A WEBSITE ALL ABOUT MARIE BIRCH
PART ONE
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Second Part, of my Main Website: Marie Birch's General Information and Classic
British Comedy Website: Part Two, then please go to:
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Second Part, of my A Website All About Marie Birch:
Part Two, then please go to:
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About Marie Birch: Part Two
So, just for the Record. My Full
Name is Lynne Marie Birch Guy. I write, under the Pen Name, of Marie Birch. I
was born, on the 4th of March 1967, at The Women's Hospital, in the City of
Wolverhampton (Formerly, the Market Town of Wolverhampton, West Midlands), West
Midlands, the Second Worst Place, to Mimas, Saturn,
according to Dave Lister, in Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (it is not, all
that bad, really, it is, a far, better place, to live in, than Birmingham, West
Midlands!)! And, His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, has
been, to Wolverhampton, West Midlands, on quite, a few occasions, and he, had
been, quite impressed, with the Architecture, of the
City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands. For Example: Wolverhampton Art Gallery
(which, has also, got a Website!), and The Library (which, has also, got a
Website!), and some, of the Banking Houses, are very impressive, indeed. And
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, has become, something, of a Tourist Attraction,
over the past, few years. St Peter's Collegiate Church,
is well worth, a visit, and we have, even got, a Saxon Cross, which is, a
little bit, Weather Beaten, and it is, rather blackened, which is due, to the
Heavy Industry, of the Black Country, over the years. And Wolverhampton, West
Midlands, has also, had, the Great Honour, of being, the very First Town (now a
City), in the Country, to have, a set, of the very First Traffic Lights!
Incidentally, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, had been, Granted:
City Status, via Her Majesty The Queen, Queen Elizabeth The II, during 2001.
It may be a bit confusing, but I am not officially from the Black Country, as such. Wolverhampton, is a part, of the Black Country Conurbation, we are on the edge of the Triangle so to speak. The main areas, that are concerned, are mainly Dudley, Kingswinford and Telford, but they are only a short drive away, and we have been to The Black Country Museum, just outside Dudley, which is also, well worth, a visit. To make matters even more confusing, we are not officially classed as Brummies! I know, that we probably sound all the same, to people from outside the area, but we are a different race of people! If you are, from Wolverhampton, you are, officially, classed, as: *Wulfrunian*, which is also, a Mystery, to some People. And, the Original Founder, of our Town, had been known, as: Lady Wulfruna. And, the Town, which had, originally been, known, as Wulfruneheantun, had eventually, become known, as Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton is very well-known, for it's Lock Making Industry. And as, the Majority of People, are Fully aware, Wolverhampton, is also, the Home, of our Football Team: "The Wolves" (Wolverhampton Wanderers). We had been, to a Youth Team Match, just before, the Former: Molineux Stadium, had been, remodelled, during the nineteen nineties. But I have, never actually, been, to an Official Football Match, at the Molineux Stadium, in my life! But I do intend, to go, to an Official Football Match, at the Molineux Stadium, one day, with my husband Paul, who is more, of a Walsall Supporter, than a Wolves Supporter. And my Husband: Paul, has been, to the Molineaux Stadium, over the years. And, my Mother’s Family, have supported, Wolverhampton Wanderers, over the years.
I am a part-time Drama Student, and I have been into acting on and off, since I was about six years old. I started off as a Snowdrop in an end of term presentation at Christ Church Infants School, and the year after that, I was promoted to the grand role of a Sunbeam! I still have the photographs in my acting scrapbook! It was always my dream, to enter the profession, but it never came true, but what I have gained over the years, has served me well!
I also contributed to the end of term presentations and pantomimes at Christ Church Junior School. We did an end of term presentation one year about the history of the Anglo Saxons, which seems to be always studied, indepth, at Junior Schools in our area! I was an Arab in the Nativity one Christmas. My downfall where that was concerned, was my tea towel, falling off my head! Still, it was an experience, nevertheless! My first real significant part, was as The Moon in - "Alice in Wonderland". I had one line - "The Sun was Shining, he said!". My parents never let me forget that! But nevertheless, I still saw it as a challenge. I was rather disappointed with my costume though, where that was concerned, because I had a bout of chickenpox, before we put the Pantomime on, which was rather a bit of a rush job, in the end, but it had kept me going, while I was ill, and my costume as The Moon, in Alice In Wonderland, which I naively thought, would be something, for me to look forward to, when I eventually went back to School. I had visions of wearing a black dress, with a lacy wrap around cape, as that, was what I thought the Moon should look like! Unfortunately, however, that just wasn't to be. The Schools productions budget only allowed for a black leotard and a yellowy troublesome paper cape! Needless to say, I had expected so much more, where that was concerned! But when I complained, I had it drilled, into me, in the end, that I would just have to accept my costume, and concentrate on my part, once and for all! And once, I had got over the initial disappointment, I soon got into the part, once again. And the thrill of performing, even just one line, made me get over my initial disappointment, where the costume was concerned, anyhow. And I've since come to realise, that the more acting you do, over the years, that wearing costumes is only a very small part of it, and not only that, these glamorous long dresses can be more of a hindrance, at the end of the day, because it is impossible to move in them, off stage, once you've learnt how to move in them onstage, and they soon get grotty, when you're doing the same production for about two weeks, especially where the greasepaint is concerned, which in my case, always seems to end up on my shoulders! So, after the Moon in "Alice In Wonderland", the following year had me playing a Tree, in "The Wizard Of Oz". My costume consisted of a brown and black stripe top, and two paper branches, which I had to wave to scare off Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin Man, and The Cowardly Lion. Actually it was quite hard, doing that part, because it had to be timed, just right, and you still had to put quite a bit of effort into it, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day!
As I'm also trying to be a writer, as well as an actress, my Junior School's final end of term presentation consisted of my contribution, which I'd affectedly borrowed from a girls comic, which was a Cartoon of these two Octopuses fighting, and there being a Referee Octopus in the background, and his encouraging remark was - "Go on, Give him the old, one, two, three, four five, six, seven eight!". And, Two Lads, in my Class: Carl Benton and Timothy Proctor, had both, been Newscasters, in between scenes (I forget, what I was now! I think, I might have been, in the Chorus), which had been, very loosely based, on: "The Two Ronnies". They were also looking round for material, for their double act, which was really very good, and I informed them, about the joke, that I had come across, in that comic, and they said, that they might be able to use that in their act, and in the end, they did, and it worked very well, anyhow! So, I was quite chuffed, really, that I'd contributed to a production, even though it was done, in a very small way, anyhow! Not, only that, I had, also helped, some Drama School Students, along, when they, had come, to Christ Church Junior School, one year! Their Production: Pinocchio, had been, very good, indeed, considering, they had been, at Drama School, at the time! However, one of the actors, who had been, playing, the Evil Magician, at the time, had wanted, to con, poor Hapless: Pinocchio, into going off, with him, but he had, desperately needed, to find, a way, of giving him, some kind, of an Evil spell, so that he, could, go off, with him! But I had got a handkerchief in my pocket, which I had, Cherubically and Seraphically, proclaimed, to the Evil Magician, was a Magic handkerchief! The Evil Magician, of course, had thought, that it was Christmas, at the time, and he had, thanked me, for helping him, where that, had been, concerned, anyhow! And naturally, I got booed at, by the other kids, in the audience! But then again, I felt, that I had contributed something worthwhile, to a production, once again! I enjoyed my acting more so, at Junior School, and I was rather disappointed, with the way, that it was taught at my Senior School: The Regis School (which is, now: The Kings School). Drama isn't taught like it is now, at Senior Schools. In the late seventies and early eighties, you could not do it for 'O' level or 'A' level, unless you do English Literature, which does involve some Drama, from time to time, but even then, it is very limited, but there was Junior and Senior Drama, which was done, more or less, as an extra curricular activity, but in the first and second year, it is part of your School timetable, anyway. But as the teachers, didn't tend to come to the lessons, or weren't really trained, to teach it very well (as it is sort of based, on the training, that you receive at Drama School, if you are lucky enough to go on to that, and it is far better to be an actor first, beforehand, if you want to teach it properly, anyhow! I believe, that the training techniques for teachers, where Drama training is concerned, these days has improved considerably) And, you were basically left to it, anyway! A lot of it is improvisation, which is very hard, and it wasn't at all what I expected, because I had assumed, that I would work with text, and it has basically the same principles, as stand-up comedy, but it did represent a challenge somewhat! And I have long forgotten some of the techniques, that I was taught, but I did enjoy it to a certain extent, even though a lot of the students, didn't take it quite as seriously, as I did, anyhow! The well-known technique, is to fall backwards into a persons arms, so that they can catch you. You have got to learn, to put your trust in that person! I found that very hard, but I did do, that exercise, in question again, at Drama School, many years later, and I did remember it well, from School, and I found, that it certainly helped, and it made it a lot easier to do, anyhow! So, I did feel, that it was far better, for me to concentrate more on my English, and join the Junior Choir, which I didn't really enjoy, even though my teacher was nice, and very supportive, and I do take an interest in singing, but then again, I find that I am very limited, where that is concerned, and I prefer to act, anyway, as it isn't such hard work, anyhow! But then again, the choir did have it's uses, we were used as the choir, in the Sixth Forms musical production of - "Our Town", which is set in the French Province of Quebec, Canada. However, I did find the acting side of it more interesting, as apposed to the choir side, but I did put as much effort, into it, as it was possible for me to do so, and we did all celebrate the end of the production, with some, Pomagne, anyhow! Our costumes gave us the impression of female vicars, but it was, quite a good laugh really! We sang a Wedding Hymn - 'Love Divine All Loves Excelling', and the Funeral Hymn, which everyone knows - 'The Lord is my Shepherd'. At Christmas that very same year, we did put on a performance at St Michaels and All Angels Church in Tettenhall. We were seated alongside the Madrigal Choir, whose voices were really highly polished, and really, it was seeing them that made me realise, that I had no future where my singing was concerned. All in all, I did find the choir, to be a great experience, when all was said and done, but I left the choir, after a time, because I knew, that even though, I have a great love of singing, and I have great respect for people who do it, I knew, that I wasn't good enough, or dedicated enough, where that was concerned, to carry on with it, anyhow! I also attended the Folk Club, at my Senior School, and there were plenty of opportunities, for doing sketches, but in my case, it was a question of supplying your own material, and at the time, I didn't really feel, that I had the confidence to provide it, and my knowledge of improvisation techniques in acting is very limited, even now! There were two lads in my year, who did do a double act, and they were very good, and one of the lads: Mike Nolan, went on to The Birmingham Theatre School. I found that out later, because he joined an Amateur Dramatic society, which I joined at a later date. With the Folk Club, I dropped out, again, because I didn't really want to do any singing, if I could help it, even though I had great respect for the people, who do it, even now, but again, it isn't really an area, that I specialize in, anyhow! During 1980, with regard, to where, my School Drama, had been concerned, I had done, a Presentation, for Assembly. I've forgotten what it is now, but if I recall it correctly, I think it was a family situation, anyhow. I did get into my acting a bit more that year, and for my class Drama, we did do some more improvisation techniques, which I still found very hard do, but I did put as much enthusiasm, as I possibly could into it. With the Extracurricular Junior Drama, I finally worked with some text, at long last! We all worked on a short scene from a play, which was about a serious situation on a bus, where the driver and the conductor had to cope with some troublesome Football hooligans, which ended up in a very nasty and quite brutal fight! The fight scene, was really good, we all ended up, scrunched up, all in a very funny position, all in absolute hysterics, and the teacher informed us: - "There's no need to make it look, quite that realistic!". The last production, that I did at School, that year was the end of term one, which was quite clever, really! Our theme was to send up the classes at School, and the Drama class, was certainly one, that we did send up, anyhow! One of the Students: Rachel, had dressed up, as a type, of: Joyce Grenfell/Maureen Lipman, based Hippie Teacher, and she, had, got us, all, to pretend, to be, Flowers! For Example, one, of the Lads, had done - “A Pansy!", and nobody, has got to have a very high i.q to imagine the laughs, that got, anyhow! As I was running, out of ideas. The Flower, that I had, represented, had been, a Snapdragon, which had, consisted of me, clapping, my hands, at the Teacher, and roaring, at her, as vehemently, as possible! I'd thought that one up, when I was on holiday, with my parents in Brittany, France, a few weeks before, and even though my contribution, was laughed at, at first, we all found out, that after the initial shock was over, that it was quite effective, and it did get a good laugh from the audience, and it was certainly very different, anyhow! The other class that we sent up, was the PE Class, where we had all agreed to wear our worst sports gear, which had definitely, stepped outside, the School Curriculum! Mine consisted, of a red 'T' shirt, with a very, small Logo, on it - *Pepi's Bar*, which I'd bought from Majorca, a couple of years previously. Some coloured shorts, but the funniest part of my costume was my wooly, knee high socks! There had been, another girl: Cleo, whose PE Costume, had been, even worse, than mine, and quite, surprisingly, her PE gear, seemed to envelop her completely, but it was the pink and white rolled up socks, that were the most comical, really! Needless, to say, as we, had been, using, the School’s: PE Changing Rooms, the PE Teachers, had looked, at all, of us, with complete, and utter despair! And one, of the PE Teachers, with all honestly, had said - "I don't like, the PE Gear!". We did, have, the one girl: Lucy Bastin, who had been, quite immaculate, in her White PE Kit, but again, there is, always one, isn't there?! Not only that, she was also the one called upon to do, the best gymnastics! We all had to murmur - "Swell!", especially as Lucy did some brilliant handstands, etcetera, while I seemed to collapse doing handstands and gambols, which wasn't very hard for me to do, especially as I was never really cut out for PE, anyway! However, we had one problem, with that production, because one of the boys, decided, that he didn't want to do it, in the end! And we had to get another boy in, who had to go on, with the script, as it was far too much, for him, especially at the last minute, to learn the part, but we all pulled through, in the end!
After that, I seemed to drift away from School Drama, because during my exam years, it took till my very last term at School, for them to get the new senior Drama going, because there wasn't very much enthusiasm going for it, and even when I did join it for a short time, nobody could really commit themselves to it, very well, because of exam pressure, etcetera, and again in a lot of cases, the teacher wouldn't turn up some weeks, and not only that, by that time, I had joined an Amateur Dramatics society:- Codsall Dramatic Society, which is still going strong today!
