Thoughts on the real Sitting Bull

The end of Brian?

For those of you who have clicked the link and read a bit more about the story of the real Chief Sitting Bull, I thought it may also be handy to explain why I've title the link 'The end of Brian?'

Some of you, certainly members of the company, will know that our very own star Brian Counter has picked up the headdress of responsibility for portraying Chief Sitting Bull in our production of Annie Get your Gun in February 2014. His approach in rehearsals has been to mix the leadership qualities of a head of state, the vocal qualities of a seasoned stage performer and the stage presence essential for a pantomime to bring the Chief to life. Add all of that to a hefty dose of Brian and you get a great character who will steal the hearts of our audience I am sure.

So (I understand it's currently obligatory to start at least one sentence or paragraph with 'so' now) since Brian will be our very own Chief Sitting Bull, and the article was about the end of Chief Sitting Bull, that gave me a potential title of 'The end of Brian'. I hope that you are still with me!

Anyway with the show due to begin tonight, Brian has spent a few happy days trying to work out how to get his father headdress to stay on. It's a thing of beauty and it's worth paying your ticket price just to see it. And to see if it will stay on! It must weigh a ton! We're looking forward to seeing you there later and remember you can buy your tickets online at BMT.ticket source.co.uk help us fill the house on Wednesday!

A gentle step into a brave new world?

I was quite excited this morning. Possibly not as excited as Mark would have been as his facebook posts have told lots of people that he has been too excited by far just recently. Hopefully lots more BMT company members will be excited tomorrow evening. And at our committee meeting this Thursday there will be even more excitement. Are you curious as to why we're all excited? It's because it appears that our online ticket sales system is up and running.
It should work if you click here bmt.ticketsource.co.uk or here Feel free to click on the link now and add it to your favourites. You should be able to choose how many tickets you want and have a play at choosing where in the theatre you would like to sit without having to press the commit and pay button. So playing is quite low risk!
Personally I think that this is a great piece of work by Mark and I reckon that it's worth being proud of. Is this a brave new world? I hope so. It seems that more people want to be able to do things online. They want the immediacy of making a booking and knowing whether they've got the seats that they want. And this approach allows us to do it.
Is it more than a gentle step? Possibly not just yet. Andrea is still working hard with us to make sure that people who want to phone their order in, or to complete the booking form and post it in, can still do so. But for those who want to go online then this is a great first step.
I think that it's open for business now. So if you're ready to book your tickets, send them to friends and neighbours for Christmas presents etc, then please go for it!

Rolling out roles

I'm excited.
Ok so there may be a very few people who believe that is my ground state of being, but it isn't true. Most who know me think that my usual expression is to frown as if either deep in thought or cross with someone. Maybe I should invest in some Botox and quickly?
Anyway I am excited at the moment and the reason for this isn't that our website for online bookings will be going live soon. It isn't that the artwork for the posters and publicity materials has almost just about and practically been agreed by everyone on the committee. And it isn't that I am going to be going on holiday really soon. No none of these things (although taking all of those into account you could expect me to be excited). I am excited because the casting of Annie Get your gun has been sorted out.
For a company like ours it seems like a good show to involve everyone with a specific role and part. As well as the leading lady and leading man - you know you're going to be hearing more from those later - there are so many smaller roles as Cowboys and Indians that I am already trying to work out what the programme will look like for the who's who in our show pages!
I've got the part of Charlie so you will have to come along and listen in for my Deep South drawl - I can't seem to get past a Forrest Gump sound. But then there's Buffalo Bill being taken by Ian, Mac the Prop by Mark, Indians galore by Pete, Pete, Mike and Steve - oh and our ladies are also going to be dressing up in feathers and chaps. What fun.
It's always nice to find out who has gained which part in a show and to start to see it all come together in the mind of the director and the cast. Our first step on the road to an amazing show has been taken. Let's get on with the show!

What do you know - or want to know!

