunate enough to have been present, by a quartet at the St Johns Music night on Monday. With a key change in the middle (try hitting the right note every time after they throw that at you) and some interesting timing (it wasn't supposed to be as interesting as we make it), it's a song to ease the mind and reassure you that in the silence you can feel uplifted (presumably however the noise we make before the silence is a good thing!). You'll love it!
So until I am raised up later on this evening, I will focus on being really good at grumpy. After all, he was my favourite of the seven dwarfs!
Anyway, it reminded me that at our last committee meeting, Richard decided to preface one of his little outbursts by excusing himself for starting to become a grumpy old man. In all truth he did then demonstrate that he will one day be an excellent grumpy old man, having started on the way already!
So in the same way that my Aunt told us that she thoroughly subscribed to the sentiment in that wonderful Jenny Joseph poem 'When I am old I shall wear purple, and a red hat..' I wondered if there was an equivalent verse for us guys on the lines of 'When I am old I shall become grumpy'.
It seems to me that there is an almost inexhaustible supply of things to be grumpy about - for example adverts on the BBC but only for their own programmes - and a real delight to be had in doing the grumpiness well.
There is however also a great joy to be found in leaving all of the grumpiness behind and being part of a group of like minded folk and singing fab songs. You know (and I am sure are looking forward to) that I plan to tell you a bit about our programme on this blog. Perhaps the one that is most appropriate for today is 'You raise me up'. You will probably have heard the song already, whether in the version by Josh Groban or Westlife, or indeed for those of you fortunate enough to have been present, by a quartet at the St Johns Music night on Monday. With a key change in the middle (try hitting the right note every time after they throw that at you) and some interesting timing (it wasn't supposed to be as interesting as we make it), it's a song to ease the mind and reassure you that in the silence you can feel uplifted (presumably however the noise we make before the silence is a good thing!). You'll love it!
So until I am raised up later on this evening, I will focus on being really good at grumpy. After all, he was my favourite of the seven dwarfs!
Thursday 31 May 2012
Thoughts on our heritage
Last night was the AGM of Belper Musical Theatre and once again it was lovely to see the mix of our acting and non-acting members, coming together to hear reports on last year and to plan for the year ahead. As is often the case for me, the most thought provoking part of the evening was with the Any Other Business right at the end of the meeting - thankfully it wasn't long so not too many had dropped off!
One of our longer lasting members, Pat, shared with us the fellowship of some of our other members who like to keep in touch with what is happening, but can't get along to the meetings. As one of the newer members, it brought it home to me again that BMT is very much a family, and one which cares for everyone who joins.
Since the other thing that was raised in AOB (by me) is that this BMT blog is open to all members for them to share their thoughts with a wider audience (not that wide it seems) then I thought that it could be rather nice to set up a section on here specifically to share our heritage. Some of you will already have noticed that we have a page which lists all the shows that have been performed by BMT. Why not have a look at it now, and if you have a story to share about one of them, then please get in touch with me and let's add it.
And if you are a member, or have been a member, and would like to share your memories of your time in the company, then again please do get in touch. I am sure that others would enjoy reading them and it would bring back to life their own recollections of the same time.
I hope that I hear from you soon.
Before I sign off from this instalment however, I would also like to say well done to our new life members.
Firstly Linda Furnival, who was made a life member at the Annual General Meeting, voted on by all of those members present and by standing ovation.
And then last night we welcomed three more highly deserving life members:
Jen Lewis, producer of Copacabana and a rather cracking singer, and Sarah Stone, showgirl extraordinaire and wonderful with bringing humour and colour to all her roles. Both Jen and Sarah have done so much for BMT, both in full view and behind the scenes to keep everything up and running.
And Terry Bailey, our musical director, who deserves our recognition for all of his hard work and effort in helping us become the rather fantastic choral group that we are.
In a year that sees the closure of the Derby Opera Company, after 125 years of providing pleasure to the people of Derby and surrounding areas, it's worth remembering that Amateur groups such as ours only work and survive because of the members who volunteer to help out and keep them running. Offering life membership is the way that we can recognise the ongoing hard work that some have put in and say a big public thank you.
Well done to our four newest life members.
