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

There certainly is a lot of info out there! We open next week (argh! ) and by now, the cast must have expended many hundreds of hours reading and watching Titanic-related items. Some of them got me to do their research (why waste a pet librarian?), but most have done their own obsessive fact-seeking.

I found my keys!

Nothing to do with Titanic really. About three weeks ago I popped down to the rehearsal rooms to drop off some rehearsal schedules and slipped away again - I had another appointment and couldn't attend the rehearsal. I soon realized I had mislaid the rehearsal room keys when I was back in my car, but they didn't turn up (as these things usually do). I let the Chairman know and he gave me the Vice Chair's keys temporarily. Eventually I got around to going directly from work to ask at the building beside where I'd parked my car (which is normally locked up when I'm there to go rehearsing). I described the keys to the receptionist, they fished them out of the drawer in the desk and I left with a Easy as that.

Hi Pimms,

We opened last night. Not great numbers, but those that were there were really moved and impressed by the show. A warning - it is very difficult in technical terms. We have one of the less flashy sets in terms of tilting and what have you, but we still needed two technical rehearsals instead of the usual one, as there'sso much flying of cloths to do and so many speaking/singing parts for the sound team to juggle. The dress rehearsal was really rather rubbish, but it all came together for the first night. It's the sort of show that requires every single person on stage, backstage and in the pit to be paying full attention all the way through. Exhausting, but well worth it.

Great opening, then. Yay!!!!

I'm so upset. I really do want to see you perform someday. Both of you.

How are your rehearsals going, Pimms? Managed to corral Alice yet?

I get on well with Alice. She (the person rather than the character) has the advantage of having played Dolly Levi, who has manner f the same traits as Alice. I've been told by her I'm only one of her husbands - the theatre husband, she also has her work husband (who suffers all the names she calls the husband at home) - I get off quite lightly. She may raise her voice at me in exasperation but we put our arms around each other quite affectionately.
We have set the whole show bar the lifeboat scenes, which the director has held back so that they do not become over-rehearsed.
He won't be back now until January, and in his last blocking week commented about how touching our scene was, where Alice dreams of a wealthy life, and I ask her why she can't be happy with what she's got ("I have danced with the first Class") However the most emotional scene set so far is the duet between the Straus's "Still", as they profess their lifelong love for each other, which always leaves the AD dabbing her eyes.

I found as we got closer to performance and everything became gradually more confident, then practically everything from the lifeboat scene onwards got me welling up. And you can have no idea how hard it is to sing the "Fare thee well..." bit at the end - if I let the emotion get to me (particularly the "and my husband...and my husband..." bit), my voice catches.

Audiences are loving it. But market your show to death - it's expensive to do, and we haven't had the audience numbers to cover costs, nowhere near in fact . Possibly partly due to the economic situation (and the fact that our usual WI groups all went to the theatre last week to see Calendar Girls), but still. Make sure that it is being promoted everywhere you can. It is an amazing show that should be seen.

Sent out orchestra contracts a coupe of days ago and had panicked response today, as although the musical director had known the executive committee were considering a later matinee show onthe Sunday of show week hadn't though we'd place it at 4pm, and so hadn't alerted me that it would conflict with an evening engagement the orchestra already have So we are back to a 2.30pm matinee.

Another occurred as my email to our sound engineer regarding his quotation which I copied in the committee on for their feedback, led to a couple responding without realising they had included him in their recipients Fortunately they all made positive comments about him

Oh, should I be sympathising and not laughing?



Fb

Good thing they were positive! You need a good and happy sound team for this one.

I want to get back on board! And I want to see another production! Not sure I can make it all the way to the Isle of Man, though.

Reading all this is really interesting!

I'm in a concert with my choir on Saturday, singing a Vivaldi and a couple of Bach pieces, nothing as complicated as what you guys are doing!

Last night had a spot in a musical evening at the local theatre. Our society did a concert performance of the opening and foundering from Titanic, all dressed in black in three rows, with soloists stepping forward when necessary to four mics along the front. The musical evening was in aid of Alder Hey children's hospital (which is where Manx children with serious illnesses often go) to assist them in raising money for rooms where families can stay when visiting their sick children. I believe they have raised well over £3000 last night.

It was pretty cold - I had to de-ice the inside *and* outside of the windscreen of my car before driving down. I didn't go down early to watch the other acts (which included our rivals doing a similar concert excerpts set from Les Mis), and then went home after our piece without waiting for the carols singing at the end. I'd been suffering for the whole week with a cold - I even took a day off sick, the first in several years(!) I needed the rest, and it helped convince others that I had developed a convincing cough which resonated deeply throughout my chest. Fortunately I was able to recover enough to do the show (though admit I was goldfishing toward end of 'Sail On' finale, as I had no voice left)

We had rehearsed over the last ten days in the second half of our usual rehearsals, and the format of three rows of people gave numerous tedious opportunities for the more immature men of the cast to surreptitiously tap the people in front of them on the shoulder to try and make them turn around and try and guess who'd done it

Most of the cast saw the whole show from the Gods, and after I'd joined them just before the interval we all trooped down to backstage, then up to an empty dressing room (which we *packed*) for last minute instructions.

Apparently some of the other acts watched from the wings, and ended up with tears in their eyes by the end (because it was that moving not because we were that bad ) Hopefully convinced a fair number of people to get tickets to our show.

Alder Hey is still going, is it? We all used to be trooped off there as kids when we were 'seriously ill' Once I think

The evening sounds a real success. Good luck with the show, Pimms

People were trying to get tickets on the Monday after the concert performance. Unfortunately we hadn't arranged to put tickets on sale until the Wednesday... Also my mix up on the Matinee performance time managed to remain uncorrected with the box office, who had received the booking instructions to sell the Sunday for a 4pm start. That we had to hastily rearrange on the Thursday

At our last rehearsal before Christmas on 16th December, our Chair gave a slightly exasperated pep talk, as he thought our run of Act 1 left much to be desired, and he stressed how much the production is budgeted for (I think the figure of £70K was mentioned, but I know the final budget is not yet known). The second act run though was better, but he missed that bit.

During the rehearsal I was chasing the third class passengers for their 'names' - as every person needs to be a 'genuine' named character in the programme, even though some might have no solo lines. Must remember to work on this over the Christmas break (determined) - been busy instead so far with reclaiming the dining room for Christmas lunch from its long term alter ego of bakery storeroom. Our bakery is now virtually complete with new oven and mixer and gigantic sink.

We then had our usual carol and raffle. One member had purchased a large number of squares on our raffle board and his name kept popping up as a winner, though in the end he left others to claim prizes, and gave one of his wins to the VC (as he didn't need a silk headscarf).