One of the challenges that we face - in common with most people with a web page I guess - is managing the tricky balance between what we want to say and what our users want to know. It might seem like a strange thing to think until you reflect on how many times you've given up on a website because it tells you all about the company, when it was set up, reviews from customers etc but you can't find the one bit of information that you were looking for in the first place.
And when you are trying to use your own website to share information about a third party who has changed what they told you originally then it really does get even harder!
Why am I worrying about this at the moment? Well for the first time we at Belper Musical Theatre are going to be launching an online booking service for our performances and so we want to get it right.
It starts with little things like what to call it - in the end we decided that Box Office would probably make sense for most people.
Then we had to get a seating plan of the theatre itself - and since the seat ordering didn't work as we'd expected we now have to rebuild the seating plan!
There is then the challenge of making it as easy to use as possible - and trying to find someone who doesn't charge an arm and a leg to process the booking. And finally, since we still have many people who may prefer to phone for their tickets, or order them by paper, we need to find a way to make all of our tickets look a little bit similar at least.
Will it be worth it? Well we hope so. As soon as we press the button, people will be able to start booking their seats. People will have full choice of what seats they want for the shows and the process should be smooth and slick.
We hope that it will reduce the pressure on our volunteer ticket secretary who devotes much time to seating charts, opening post and responding to answer phone messages.
And we hope that people will decide on the spur of the moment to log on the site and just book a ticket!
The facility will be available from our main website at www.belpermusicaltheatre.co.uk although I hope that I will be able to link straight to the box office from this website.
In the meantime I would be really pleased if you shared your thoughts on what you want from a website. Have you got questions that we haven't answered on here, our main page or our facebook pages? Please ask them and we can at least try to find an answer.

The NODA review of Sing!

As members of NODA we are always delighted to welcome our local representatives to our concerts and shows and it's great to see their reviews.

This link will take you to the NODA review for Sing!

http://www.noda.org.uk/events/reports/sing

It's good to see that they liked it too - but to be honest I prefer my review.....

That's how to Sing!

I will just start off this post by saying a huge thank you to everyone invosashayed athe BMT Sing Concert over the last two days. I ended up in the audience, rather than on the stage, which meant that I was able to enjoy the whole experience of the show from the seats instead of the wings. And it was fantastic. From the welcome at the door, through to the rousing finale I enjoyed every single moment. I know it's a team effort, so thank you all.
In the past I've given a kind of highlights approach to my review, but this one was full of so many highlights that I want to indulge myself in taking each number in turn.
Top Hat Medley
The last time that I rehearsed this was at the end of July and we knew the words but hadn't started movement. What an amazing impact six weeks has had. This was an inviting and gentle start to the show, which really showcased the talents of so many of our members. From Mark and colleagues right at the opening, through Ian's stroll through the ladies this was BMT at its best. It was real show music and a show stopping number that started it all off perfectly.
Sarah Stone - Company
It was a delight to be sitting behind a couple of ladies who laughed their way through this song. With the mix of Sarah's faultless notes and facial contortion, this show grabbed us all. It's not often that a single (previously unknown song - to me anyway) can have you laughing out loud on the first hearing, but this one really did. Brilliant.
Little Shop of horrors
Ok, so it's another show that I don't know, but the team were amazing in this one. From Dom's confident and clear introduction we were wowed with cartwheels and then the whole junior company bringing the stage to life and the audience loved it.
Alison, Fiona and Nicola - Bridge over troubled waters
I'll comment on this again later, but vocal harmony is an area where BMT really excel and this arrangement made the most of it. Alison was strong and confident in the melody, soaring over the harmonies provided by Fiona and Nicola. They all took their turn, played their part and did a grand job.
David, Duncan and Brian - Razzle Dazzle
Loved it - and what amazing spangly waistcoats. David may have led on the dancing, but this was a real team act with three different styles and approaches coming together wonderfully to deliver a top class number.
California Girls - The guys
Well I was singing along to this one from row G as the guys raised the roof with this Beach Boys number. I was listening out for the tricky timing in the second verse and it was 100 percent spot on. Great stuff.

You've really got a hold on me - The ladies

Bringing life and exuberance to this song from the 60s, the ladies swayed, sashayed and smiled their way through this fun song. Loved it.