(I just need to check and see if I have a page listing our life members now)
One of our longer lasting members, Pat, shared with us the fellowship of some of our other members who like to keep in touch with what is happening, but can't get along to the meetings. As one of the newer members, it brought it home to me again that BMT is very much a family, and one which cares for everyone who joins.
Since the other thing that was raised in AOB (by me) is that this BMT blog is open to all members for them to share their thoughts with a wider audience (not that wide it seems) then I thought that it could be rather nice to set up a section on here specifically to share our heritage. Some of you will already have noticed that we have a page which lists all the shows that have been performed by BMT. Why not have a look at it now, and if you have a story to share about one of them, then please get in touch with me and let's add it.
And if you are a member, or have been a member, and would like to share your memories of your time in the company, then again please do get in touch. I am sure that others would enjoy reading them and it would bring back to life their own recollections of the same time.
I hope that I hear from you soon.
Before I sign off from this instalment however, I would also like to say well done to our new life members.
Firstly Linda Furnival, who was made a life member at the Annual General Meeting, voted on by all of those members present and by standing ovation.
And then last night we welcomed three more highly deserving life members:
Jen Lewis, producer of Copacabana and a rather cracking singer, and Sarah Stone, showgirl extraordinaire and wonderful with bringing humour and colour to all her roles. Both Jen and Sarah have done so much for BMT, both in full view and behind the scenes to keep everything up and running.
And Terry Bailey, our musical director, who deserves our recognition for all of his hard work and effort in helping us become the rather fantastic choral group that we are.
In a year that sees the closure of the Derby Opera Company, after 125 years of providing pleasure to the people of Derby and surrounding areas, it's worth remembering that Amateur groups such as ours only work and survive because of the members who volunteer to help out and keep them running. Offering life membership is the way that we can recognise the ongoing hard work that some have put in and say a big public thank you.
Well done to our four newest life members.
(I just need to check and see if I have a page listing our life members now)
Tuesday 29 May 2012
A Bond Medley
Think suave, sophisticated and a good helping of drama and excitement and you've pretty much got your head around the Bond medley that we will be performing this Autumn.
As someone who was more or less brought up on James Bond and the annual new instalment, I am really thrilled that we are doing this set. From the moment that the Bond theme is picked up vocally this is a medley that lets you relive those classic moments.
It includes excerpts from smash hit numbers, such as Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger', Nancy Sinatra's 'You only Live Twice' and McCartney's 'Live and Let die!'. The Medley offers some of our soloists the chance to shine and share their talent, as well as pulling the whole company together in amazing choral crescendos.
For anyone who has been captivated by the sheer escapism of our 007 heritage, this is a piece that will draw you in, as different themes, used across the catalogue of films, appear and encourage you to smile.
These are kind of hard to describe in a blog. We start with 'Der, der, der, derrr, de der der' and move through 'Do doodle do, doodle do dooo, do doodle do, doodle do dooo" (this latter theme also used by Robbie Williams (hiss boo, what a let down for those of us who travelled to Copenhagen for the cancelled Take That concert - yes still bitter) in his Millennium song.
Maybe some of you will share your favourite Bond films and songs and then I can let you know whether we will be singing those in this fabulous medley.
As someone who was more or less brought up on James Bond and the annual new instalment, I am really thrilled that we are doing this set. From the moment that the Bond theme is picked up vocally this is a medley that lets you relive those classic moments.
It includes excerpts from smash hit numbers, such as Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger', Nancy Sinatra's 'You only Live Twice' and McCartney's 'Live and Let die!'. The Medley offers some of our soloists the chance to shine and share their talent, as well as pulling the whole company together in amazing choral crescendos.
For anyone who has been captivated by the sheer escapism of our 007 heritage, this is a piece that will draw you in, as different themes, used across the catalogue of films, appear and encourage you to smile.
These are kind of hard to describe in a blog. We start with 'Der, der, der, derrr, de der der' and move through 'Do doodle do, doodle do dooo, do doodle do, doodle do dooo" (this latter theme also used by Robbie Williams (hiss boo, what a let down for those of us who travelled to Copenhagen for the cancelled Take That concert - yes still bitter) in his Millennium song.
Maybe some of you will share your favourite Bond films and songs and then I can let you know whether we will be singing those in this fabulous medley.
Friday 25 May 2012
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