Incidentally, my School examination qualifications that I gained, during 1983, that were of any significance to me, were a Grade Three in C.S.E. English and a Grade Three in C.S.E Art.
I was introduced to Codsall Dramatic Society, via my former Form Teacher: Andy Alsop. I never did get a part in a play, during my time there. I did help out with the set painting for "Lady Windermere's Fan", by Oscar Wilde, which was their October 1982 production, which was good experience, and the chap who was in charge of the set painting - Bill Dean, was very supportive, and his wife Aileen, was an actress, who had done some professional work, over the years, and she was very good. The lady, who had founded the society, Betty Taylor (her maiden name was Betty Mallet) had also been an actress as well, she had appeared on "Crossroads", and a sixties series, called "The Newcomers". She was a very nice lady, and to have a few professionals in the group, did give me a sort of an introduction to the acting profession, anyhow! And you could tell, by the way, that Betty directed productions, that she had worked in the Professional Theatre, anyhow!
In the December 1982: Childrens Play (it wasn't called a Pantomime, because that is what it becomes, when there is no songs, and the Principal Boy, is played by a boy!), I did get, my very first, supporting part, as one of the Sultan's Wives, in "Aladdin". I was Mirabel. There were the three of us, Isabel, Jezebel and Mirabel. I was teased a lot, by being known as a "Sultana", but you soon got used to it! We had a good director in John Allan, whose son, Graham was Aladdin. He also went on to Drama School, and even though he didn't get on as an actor, he does do some directing in Germany, which to my mind is just as important, as acting. It was quite a tiring pantomime to do, really, but I enjoyed it, but the timing was quite hard, especially, where our parts were concerned, but we all supported one another, as much, as it was possible, for us to do so. Our costumes consisted of little roundish hats, with veils, tops and trousers, the kind of costumes, that you are accustomed to seeing Belly dancers wearing. Actually the baggy trousers and veils, were made from matching curtains. My costume was aquamarine blue, which is my favourite colour, Bev's (who was my former Form Teacher: Andy Alsop's wife) was orange, and Cheryl's was green. The costumes were great at the time, but exactly ten years, after that production, they did "Aladdin" again, with an entirely different cast, with exactly the same costumes! They had got very young children for the Sultana's the second time round, and they were good, but the new production didn't seem to have, quite the same atmosphere, as the original production of "Aladdin", had, even though, they had more or less stuck to the original script, but the original costumes had dated, after ten years! The only people from the original production of "Aladdin", to see it the second time round, were me and Louise (who became a very good friend of mine, since! Her husband Mark, was our best man!), who played Princess Yasmin, and John Allan, who wasn't directing the production this time.
After Aladdin, I did drift away from acting, for quite a number of years, which is a decision, which I have sincerely regretted. I did have the chance to become involved with the Zip Theatre Group in Wolverhampton, but I chickened out, in the end, because I was worried about the insecurity in the profession, and I opted for a Youth Training course, in Office Work, which I did not really take to, but I persevered, with office skills, as much as I possibly could, anyhow! And not only that, the parts were very hard to get, where Amateur Dramatics is concerned, and even though, watching a production, is very interesting at first, you soon get bored, when there isn't much going on. The last production, that I was involved with, via Codsall Dramatics Society, was called - "Lord Arthur Saville's Crime by Oscar Wilde", which is a very funny play, indeed! My contributions to that, were making the coffee and set painting, once again.
Not only that, my Father was also setting up his business - Keymesh Company, and because of my skills, in Office Work, he needed my involvement, with the business.
But my husband Paul, who is an Accountant, is very much into the arts, himself, and because he did have an interest in my acting, he did encourage me to go back into it, once more. So, in 1989, I joined Perton Players (which is now known, as Perton And Tettenhall Theatre Company). I decided not to go back to Codsall, as I thought, that a fresh approach, to a fairly new Amateur Drama group, can offer quite a few challenges. The society had been formed in 1984, by Mike Fosbrook (who was also a member of Codsall Dramatic Society and Mike was also kind enough to perform in Albrighton Players Productions, from time to time). Mike formed that Amateur Dramatics society, in question, for the benefit, of the Perton people, as the village of Perton, is a fairly modern Estate, and at the time, it was lacking in artistic facilities. Incidentally, two of Perton Players (which is now known as Perton And Tettenhall Theatre Company) former members went on, to become students, at The Birmingham Theatre School. They were Mike Nolan, who was in my year at School, whom I mentioned previously, via my Senior Schools Folk Club, and John? My former Former Form Teacher, Andy Alsop, and his Family, had moved to Perton, and he also became a member of Perton Players! But unfortunately however, I didn't get many opportunities to perform with Andy, with the exception of my working with him, as a Schoolchild in "Red Riding Hood", and I was the poor Schoolchild who got hit by the cane! And it really did hurt as well! But Andy was kind enough, to apologise, for been a bit heavy handed with the cane, anyhow! And it may have had something to do, with the fact, that I was one of his former pupils! Seriously however, I considered it to be a great privilege, to work, with Andy, even though it was only the once, anyhow! And Andy also went on to do productions with Studio 61, another Amateur Dramatic Society in Wolverhampton. And as Andy also has musical tastes, he has gone on to do productions, with the Regis School (which is now The Kings School) and Tettenhall College. Again, I was limited with parts once more, and I didn't get a part in the production - "Move Over Mrs Markham" by Ray Cooney and John Chapman, but in between, that production, Mike organised a - "Comic Relief Show", which consisted of songs (traditional and modern) and various sketches, etcetera. I got the opportunity to test my acting skills, with Michelle, who had done one or two plays over the years, and she was very supportive, where that sketch was concerned, anyhow, because I had quite a number of lines, and it was really the biggest thing, that I had done, with my acting, to date! The sketch was called - "Make Up", by Victoria Wood, and at the end I was part of the chorus, and with Ron, who was dressed up in a - "Men From The Ministry" suit, complete with a bowler hat, we all sang a send up of - "The Little Foxes", which was a protest song, about the orbital route for the Midlands, which is still being strongly debated, even now! The Comic Relief show, was to my mind, quite an experience, even though I didn't really specialize, where that kind of comedy is concerned, even though comedy is my best area, where my acting is concerned, anyhow!
My contribution to "Move Over Mrs Markham", was the set painting, and as I had done Art for C.S.E at School, which I passed, like my English exam. I had never really taken to Art at School, because it tended to focus more, on the modern side, and I would have loved to have done landscapes, but a lot of it, consisted of shading and sketches of objects, more than anything! But I did have enough of an interest in the subject, which stood me in quite good stead, over the years, where my contributions, to the set painting, is concerned, even though it is very different, to Art, anyhow! But when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, Art does have it's similarities, to set painting, anyhow! And you have still got to paint, with as much care, via the sets, as much as it is possible, to do so, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day!
With regard, to my Love, of William Shakespeare, my husband: Paul, had taken me, to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, during the Summer of 1989, so that, I could understand, a bit more, about the Bard.
I found it quite interesting, doing the full tour of Stratford, taking in all the theatres. Shakespeare's Birthplace, Hall's Croft (where his Daughter: Susannah, had lived, with her husband, who had been, a Doctor), The New Place, where he lived with his wife, and their children, for a time, Anne Hathaway's Cottage (his Wife's Birthplace) and Mary Arden's Farm (his Mother's Family's Farm). Those two properties, are both outside, Stratford. We had a walk, by the river, we went to the Church, where the Bard is buried, and we went round, an exhibition of The Swan Theatre at The Swan Theatre. We did see, the temporary tin hut home, of The Other Place, which was finally built in 1990, and the last time, that we went to visit Stratford, which was during the Autumn of 1998, we did understand, that the Shakespeare Trust, were going to re-build The Other Place, which we saw, at long last! But other than that, we haven't heard anything, where that is concerned, since then, anyhow.
I needed to explore Stratford, because Shakespeare is very poorly studied, where Amateur Dramatics is concerned, and when I did Amateur Dramatics at the time, very few societies did it the, but I know that has changed since. In the evening, at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, we went to see Hamlet. It was very good, but the way, that it was presented, was, that the principal characters, were all in modern dress, and all of the courtiers, were in traditional costume, which was rather strange, but it was something you just got used to, after a time! The chap who played Hamlet, was played by an actor called Mark Rylance, who is still a very successful actor, and a couple, whom we spoke to at the guest house, where we were staying, had actually met him, and they said, that he seemed very nice, anyhow! He did form his own Theatre Company, a few years later, but unfortunately however, it collapsed, anyhow.
I did enjoy Stratford, but we did think it is exploited by the Tourist Industry, which really can't be helped at the end of the day, and as the Statue of Shakespeare, does seem to have his back to the RSC, a lot of people have often wondered what he would have thought of it all, had he been around today, but that said, I wouldn't have missed it for anything, and from time to time, Paul and I do pop into Stratford, as it is only a couple of hours drive, from where we are situated. We also visited Charlecote Park, which is situated just a few miles, outside Stratford, and is owned by The National Trust (which we are also members of). It's connection to Shakespeare is that he was reputed to have hunted deer on the Estate, and he was heavily fined for it, but whatever the connection, the Estate has to Shakespeare, it is still worthy of a visit, in it's very own right, anyhow.
So, my next acting experience, was for Perton's annual Pantomime, which we rehearsed from the end of September 1989, and put on at the start of January 1990. Mike Fosbrook decided to give me the part as Alice Fitzwarren in "Dick Whittington", as he had thought, that I had proved myself, with the "Comic Relief Show", and that it was time, for my first big break, so to speak! The name, that I performed under, was Lynne Marie, which I have since changed to Marie Birch, as there were not many people who took to it, very well, where that was concerned, anyhow! But I did, what I thought was right at the time, where that was concerned, anyhow! I also contributed to the set painting, once more, where that production, was concerned, as there were that many sets, it just wasn't true! Mike had had to re-write my role, so that I didn't sing, because as I have stated just now, it isn't really an area, that I feel very comfortable in, and not only that, it was the first big part, that I had ever had, and I did just not feel, ready to sing, yet! And Mike knew that I was right, where that was concerned, anyhow, even though, I did sing with the chorus, where the finale, was concerned, which was, where Dick and I, had just become, man and wife! Michelle was Dick Whittington, and as we had worked together pretty well, in the "Make Up" sketch, where the Comic Relief Show was concerned, Mike did think, that we had got a pretty good double act, and he did think, that we worked quite well, together! Actually, Michelle was very supportive, but we never did very much work together since, and Michelle herself, has also gone on to be a Drama student at The University Of Wolverhampton. I did see her in our local paper last year, in a female version of John Godber's "Bouncers" (Craig Charles has also been in a John Godber production himself - "Teechers", and he has actually worked with John Godber himself!). I had a very good and supportive Director in Mike Fosbrook, and even though he worked me very hard, indeed, I will always be grateful to him, for the support, that I received, when I did that production, anyhow! And not only that, I also had my photograph in the local papers, with regard, to promoting the Pantomime, which was quite an achievement, for me, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day!
It was quite an intense production, to say the very least! And I had three costumes. A traditional pink Pantomime dress, which was the prettiest costume that I had ever worn, a Sailor suit (I had to provide the jeans!), and a white wedding dress, which I had to have help with, especially where putting it on, was concerned, as I only had about ten minutes to get changed, but I managed, somehow! The production won an award with the ships' set (which was very similar to the Captain Butler's ships set!). We also had a Captain Onedin, and the scene started, with the Onedin Line theme, which was quite amusing really, and coincidentally, three years back, Paul and I had gone on an evening out, to Gloucester Docks, where the Onedin Line was filmed, and we saw the ship, that was used in the series, which was quite an experience, really! Captain Onedin's, main worry of course, was whether the ship, might fall down, because everything was secured down, by ropes, and it was a little bit shaky, to say the very least! And I had to come down the steps forwards, instead of backwards, because there was a gap, in between, where I hurt my shin badly, and it shook the scenery! But fortunately however, I managed it in the end! Dick had a Cat called Carlsberg (because she was probably the best Cat in the World!), and she could also dance, into the bargain! Carlsberg was played by Gill, who had been a Ballet dancer, some years back, and not only that, she also did the choreography for the rest of the production, which was very intense, to say the very least! But it was well worth the effort, that she put into it, in the end, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day!
Again I was involved with painting the set, because the production, had that many sets, even the Principal characters had to do their bit, but as I liked painting the set, I would have done my bit, without been asked, anyway. Another contribution, to the production, was helping to move the scenery and furniture, in between scenes, which was hell in my Pantomime dress, which although it had been very glamorous to work in at first, but once I had learnt my moves, I found that it was a very different case, when you help with moving the sets, in it! And in the end, the people behind the scenes had to insist, on me, not helping them, even though, it was greatly appreciated, because I kept tripping over, in my costume, which was very dangerous from a safety point of view, and not only that, I was also very restricted, with what I could do, to help behind the scenes, anyway! I also had the honour, of seeing Alan, our visual effects bloke (well sort of), rig the wire up for the exploding rat in the cooker! Well, I had to help hold up some sets, with a cloth, just before I was due on stage! It was a bit of a struggle, but I managed, somehow, anyhow! I also re-wrote one scene, because the backstage people, had difficulty, in moving the sets, and we had to lengthen the scene, before Gill, did her spectacular ballet dance, which had to be done, once the curtains were opened, anyhow! It was a struggle, but we managed it, in the end, and I did ad-lib to that scene, as much as I could, and one significant ad-lib, was to say - "Goodbye Carlsburg!", in a very haughty manner indeed, because she had pushed me off the bench, because she was jealous, of Dick liking me more, than he liked her, and Carlsberg, gave me quite a spiteful look, into the bargain!
One of my favourite lines for "Dick Whittington" was said by Dick himself who stated to the Fitzwarren family cook Salmonella: "It seems that this pervasive pre-punctulites have taken pre-cursive pre-recognition over our presidery!". And basically translated this meant: "It seems that these rats have virtually taken over, everywhere!".
After the Pantomime was over, the Adjudicator, of our local Drama Federation in the West Midlands area, Barbara Hitchings (who is also in my current Drama class in Wolverhampton) quoted: - "Lynne Marie did a very good Alice, and I also understand, that it was her debut!". I had to admit, that I was quite impressed with my very first review! As well as been a Drama critic, Barbara Hitchings had also done a full-time Drama School course, and not only that, Dave Turner informed me, that she also wrote a column, somewhere up North, anyhow.