God Only Knows - the Beach Boys
We've rehearsed this one hard and it was brilliant - it really showed.
Song from Rent - BJMT
Ok it's another show that I don't know but the song was well performed by the Juniors. I am really enjoying the fact that so many of the children are being given the opportunity to sing solos and to build their confidence.
On my own - Adela
Wow. I would leave it just there, but this was a brilliant solo. Not stacks of movement, but deeply felt, hugely emotional, great use of timing and feeling and note perfect. Loved it.
Oh my God you guys - Jess and the girls
This was a high octane, dance rich number that brought the stage to life. It was a great team effort from the girls involved and so much fun to see the smiles and acting.
West Side Story Medley
Absolutely brilliant. Jen asked me what my favourite was at the end of the show and I said this. Even the next day and looking back at all the amazing performances, it's still this one. Partly I guess it's because I actually knew the show and the songs, partly it's because it was so well put together and performed, but mainly I think it's because it was sung with feeling - both the joyful and the softer more poignant moments. And the rousing final of one hand and somewhere was just amazing. What a way to close the first half.
Masquerade
After a short break to grab a drink and chat to my pals back stage, I was back in my seat and loving this number. The masks, movement and song came together perfectly. I was really impressed that no-one burst out laughing on 'Faces' - that must just have been me then. Yes it was hard to see Hannah steal my partner Kat, but she's a much better dancer than me so I will let her off.
Paula - It wasn't meant to be
What humour! So good to see the ladies moving into the guy's traditional make 'em laugh territory rather than the soulful balllads. Again this was enhanced hugely by the buy in of the two ladies in front of me who loved every moment and provided a running commentary as the song progressed.
Charlie and Megan - Loathing
This number offered great characterisation and good acting - I was very nearly persuaded that these guys didn't like each other! It was a really good number and it was lovely to hear these two sing; adding to their amazing dancing from the rest of the show.
Mike - Love
This song really suited Mike in terms of tune, rhythm and style and he delivered it with panache. I don't know if it came from a musical or not - but that won't surprise anyone who knows me.
Jan, Paula and Adela - Mr Postman
This was a brilliant trio who continued the theme of the concert and shared the melody amongst themselves, each offering a different interpretation which came to an amazing whole.
Sarah, Elizabeth, Jen and Becky - Memory
It's always a joy when this group of ladies come together in song and this number continued to show the amazing talent that we are lucky enough to host in the company. From verse to chorus to the closing bars of the song, the ladies brought the song to life and captivated the audience.
Disney Dazzle - BJMT
Ok, so I'm biased but this song got me from the start. With Dan taking the first solo moment the number was a winner from the start and the rest of the junior company kept this going. Of course it helped that these were songs that I knew as well. Great stuff guys.
9 to 5
What fun! As the ladies walked on stage with their chairs and entertained us with synchronised typing we knew this was going to be good. Stacey powered her way through the first solo section, ably accompanied by Kat and later Liz bringing different characters to the show. And with the ladies and guys joining together in a high octane number, we were all toe tapping along.
Chris - Until you sing again
I thought that Chris executed this with perfection. It was a challenging number with a big range, but he hit his high notes and lived the low notes so that this song flowed through and touched the heart.
Jen - Burlesque
I was amazed that Jen could sing at all after apparently running around the stage, changing her shoes and carrying a chair on stage. I'm sure she needed to sit down. But despite all of that, she delivered a brilliant number. Fabulous.
Sing - BMT and BJMT
It was a brilliant idea to bring both companies together for this final song, uniting us all in the one thing that we all enjoyed about the concert - singing together. With the smallest children starting it off and the steady crescendo as others joined in, this was a brilliant production, uniting everyone in song.
West Side reprise
Having uplifted the audience in the unity of Sing, the adults powered the evening out with the final segment from the West Side story medley again. It was a perfect close to a fantastic show, highlighting the harmony and power that BMT do so well.
Thank you, as I said at the start, to everyone who brought this together. Singing is a gift that can lift the soul. And you did.

Spread the Word

Advertising - The Key to Success?

The Show "Circle of Life"

As I sit here redeveloping the new Belper Musical Theatre website, I wondered how theatre companies managed to spread the word about their up coming shows before the internet existed. Posters and hand bills have been in common use as a means to advertise entertainment since the late 1500s and we still use these methods now, but how effective are they? Before that even, in medieval times, travelling performers processed through the streets announcing the play they were to perform. So nothing changes there either!  You may have noticed that we still stand out on King Street in Belper, accosting passers by and thrusting a flyer on them advertising our next great production.

