h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We tenors are a rare breed! Is there anywhere you can steal some from on the island?

We nearly did Gentlemen Prefer Blondes a while ago, but had to change our minds when we realised you need a bunch of Olympic athletes. In our Society? A shame, as it's a show with decent parts for several women, always a rare thing.

Going to be unlikely as the competition are putting on Les Miserables shortly before us next year which will probably catch the cream of singing talent not tied to a particular society.

Don't get your hopes up for doing it in Canterbury as I think it is still fully restricted in UK. It is a mystery how they secured a contract to perform it

Just as an aside since it wasn't worth setting up a journal entry for I have just finished performing in another ballet - Romeo and Juliet. It was only a two night run, and rehearsals for my part started in January, with there only being pressure in the final week. I played Friar Lawrence (the one who causes all the trouble by marrying R&J, giving J the poison, then failing to inform R that she wasn't really dead), and also doubled up with role of Escalus Duke of Verona in Act 1. This meant two costumes, and subtle changes to my make up, the most obvious being the way I slicked my hair (backward for Escalus, forward for the Friar - which accentuated my bald patch so that it resembled a tonsure when I was praying in my cell).

As a ballet it was all mime, and no demands were made on my limited ability to dance

I like the idea of being in a ballet without having to dance!

No, we'd never get permission to do Les Mis here. Two local youth companies have done it. Very good apparently, but I missed both of them.

I hope you do manage to find something to grab both talent and audiences.

I feel the end of the operatic year approching. The treasurer has made no bones about his stepping down and taking no part on the committee next year, a former chair and her partner both in roles of committee members are planning to step down, the AD who is also a committee member voiced the idea of stepping down and retaining AD role if elected to do so by committee - she doesn't need to be on the committee to perform the role, and recently has found the committee aspect not rewarding. This removes a swathe of experience from the committee just as we contract to a new director (as the current one has expressed the wish for a break). There are undercurrents of a need for a new AD and musical director to fruitfully energise and direct the cast of the next show, but the wish for new people is not the same as having a clear selection of talent to choose from.

In returning a contract to rightsholders today I discovered that another group on the Island have expressed an interest in one of the other two contracts we have signed. Sooner or later we will need to
release any shows we are not actually going to perform.

No... Just tie up the rights to every single show possible! Though with deposits etc, that could get pretty expensive...

When I took over as Secretary, I had been on the committee for about six months, and five people stepped down at once. That was rather a shock to our systems as well!

I can now say that the next show we will be doing will be.... Titanic the Musical.

The membership knows, so it isn't the secret it was. Lots of parts, new director, unknown problems in staging , more singing than dancing

Cool. I may well be sinking (or getting a precious place in a lifeboat) in November, myself! It has a glorious score in my opinion.

It is depressing sometimes to consider how bitchy, poisonous and prone to resentment committees can get The power struggles and repetitive argument when points of view are not accepted is also tiring.

It also makes for when you take back a responsibility, such as Librarian responsible for recording who has paid deposits for which scores and libretti, and taking register of attendance at rehearsals, and find that it is irretrievably disorganised

I am not entirely sanguine about how all this will pan out...

Hopefully I will weather this one, as it is not absolutely vital to get all scores/libretti back (as they were all photocopied at our own expense, rather than have them sent from Australia) - we have a commitment to destroy the copies after the show is over, and I will get almost all of them.

If we had to return them to the rightsholders I would be seriously peeved with our feckless Librarian. The list of books issued to named individuals exceeds the sum of the received deposits, and there is a shortfall of a dozen or so books from the total of what remains unissued and what was given out and recorded. Amazingly he has managed to acquire two deposit cheques from the same person for one set of books, but this is outweighed by the names for which there is no tangible deposit. The real problem is the lack of notes as to how (or even whether) deposits were paid for books. I can refund cash to up to three people, but I don't know which three they are I am one of them, which leaves two, and I thought our president was another but he has graciously suggested that he can't recall making any payment.

but I meant to talk about something else...