After the Pantomime, we did a "May Day Perton Carnival Show", which was very similar to the "Comic Relief Show", that we did last year, only this time, I did more with regard to dancing, rather than the acting side, which I am far more familiar with. I was very reluctant to do the dance routines, that we did for that show, but I did put my best effort into it, but I did find it very hard for me to keep up, with the others, and even though I did learn a lot, I know that I will never be able to join in with The Black And White Minstrels! Not only that, I also discovered, that Perton Players, had originally joined forces, with a not so well known musical group on the Estate, which wasn't doing very well, after a time, with regard to funding and very few members, and that was how it became an Amateur Dramatic society, anyhow. But from time to time, it became a Musical Dramatic Society, and the music, that they specialized in, was based on Vaudeville and Old Time Music Hall, and one of their members, Anne Mountford, also specialized in Amateur Operatics, as well. If it had been modern music, that I had been dealing with, I think, in all honesty, that it wouldn't have been so hard for me, to adapt, to their dance routines, anyhow! And not only that, Gill who had supported me and Michelle as Carlsberg the Cat, in "Dick Whittington", had also been a ballet dancer, originally. But I will come back to that, a bit later on, in this report, anyhow.
My contributions for the "May Day Perton Carnival Show" were: I was in the chorus for the opening number - 'There's No Business, Like Showbusiness'. And I wore a sequined based type of costume, which I also wore for the finale as well. I was also in the chorus for the 'Songs In The Park' presentation, which had the songs - 'Red Roses for A Blue Lady', 'Tulips From Amsterdam', 'Edelweiss', 'We'll Gather Lilacs', and 'Younger Than Springtime'. For the 'South Pacific' songs presentations, I wore a sarong based type of costume, and the songs were - 'I Have Found Me A Wonderful Guy', 'Bali Hi' and 'Some Enchanted Evening'. The men wore their Sailor suit costumes, which they had worn for "Dick Whittington", and we also used the Desert Island set, from that production, which was touched up a bit, as it is surprising, how the sets can become quite shabby, just a few months, after a production!
My acting contribution towards that production, was as a character called 'Muriel', in a send-up of - "Blind Date", which was really funny. Michelle did a really good impersonation of Cilla, complete with a Liverpudlian accent! When we had all been chatting in the dressing rooms, just before the evening performance, and Michelle had made fun of Cilla, thereby doing an impersonation of her, with her - "Surprise, Surprise!", which was really very good, anyhow! And just before, we did the May Day Perton Carnival Show, we were looking into the possibilities of finding a Cilla, and Denise, who really looked like Cilla, because of her red hair, but as she was so reluctant to do it, I immediately suggested Michelle, who seemed quite surprised, to say the very least, anyhow! But I did remind her, of when she made fun of Cilla, when "Dick Whittington", was in production, during January 1990. But Michelle had forgotten all about that, which was quite surprising, really! But Michelle, did come round to the idea of playing Cilla, in the end, and so, we all set to working on that particular sketch, in question, anyhow.
My costume consisted, of an old black skirt, which I'd hardly worn, a white cardigan, which seemed to envelop me completely, and I was supposed to have a wooden leg, but Alan and Dave never got round to making it, in the end, and I just had to drag it along on the stage, which was quite effective, and considering I had on a terrible wig, at the time, I seemed to convince everybody concerned, that I really was an old bag, especially with the loud voice, that I put on, for that particular part. In the end, it was quite a hard piece to put on, that "Blind Date" sketch, that Mike had put on, and I would have liked a bit more time to work on it, but we all pulled together, and it came across very well, where the audience, was concerned, anyhow!
The Finale, consisted of musical excerpts, from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals for "The Phantom Of The Opera", I sang with the chorus for "The Music Of The Night". We also did the Chorus for "Jesus Christ Superstar", and 'I don't know how to Love him' and we also sang a song from the musical: "Tell Me On A Sunday", I sang with the chorus, accompanying the well-known song - 'Take That Look Off Your Face'. The main singers, wore Phantom masks, and the chorus, has eye paper masks, on a stick, which were quite effective, really!
All in all, that production, was very hard to do, but it was well worth the effort and time, at the end of the day.
I didn't get a part in Perton's musical production - "Something's Afoot", which was loosely based on - Agatha Christie's - "And Then There Were None" (which is more well-known as - "Ten Little Niggers", and I think, that it would keep Jess, occupied, for a day or two!). It was written by two Americans, and I have since heard that there aren't many professionals who put it on, but it is very popular, amongst amateurs, and it was quite a clever production, really, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! My contributions to that production, was set painting once more, which is still a very important task, to a production, as far, as I am concerned, anyhow! I also dusted the glass, from the antique staircase, which was part of the set, which Alan, had discovered, rotting away, in an old barn in Shropshire, but once it was cleaned up, it looked as good, as new, anyhow! And I also loaned them, a very old telephone, which my Uncle Tony, had given to my Father, when he worked for British Telecom, as one of their engineers. It came in very useful, for a murder scene, which poisoned Dr Grayburn (played by a woman - Anne Billing). It was a poisonous gas, which came out, through the receiver, but in reality, it was just talcum powder!
Paul and I got married in 1991, and as we moved to New Invention, I found it harder and harder to commit myself to Perton Players, who by now, had moved to their new Headquarters, at my old school: The Regis School, thanks to the assistance of my old form teacher, Andy. We couldn't afford to put the next production on, which was - "Red Riding Hood", which was produced and written by John Campbell, because of the extortionate rent, that was being demanded, by the Community Centre, and because of various reasons, Mike couldn't commit himself to directing and producing the Pantomime. And therefore, John decided to undertake the task, of writing it and producing it. And so, Perton Players, became - Perton and Tettenhall Theatre Company from December 1990, onwards.
So, the Pantomime was put on at the Regis School, at the beginning of January 1991. I didn't play a principal part that year, and instead I was with the chorus, once more. My parts were - A Village Maiden (my costume was very much like a female Morris Dancers, which would certainly cheer up, Arnold Rimmer, no end!), a Schoolchild (my costume, was a blazer, with a coat of arms on and some trousers, which my Mother shortened for me, from the local charity shop, an old shirt, and a green and white stripy tie) who went by the name of Fastbottom!
In my opinion, the School scene was the best scene that John ever wrote, (it was revamped for a later pantomime, they put on a few years, later - "The Babes in The Wood, with Robin Hood and his Merry Men", and yes, there was a Maid Marian! There wasn't a Barrington, though!) Especially as Andy played the teacher (he was a female teacher). He was very good, and he kept on hitting me with the cane, when I kept him from distracting Simple Simon! One night, he hit me a little bit too hard, with the cane, but it was quite convincing, really!
My other parts as the the Village Maiden and a Fairy, weren't quite so easy, because it involved singing and dancing, once again. The acting side of the part, I had no problems, whatsoever, but as Gill, had undertaken the role of choreographer, once again (she wasn't in the Pantomime, this time, because she was expecting her second child), and ballet was a thing, that I was totally unfamiliar with, even though I had had dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, when I was a child. But when you're in your mid-twenties, you do tend to see things, in a very different light, somehow! The music we danced to, as the village maidens, was music from the Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. What was known, as 'The Merrivale' (which was based on Merridale, near Wolverhampton), was based on a Gilbert and Sullivan piece, from - 'The Pirates From Penzance'. For the Fairy Chorus, we danced to 'Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither', from the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera - 'Iolanthe', and the finale, was a send-up from a Music Hall song, which they'd also used for a scene in "Dick Whittington", and it has also been on - "Monty Python", and various adverts, etcetera, over the years. The other music wasn't so bad, but it was the Fairy Chorus, which I really struggled with. It's very hard to sing very high-pitched opera music, and dance to very complicated ballet music, if you're not used to it! And the other girls, who had had ballet training over the years, were used to it! But I hadn't had any ballet training, whatsoever, and I wasn't used to it! And, I had been, like a Fish, out of water, somewhat! It was better for me, when we sent up the bit - 'We Are Dainty Little Fairies' bit, where we wore our trainers, and we all did terrible kicks in the air, which got us quite a few laughs, as it turned out, and not only that, Sara who did the main part of the piece, cut up her tutu, and made it look all raggedy, which was really, quite funny, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! As I was so out of step, with the movements, which was my main problem really, I also cut up my longish tutu, not to copy Sara, but just to look different, really! I cut my tutu up, to a minimum length, and I put some sequins on my white 'T' shirt, and with my little wings, and the deely boppers on my head, which were a head band with rosettes, on two stalks, it made me look, quite cute, really! And as I was so behind the others with my movements, it must have made the audience, think, that: "There's always one, isn't there?!". But Gill, had stated, that I would feel far more confident, once I had my costume on, and she was definitely right, where that was concerned, anyhow! And all in all, even though Gill was pregnant, she was very supportive, where my lack of dance instruction was concerned, even though I must have, really tried her patience, at times! My husband also had a small part, as one of the Wolves, in the forest, who wore their Wolves 'T' shirts! Paul worked alongside John (who had decided to undertake a small part, after all) and Nigel. It was quite a good scene, and even though Paul, wasn't really into the acting side so much, especially as he would rather work behind the scenes, more so, where a production is concerned, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! And Paul just cannot work it out, for the life of him, how I learn all of those lines, like I do! But Paul did consider it to be a great experience, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And once again, Barbara Hitchings, gave me a very good write up, via her review, even though I was part of the Chorus, this time, as apposed to one of the Principal parts, and I also contributed to painting the set, once again!
So, that was my very last production with Perton, and because we had recently got married, and moved to a new area, as stated just now, it was time to move on. The group were great, when I announced that I couldn't commit myself to them anymore, but I would keep in touch, and we would go to their productions, when we had the time, and they had also clubbed together to buy us a wedding present, which was a vase. Over the years of course, we have been to about four of their productions, and it has been over two years, since we last went to a production of theirs, anyhow. But I will always be grateful for the experience, I gained with them, over the time, that I was with them, anyhow! Not only that, I have heard that Mike Fosbrook, has also got into writing short plays, on a professional basis, in the West Midlands area! I personally feel, that Mike should have written plays professionally, years ago! And I wish him the very best of luck, where that is concerned, anyhow!
Before my last production, with Perton, I had looked into four Drama Groups in my area. There was The Furzebank Theatre Company, Cameo Theatre Group, and The Eclipse Theatre Company, and Arcades, The Furzebank Theatre Group, were good, but they had more than enough members. They were doing - "Rumplestiltskin", for their annual Pantomime, and they did try, and push me, into prompting for the production, but I just wasn't ready, at the time, and especially, with them having three rehearsals a week, which would have been far too much, for me, because at the time, I was having to get used to moving into a new house, which was an experience, in itself, anyhow! Paul was having problems, with his job, and his Grandmother had also died recently. Cameo Theatre group, were very good, but they had the problem of not having enough members, and they were struggling to cope with their latest production - "My Giddy Aunt". And again with The Eclipse Theatre Company, they had too many members, and they did seem to be coping only too well, with their production - "Busybody". Arcades, another group, whom I'd looked into, was unfortunately however, an Infant School Theatre Group, run by the Teachers, and anybody was welcome to join! But their productions, weren't like Amateur Dramatics. But I did help contribute to their Pantomime - "Aladdin", which was being put on in April, as they'd had to delay it, due to unforeseen commitments, and it did give me more of an idea, where script writing, was concerned, anyhow! And they said, that they would use my contributions, even though, I never went back again, anyhow. I don't know whether my contributions, were actually used in the end, but they may have been quite significant, if they were - When Aladdin and his friends were taken prisoner, I gave the captor a line - "You lot, have been causing me a great deal of inconvenience!". However, a lady in the group said to me - "There's only the four of them!". But my reply, to that, was - "Ah yes, but that's what is so funny about it!", and the woman who was in charge of the script said, she would type it in anyway, and see how they went with it, anyhow! I also suggested, that the ideal route, that Aladdin would take, to get to the Castle, would be, to start from the local Gateway, and then head down the M1, and see how far he got! And she also typed that in, as well! But I don't know, whether those ideas, were used or not, but one never knows! They had only ever done one play, which was: - "Pillar To Post", by John Waterhouse, whom I think is related to Keith Waterhouse, who wrote - "Billy Liar", and - "Kes". And I think, if they had decided to do more acting, where the plays were concerned, I might have carried on with it, but they said, that it was a struggle, just to do an annual Pantomime, which is what they did tend to specialize in, anyhow.
But in the end, I decided to join Cameo Theatre Group. I had got to know Sally, who was the Drama groups Secretary and Treasurer, over the telephone, quite well. Not only that, she had also worked with Paul, at The Express And Star Offices, which are situated in Wolverhampton, a few years back, when he did a temporary job, and they had got on very well together, and she remembered him very well, considering, that he had only been there for about three months. I did apologise to Sally, for not joining right away, but she did tell me, it's better to stay where you are, until you've become adjusted to your new surroundings.
Unfortunately however, when I joined, Cameo Theatre Group, "My Giddy Aunt", by Ray Cooney, had been the last production, they had done, and the production, they would have put on - "Dial M For Murder" had to be cancelled, because their leading lady, had slipped a disc, and as they had very few members, they were almost, in the process of closing the group down. But as two new members, who had got fresh blood, gave them the confidence to carry on, they decided not to wind the group down, and they formed a new committee, which my husband joined, as he wanted to get more involved on that side of things, anyhow! And as it was going to be a few months, before we could do another production, we all decided, to put on a production in The Mander Centre in Wolverhampton, which would raise some money, towards the Children's Ward at The Royal Hospital. The production, we put on, was called - "A Potty Pantomime", which was written in 1978, and it was a send-up of all the Pantomimes, which was designed to be used, during a main Pantomime's Interval, performed by actors unknown, or even actors well-known, to keep the kids occupied, anyhow!
The Pantomime was only a ten minute performance, and as we were all at The Mander Centre for a day, we kept having breaks, and we performed the Pantomime continuously. We all swapped roles. I was the Prince, and Cinderella. Paul was The Goose and Widow Twankey. We hired costumes for the event, but for Cinderella, whom Sally also played, we had to provide our own costumes, where that was concerned, anyhow.