What this all comes down to is advertising.  It feels like we are on the cusp of a revolution in the way we advertise our productions.  The tried and tested methods of processions, hand bills and posters that have been used for 100s of years may become less effective with the demise of our traditional high streets.  More people shop online, socialise online and as a result, don't see things that are out in the real world. So we need to promote our shows online as well. The internet is interactive and animated. Flat posters by the side of the road could be everywhere and you might pass by them every day, but do you see them?

So we advertise online, via our social media accounts and our website.  Should we drop posters and our wet Saturday mornings standing cheerfully outside Poundland with a fistful of flyers?  I think not. We are probably a generation away from that.  Once the vast majority of people are online with active social media accounts and frequent access to email perhaps, but for now we still need to publicise using our 16th century methods.  We can make our posters and flyers as enticing as we can and we can encourage interaction with our social media and website pages, but we cannot drop the humble poster yet.

Why does this all matter?  Advertising is a crucial part of the show circle of life.  We advertise to sell tickets.  Ticket sales bring in vital revenue to the company.  The revenue is spent on the production. If the production is successful, enough revenue is generated to advertise the next production... and so the cycle begins again.

Perhaps I have missed the most important method of advertising.  Word of mouth, telling our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues, people down at the pub and the mums and dads down at the leisure centre waiting for the children to finish their swimming lesson.  Let's hope that we don't forget this most important way of reaching out. Because human interaction, talking to people face to face, is vitally important.

The radio show - listen quick!

You will know from my post about the Moonlight Serenade that a group of the ladies from Belper Musical Theatre are raising funds for a local hospice when they do the 10k Moonlight walk. We were delighted that they were interviewed by Andy Potter on Radio Derby this week and you can listen to it again here.

Jen and the ladies on Radio Derby

But be quick, because apparently you only have until Monday 10th to listen to it! So tell all of your friends now. And whilst you are telling all of your friends, please share this link with them as well so that they can donate some of their hard earned cash for such a great cause. Thank you.

A moonlit serenade?

Last night I found out that a number of the ladies in the company are doing the moonlit walk through Derby towards the end of June to raise money for Treetops Hospice. You can sponsor them online here  Jess Hutton Just Giving although I am not suggesting any bias or favouritism by giving you Jess' link, she does seem to be the first to get it up and running - and Megan gained the £10 over the table last night by having her sponsorship form with her! Anyway, I digress (much like most of the meeting last night).
The other thing that I found out during the meeting was that Jen Lewis is going to be on Radio Derby on Tuesday 4th June at about 3pm. She will be talking about why Belper Musical Theatre is supporting the Treetops Hospice cause and with about five other females from the company will be singing live on air. How exciting!
I will try to find the relevant clip and post it on here so that you can tune in yourselves after the show.
In the meantime, why not set your alarms now and get listening to Radio Derby.
And if you have a few spare moments, then please click on the Just Giving link and help us raise money for this great cause.

Pitching it right

My intention with this blog post was to share some thoughts (and embarrassment) on trying to find the right note when you need to! But then i noticed the inadvertent pun of the title and thought that it may be useful to take the opportunity to think about promoting our next show as well whilst I was at it. After all overselling seats is what my boss would call a high class problem and I guess it's a problem that we could look forward to!

We had a great discussion at our Annual General Meeting this year on how we can try to get more bums on seats. One of our members used to be the Chair of Ripley and Alfreton, which seems to almost sell out with every performance - and we're better than them! (Only slightly biased opinion from me there you'll notice). We also have members from the Derby Opera Company, which has sadly closed down as the cost of shows was greater than the income from them. So we have both good and bad experiences of the challenges with breaking even from musical theatre.

So what do we need to do in order to encourage people to part with hard earned money in order to come to one of our shows?

We try to keep the ticket prices fair. It does cost more than going to the cinema, but less than going to a theatre show and a lot less than going to a West End production. And sometimes our performances, and the effort that goes in to them, are up there with some of the best that you'll see at a regional level. (Or the West End on a bad day ;-))

We put our shows on in Belper Community Theatre. This has fully tiered seating, a disabled ramp built by Ian Jennison (see Life members post) and is a great, small venue for an engaging performance. We do get comments that there aren't enough toilets when it gets to the interval, but we try to offer a decent length interval to take account of this - and we serve hot and cold drinks and the odd glass of wine to help others pass the time.

