The next couple of weeks, 26th Aug & 2nd Sep, we will be meeting at Sunninghill main hall /Trinity Parish centre (where we put on Generations Apart) at 7:30pm to read through and cast ‘Toad of Toad Hall’.
Trinity Parish Centre – Culliford Road North, Dorchester. DT1 1QG
Apologies for the delayed update, Summer is always bedlam around here.
Wednesday 29th July, Dorchester Drama held it’s AGM at the Colliton Club, Dorchester. Thank you to all who attended; it was good to see you both for the meeting and the catch up in the bar afterwards.
For your information I have listed the new committee below;
A huge thank you to Harriet Still and Tom Horsington who have both stepped down from the committee. Thanks to Harriet for her carrying out of the secretary role over the last year too. Another big thank you to Alastair. Whilst he remains a committee member, he has stepped down from his role as treasurer.
We welcome Lee, Naomi, Colin and Rob to the committee. Colin has stepped into the role of Treasurer. Thank you Colin (big sigh of relief from the rest of the committee!) . Lee and Naomi have both offered to take on secretarial duties – so we will be divvying those up a.s.a.p.
We will be having a few weeks break from activities but will be back on August 26th and September 2nd for the casting of Toad of Toad Hall – the A.A. Milne version to be directed by Dee Thorne and Lee Stroud.
And lastly, huge Thanks to David who’s sent us footage of ‘Jeeves in Bloom’, performed by Dorchester Drama in 2013.
I’ll link the other scenes into the Past Productions page.
Hope you’re all having a lovely summer.
After last weeks workshop on ‘how to not act’ ( a lot harder than it sounds….), tonight we had our summer social evening.
An evening with a light buffet (mainly cakes, though thanks to Jonny for providing us with some salad so there was the odd vitamin) and home spun entertainment.
Alastair gave us a couple of his excellent monologues, complete with sound effects…
Billie gave us an alternative version of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’….
Colin and Jonny gave us ‘Fork Handles’…..
Anne opened a Fete for us, dripping with sarcastic wit….
Peter reviewed a very mediocre play brilliantly, delivering compliments which possibly showed that he’s had to do the same thing for real?
Maggie gave us the Family renowned version of the ‘Chubbly’ joke….
Andy gave us a version of some Hardy stripped to 30 seconds…
And Dee finished off with a demonstration on how to bake a cake, in true Keith Floyd fashion, with liberal amounts of Chardonnay.
A little improvised dance by Olivia in the middle and some more cake…..
Next week is the AGM at the Colliton Club. 7:30pm.
The committee will be looking for some more members to help support them over the next year. Please come along if you can. If you can spare some time to be on the committee, even better. We are looking for another secretary and treasurer, plus other members.
Remember, the group cannot run without your support.
List of Summer events.We’ve finalised some dates for the summer timetable, so diaries out……
And Finally…..
Auditions & reading for ‘Toad’ will be on the 26th August and 2nd September.
Rehearsals will be every Monday and Wednesday evening from 7th Sept onwards.
We will be shortly after asking for backstage crew as well, so if you’re keen on working behind the scenes, stage managing, props etc. let us know asap.
Dorchester Drama has put together a summer programme of play readings and workshops to culminate in a social evening with performances on Wednesday 22nd July – full details of the programme to follow shortly, but please, dig out that short monologue you’ve always wanted to do, come along to a regular Wednesday evening to find a partner for that funny sketch you love, and put something together for the 22nd.
In the meantime we will be continuing with another taster for our autumn production of “Toad of Toad Hall”. Following on from Dees “Introduction to the Riverbank” where we released our inner toads (and moles and Water voles) , Lee will be running a workshop entitled “Colours, Shapes and Moods of the Riverbank” this Wednesday 17th June at Sunninghill community Hall. It should be fun, please do come along.
See you soon
This Wednesday, 7:30pm at the Sunninghill Hall, we’re running an evening to start looking at the next production, Wind in the Willows.
See you there.
Here is what Dorchester Drama is planning for the next few months.
We have decided, after quite some discussion and consideration, not to pursue a Summer production, but instead to put our energies into play readings, workshops, and a social with, hopefully, bring and share food and performances. We are thinking that all of these will best be carried out on our regular bookings at Sunninghill Community Hall– so Wednesday nights at 7.30 p.m. unless we let you know otherwise.
There is lots going on outside DD for many of our members over the next few months, and time is getting short for a summer production, so we are going to concentrate on the social side of our group and have some fun. We have been running regular play reading evenings alongside our rehearsals, since Christmas, and these have proved fun and popular. Over the next couple of months we will add in some workshops including Stage Fighting and Improvisation, and look towards both a big social gathering and the AGM in July.
Please come and join us over the next few Wednesdays when we will be reading a bit more Ayckbourn (we had some fun with that this week), and Dee is putting together an “Introduction to the Riverbank” evening – I have no details but I suspect it is connected to our exciting upcoming Autumn production of “Toad of Toad Hall” – so be there!
A few of us intend to enter the carnival to promote DD and “Toad”. We would love you to join us. I am sure Dee will have ideas to help us out, but needs must, costumes will be simple – perhaps a whisker of face paint and a suggestion of ears. Come on; Carnivals are Fun.
Hope to see you all soon
The next couple of weeks, 22nd & 29th April, we will be meeting at Sunninghill main hall /Trinity Parish centre (where we put on Generations Apart) at 7:30pm to read through some scripts and get some ideas going.
Trinity Parish Centre – Culliford Road North, Dorchester. DT1 1QG
And so it’s farewell to ‘Generations Apart’. Well worth the efforts cast & crew put in producing a play that surprised many not familiar with Peter Gordon, the author.
Thanks to everyone that came to see it. If you missed it, it’s a shame. I’ll post up some pictures at the bottom of the page and hopefully be able to put up some key moments of the play in clip form.
And so we look forward to the Summer production. It’s a busy period for drama in Dorchester with ‘Daisy pulls it off’ coming to the end of their run and New Hardy Players production of ‘Return of the Native’ starting to gain a head of steamas well as anything else that other groups are doing. So DD are looking to do a series of short plays and monologues.
The next couple of weeks, 22nd & 29th April, we will be meeting at Sunninghill main hall /Trinity Parish centre (where we put on Generations apart) at 7:30pm to read through some scripts and get some ideas going.
This is an excellent chance for anybody to come along and say hello to the group and have a chat to see what we do. Please don’t be shy. There will be coffee, tea and maybe chocolate biscuits…..
After tech and dress rehearsals, we’re finally counting down the hours to opening night.
It’s not too late to get tickets and there will be some available on the door.
The cast and stage crew have done a brilliant job at conveying two time periods and the minimalist set is a credit to the Directors vision. You can hear the gulls and surf in the distance and almost smell the sea air.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7:30 start and refreshments are available.
Trinity Parish Centre – Culliford Road North, Dorchester. DT1 1QG