What we both did for that, was to buy a black Kaftan, and we just cut them up, and they were quite convincing. Not only that, we had to sing, from snatches of song, which I really had some doubts about, as my efforts where that was concerned, with Perton, didn't really leave, very much to be desired, but fortunately we had a woman in our group, Shirley, who was also in a musical theatre group, based in Great Barr, and we went to see her and her Daughter Melissa, in a production - "The Night That Maxie Tortellini, Hit Big Lolla Latrobes", which we saw at The Old Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which is also - The Birmingham Theatre School. I did warn Shirley, that I sang all out of key, but she told me not to worry, and they were only snatches of song, anyway, but as singing isn't really my speciality, I didn't feel very hopeful, where that was concerned, anyhow! But once, Shirley had heard my effort, she thought that my voice was more faint, than out of tune, and she told me to sing over the music, which certainly made quite a difference, and it certainly gave me more confidence, where my singing was concerned, anyhow! But I haven't done any singing since then, and there was a chorus in the performance, and we were all terrible, without Shirley's help, that particular evening! But in the end, we all managed, and we all managed, to raise over a hundred pounds for The Royal Hospital, and The Potty Pantomime, was certainly an experience for me, as it gave me more versatility, where doing several parts at a time, was concerned, as apposed to my doing, just one part at a time, anyhow. But unfortunately however, it didn't attract more members to the group, which was what we had really wanted, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And even though, Paul and I had helped with our contributions, somewhat, it still wasn't enough to keep it going! But we didn't give up, as easily, as all that, anyhow!
Our other contributions to the group, was to help with the move, of the old sets, which were stored, at Sally's Grandmother's house, and as Sally didn't think, that it was fair on her, as she was getting too old, we decided to move the rest of the sets to the pub, anyhow. We also had a Garage lock up, as well, to store our stuff, but there just wasn't enough room, to keep all of the sets, at the pub, anyhow. And while we had to move the stuff, we also had quite a bit of a clear out, before we loaded the sets on to the van, which was quite an achievement of sorts, anyhow! We also used the room, at the top of the pub, for rehearsals in the Summer, while the School was closed, which was fairly useful to us, anyhow! And now, we were all set for our next production. Cameo was situated at The Sneyd School, Bloxwich, but we didn't put our productions on there. We just rehearsed in a classroom, and we couldn't put our productions on there, because the stage wasn't big enough, and you were restricted with just how long, you could use the Hall, anyway. In fact, none of the Drama groups in the area, used the Sneyd School! No, we put our productions on, at The Bloxwich Library Theatre in Bloxwich, which was a very unusual Theatre, and there were very few theatres left of it's kind, nowadays! The next production, that we were to have put on at The Bloxwich Library Theatre was - "A Funny Kind Of Day", and I auditioned, for the part of Boo-Boo, which is more or less, self-explanatory, when you think about it! Paul wasn't in the play, but he carried, on with his contribution, where the Committee meetings, were concerned, and Sally was Director. Unfortunately however, we just weren't destined, to put on that play! Sally had the chance to appear in a local production - "Steel Magnolias", via some friends, she knew, and Terry temporarily took over as Director. I had learnt all my lines of course, but that wasn't enough really, and we were also having problems, with our leading man Gary, whose Mother was very ill, in hospital. And not only that, Gary and his girlfriend Jill, were moving house, and in the end, he had to pull out! And with only six weeks left, before we moved into the theatre, we knew, that we just wouldn't have the time, left, to find two more actors! I had to admit, that I was very disappointed, but fortunately however, all was not lost! We all had an Extraordinary General Meeting in the end, and we decided to re-organise the Committee, change the name of the group, which was originally - Cameo Theatre Group, to - Cameo Theatre, and put a play on, at the Bloxwich Library Theatre, which they had all done, eight years previously, which was called - "Friends And Neighbours", by Austin Steele. Unfortunately however, it wasn't quite as simple as all that, there were three people, who had not been in the play eight years ago, and that was me, Terry and Melissa, Shirley's Daughter, who wasn't a member, but she had agreed to help us out, which was very good of her, in the circumstances, anyhow! I did have my doubts about the part, because I had to play a Russian - Petri Garanakova. It wasn't so much learning the lines, in such a limited time, it was the thought, of having to do an accent, which I had never done before! But fortunately however, once, I tried the part out, at the Extraordinary General Meeting, Shirley suggested, that I do the part, in a broken English accent, which gave me, more confidence, and she said, that considering, that I had never done an accent before, I sounded pretty good, anyhow! However, I did find, after a time, that where acting techniques, are concerned, it isn't so much being capable, of doing an accent, but the fact of the matter is, you must be prepared to keep it up, and I found it very hard, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And I felt, that in all honesty, that if I had had over three months, as apposed to just over two months, I know, that I would have got into the part, a lot more easily, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! But fortunately however, I managed, with the part, in the end, somehow, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And not, only that, I also, had, a very good, supporting Actor, via: Terry St John Atkinson, who had played, my Fellow: Russian Comrade: Vladimir Previtch (we had been, Russian Engineers, on an Exchange Visit, who had been, staying, at: The Grimsdale Household, and we, had also, been, making fun, of the Cold War, into the bargain!). Not only that, Terry did a stand-up comedy act, around the Clubs, and he was quite well known, at The Swan Theatre in Worcester, and he was also lined up, for some acting jobs. And yes, he had been, an: Equity Card Holder! And as, Terry, had looked, very much, like, the Late: Peter Ustinov, at the time, he did, have, the chance, to Audition, for an Advertisement, as a: Peter Ustinov Lookalike! I don't really know, what happened, where that, was concerned, as we had left the group, just before, Terry went in for his audition, anyhow! At the Show Party, Terry did do his act, and he was very good, and I did find it a very good experience, working with him, and the fact, that he, had been, an: Equity Card Holder, gave me a lot more confidence, anyhow! I did have, a very long speech, which had been, all about, the Bourgeois tendencies, of The Grimsdale family, which had been, exceptionally hard, for me, to do, indeed! And when, I had, first seen: Timeslides: Episode V: Red Dwarf III, and when, the younger Lister, had gone on, about, the Tension Sheet, in: Timeslides: Episode V: Red Dwarf III, being, a Bourgeois piece, of Crypto Fascist crap, it had, all come, flooding back, to me! The Grimsdale family, had two other good supporting characters - Sebastian Green, played by Nigel Shenton, and Susan, played by Melissa Lane (Sally had been the original Susan!). And I was quite surprised to discover, that those two characters in question, were very loosely based, on the Clitheroe Kid (Jimmy Clitheroe) and Susan, which was a very popular Radio series, in its day! So, all in all, our production of "Friends and Neighbours", came across (complete with the "Friends And Neighbours", piece of music, for our overture!) as a very good production, apart from not having the explosion sound effect, on the very last night! And Paul was also very supportive, as our prompt, which is something, we both found very hard to do, because, where that is concerned, you must make a definite decision, and therefore, prompting wasn't so easy, as it looks! Paul also helped with regard to changing one of Nigel's Lines - "It were a big one", to - "It were a big un!", which sounded a lot better, especially as Nigel was doing a very broad Northern accent! The big un, was the fish, that he had lost! I was extremely disappointed, at not been able to play Boo Boo, like I'd originally planned, and Petri, was certainly not very glamorous, compared to Boo Boo, especially, as I had to wear tweeds! But then again, I was starting to get a bit fed up of playing dumb blondes, and it is so easy to get typecast, even where Amateur Dramatics is concerned! So, I am forever grateful, for Cameo, to have given me the chance, to prove, than I can do other things, besides, play dumb blondes, and Princesses!
And we had a great after show party at the pub, afterwards, and we also had a sample of Terry St John Atkinson's act, into the bargain!
Now, we did think, that we had saved the day, where the group was concerned. But unfortunately however, that production, didn't attract, all that many people, and as Sally had resigned as Treasurer, in the end, even though, she did contribute to the play, by helping with the set painting, and she did do front of house for us, which was of great assistance to us, anyhow. But as Sally had got other interests, by then, my husband Paul, took over, as Treasurer, in the end. And Paul knew, that we were struggling for funds, and he did say, that - "A Funny Kind Of Day", was officially classed as a cancellation, even though, we had made up for it, with - "Friends and Neighbours", anyhow.
It hadn't been classed as a loss, as such, and we had just about enough funds, to put on another production for the following April, but it still wasn't qite as simple as all that. We had very few members, left, and Melissa had only come to help us out, and by then, her Mother, more or less left, because she was too involved with her musical group, over Great Barr, and she couldn't commit herself, to two groups, and not only that, she had got a long way to come. But we didn't give up, and after a while, Jo's Daughter Julie, decided to re-join us, and we did have another membership campaign, which resulted in two new members - Chris and Gail, and Geoff's friend, Malcolm, also decided to join us, especially as he had seen the last production, that we had put on, which had been a very good incentive, to get him to join us, anyhow!
As we had the problem, of been so restricted with characters, it took us a while to find a play, but find one, we did, and again, it was another play, that they had done about ten years ago, which was called - "Off The Rails" by John Waterhouse (once again). Our overture, was - Itchycoo Park, by The Small Faces, but I never really understood for the life of me, what that had to do, with a Railway Station! This time, I had to audition for the part. There was two parts, that I was interested in - Gladys Bentwhistle, and Miss Hickory, a Government official. There was more competiton, this time, as a Father and Daughter, came to the audition, and Julie got the part of Gladys, which suited her, far better than me, as she looked more right for the part, than I did, anyhow. But the girl who auditioned, for my part - Donna, looked right, with her long black hair, which could very easily, have been scraped into a bun, but she didn't sound right! She had a very high-pitched, squeaky little voice, which just didn't suit the part of Miss Hickory, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! It just goes to prove, that in the theatre, appearances, can be very deceptive, can't they?! And therefore, I got the part of Miss Hickory, and I did my double act, with Terry, once again! Only we weren't Russian's this time, we were Government Officials, and his character was called - Colonel Throgmorton O.B.E (Out Of Bloody Expenses!). The play was a mixture of - "Oh Doctor Beeching!", and "The Men From The Ministry", and possibly a bit of the "St Trinian's" films, especially where the Government Officials, are concerned. After a while, even though, I found, that I did have a lot more time, where my lines were concerned, I did find, that was the hardest part, that I had ever done, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! I soon realised, after a time, that even though, I did Miss Hickory to the very best of my ability, the part was aimed at a woman, between forty and forty five years, and I was twenty six at the time, and even though Petri, in - "Friends And Neighbours", had been rather frumpish to say the very least, she had come over a lot better, than Miss Hickory, who was a very straight character, indeed! Petri, had also been very witty and amusing, and it didn't really matter, what age you played her, as long as you got your point across, about the Bourgeois, petty minded tendencies, of the Capitalist regime! No, Miss Hickory, was very much like, one of the frumpish kind of secretaries, you get in the "St Trinian's" films, with very dark hair, tweeds and spectacles! I did make myself look as frumpish, as I possibly could, and I wore the same costume, that I had worn in the last production, and I had bought another costume, and I did tie my hair up, but it wasn't that convincing, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And I had to talk in a no-nonsense tone, to the Stationmaster and his family, which was the one aspect, I did like about the part. But I found the timing very hard, as it was more of a farcical kind of play, than the previous production. But I did put my very all, into the part, and I was determined, to see it through, to the very end, nevertheless! And besides, I did feel, that it was a great challenge, after all! Unfortunately however, we just weren't destined, to put the play on, in the April, of that year, in the end! And we had begun, to get more confidence, with where the groups future, was going, but it was just bad luck really! It seemed to be, as if we were cursed from beginning to end, where that production, in question, was concerned, anyhow! Even the move, into the theatre, was a disaster, because the caretaker, forgot to come that night, and my husband had to drive out to the lock up, and informed them, to leave it, and that was a very bad omen, when you thought about it, really, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! Geoff Boulton, who was our Director, and had got also got a small part, in the play (which even though, quite admittedly, it was a small part, it was still quite significant enough, really!) had had a very bad motorbike crash, a few weeks previously, and he had injured his back. He said he would be alright, and the Hospital, had given him the ok, to carry on with the part, but he seemed to be in a great deal of agony, but he was determined to see it through, anyhow! After all, Norman, who was our leading man in the last production, had sprained his ankle, about a week, before we put the production on, and he was in agony! But fortunately however, he saw it through, and he managed, ok, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! But Geoff's problem with his back, was far more serious, than he had originally realised! And in the end, he went to his Doctor, who said Geoff's back problem, was far more worse, than he had originally thought it was! And in the end, he had to be airlifted, to a Hospital, which specialized, in his particular problem, and in the end, they told him, that he would have to have complete bed rest, for about three months, and that definitely meant, that he couldn't be in the play, let alone direct it! And there just wasn't enough time, to find somebody else, anyway, and we had already moved into the theatre, by then! But not only that, our leading man, Nigel, also had serious problems. His Father-in-law, had died, and under the circumstances, we knew, that we had no choice, but to cancel that production, in question, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day.
But we were determined, to keep the group going, until Geoff got better. He was one of the founder members, so we knew that we couldn't let him down, but unfortunately, we lost one of the new people, who had joined, and she was going to do the artwork for the production, which would have been a great boost to us, but she lost confidence, and we never saw her again. Not only that, we couldn't put on a production, again, until October, because the theatre, was fully booked up, and we knew, that we'd have to sort out another play again, before then, and we'd have to get another recruitment drive, underway again, anyhow.
However, we still couldn't find another play, and we were very short of funds. We'd had a break-in at the Garages, where we kept our stuff, and they stole the carpet! And for - "Friends and Neighbours", one of our members, Kevin Chester, who was also responsible, for the properties of the play, gave us his Mothers old carpet, but it was covered with hairs, from the family Dog! And Melissa's boyfriend, had to clean it for us, with a special hoover! And worse still, the Council, kept trying to make out, that we'd damaged their curtain, from the previous production! And not only that, the rent had gone up, for when we would be ready, to put on the October production!
But we still hadn't found a production, to put on, but fortunately, around August, Geoff came out of Hospital, and he was back on his feet again, which offered us some hope, and in the end, it was decided to put on - "Off The Rails", once again. And some of the members, whom we'd thought, we'd lost, came back again, and as we still knew our parts, we were more than capable of putting the production on again, and we still had some financial resources left, so all, was not lost!