We work hard to give fantastic performances. Indeed we get feedback from our regulars that anyone who has been to a BMT show will come back again and again as they are such high quality. And since we have regulars from Birmingham, Leeds, Crewe and Kent, I think that there's an element of truth there.

But since we struggle to gain an average audience of 60 percent, we do need to do something more to fill the extra 40 percent of seats.

We would appreciate it if you could tell your friends and work colleagues about our shows - I've persuaded people off the train in Manchester to see the shows -and if you could share email addresses with us, then we can let them know what's coming up next. We can email you copies of our promotional stationery - flyers, posters, booking forms, business cards, so that you can send them on to other people.

But maybe we're getting something wrong? If you have any ideas on what we could do, then please let us know. I'm sure that I will blog on different approaches for publicity again soon - your ideas would be helpful. Thank you.

Life members

One of the nice things about being part of the committee for Belper Musical Theatre is that you get to find out why people have been proposed for life membership of the company. It's one of the few ways we have available to us of recognising the sustained effort that people put into supporting the company over the years, so I thought that I would use this forum to let you know who our newest life members are and a little bit about why they gained the honour this year.
I guess that I should also say at this point that we do have many other life members in the company who haven't had this public record created. That doesn't mean that we don't appreciate what they did. And if anyone would like to write a piece about them, then I would be delighted to see it and share it here on the blog.
This year our three life members were Ian Jennison, Linda Jennison and Andrea Sparham.

Despite our chair announcing the first two as 'My Mum and Dad!', there is no suggestion that this is why they were nominated.

Linda has been a member of the company since its first performance and over the years has not only been in most of the shows, she has also played an active role in costumes, props, prompting, assistant production roles and other activities. As well as the main company, Linda has provided the same sort of support for Belper Junior Musical Theatre.
Ian has directed shows both for us and for Belper Junior Musical Theatre but is probably most renowned for the effort, time and creativity that he puts into building sets for us - often very substantial sets for those of us who have to lift them from storage to stage! Both Ian and Linda give up their time and their home life to support the company - many members will have been to their house at weekends to paint set and scenery. We appreciate all of this time and effort and are pleased to welcome them as life members.
Our other life member this year undertakes a role which is a lot less visible, but is equally time consuming and hugely important to the company. Andrea manages our ticket sales. For about two months before each show Andrea will spend a few hours on the phone and her home office every day sorting out bookings and ticket sales for us. As anyone who has spoken to her to order their tickets will know, Andrea tries hard to meet people's needs when selling their tickets and offers an excellent and personal level of service. Andrea also uses her knowledge of our customers and their feedback to help us improve the flyers, posters and booking forms that we develop and use.
It's great for us to have this dedicated support from these excellent company members.

Thank you.

What's in a word?

Satyrs

That's the word, now how do you say it? And what about the person sitting next to you, or next to them?

If you've read my earlier blogs then you know that one of the areas that fascinates me relates to the tiny little subtleties of performances that can make the difference between competent and fantastic. We've talked about stolen time and enunciation of consonants in the past. And in BMT we are frequently asked to remember how to sing a triplet. But my interest this time was sparked by this single word.

In our Autumn concert this year one of the songs that we are singing is Masquerade from Phantom of the Opera. It's a great song with amazing lyrics, although sadly I feel that few people will be able to pick up on all of them - I've listened to the live track loads of times now and it's one of those that you have to play again and again to try and hear what is being sung. Anyway, as were singing through one of the pages, we came as a group across this word ' Satyrs' and I heard four different pronunciations of the word in the area around me. It's not that surprising really as it's the not the sort of word that most of us use in our daily conversations and it's lacking in vowels that tend to keep us on the straight and narrow.

With so many versions just around me, I worked on the theory that many others were not certain of how to say it, so stuck my hand up and asked our Musical Director, Terry Bailey. It turned out that Terry wasn't that sure either. I hadn't expected it to generate quite the level of discussion on correct speaking that it did: I simply wanted Terry to pronounce it for us and then we would all follow. And I certainly wouldn't argue with a pronunciation verdict given by the MD!

