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.