For the next three weeks, before we put on the play, and we had to be there for rehearsals, for five nights a week, plus two Saturdays, for set painting, and we did find going in every day a bit much, especially when we had all got full-time jobs to go to, but we managed, in the end somehow, and I had done that for the last production, but it was one hell of a struggle, and I do believe that some professionals don't work that hard, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! However, things, still weren't quite that simple We were having problems, with getting the posters sorted out, and Terry had put the old Cameo logo on, which was very dated, and worse still, it looked very faded. And so I decided, to get some photostats off it, and I would see if I could tidy it up a bit. Fortunately however, I had some of the modern Cameo stationary, on me. The Cameo logo, is the Cameo head of course! Apparently, Gary had informed us, that it had originally been designed, on a Sunday afternoon! It didn't actually look, as if it had been done in an afternoon, though, and so I was quite surprised, to discover, that fact, as it really had looked quite professionally done, to say the very least! The bottom half of the poster was alright, so what I did, was staple the Cameo logo, to the the top half of the poster, hiding the old Cameo Theatre Group logo, and in the end, I decided that was the best, that I could do, in the circumstances, and I would be able to take it in for photocopying. Fortunately however, the woman, who did the photostats for me, didn't like the way, that the staple marks, had come out, on it, and she drew a felt tip oblong, around the Cameo logo, just to tidy it up, a bit, and with the help of some tippex, and some more photostat copies, it looked a lot better, and I was also thankful, that doing art, at School, had taught me about presentation, where designing posters was concerned, even though it is an area, that I wouldn't really like to specialize in, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! I had also helped with the posters, where the last production, was concerned. Rebecca, Nigel's Daughter aged twelve, had designed a poster, and a printing company, they had used at the time, had designed the other poster, but they had forgotten, to put Cameo Theatre on it, so I had to write Cameo Theatre on it, with a felt tip pen, but it did the job anyway! But that was nothing, compared to the poster, I had to re-design, for this production! And we had also lost our man, who sorted out the programmes for us: Dave Basso, who was far too busy with his Satellite business, to help us, anymore, which was quite understandable, really, and Terry had to sort out the programmes for us, via a private printing company in Bloxwich in the end. And losing Dave was a great loss to the Society, because he had also acted as Stage Manager, and the occasional dead body from time to time! And Geoff's friend Steve Rogers, wasn't available, where helping out, where the special effects were concerned, and we had to get another man in, to help us along, where that was concerned, but Steve was kind enough to assist in, getting the special effects equipment set up, and therefore, he was officially classed as our Technical Advisor! But Geoff had to double up as Stage Manager as well as our Director, and even though, we felt, that Geoff coped tremendously well, where that was concerned, it was a terrible strain on him, especially, as he was still in the process of recovering, where his back was concerned, anyhow! And it was probably not the best time for him, to have been under considerable pressure, like that! But that said, I respected Geoff as one of the best Directors, that I have ever worked under, even though he was quite considerably hard on me, from time to time! But it did give me a sense of discipline, where my acting is concerned, which has remained with me, until this present day, really!
I also had to provide the sellotape, and scissors for the posters, as Terry had forgotten to bring some! I also had to provide a pair of scissors in my sewing box, to cut the wallpaper for the set, and I also provided a photograph, of the Queen in her Coronation robe, for the transformation scene. It was never used, in the end, as it didn't stand out enough and they used a newspaper cutting photograph of the Queen, which was taken, during the Silver Jubilee. It did stand out, but unfortunately, it was too modern, as the play was set in 1965, but nobody in the audience complained! I had originally provided the old telephone, which had been used for - "Something's Afoot", but it was awkward for them to connect, and they thought, that it was probably for the best, to use their own telephones, in the end, which was fair enough, really! Ironically, my attempts at re-designing the posters, did pay off a little bit, and two men, who had seen them on the doors, while we were painting the set, the previous Saturday, did seem interested, and they said that they might buy some tickets. But whatever we did, we couldn't get a sufficent audience, more or less every night, that we had put on the production, even though, we had done, our best to publicize it, and we had also had an open day (which we didn't attend), on the last night of the performance. It did give us two young lads, who helped us move out of the theatre, but they soon lost interest, once they realised, nothing was happening. And therefore, Cameo, was more or less dead! But Paul and I were too shattered, to stick it out to the very end, and not only that, we didn't want to see the group fold, even though, we had done, all that we could, to prevent its death! Not only that, the play had operated at a loss anyway, and Paul couldn't really commit himself, any longer as the Treasurer, because he was still having problems with his job. And even though, there was another Amateur Dramatic society, I was interested in joining, I felt, that I needed a break, from acting for the time being, and Chris Carvey, who was our prompt, did hold a Christmas party, as well, as the play's after show party, which we did attend, just out of courtesy. But in the end, we knew, that our days with Cameo, were well and truly over, for once and for all!
So, the following year, after I had got myself back together once again, I decided to put my trust in the other Drama group - The Eclipse Theatre Company, whom we had paid a visit to, at the Sneyd School, a few years back. They like Cameo, also put their productions, at the Bloxwich Library Theatre and we decided to see one of their plays, before we decided to commit ourselves. The play we went to see, was - "Table Manners", by Alan Ayckbourn, and we were quite impressed, and as I had got to know, their Secretary, Marjorie, over the telephone, we decided to join them.
I didn't get a part in their next production - "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward, which we really enjoyed, and we have, also, got, the Film, as well! And perhaps, that might, have made, me Eligible, for: "Arnie's Army", in: Meltdown: Episode VI: Red Dwarf IV! My contributions, where that was concerned, was painting the set, once more, and making the coffee, for the intervals. I did my best to help Marjorie, to count the ticket money, but I wasn't very good, with giving change. Maths, has never been one of my strong points! But Paul, assisted, with taking the green ghostly light down, afterwards, which was very heavy, and we also provided them, with some cocktail glasses, which my Cousin Beverley had given us, and unfortunately, they broke, when we went to collect them afterwards, but we had hardly used them, anyway!
There was a young lad, who was involved with the group, who appeared on Children’s TV, on behalf, of our local Central Television Studios, in Birmingham, and he had an arrangement, with his School, and even though, he stated, it was rather tiring, I knew that he loved it, really!
Unfortunately, however, I was just not destined to get on, where Amateur Dramatics was concerned, and I didn't get a part, in their next production, "On Monday Next" by Phillip King, which was about the misfortunes, of actors working, in an obscure Repertory Company, in the late fifties. It was a very amusing play, and I was very sorry, not to have got a part in it, and our Director Pat, had stated, that there was a possibility of me, playing an extra, the Doctor, but that never happened in the end. But I contributed to painting the set, once again, and I helped Marjorie, and the others, with the coffee, for the interval breaks, anyhow.
So, after that, I realised that I was finished, where Amateur Dramatics was concerned, and even though I'd offered to help out backstage, during that last production, Cameo decided to fold up (they did one, Final Production: “All For Mary"), and the remaining members, left, had decided, to join us, and in that case, they had more than enough people, to help out behind the scenes, and therefore, my help wasn't required, where that was concerned, anyhow! I had had more than enough, where Amateur Dramatics was concerned, by this time, anyway! Now, don't get me wrong, I have got absolutely nothing, against Amateur Theatre! In fact, there are a lot of good amateurs about, and I will always have great respect for Amateur Dramatic societies, and I fully recommend, anybody considering, doing a full-time, or even part-time Drama School course, to look into the amateur side of the theatre, before they take that big leap, because it is far better, to have a basic knowledge of working on a production, even if you need to do a Stage Management course, anyhow! Amateur Dramatics, has it's advantages, and it's disadvantages! If you don't get a part, you're sitting around, doing nothing, for all of that time, and even though, there are other things to do, such as painting the set, it does take about a couple of months, to get that underway, as these things, do have to be organised, which is quite understandable, really! It can also be very frustrating, when somebody new, and inexperienced, walks through the door, and they get a part just like that, when some people have been waiting months, or in some cases, years, before they can even get a part, no matter how large, or small, in some cases! Also, there is the play itself. It's great fun to see the scenes, being acted out, after the readings, but after a while, once you see, the same scenes acted out, once a week, for the next three or four months, the novelty, soon wears off, even though, you do get one or two laughs from it, anyhow! But even though, I had my ups and downs, with Amateur Dramatics, I will never regret, the experience, I got from it, anyhow! And I am also quite fully aware, that it gave me the confidence, to perservere more, with the professional side of the theatre, anyhow!
There was no chance of me doing a proper full-time Drama School course, for various reasons. Drama Schools don't tend to encourage married women, which is quite understanding really, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! And it is next to nigh, impossible to get a grant, to support you, but there are other alternatives, anyhow! As Sally had informed me, that she had done acting classes, at The Birmingham Theatre School, in Birmingham, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to look into, that side of things, anyhow. Unfortunately however, I wasn't able, to get on a part-time course, there, because it was very hard to get a place on the course, because their regulars tended to take priority! But there was another Drama School, in Birmingham, that took part-timers. Well, to be more precise, the Drama School - The Birmingham School of Speech And Drama, was outside the city, in an area called Edgbaston, which is also home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which we have also been to, on a number of occasions.
Getting on the part-time Drama course, wasn't an impossibility, as they had more than enough places, and not only that, you could also have a sample lesson, for a small fee, to give you a taster of it, and if you liked it, you could come back, but you would have to pay the rest of the course fee, which wasn't very cheap, to say the very least! But I thought that it was well worth the money, and I would personally recommend it to anyone, thinking of doing a part-time course there! And even though it was a once a week train journey, plus an extra bus ride out of the city, which was a bit tiring at times, but you had a week to recover, and I managed it in the end, and there was a lovely garden, at the back of the School, which had belonged to a wealthy family, possibly in the nineteen twenties. The actual school, had been founded in 1936, but they didn't move to the Church Road site, until 1952, and they also have extra premises, which are aimed more at the full-time students - The Chapman Centre in the city (which I believe has since been open to the part-time children's Drama courses), and The Apex Studio, which is a short distance away. In the garden, you could read, and just generally relax, and not only that, the squirrels, would come right up to your feet! Just down the road, was the Birmingham University Campus, which I would have a walk about, before I headed off to the School, which is also very relaxing, with it's beautiful grounds, and it's lake, where one can feed all the various wildlife, if one, feels inclined, to do so! Unfortunately however, the School was lacking in facilities, such as a canteen, and I had to have my lunch in the city centre, which was also an inconveniece. There was a drinks machine, at the School, but that was about it, but I didn't let it put me off, my enjoyment of the course, anyhow!
I did that many things at the Drama School, that I don't think, that I will be able to describe everything, that I did there, but I will certainly, do my best, anyhow! My teacher was David Vann, and he had also been an actor and a Director, and he also informed us, that he had been Timothy Dalton's dresser, at Stratford, a few years back! He didn't make it as an actor and director, that well, and he decided to go into teaching Drama, which is what a lot of them do, as there is so much insecurity in the profession, it just isn't true! We also had additional teachers, for the eleven weeks, that I did there - Clare Fiddler, who was an ex-dancer, who started us off, with the exercises, which were dance based, and later developed, for aerobics classes, and Euan, who knew one of my fellow students, Val, from her Amateur Dramatics society. She said, that he had done more backstage work, than acting, anyway, which is far more important than acting in a play, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, anyhow!
The exercises, that we did, were very energetic, and they took a lot out of you, if you weren't used to it, but they weren't impossible, and even though they were dance based, it was nothing like the dancing I had done, for "Red Riding Hood". They're mainly designed to exercise the diaphragm, and exercise your vocal chords. All in all, they are designed to help you, rather than teaching you dance techniques. I also had an extra movement class, which Dave took, which covered the exercises, more in depth a bit later on, during the course. We did some leg kicks, as we ran around the room, and the hardest movement, that I ever did, which was officially classed, as a dance movement, was the fifth ballet position, which is also used for stage fencing, and once you get into it, it isn't that hard really, and once I got used to it, I even suggested to Dave, that we reverse the movement, which we all gladly undertook, and even now, from time to time, I still practise that movement!
We mainly worked on improvisation techniques in the long run, and we did very little, where text, was concerned, which came as a bit of a disappointment at first, but improvisation, is a great help to you, in the long run. We did the fainting exercise, which I had done at Senior School, which I remembered very well! I jumped off a chair, into the students hands, and there were a lot of touching exercises, which helps you build up your trust, with the other students, anyhow. For example, I had to pretend, that two of the students, were inanimate objects, at Birmingham Art Gallery and Museums, and we had to touch our faces, and we had to explain our feelings on it, etcetera.
I remember, my very first acting exercise, which was to strike up a conversation, with one of the students, which was very hard, if you're talking to somebody, you've never met before! But I spoke to a lad Kieran, and I hit on the fact, that his name sounded Irish, and I decided to ask him about that, and as it turned out, he was of Irish descent, anyway! And he thought his family, were from Galway, but he didn't know any Gaelic, anyhow! But at the very least, I managed to ask him things, that were relevant, which was a great help, and it did help to boost my confidence, in the long run, anyhow!
We were all expected to construct sketches of our own, which was very hard, to do, but I managed, but I wasn't very good at it, and improvisation, does tend to be on very similar lines, as stand up comedy, and even to this day, I know I will always be very limited, where improvisation, is concerned, but I perservered, and you do learn a lot, by watching the more experienced students, but it is very difficult, to think up ideas on the spot, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! And, as the majority of actors, tend to work with text anyway, it is just designed, to help you, cover, for your fellow actors, who forget their lines, or get stage fright, if absolutely necessary!
I'll give a brief run, over the sketches, that, I contributed to - I was a guest at a seance, but I didn't last very wrong, because I over-reacted, with the way that the Ghost attacked me. I was a jealous wife, whose husband was having an affair at a party, but I slapped the lad - Jason, who played, my husband very hard, which was something, I had also done, during - "Friends And Neighbours to Norman, who played: Mr Grimsdale!". That was something, that I didn't like doing at first, but that is the beauty of acting, you have to play people, who you could never be in a million years, and after a while, you must brush your personal feelings, aside, and basically, just enjoy yourself! I was also a bad girl, in a run-down establishment (I won't give out too many details, where that was concerned!) I was a survivor, in a Nuclear Shelter, but that sketch, was too long, for the sketch, which was entitled - "The Shifting Sands Of Time". My interpretation of fear, was to hide, underneath a chair, and then get up, and threaten someone with it, to defend myself. I had to dance a movement, there was a true and false exercise, and we all had to work out, which one of two students, was telling the truth or not, which was quite hard, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! I was the wind, which wiped out the world, in a preliminary presentation sketch, that we did. For a short sketch, I did, which was entitled - "The Last Chord", I made out, that I had seen a passenger, whom I had recognised, from the paper, and that he was a Bank robber, and I had a choice of pulling the cord, which would stop the train. Should I, or Shouldn't I? I was a Prisoner of War, in a camp, for the end of term presentation, that we did, which was very hard in the end, because as I was the only one, who turned up, for that particular scene, in the end, and especially, as I had co-created it, and I had learnt the lines, and we had to do the scene, with some other students! And, Dave, more or less asked me to direct it, which was a job, in itself! And even though, I did find directing, even for just a ten minute scene, a great experience, and I have great respect, for those who do directing, it is something, that I don't want to do, ever! I prefer to act and write, it is so much easier, and you have more or less, to ORDER people, about, to a certain extent, which you must do, to get the part, to come across! And I had to tell one lad - Nigel, to sound more dictatorial, and I had a right job, to even say that word properly, let alone, issue it out, as a command! But my fellow students, were very supportive, where this was concerned, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! And we all turned out a very good, end of term performance, in the end, which my husband, also saw, anyhow!