A week later Terry came back and had investigated it for us - he has now told us that we will pronounce it Say Ters, which seems ok to me. You'll have to listen out for it when you come to our concert this September and see if it sounds good, consistently good, to you too.

So why blog about this? Well sometimes wanting to get the little things like this right can be disruptive and it can seem like it's causing trouble just for the sake of it. That's not the case. I want to do a great job in the company. And I think that most others want the same. When you're working through a song you can work out many parts for yourself. We have a shared understanding of how many words are to be pronounced and we know what PP, P, F and FF stand for (we do seem to differ on understanding MP and MF still!). So the parts where we benefit from guidance and instruction from our MD are going to be the little things like this, enunciation, pronunciation and no doubt other things in the future.

For me, when I don't understand something, or think that I or others are getting something wrong, I will keep trying to learn and to find things out. I will also bring a pencil with me so that I can make notes and try to keep getting it right...

Beauty and the Beast

This weekend sees Belper junior musical theatre take to the stage at the Ecclesbourne school to present Disney's Beauty and the Beast junior. If you haven't got your tickets just yet, then you may be lucky enough to get one of the final few available from Andrea on 01332882909. We are particularly lucky in Belper to have not only got a great team of talented children who can sing, dance and act as directed, but also to have a great team producing the show as well.
Many of you will recall that Becky Osborne stepped down from the musical director role a couple of years ago and Jess Hutton has become our new driving force. As an ex junior herself she has followed in Becky's footsteps and made sure that rehearsals are fun filled as well as with purpose. She has been joined in delivering this show by Jen Lewis, fresh from her success in directing the amazing 'Me and My Girl' for the adult company. Together they have captured the imagination of the children and pulled together an amazing version of this classic fairy tale.
Elizabeth Brookes has also played a key part in pulling together the props for the show - bear in mind that each of the pewter tankards that you see on the stage started life as a Pringles' packet!
And finally Stacey and David have provided input and guidance on the choreography. Put together the whole thing looks amazing and we' re looking forward to welcoming you there.
Since it is many members of the adult company who have given up their weekend to manage front of house, I really do mean that we are the ones who will welcome you!
See you there soon!

What a great show

Well as the week on stage finally draws to a close and all of the set, props, scenery and costumes are packed back into boxes and bags and returned to their rightful homes, it's the point at which the blues start to kick in again.
Thankfully this year the feedback and reaction from our audiences looks like it will keep us going for a few days longer - and I for one am glad to lock Gerald up, fairly securely, and not to allow him to take centre stage. Is it strange to play a part that you don't like do you think?
One of my work colleagues sent me this email which I thought I would share:

"Hi Matthew
Wow! What a good show! I loved the real orchestra (Larry's panto music was all taped, you know) and there were some very good performances. Fay, Mike, Amanda and I laughed like drains at the bit (not featuring you) with the portraits of the ancestors - like Kind Hearts and Coronets meets Monty Python!! You were so good, my dear. Chanelling Julian Clary at times, which was a revelation! And those vowels - you got them just right. And how you enjoyed it! It was obvious you were having a really good time!
Thank you. And congratulations to all in the Society.
See you soon, I hope.
Ann"

I was pleased with that, especially as Ann works in the Drama School here at the University of Manchester. Not bad at all.

But one of the things that really jumped out at me from her email was her delight in the real orchestra that we use. It was smaller this year, but no less impressive for that. But it's also one of the big cost areas for our show and one of the things that we always have heated discussions about sticking with. We could save a lot of money if we used recorded music - but at what cost?

It seems this year that overall we had about 65% of seats occupied over the six shows, and that means that we may not have lost too much money - tiny chance of possibly breaking even!

I know that before the show I blogged a couple of times on how we could promote our shows more effectively - get people to try it on the Wednesday or Thursday night, rather than finding we are full by the Saturday. If any of you have any more ideas on this one, then I would love to hear them. And in the meantime, please tell all of your friends how good this show was.

From me, for now, thank you to everyone who played any part at all in getting this show up and running and so fantastic. And that includes the audiences.

