Thurso Players SCDA'Winners'

Click pictures below to view more scenes from the 'Winners' production

You are taking a bit of a risk entering a play called ‘Winners’ in a competitive festival. However, at the recent Caithness District Festival, we did and we brought the Adam Swanson Memorial Trophy for the winning play and the Margaret Sinclair Shield for the highest production mark back to The Mill. Thanks all round; to Rob and the crew who made and moved a mountain (plus its ‘pimple’) to the High School stage; to John and Kevin for lights and sound; and, of course to the four actors who actually did it. Helen and Iain put so much into their performances that they had many, many plaudits from the audience. Linda and Derek ‘disappeared’ while the young couple were on the hill, yet came in to ‘comment’ on the story always on cue. 

It’s ten years since Thurso Players won the first round of the District Festival with ‘The Plough and the Stars’ (Derek had a discreet reading part in that one). The Wick play, which came second then, went on to beat us in the Divisionals at Tain.  We are not, therefore, being complacent about the next round, which is in Wick on 30^th and 31^st March and 1^st April. ‘Winners’ will be first on the Saturday evening. Betty Bradstreet

Dracula

Child Protection

As some of you may already know, Mike Gordon is due to step down as Child Protection Officer with effect from our AGM in April and, for my sins, I have been selected as his successor.  I would like to start out by thanking Mike for all the work he has done in setting our policies etc.  His excellent record keeping has made the transition a very pleasant task for me.

In today’s nanny state bureaucrats are forever scheming of ways to make life difficult and it seems ‘common sense’ no longer applies. The latest administrative marvel is ‘Disclosure’.  Some of you may remember from several years ago the furore that came about in England & Wales surrounding teachers who were prevented from teaching as they had not been ‘disclosed’ as safe to work with children and vulnerable persons.  These rules and regulations have now been extended to include voluntary bodies such as Thurso Players.  Ridiculous as it may seem, any of our members who come into contact with a child or vulnerable person within the Mill environment or during any activity involving Thurso Players must have a Certificate of Disclosure.  There can be no exceptions!

In the first instance the organisation, Thurso Players, along with a representative must be registered and disclosed.  It then becomes the duty of the representative to positively vet each member of the organisation who has any contact with a child or vulnerable person.  This in effect means every adult member of our organisation.

I will be writing to each of you once the initial registration is completed and I plan to arrange a series of times and dates when I will be at the Mill and I would invite you to come along with the appropriate means of identification and complete the necessary paperwork.  It is a massive undertaking and I would ask for your utmost cooperation in its completion.  Revised membership forms are being drawn up to include the necessary details for fut members.

In every case you can rest assured that all personal data will be treated in confidence.

Neil MacDonald

An Evening of One Act Plays

On March the 25^th there will be an evening of three one act plays in the Mill. Two of these will have been performed prior to this evening as entries into the local SCDA festivals. However, this could be a chance to see both these plays again or a chance if you missed them, as well as seeing something new and having another night out. The plays that are to be performed are “Winners” written by Brian Friel and directed by Betty Bradstreet, “Exodus” which was both written and directed by John Glen and “Mirrors” written by John O’Brien and directed by Paul Hardman. Tickets are priced at £6 and £4 although at present there is no number for booking. The evening offers both comedy and drama and should be a good night, so come along. Paul Hardman

Youth & Junior News!

Welcome to 2006 – a brilliant new year with some brilliant new changes! Due to the sad loss of Junior Rep, Mhairi MacKinnon to Edinburgh, the juniors had another election to replace her. The new rep to work alongside Carly Simpson, and keep up her gold-star work, will be Gillian Shanks – “And I can’t wait to see the gleaming smiles on all your faces after our fabulous workshops!! J “

We have some other news – new names! We have come to the decision that calling the younger group “The Teenies” is quite patronising and will call them the “Juniors” and the older group (previously the Juniors) the “Youths” from now on. So on a Friday night we have: Juniors = 6.30 – 8.00 pm, Youths = 8.00 – 9.30 pm

Now, what new fun do we have in mind for you lucky people? Having spoken to both groups we invented an inventory of all the workshops we’d like to do over the next few months. This included some in connection with the Theatre Arts (Costume, Make-up, Props, etc), as well as others relating to the more uncommon types of workshop like mime, dance, mask work, and working with puppets. We also hope to get a few specialised workshops on topics such as Shakespeare, and script writing. We would be very grateful to hear from any adults who would like to take any of these workshops, or one they invented themselves. Just call Gillian (01847 895318) or Carly (01955 621363) or phone up the Mill on a Friday night (01847 893572). We are also hoping to contact some Professional Acting Companies that are in the local area or touring to take some workshops, and again any ideas will be welcome! Furthermore, just so that you can all plan your exotic holidays and trips away around Friday nights, here’s a list of all the dates we plan on running:

 And last but certainly not least, we’d like to say a massive THANK YOU! to Tina Doake on behalf of both the Juniors and the Youths for all her help for and on Friday nights. We also hope that they will run just as smoothly with the help of John, Glyn, Paul and Sarah, to whom we are very thankful for the copious amounts of help they have given and will hopefully continue to give in the future!  