One exercise, which I found virtually next to nigh impossible to do, was talking gobbeldy gook, which is basically, talking a language of your own, which only you can understand! Imagine if you like - "Bill And Ben: The Flowerpot Men", which Rimmer made fun of, in - Backwards: Episode I, Red Dwarf III - "Flobbadob, dob dob!". Most of the students, struggled with that one, even the ones, who were going on, to the full-time course, in September! But I did find it, quite an amusing and interesting exercise, at the end of the day, and you always find that you will learn something, about new acting techniques, and improving your own approach to it, even if you have a great deal of trouble, understanding the exercises, anyhow! But that said, it's all designed to help you, that is what you must always remember, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day!
Under Dave Vann, I also did a costume movement class, and that was very interesting, and I had to pretend, that I had a Jacobean dress on, with little whicker baskets on, which you must learn to lift up, before you sit down, because you could squash them! If you're a man, and you have to wear a sword, on a costume, you must lift it up, before you sit down, because you could hurt yourself! And I was surprised to discover, that actors, use real swords, to get the effect across, and therefore, you must learn, to take care! Dave was surprised to discover, that I shared his love, of Shakespeare, and even though, he found it quite amusing, that I liked to see the Bard's plays, in traditional costume, as apposed to modern dress! His comments on that, was - "You've got to learn to move, in the things! I found, that Dave, was very supportive to me, during my eleven weeks there, and he did appreciate the fact, that I had a long way to come, and that, I didn't feel ready, to do acting exams, yet. And, he gave me back the confidence and trust, which I had lost, due to my bad experiences, of where Amateur Dramatics, was concerned! And even though, he was hard on me, at times, I felt very grateful, to have received the tuition, that he had given me, and even though I study in Wolverhampton now, as it is more convenient, I know that, for as long, as I live, that, I will never, ever, regret, those eleven weeks, that I spent, as one of his pupils!
Under another tutor, Joy (who was the Drama Schools Accountant, she had decided to give it up in the end, and become a Drama teacher), I did a voice production class, which was hard, and I found it far better to learn a part of the piece I did, before projecting my voice. The piece I read from, was an excerpt, from - "Queen Victoria's Journals", and she also showed me a whisper, in the correct way (Cameo had taught me the wrong way, during their last production), and she said, that there was no need for me, to drop my jaw, like that!
Under another tutor, we worked with text, and we tore, Hamlet's soliloquy, apart, which was really quite interesting! But unfortunately however, those extra classes, were aimed mainly, at the Exam people, and for the students, who just wanted, to concentrate on Improvisation, they were just sample classes, so we would know, what we would be letting ourselves, in for, if we wanted to take exams, at a later date! And even though, I was genuinely interested, in those extra classes, I did not feel, that I was ready, until I had gained more experience, via the improvisation classes, first! But I did intend, to do, those extra classes, at a later date, anyhow!
One clever exercise, that we did, was the Puppeteer, and the Puppet, and basically, what this consisted of, was that one of you would have to create a character, and the person, who was called upon to be the character, would have to develop it. I was Tom, a little boy, whom I think, was neglected by his parents, but I didn't get much of a chance to develop it, because the bell rang, before I could get into it, but other interesting characters, developed by the students, was Paul the violent Drug supplier, a Wood Nymph and Elizabeth the Headmistress, who had a very strict Father, who was played by Kieran, who was also considering, going on to the full-time course, anyhow!
There were a few of the students, who were going to go on to the full-time course, from September onwards, for the next three years, and again, I would fully advise anybody, who is thinking of doing a full-time Drama course, to investigate in a part-time course first, to get an idea, of what they are letting themselves in for. The ones who were going in for the full-time course were - Sara and Michael, who had both done a full-time course at The Birmingham Theatre School, a few years back, but they had never been able to complete it, because Sara's family moved, and she had to drop out, in the end. And Michael had to drop out, for various reasons. But they had been very lucky to get discretionary grants, and if you have acted since the age of five, it does help a little bit, somewhat! There was Roger, who had also done an act, around the clubs, which included stand-up comedy and singing. He hadn't been able to get a discretionary grant, but he had got a private sponsor in the end, which must have been a great relief for him, anyhow! And there was Beverley, but unfortunately however, she hadn't been able to get a discretionary grant, so I think, that she must have given up, on the idea in the end, which was a great shame, really, anyhow!
There were two other students - Antima, an Italian girl, who seemed to know far more, about Hamlet's soliloquy, than us! She wasn't going on to the full-time course, but she worked part-time, as an actress and model, and these classes were a great help to her, she said, and she was also in an amateur production, which was on, at the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton, at the time. I remember seeing it advertised - "La Cage Aux Follies", and there were other parts, still going, and she did get one of the other students to audition, for a part. There was Nick Hennegan, who had got his own Theatre company - "Rear View Window Theatre Company". He had done a part-time course as a child, at the Drama School, but he didn't go on to the full-time course either, he just came for extra experience, but he was very good, and not only that, he also knew Lenny Henry, quite well! I did go to a production of his, at The Arena Theatre, in Wolverhampton, the year after. But by that time, he had pulled out of the company, and had formed a new Theatre company of his own, but the Theatre staff, stated, that they knew him very well, from previous productions. And they informed me, that he had seemed very nice. The production I saw, was - "The Crucible", and it was very good, and it was indeed an honour, to meet somebody, who had got the Theatre Company, to their present standard, today! And not only that, his girlfriend, was also a full-time Drama student, who had recently got a place, at The Webber Academy of Dramatic Art in London, which I have heard, has a very good reputation, and she was also very lucky to get a discretionary grant! Nick Hennegan is also well-known, throughout the Midlands, for his one man production - "Henry V - The Lion Of England", which was toured around various pubs, in the region.
I did talk to some of the full-time people, who said - "We see a lot of you people about!", and I did see them rehearse short sketches, in the garden, for their own end of term-presentations, and they were really good. I talked to two male students, who were talking about this German playwright, and their conversation, seemed quite interesting. I forget the playwrights name, now, but they said, that he had re-worked some of Shakespeare's plays in the twentieth century, and they were just studying his concepts. I saw two male students, inside the School, doing a sword scene, from - "The Prisoner Of Zenda", which was very good, but the one male student informed me, that he wasn't into the acting side of it, so much, but he liked to specialize in stage fighting, which apparently, is very different training to fencing, which came as quite as a surprise to me, but he said, that there aren't many acting jobs in stage fighting, really!
And, one Male Student, who had worked, previously as, a Miner (before, he had become, a Drama Student, at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands), at the Bestwood Colliery, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, which had been, short-listed, by the Late: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the former: Prime Minister of Great Britain, United Kingdom, during 1984, had informed me, that he had got, an acting job, to go to, now that his three years, were up, as a Drama Student, at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands. And, the part, that the Male Student, who had worked, previously as, a Miner (before, he had become, a Drama Student, at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands), at the Bestwood Colliery, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, which had been, short-listed, by the Late: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the former: Prime Minister of Great Britain, United Kingdom, during 1984, had acquired, at the time, had been, a part, in the BBC2 Documentary: "Miners", which was going, to be shown, during the Autumn of 1992. Now, I never saw, the BBC2 Documentary: "Miners", which was going, to be shown, during the Autumn of 1992. Fortunately however, I did see, the Trailer, of the BBC2 Documentary: "Miners", which was going, to be shown, during the Autumn of 1992, promoted, on BBC2, during the very late Summer of 1992! Fortunately however, I had also, recognised the Male Student, who had worked, previously as, a Miner (before, he had become, a Drama Student, at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands), at the Bestwood Colliery, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, which had been short-listed, by the Late: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the former: Prime Minister of Great Britain, United Kingdom, during 1984, on the Trailer, of the BBC2 Documentary: "Miners", which was going, to be shown, during the Autumn of 1992, promoted, on BBC2, during the very late Summer of 1992, anyhow!
And, one or two of the students, had informed, that they, hadn't got any acting jobs to go to, now that their three years were up, but you could hang onto, your Equity Card, for about two years, which was a really great help to them, really!
There was one important lesson, that I did learn, at Drama School, and that is, that you are all equal, and that there is always something to do, which makes the difference, between the amateur side of the theatre, and the professional side of the theatre, are alike as chalk and cheese, and only if you have done a semi-professional course, can you spot that difference, anyhow! And, not only that, another thing that I learnt there, is that you cannot afford to waste time, quibbling over a move, that you got wrong, you must do it again, without argument, otherwise, the production, would never get underway! And that is so very often the case with Amateur Dramatics, it is a very different approach, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! And, I have also, noticed, where the: Red Dwarf Smeg Ups, and the: Red Dwarf Smeg Outs Video Cassettes, are concerned, that if they get a move wrong, they soon get back into it, without question, and especially where the budget of a production, like that is concerned, every second counts, and it is more or less of the utmost importance, to get those moves right, the first time round! The very same, also goes for the set painting, as well, I saw one full-time student, painting some furniture, in the garden, and even though, he was very careful, he didn't make half as much as a fuss, as amateurs do, who tend to get a bit funny, when you're painting the set, when some of the paint gets on the floor, or the Patio area, of the garden! But then again, they haven't got, Errant Landlords, to worry about, who might bump your rent up, just as an excuse, even if you get a spot of paint, on their School Hall floor, so you can understand, their need, to take care, where painting the set is concerned! So, that is the essential difference, between Professionals and Amateurs, when it actually, comes down to it, at the end of the day! And, Amateurs have got more time to waste, Professionals, cannot afford to waste time, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day!
And so, my part-time Drama course was finished, and my next decision was - "Where do I go from here?". For the time being, after that course was over, I didn't really go anywhere with my acting for the next seven months. I was too devastated by my Father's death, and I had definitely decided, once and for all, that now I had had a taster of the professional side of the theatre, that I couldn't go back to Amateur Dramatics, even though there are some part-time Drama students, who do of course. So, I looked into various options. I decided to leave going back, for another part-time course at the Drama School, until next Spring, and as much as I would have liked to, I knew that I couldn't afford to go all the year round, anyway! And not only that, I knew that I would have the bad weather against me, if I went in the Autumn and the Winter, anyway, and I have never been a great lover, of travelling by train! I have a job, with the bus! So, after a while, I decided to explore my options:
I had thought about doing a part-time BTEC course, at Walsall College of Technology, but you cannot study to suit yourself, and the demand on even part-timers, can be very excessive, indeed, even though it is a wonderful opportunity, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! So I got in touch, with the local education service, and they recommended, a once a week Drama course, at The College of Adult Education in Wolverhampton (which has since got it's own website. But unfortunately however, you need a Plug in Sound device to listen to it, but the website, is quite impressive, even so!) on a Wednesday morning, run by a Miss Susan Clark, and even though, I would be joining the class, as a quarter of the term was over, it would still be worth my while, anyhow! And as it is subsidized anyway, you don't have to pay the full fee, if you join, halfway through the course, and therefore, I decided to inspect the College the day, before the next class would start, then I could have a chat with my teacher, and I would have an idea, what the College, was all about, anyhow!
Fortunately, I had an appointment on the Tuesday morning, and quite coincidentally, the College of Adult Education, in Old Hall Street, Wolverhampton was opposite the bus stop, after I got off the bus, coming back from my appointment, into town, so I knew where it was, straight away. This time, the College, also had an excellent canteen, and as it was Council run, the food is subsidized! And I made enquiries at Reception, and they told me, that the teacher: Miss Clark, who ran the class, was coming out of another class, that she did, and that she would speak to me, for a few minutes, as she had to dash off, to another class, over Birmingham. And Miss Clark, spoke to me for a few minutes, and I told her about the Drama course, that I had done at the Drama School, the year before, and my amateur experience. And to my surprise, she informed me, that she had been a Drama student at Edgbaston as well, only she had done, the full-time course, instead. She had worked with some travelling theatres for a time, but the insecurity of the profession, had made her give it up, in the end, and she had decided to put in, for a teacher training course, instead! Susan teaches three classes, at the College of Adult Education. The Drama course that I do, on the Wednesday morning is called: - Drama for Interest and Performance, and the other two classes, that she does, are both called - Speaking With Confidence, the one is on a Tuesday afternoon, and the other one is on a Wednesday evening. They basically consist of Drama, Public Speaking, Poetry, and Bible readings. I am interested in Susan's other class, but they are harder to get on, and the Wednesday morning class, suits me just fine, anyhow! But from time to time, the students, from her other classes, come to our class, when examinations time, is approaching. And it is very interesting to see, what they do, and some of the students in my class, go to that class, as well! Some of the students, do pieces for the Festivals over Brownhills and Dudley, but I don't get involved with them, as I find it enough doing an exam, once a year, anyhow! But Paul and I do intend, to go to the Brownhills Festival, to offer our support, at a later date, anyhow!
The class has it's similarites, with the Drama School of course, and we do have a warm up, before we start to do our pieces, but it isn't so indepth, like Birmingham, and we don't go running round the room, like I did there! And the exercises, tend to be tonal, more than anything, and once a week, whenever I can, I practise them at home, which is a great help to me, anyhow!
Unlike the Drama School, we tend to work, more with text, even if you don't choose to do an exam, Susan will always, give you extracts, from plays to study, and read out, once a week, and you can take them home, and learn them, at your leisure, and develop it, as best as you possibly can, which I always look upon, as a challenge, anyhow.