Imaginary birthdays

My phone this morning told me that it is Doris Millers birthday. It seems strange to me to think that anyone could consider celebrating the birthday of an imaginary character (remember Doris Miller was the person we never got to meet last year in Copacabana) and when one group member, widely believed to be Richard Poole (especially after he admitted it) saw fit to create Doris Miller as a real person on Facebook, many others then made friends with her. I still think that it is interesting to note that some people who were friends with  Doris were not listed as friends with Richard. Let's leave it at that. Anyway one year on it seems today is Doris Miller's birthday. Happy birthday Doris.
That got me thinking about the way that the show takes on a life of its own. My wife often comments that when this time is here it seems that there is nothing other than the show itself. It is a hungry beast that consumes everything in its path and still wants more. I'm sure any of those who gave up their evening yesterday packing things into the van, either at Ian's or the yard, then unloading again at the school, and keeping going from 4 till 9, or even just an hour or so, will completely agree with that. And for those with an early morning back at 9am with no intention of being home before 9 pm this evening it'll feel even more the case. Is it worth it? Well I think so. It's a great show. And the only surprise to me is that we haven't sold out for every performance. The script is good, casting great and I think it promises to be a brilliant show all round.
So my final thought today is that it would be a fabulous birthday present for Doris if you book a ticket for the show, or remind anyone who hasn't got theirs yet to get that sorted. It promises to be a great night out.
Happy birthday Doris Miller.

Thoughts on support

Before I joined Belper Musical Theatre I had never realised just how much work goes into getting a show up and on to the stage. I guess that some of the roles are fairly obvious - for example our musical director, choreographer and producer put hours into getting our sound, moves and overall performance spot on. But then there are also the unsung heroes who design, build, paint and put together the set for us. There's the team who put together the publicity materials, posters and flyers, talk to local papers and radio stations and stand on street corners handing them out and trying to be nice to everyone and get people to come along (and it's very cold at this time of the year!). There's our ticket secretary Andrea who takes all of the phone calls and opens all the envelopes, then manages sheets of reservations and bookings to get people in the right places for them - not so easy when someone says can I just book three for now, but there maybe someone else coming with them, so can you leave a space for them just in case. So many different roles and activities and I am fairly sure that I will have missed someone by mistake! Sorry.

But the people I wanted to just spend a moment thinking about just now were those who have provided us with just a bit of financial support by putting adverts in our programme.

In general I am one of those people who flicks through adverts as if they are just a waste of space - happily fast forwarding through the ones on the TV if I have pre-recorded the programme. After all it's big companies with big budgets trying to get more of our money for something that we probably don't need. In our programme though, that tends not to be the case! I don't think we have an advert from anyone who has a big budget!

Our highest paying advertisers are probably the larger businesses in the area. This includes an East Midlands small pharmacy chain (Manor Pharmacy), the only hotel in Belper (the Lion hotel) and the local dance school (Vanessa Millar). Yet none of these is a multi million pound business, just local ones who offer us this support; we then have our annual dinner at the Lion Hotel which tends to be a fantastic evening out!

Some of the advertisers help us out in getting our show up and running. Steve Davies checks our electricity for us, Carolyn Hardy designs and directs our artwork and oversees scenic design. Some are from our company members - BMT is pleased to have the director of Talk Staff (a recruitment agency) as a member, as well one of the team running Kalico (a gift shop on Belper's rather brilliant high street). There are then those who keep some of our company members looking stunning - Hair Design and Simone seem to feature particularly high here! And then there are other local businesses. How many town high streets can still boast a proper butcher like Jerry Howarths, a lovely bakery such as Strutts,or a great drinking and eating establishment like the Devonshire (you can often find us in here after rehearsals!). And finally there is support from people who will help you do or be better. We have the amazing Lynn Nelson offering to help you find your own singing voice, or help with weight loss and personal training if anyone has a need there.

Overall I think that we have a great mix of advertisers, showcasing some of the best that Belper has to offer. Without them our programme would cost you more than the average paperback. So please have a look through, pop in, use their services and mention the fact that you saw their advert with BMT - it will help them to know that their investment in us really was worthwhile.

And if you want to see how good the programme looks, then make sure you get your tickets booked now - call Andrea on 01332 882909 - and buy your copy on arrival.

Thank you.