A bit guilty in doing something others have been criticisd for but I have taken responsibility (without full discussion in committee) to progress securing rights to *another* show (for 2010 this time, as I know we won't be able to do any more shows before then). It has just come up as a new title released for amateur groups, and I know it was favorably included in our discussions for future shows (at which point it was not available). I don't want to vacillate and leave it to our rivals to secure rights to the show.

As ever I can't go into specific detail until something has been signed. It might make interesting discussion at our AGM as to how and why we have managed to pay for rights to (at least) three shows in one year, when we may only perform one

Final flurry of communications this week to finalise compensation package for Director. The difficulty for me is that I wrote the rider to his contract which specified the amount he told me had been agreed with the contact for the film commission, and this has been interpreted differently by the two sides (film commission and director's agent) - one asserting the compensation figure includes the original contract fee, the other that it is on top of that figure, entirely separate. We are left as the middle men. I think we will be able to resolve it amicably, but if we don't it will sour our relationship with the director further.

Oh, urgh. Sympathies, many sympathies.

The show is now over. I am aching a bit from the heavy lifting of the get-out.
Two committee items to discuss here.
Firstly over a week ago our former Librarian surprised me with a lengthy letter of complaint for the action we took as the committee when he decided to abandon the show in order to attend X factor auditions (also complaining about actions he blamed us for that he mistakenly believed we had taken). [He didn't get beyond the initial open auditions and call backs.] It was surprising as he had been accepting of the decision we made when I verbally discussed it with him. The concensus is that it was ghost written. Since this reply came to me I'll be the one replying to it on behalf of the committee, though they have all had a chance to read it and supply their own feedback. The AD has drafted a full reply.

On a more cheerful note on the last day of the show the committee were involved in a snap decision as to how we dealt with the news that the lead of the show intended to propose to his leading lady at the end of the last show, and had already bought the ring and spoken to her parents (though she remained in the dark). The argument rested on whether to allow the proposal before the curtain came down (with audience [including her parents] seeing it) or afterward on stage with the cast. The former option some thought a bit cheesy and others concerned about what the leading lady's reaction might be. In the end it was a split decision that was going to be left to the chairman and the director to be given casting veto.
The proposal happened, but was not announced or telegraphed, so if you weren't watching out for it you would have missed it. It occurred after the final bow as the cast were leaving the stage to loud applause, with the lead down on one knee, and his mic not amplifying his declaration.

Good grief! Do you still have to ask parents' permission to marry a woman in the Isle of Man?

I can't speak for the Isle of Man generally, all I know is that our leading man informed his girlfriend's parents of his intention to propose before doing it. I would have expected him to sound out his girlfriend too, but apparently he didn't as she said it came as a complete surprise to her.

I remember speaking to my wife's parents before I proposed (a few years ago now ) - it was a little stressful as she was there too. I had made clear to my wife that I wasn't asking for their permission, just for their blessing.

We told my Mum - several weeks after the decision had been made She was the sole remaining parent and to be honest, I don't think either of us thought it was much to do with her She was guest of honour at the wedding though

a month passes, and we have now had our AGM. Despite anxiety my first Secretary's report (where the doings of the Society year are recounted) went down well. In fact several thought it very enjoyable - possibly due to the unintentional oversights and apologetic manner I provided it with.

For instance after spending some time on the rehearsal problems I got to the point where I would have described the ups and downs of the actual show, and had to excuse the fact that I hadn't written anything down for this bit. When I noted the births, marriages and deaths I missed a birth out I was unaware of, and when challenged on the oversight queried the mother if she was *sure* she had had a baby.

Without challengers I was unanimously voted as Secretary for the next year

The night after the AGM the chairman had to let us know that our patron for the last eight years had passed away in the evening. He had been in hospital since December and will be sadly missed

One thing that was mentioned numerous times in the AGM was the continued success of our member who has last weekend got into the final of "I'd Do Anything" on the BBC. As Secretary I need to send her a Good Luck card and flowers, but the problem is I don't know where she is living at the moment - I can't tell Interflora to send them to "the Nancy House"

There must be someone who knows? If not, you could try contacting Auntie BBC and asking where to send flowers care of?