As I was inexperienced, when I first joined the class, I wanted to watch everybody else first, with their pieces, and see, what the class was all about, and then I could decide to take an exam, at a later date. So, I could get involved with the acting to a certain extent, and the students, were doing short playlets, at the time. Susan was interested in the class, doing a production, but she found it very hard to find people who were available, which wasn't all that surprising, really! But the class had put productions on in the past, but that was done, by the teacher before Susan, anyhow. And since then, one of the students, Mark, has formed an Amateur Dramatic society, at the College, but I will go into that, in a bit more detail, later on in this report. And for a time, another Amateur Dramatic society: Studio 61, were also based at the College, but they have since moved to the Grammer School, at Compton, Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
The first playlet, I did, was set in a Marriage Bureau. I played a character called Miss Crunch. The second playlet I did, was a send up of Chekhov's plays. I forget the name of the character, I played now, but I do remember that I ended up hanging myself in the barn, and the third playlet I did. I played Amy who was a Bridesmaid and she also had a nasty cold, and Amy was also the best friend of the Duckworth's Daughter Gladys. They were not related to the Duckworth's in Coronation Street! One of the students, Margaret, informed me, that the deadpan expression on my face, when I played that Bridesmaid, was really quite amusing, and that it had her in stitches! As I learnt the lines, quitre well, from the playlets, Susan thought that I was more than ready to do an individual piece at last. I didn't do many playlets after those two, because Susan hasn't had the time to do them, for a while, but the few I did do, after that, were - Mens Sana Incorporai, by Victoria Wood, I was a married woman, who kept meeting her lover in the park, in the afternoons and, I was: Rosa the Spanish waitress, in a short sketch, about a British family, on holiday in Spain, and the husband was complaining all the time, about the food, and the weather, etcetera, but it didn't stop him, from fancying, Rosa the Waitress! In a way, I miss doing those playlets, because it is fun to work with the other students from time to time, because when you do an individual piece, you are on your own, and it is very hard to talk to pretend, that you are talking to a person, when you're really talking to thin air, and doing those playlets, gave me real confidence, to concentrate, on, doing my Exam pieces, and I will never, ever, regret the experience, that I had gained from them, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day!
The Individual Acting pieces, that you do, at the College, are approved by The London Academy of Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and I shall just list the ones that I have done, so far. I usually take mine in June, but you can also take them in March, as well, and you can do another piece for June, if you wish. I only do mine, once a year, as I like more time to work on them, and improve my acting technique, as much as I possibly can. And these are the qualifications, I have gained, via my Drama course, so far:
28.6.94 - LAMDA - Grade Six - Lower Level - Nicola in City Sugar by Stephen Poliakoff.
Cicely in The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
28.6.95 - LAMDA - Grade Six - Higher Level - Isabel in My Children, My Africa by Athol Fugard.
Calpurnia in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
29.6.96 - LAMDA - Grade Seven - Lower Level - Lizzie in Next Time, I'll Sing To You by James Saunders
Lady Anne in Richard The Third by William Shakespeare.
8.7.97 - LAMDA - Grade Seven - Higher Level - Belinda in The Public Eye, by Peter Shaffer.
Helena in A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare.
9.7.98 LAMDA - Grade Eight - Lower Level - Edna in Zigger, Zagger by Peter Terson.
Joan of Arc in Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.
I gained a Distinction for my LAMDA - Grade Eight - Lower Level examination!
13.7.99 - LAMDA - Grade Eight - Higher Level - Doreen in A Talk In The Park from Confusions by Alan Acykbourn.
Paulina in The Winters Tale by William Shakespeare.
I gained a Distinction for my LAMDA - Grade Eight - Higher Level examination!
13.7.2000 - LAMDA - Bronze medal - Muriel in A Figure Of Fun by Andre' Roussin.
Lily in What Shall We Tell Caroline? by John Mortimer.
Hecate in Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
Unfortunately however, I failed my LAMDA - Silver medal on the 15th of July 2001, at The Birmingham School of Speech And Drama. I am aiming to re-take that examination in question, during the Summer of 2002, all being well.
My pieces for my LAMDA - Silver medal examination will be:
Juliet's Nurse in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.
Sherbert Gravel in The Fastest Clock In The Universe by Phillip Ridley.
A Sight Reading.
I have seen where I went wrong, where that particular examination is concerned, and I have to admit it, but I lost my sense of discipline, due to health reasons, and I had missed out some very important lines, and no wonder I failed my LAMDA Silver medal examination! But more importantly than that, the characters were just not developed enough, and I just wasn't experienced enough, where the Sight Reading was concerned, either! But I have worked on the pieces, during the Summer holidays of 2001, which was a great help, and my teacher Susan Clark, and I have been working on the pieces, since September 2001, and the characters, do seem to have developed, quite considerably, since then! But whether I will re-take the LAMDA Silver medal examination, remains to be seen, but we will just have to wait and see, exactly what happens, where that is concerned, because when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, that is all, that you can do, isn't it?!
But with regard to the LAMDA examinations, and especially with regard to the LAMDA medal examinations, there are no Lower and Higher levels after the LAMDA Grade Eight, Higher Level examinations! You have just got to give it your best shot and see how it goes! And I definitely feel that because there was no easy stages for me, where the LAMDA medals are concerned, that is why I failed my LAMDA Silver medal examination, anyhow! I was advised at my very first acting examination, by the examiner: Shelley Sulton, who is a good friend of my teacher, Susan, and she is also an actress herself, so she really does know what she is talking about! Anyway, Shelley strongly advised me to re-take the Grade Six LAMDA examination at a Higher Level, the following term, which I did, and it really enhanced, my acting skills no end! And I did exactly the same with the Grade Seven and Grade Eight LAMDA examinations! (See as above for all of my acting qualifications, to date!) And if an acting examiner offers you some good advice, you would be strongly well-advised to take that good advice!
But there is no point in harping over it, anymore, and therefore, I will just have to give the re-take of my LAMDA Silver medal examination my best shot, during July 2002, if I am allowed to re-take my LAMDA Silver medal examination, that is!
But after the LAMDA Silver medal examination and the LAMDA Gold medal examination, and if you wish to go any higher, there is the LAMDA Diploma, which is split into two parts. The first part, is the Licentiate of The College of Adult Education, and The Associate of The College of Adult Education. Those exams, are very hard to pass, because they consist of Improvisation, and you cannot take them, at The College of Adult Education, you must go to Birmingham, for them, and they would be taken at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, and someday, if I'm lucky, I may go back there, which I am quite reluctant to do so, now, especially as I failed the LAMDA Silver medal examination at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama! Incidentally, The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama has moved its Headquarters from Edgbaston, into the centre of Birmingham, because the existing Headquarters in Edgbaston could no longer cope with the number of students, which was quite understandable, really! And even though, I have to admit, that I was rather impressed with the new Headquarters in Birmingham, I did feel that the building lacked character, compared to the old Headquarters in Edgbaston, but one has to move with the times these days, I am afraid! But I got the chance to meet Claire Fiddler again, who incidentally, is a good friend of my Drama teacher, Susan Clark! But I just wish in all honesty, that I could have met Claire in more favourable circumstances, but she did remember me, via my eleven week, Drama course at Edgbaston, during the Summer of 1993, which was very nice of her, I might add!
But with regard to taking the first half of the Diploma, I still feel, that it is still very early days, where that is concerned, at the moment, and I am rather reluctant to do the Diploma, even the first half in one term, so I have asked Susan if I can take a couple of terms, when I get to that stage, to gain more experience, and she has said, that will be fine, but I still have some way to go, before I get to that stage! But Susan feels, that I will need four years now, before I take the first half of the Diploma, anyway, especially as I failed my LAMDA Silver medal examination, anyway! And therefore, we will just have to see exactly how it goes, when the time, eventually comes round, for me to take my first half of the Diploma, because that is all that you can do, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, isn't it?!
But the full diploma, enables you to teach Drama, if you wish, but you must take teaching exams, after that stage, and I definitely am aware of the fact, that I don't wish to teach Drama, but I can still stay on, at the College, even if I don't wish to take any more exams, for the rest of my life, because Susan will give me some more pieces to work on, even if you do not want to take any more acting examinations, and not only do you gain more and more experience from it, but you do gain some friends out of it, via going to the class, and at the end of the day, it does keep you occupied!
Unfortunately however, the College of Adult Education in Wolverhampton, will be closing down over the next two years, because our College is been turned into, a Centre of Excellence, which will, be linked up, to the Library in Wolverhampton, so they can extend the Internet facilities there, and a brand new: purpose built: Canteen, will be built, and there will be some new studios built upstairs, and that will mean more that our Drama class will have a proper purpose built Drama studio, and we all hope that it will be worth the effort, where the building work is concerned! Fortunately however, it isn't the end of our class for the next two years, thank goodness! And along with the rest of the Art Department, our Drama class has been moved to Pendeford High School in Marsh Lane in Fordhouses, just outside Wolverhampton, for the next two years. And I will have to take the Shuttle bus or any of the available bus services to Pendeford High School, and all being well, I should be able to re--take the examination at Pendeford High School. But as the College has broken up for the Easter holidays, and as we won't be back, until the 23rd of April, we will just have to take it from there, and see exactly how it goes, where that is concerned, because when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, that is all that you can do, isn't it?!
Fortunately however, the brand new: purpose built: Canteen, will be built and re-opened by 2003, and even though my Drama class will still be based at Pendeford, I should be able to pop into the new canteen at the College of Adult Education in Wolverhampton, from time to time. But again, we will just have to take it from there, and see exactly how it goes, where that is concerned, because when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, that is all that you can do, isn't it?!
One of the students in my class: Mark David Rigby-Bishop, originally set up his own Amateur Dramatics society at the College, and we are going to see his play - "How To Kill Your Husband", which he has written, and he is going to put it on at The Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton. A few years back, he auditioned for - The National Youth Theatre, but he didn't get in, unfortunately, but he did write another play, which was a Ghost story, and he did ask me, if I wanted a part, because he was going to put it on professionally, and I was more than happy to be in it, because I would like to be a professional actress, more than anything in the world, but in the end, it all fell through, but he is hoping that this new play, that he has written will be a success, and if he can get the financial backing this time, then he may approach me again, but it is still very early days, at the moment, where that is concerned. Unfortunately however, Mark's play failed. There were far too many people in it, but I appreciated him using children in the play, which was quite unusual, really! He still insists on writing his own plays though for his Drama group though: The Essential Theatre Group who are now based at the Jennie Lee Centre, in Wednesfield, which have actually had some success! Mark's second play after How To Kill Your Husband was a thriller, where the audience had to work out, who the Murderer was! That must have been pretty complicated, actually!
There is another student in our class, Eileen, who auditioned, for several Drama Universities, but she couldn't get in, and that came as quite a shock to me, because she is very good, and for a time, she also did a BTEC course, at a College Of Technology, but she couldn't commit herself to it, because in the end, she had to go in full-time, as apposed to part-time, which was what she really wanted, and she couldn't get a grant, so she had to come back to us, but as far as I know, she is still trying, to get into, a University, somewhere down South.
We have another student, Wendy, who is very good, and she is also involved with an Amateur Dramatic Society, which goes by the old Anglo Saxon name of: “SECGA” (and: “SECGA”, is Sedgley's Amateur Dramatic society), but she doesn't do very much on the acting side. She tends to be involved on the production side, and she has done some directing, but to my mind, that is more important, than the acting side, when it comes down to it, at the end of the day. Wendy left the College, during 1997, because her Mother had got Alzheimers Disease, and as her Mother needed a lot of care, Wendy no longer had the time to come to the class, but if she does want to come back to the class, one day, Wendy will find, that she is more, than welcome to come back, whenever it is convenient for her, that is!
We also have Muriel, who I was most surprised to discover, hailed from Liverpool! She doesn't sound very broad, especially when she does Shakespeare! And she is actually Scouse! And what is more, she informed me, that she lived near Paul McCartney, and John Lennon and Ringo Starr, used to come into her Mothers Pub! And it was, when they were well-known in this country, as apposed to a worldwide basis, and she said, that they seemed nice!
Not only that, Craig Charles, also has his connections, with my College, which was very easy for me, to find out, especially, as there are, one or two: Liverpudlian's, at the College! I had asked, Margaret, who originally, hails, from Liverpool, Merseyside, and she, is in: Susan's: other: Drama Class, which specializes, more in Poetry, if she'd heard of him, and yes she has, and not, only that, she had, also, informed me, that she, had seen, Craig, in the audience, at a Poetry Festival, which had been, at Crewe, Chester, a few years back, but he wasn't so well-known, then. And it was before Red Dwarf started, and Margaret has never seen him, on Red Dwarf, but she knows his Poetry, and Muriel also knows, his Poetry, as well, but if you refer to him at my College, you refer to him, as Craig Charles the Poet, first and foremostly! And as, Craig Charles, as Dave Lister, in Red Dwarf, in second place! During 1996, one of the Students: Margaret (another: Margaret!), in my Drama Class, had read out, to the Drama Class, one, of: Grant Naylor Productions Sketches, which had, been featured, in the: BBC Radio Four Show: Son Of Cliche', and which, had originally, been aired, on: BBC Radio Four, during the mid-nineteen eighties, and that, had come, as quite, a surprise, to me, I can tell you! And, it had, also been, a very good, acting experience, for me, to be, far more, familiar, where Grant Naylor Productions work, prior to Red Dwarf, had been, concerned, anyway! And, the Grant Naylor Productions Sketch, in question, had been, all about: Donald, who had been, a very, drunken: Newsreader, who had had, a Leaving Party, and he, had been, sending up, the News, at the time, and one, of his jokes, had been: "The Pope, had got married, on the Weekend, and I can say, whatever I like, now!". And that, particular joke, in question, was something, very similar, that Kryten, would say, on Red Dwarf! And, I had, really felt, that particular: Grant Naylor Productions Sketch, in question, which had, been featured, in the: BBC Radio Four Show: Son Of Cliche', and which, had originally, been aired, on: BBC Radio Four, during the mid-nineteen eighties, had come across, very well, indeed! And the humour, of it, was not, unlike: Red Dwarf, even though, it was different! And Margaret, has not, come back, to the Drama Class, since 1999, anyhow.
Then there is Dorothy, who is trying to get the full Diploma, but I think that she will get it, this time. And I am surprised that she didn't get it, the last time, and she deserves it, because she is very good, and I personally feel, that she is a far better actress, than I ever will be, especially as she has got far more, of a sense of discipline, than I have! Dorothy has been too ill to take the full Diploma, due to problems with her arthritis.