Gillian Shanks J & Carly Simpson J

Spring Cleaning at The Mill

Thanks to all who helped in the spring clean up of the Mill on Saturday, February 4th. Many dark and ominous corners were cleaned out and much debris was removed. The Mill is looking much smarter as a result and because of the fine new paintwork. The state of the Mill is a health and safety issue. A clean and tidy environment is much pleasanter for members but we also have an obligation to the professional groups who use the theatre and to the members of the general public who pay to see our shows. Please do what you can to help. At the very least, clean up after your own activities! Do a share of extra cleaning whenever you can and/or come along to the regular Mill clean-ups. These will start on Tuesday, March 7th (7.30 pm to 9.30 pm) and subsequently on the first Tuesday of each month. Members who can give some time for helping out will be very welcome. Eunice

Click Pics to view other Panto Photos

There are rules laid down as to what a Pantomime is, but I have never seen them and if I had they would have been binned along with any politics associated with said rules. All I know is it should be fun to watch…..and in my book, this years Panto ‘Snow White’ was funny. Not only was it enjoyed by the audience but by the cast themselves from the auditions right through till the last finale. Listening to all those involved is a tool to be used should one wish to do so and on occasion that tool was used in decision making and giving direction. Having a storyline familiar to traditionalists posed problems, and weaving modern day threads within it was a challenge. But that challenge was overcome on several levels some of which are still a mystery to those not in the know. With a list of ingredients such as - use light in a different way, use 5 mirrors, character self development and observe and make fun of everything and everyone including myself gave way to a more edgy Pantomime. Trying out ideas once thought of as taboo moved the panto goalposts and gave the audience a listen and watch regime they were not expecting. Dragging them into each scene wondering rather than expecting was a successful experiment as questioning mutterings are still being heard. With excellent lighting, scene changes, costume, music, dance and performances Snow White was a triumph on so many levels. So my sincere thanks to all those who took part, before, during and after performances, on and off stage including front of house without whom I could not have put this together. Now available on beautifully edited DVD, Snow White will make you laugh again….

Stephen Reade -Your Eccentric English Director.

ARE YOU A FULLY PAID MEMBER?

Many thanks to everyone who has paid their membership fees for 2006 so promptly. This means that 123 have paid while some 90 have not. Are you one of the latter? You must have current membership especially if you intend to audition, perform, help backstage or work front of house. It is very useful to be able to email members but I need to be able to read email addresses; including full stops etc. Any changes to your information details should be passed to me at HARBOUR HOUSE SCRABSTER KW14 7UJ  Tel:-01847891429

Email peterjackson566@btinternet.com Thank you all. 

Lesley Jackson 

Gilbert and Sullivan Club Night

Do you suffer from lying awake with a dismal headache and need to raise your sights to the top of ev’ry tree life? Are things seldom what they seem in a gulf twixt one heart, one soul, one life and another? Are your ambitions on fire that glows with heat intense and you need to get a life or indigestion mixture? Have you practiced in the bath and got a song to sing o? Do you ev’ry step with caution take? Take one consideration with another and never mind the why and wherefore!! By a set of curious chances, we are holding a Gilbert & Sullivan night in the Mill on  3 June 2006 at 2000 hours.

Oh ‘tis a glorious thing, the thought of such an event, joyous now we give you greeting and if you haven’t the face to return to your place, feel all unwary, or that you have sorely strayed then – come and join our expression with glee. But the laws of commonsense we oughtn’t to ignore when we all have squirmed and struggled, gurgled and guggled notwithstanding deliberating about inaugurating a new career to maybe sing a merry madrigal. Or is it contrary to etiquette of art and nature thus allied that all the sense of eloquence and strange adventure join in a measure of expressive pleasure. Calling all would-be theatrical thespians, enthusiastic entertainers or seraphic singers for the fickle moment prithee stay and ponder upon taking part in a quite honorary trade that we ply for a members night. Oh ‘tis a glorious thing that anyone interested in joining in with the motley - in sketches, singing songs, as part of a chorus or ensemble can come along. Remember what you are whom addressing – for more details phone Alex Rankine (who is teeming with a lot of news and he’s got a little list!) on 890731

Programme

It’s now nearly a year since I’ve taken on the management of the Professional Programme.  It’s been a steep learning curve but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I hope you have too. We kicked off 2006 in January with a talented bunch of musicians performing excerpts from Robert Burns’ ‘The Merry Muses of Caledonia’. To give the evening a real flavour, courtesy of John Glen, we served a small Burns Supper during the interval. The show went down well; the food was enjoyed by all and is something that we may repeat again at a later date. February followed on with another musical item, ‘Guitar³’, featuring Martin Taylor, Neil Stacey and Martin Simpson. The trio played to a capacity crowd, the performance was breathtaking.  So much talent under one roof – unbelievable! Now to the future, this is entirely dependent on the necessary funding being available but, I have gone ahead on the assumption that we will get something from SAC. With the exception of July/August and November/December which have to be kept clear for Whoops, summer holidays and the Panto I have tried to have at least one event per month. Here’s what you can expect for the remainder of the year. In March we have Theatre Hebrides with ‘Callinish Stoned’ a drugs awareness story for all ages but particularly young teens.  It’s a very funny story yet it manages to get an important message across. I had hoped to bring the Mull Theatre Co. to the Mill with ‘Cyprus’ in April and again in September with ‘In Search of Bright Water’ but they have suffered a cut in their funding and will not be touring these shows until 2007.  We are at the top of their list for next year though.

 In June we welcome Martin Danziger’s Theatre Modo with ‘Don Quixote’. I’m not sure if it was inspired by our windmills but, knowing Martin, it’s sure to be an interesting production. Following on from the summer break, in early September we have Fiona Knowles back with ‘Sex, Lies & DIY’. I hope to follow this at the end of the month with the Mull Theatre Co. and their production of ‘Art’ a comedy along the lines of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ with an up to date twist. We round out the year with a performance by Sutherland & Son at the end of the month after which time I must surrender the floor to the Panto rehearsals and head off in search for more tasty morsels to bring to you in 2007. Neil MacDonald