The only real problems, that I have with my acting, nowadays, is the costume and you still have to take that seriously, even though, they are individual pieces. The modern pieces, aren't so bad, because you can always find something, but for Shakespeare, you need a long skirt, and this year, my old skirt, is too tight. And they are not very easy to acquire, nowadays! But I managed to get a suitable skirt, off the market, in the end, so I daresay, that I will manage in the end!
During my second year at the College of Adult Education in Wolverhampton, Barbara Hitchings joined the class. As previously mentioned in this report, Barbara had been the Adjudicator for our local Drama Federation in the West Midlands area. And Barbara had reviewed Perton Players (which is now known as Perton and Tettenhall Theatre Company {'s}) plays and pantomimes, over the years. And as a former journalist, Barbara had also previously worked for the local Drama Federation in the West Midlands area, as well as writing her column up North. I was pleased that Barbara remembered me as Alice Fitzwarren in "Dick Whittington", and the various chorus parts, that I had played in "Red Riding Hood". I thanked her, where her reviews, via my acting skills, were concerned, which had been quite flattering, at the time. But as Barbara had done a full-time Drama course, she is exempt from LAMDA examinations, but she loves working with the students in the class and has also performed sketches that she has written, which quite surprisingly, have never been published. But Barbara feels, that she gains from working with the other Drama students in the class. And she just basically enjoys coming to the class, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, anyhow!
In between times, I went to the Grand Theatre's Open Day, and quite coincidentally, it was their Centenary year. 1894-1994. It was a wonderful experience, and it gave me quite an insight, into how a professional theatre was run. Firstly, we started off, with the warm up man, who was very good, and there was the Walsall Dance Academy on stage. They were a semi-professional dance group, but they were very good, and there dance routines, consisted, mainly of old Musical Hall style, but there was scenes from modern musicals, as well. They did a good version of the animals and Mowgli, from Walt Disney's - The Jungle Book. The dancers were on all day, but it was the same routine all day, and as the talent contest entries, were mainly Rock bands, it didn't appeal to me, so much, and it gave me the chance to explore the theatre a bit more. Both of the side box seats, were open, which was quite an experience, and it's great to go in them, when you're always sitting in the cheaper seats, and you are always wondering, what they would be like, if you could afford to sit in them! I had the wonderful opportunity of trying on some costumes, which was supervised, by a woman, who ran a theatrical costume company. I tried on a Looby Loo costume, and I told her about my Drama course, and she informed me, that she had been a dancer, and that her son was starring as Sonny Bono in Grease, which was on, in the West End, at the time. Just before this Christmas, I saw her in a photograph in the paper and I discovered, that she had a costume business, which supplied costumes, to Amateur Dramatic Societies! The separate tour, of the stage and dressing rooms, was an experience, in itself. It was a shame, that we couldn't go round the Green Room, because Walsall Dance Academy, were using it, for the day, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the tour, nevertheless! And I spoke to one of the guides, and I told him about my Drama course, but he informed me, that he only worked behind the scenes, but he stated that he had had some great laughs, with the actors! The Grand Theatre's Stage, is a lot bigger than you think once you are on it, and of course it is very different, without scenery, but then again, most stages, are very different, without scenery, and it was fascinating, to see all the stage tools, nicely locked away, in a glass case, which is on the right hand side of the stage. If you're in an Amateur group, you bring your own tools with you, because the premises you use, don't belong to you, as such, and again, that is another big difference, between, professional and amateur! I also had the grand opportunity of operating the stage lights, which had to be supervised, of course. But the chap who was in charge of that, said he worked, in the theatre, himself, when they put the performances on. I told him about my Drama course, and I asked him, if he'd done any acting. He said, he'd done a bit, of course, but it wasn't really what he wanted to do, at the time, but it was very good experience for him at the time, anyhow! And he informed me, that they only get one rehearsal, when a performance is on, with a script, which I found very surprising, but he had stated, that once you know the basics, and that you do get basic training, where learning to aim at the lights, is concerned, which I found, is the secret to it all, and that one rehearsal, is really, all that you need, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! And the one thing, I really loved, about the stage lights, was changing the coloured shades, which is just a shutter job, which is very loosely based on the very first cameras, and it is very interesting, to experiment, with all those pretty colours! Not only that, you could also buy, those coloured shades from a company, whose stand, was at the theatre for the day, as a promotion thing, which supplied theatrical companies, and the public, as well, because you could use, them for your telescope, for projecting the Sun. As Paul has a telescope, and I did pick up a leaflet, he was interested in them, and even though, he did look into it, he never did get round to buying, one of those shades. Perhaps the fact, that we don't get the weather for observing the Sun, may have a bit to do with it! All in all, I had a wonderful day, at the Grand Theatre, and I also saw a conjuring Magician, amusing the children, in the canteen, as I left, and as long as I live, I know, I will never forget that highly entertaining and amusing day, at my local theatre!
I also had the honour, of meeting the late Barry Evans, who had been the Michael Upton the Medical student in "Doctor In The House", Michael Upton the Doctor in "Doctor at Large" and Jeremy Brown the teacher in "Mind Your Language", at Lichfield Civic Hall, on the 14th of March 1992. He was appearing in a production there, called "Anybody For Murder", which was written by the Brian Clemens, and the late Dennis Spooner. Also starring in the production was - David Roper (a couple of years before he went on to - "Eastenders"), Michelle Collins (she had left - "Eastenders", by then, but she came back to "Eastenders", during 1993), Pamela Vezey (Glenda's Mother in "Crossroads", and her son Andrew Vezey, was also involved, behind the scenes. I also think, that she died a few years back, but she seemed nice, when I met her), Carolyn Jones (Sharon in "Crossroads") and Ian Lindsay ("Men Behaving Badly" - he was in the earlier series on ITV). I met all of them, and they seemed very nice, and they all signed my programme! David Roper was very nice, and like my husband Paul, he was also an accountant, but he is in a different institute to Paul's, but he said he still does his accountancy, from time to time, and I later discovered, that he was also the Production Accountant for "Anybody For Murder!". Barry was very nice, and it was indeed an honour to have met him, because I was a very devoted fan, of "Mind Your Language", and he said, that he wouldn't hold it against me, if I did Amateur Dramatics! But he did agree with me, when I said, that there are a lot of good amateurs about, and I did inform him, that I was interested in doing a Drama School course, and that it was virtually impossible for me to go onto a full-time course, and that, I couldn't go, but he did say to me - "Yes, you can!". He never explained to me, what that meant, but I think, that he was trying to hint at me, looking into it, via other areas, anyhow! And I was so pleased, that I followed up Barry's advice, in the end, even though, I only do my Drama course, on a part-time basis, it is more than enough for me, and it can still take a lot out of you, because you have got to be prepared to work, even if it is only once a week, and you would be surprised, at how many people drop out of the course, when they discover, what is really involved, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day!
I was absolutely devastated, when I heard through the media, that Barry had died in mysterious circumstances, during 1997, and especially, as we had met him, as well, which made hearing the news of Barry's death, quite considerably hard to take. And not only that, I had written to Barry, via London Weekend Television and his agent: Hazel Malone Management, on quite a number of occasions over the years, and from time to time, he had taken the time and trouble to reply to my letters, which was very nice of him, I might add! And they are safely pasted in my Barry Evans scrapbook! But Barry didn't remember my writing letters to him, or himself writing back to me, when I spoke to him about that at Lichfield Civic Hall, but I expect that he must have been very busy where his correspondence to his fans was concerned over the years, and I daresay, that I was just one of many, where that was concerned, but it was very nice of him, all the same! And I felt that it was just out of courtesy, that I had to acknowledge him, where that was concerned, anyhow!
Barry had been a great inspiration to me where my acting, was concerned, over the years! And I really do feel that I owe him a great debt, where my drama studies are concerned!
My Mother and Stepfather Alan, taped six episodes of - "Doctor In The House", for me, on Sky, and even though I don't like the way, that they are presented. I personally think, they should be repeated on the main channels, once a week, as apposed to once a week, and not only that, if you video them, via Sky, they interfere with the transmission, to discourage you from recording them, so I told my Mother, I didn't want her to record anymore, and that I would just have those episodes, for old times sake, and it did make me feel better, after I had heard the news of his death, because they were all new to me, and I certainly didn't think they were dated at all, and not only that, I saw his acting abilities, in a very different light, and at the end of the day, I preferred him in "Doctor In The House", to - "Mind Your Language!" My husband says that everything dates, after a time, but as long as the humour is still there, that is all, that matters, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! During the year 2000, Doctor In The House was actually released on video and more recently, Mind Your Language has been released on video up to half of Series II, and now it looks at this point in time, that I actually prefer Barry in Mind Your Language after all! I recently acquired some episodes of Mind Your Language off Sky and I have also bought the new Doctor In The House video during the year 2000, and I bought the very first Mind Your Language video, during 2001, but I can't afford all of them, at the moment!
I'm not really into modern comedy, I like the sixties and seventies comedies For example - Fawlty Towers, Porridge, Rising Damp, Doctor In The House, Doctor At Large, Doctor In Charge, Doctor On The Go, Mind Your Language, On The Buses, Monty Python, Not The Nine 'O' Clock News, The Blackadder Series, Maid Marian And Her Merry Men, and Spatz. And the reason, that I got into Red Dwarf, is, because the humour of it, reminds me of those comedies to a certain extent, even though it is different, but then again, as long as you can get a good laugh out of it, at the end of the day, that is all that counts!
My favourite Authors, are: Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, D.H Lawrence, Wiiliam Shakespeare, Ian Fleming, Lewis Carroll, George Orwell and Enid Blyton (I do think that her books were very ahead of their time, anyhow!).
My musical tastes are: The Beatles, Abba, The Hollies, The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Madonna, Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, and various other classical composers, and basically most sixties and seventies music! I'm not really into modern music, of today, even though I do think that The Spice Girls, are quite listenable, and they have got nice voices.
My other Science Fiction interests are “Star Trek” (The Captain Kirk series), “Dr Who” (The Earlier Series, with: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker), and Gerry Anderson's: “Thunderbirds”. We have got: “2001: A Space Odyssey”, on video, but I actually prefer: A Clockwork Orange, which is also directed, by Stanley Kubrick, and I have to admit, that I was quite impressed. when I went to see it, at the Cinema, during the Millennium! And, if you are prepared, to accept the violent scenes, during the first fifteen minutes of the film, I really do feel, that: A Clockwork Orange, is an excellent film, and at the very least, it has got, far more dialogue, on offer, than 2001: A Space Odyssey, has got, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day! A Clockwork Orange, is very reminiscent, of George Orwell's 1984, and it is also, Craig Charles: Favourite all-time movie! But that said, however, my all time: Favourite Fantastic Fabulous Film, is: Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, which was also the film, that made Barry Evans a star, and it also featured: Michael Bates, as Barry Evans Father! Quite co-incidentally, A Clockwork Orange, featured: Michael Bates, as a Prison Officer, and I really loved, his double act, with Malcolm McDowall, who was like, an illegitimate son, to Michael Bates! And, I was quite surprised, to discover, that A Clockwork Orange, was not unlike: Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, especially as the Totalitarian State, that Alex, and his Droogs, lived in, was still stagnating, in the late nineteen sixties era, only The Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush nineteen sixties era, everything was running smoothly! As it should be! And, The A Clockwork Oranges nineteen sixties era, everything was not running, so smoothly, and due, to a lack of progress, time had just stagnated, like Castro's nineteen fifties: Cuba! As it should be! And therefore, in my opinion, A Clockwork Orange was a very clever film, when it actually came down to it, at the end of the day! But I can always do, a more specialised review, where I can do some comparisons, between: A Clockwork Orange and Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, at a later date! And, I really do like, Futuristic films, that are set, in a Totalitarian State, on Earth, as apposed, to Futuristic films, set in Deep Space, which get a little bit, monotonous, after a time! And, I also like, the two: "Dr Who" films, which we have got, on video: - "Dr Who And The Daleks", and "Daleks Invasion Earth 2150AD".
Our other interest is astronomy, and when we can get a good clear night, we observe with our our binoculars, or our two telescopes, the Tasco, and the Orion. We are into observing the solar system, and the Sun, as apposed to Deep Sky observing, which we do, occasionally, but you must have a very clear night, and we have observed the M15 and Andromeda Galaxies, on occasion but our main love, is of course the planets, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon. But we haven't observed with our binoculars and the telescopes for quite some time. Paul dismantled the Tasco telescope, during 1998, but he has still retained the mirror.
I saw some of the Total Eclipse during 1999, but due to problems, with my health, I was only able to see it depart, but my husband: Paul insisted, that was far mor,e relevant and more significant, than seeing the Total Eclipse, at its peak and we had also been, fortunate enough, to see another Eclipse, during January 2001. And, during, 2001, Paul did some sun spotting, via his Orion Telescope, but as, he took up, playing Classical Guitar, as a hobby, during 1998, we are more or less, completely out of sync, where our hobby, with Astronomy is concerned, at this point in time, and you really have got, to rely on a good clear night, to observe, when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, but we will just have to wait and see exactly what happens, where that is concerned, because when it actually comes down to it, at the end of the day, that is all, that you can do, isn't it?!
So just for a laugh, this is where I lost out, where my theatrical experiences are concerned: I was part of my Junior School: Christ Church Junior School Choir, for a Musical Competition, which was held, at the Civic Centre, in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. And we lost!
I lost the Miss Hawaii and Miss Lovely Legs Competition at Pontins, in 1987.
I also wore a Hawaiian Costume, for the Fancy Dress Competition, at my Children’s Jubilee Party, at Henwood Road, Compton, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, which I lost, but I was part, of the group photograph, taken for our local paper: The Express and Star, which we haven't got!
On behalf of Arnold Rimmer, I have got, my red (the width) and yellow stripes (a forward width and a width, on my back) for swimming, for my Junior School: Christ Church Junior School, Tettenhall Wood, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. And, I never did get the SSC, and the BSC!
I went to Liverpool, Merseyside, during 1993, with my husband: Paul. My husband: Paul and I, had got, some free tickets (which was a part, of our free Barclaycard Points Deal, during the early nineteen nineties!), for: The Beatles Story at Albert Dock, Liverpool, Merseyside, which we found, to be, very interesting, indeed, and one day, we definitely, intend to go back, to Liverpool, again. It's a wonderful City!
And, this concludes, the First Part of my Curriculum Vitae, all about myself.
Thank you
Marie Birch
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UPDATED: 23RD MAY 2025
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