Chairman’s MessageWe have so much to report since our last newsletter, show week of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the end of October, closely followed by the Sister Act read through and auditions and most recently our 110th Anniversary Celebration.

We discovered at the How to Succeed publicity walkabout that lots of people thought we were advertising a business seminar. Quickly, the team set about flooding social media with information about the show, including a fantastic promotional video put together by Bill Hudson. We’d appreciated that this would be a high risk project but despite our usual features in the local press, posters and mailings and our additional activities, ticket sales were disappointing. Such a shame when it was an outstanding production, innovatively staged with an extremely talented cast. Thank you to everyone involved. Our finances are well managed, Show Stoppers generated a healthy surplus and we still have Sister Act, a very popular show, to look forward to so we are confident we will generate a surplus for the year.

Howard and Lizzie did an excellent presentation for the Sister Act read through which generated a lot of interest in the show. The auditions went well and the quality was such that deliberations regarding the cast took a record length of time. We were only just able to get the cast list on to the website for 7pm, when we like to make the results available. Already the chorus of nuns is sounding amazing. Lizzie is doing an excellent job despite being only a few weeks in to rehearsals they have two big chorus numbers under their belts musically and set, despite singing in up to 6 parts! This really is going to be an absolute corker of a show, thoroughly enjoyable for both audiences and cast.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come along to the 110th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday 5 December at the Georgian Hotel. Firstly, a huge thank you to Sally Barr for coordinating the event and liaising with the Georgian. The evening began with a choice of arrival drinks….. prosecco, white or red wine and soft drinks and the opportunity to chat and catch up with friends or take time to browse through the photograph albums covering the last 30 or so years, and photo boards from the society archive, maintained by Jonathan Foster.

www.HaslemerePlayers.com

TREASURER’S REPORTThe year seems to have disappeared very quickly. Last time I looked we were about to stage Fiddler on the Roof and now our autumn production has come and gone and we are on to Sister Act rehearsals already!

How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying was not financially lucrative but by all accounts it was tremendous fun to stage and was a very slick production indeed. It is just a shame that being a less well known show that it did not appeal to a terribly wide local audience. We do like to try new things here at the Players – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t - but one thing is certain and that is that the cast and production team always seen to have a fantastic time putting the shows on!

We have a fabulous cast for Sister Act – all of you participating please don’t forget to give your Show Fees to myself or Pamela as soon as possible. These are a very reasonable £25 but will go up to £30 on 25th January. With Christmas coming I suggest that you pay the fee now as by January we will all be broke! There is a link on the website to Paypal specifically for the Showfee or you can pay by BACS, Cheque or Cash.

We have recently had two very generous anonymous donations that have enabled us to purchase some more microphones for the Players. We do loan our microphones out to make extra cash for the Society so if you know a local group or school that would be interested in hiring these for their upcoming production then please contact any of us on the “Contact” link on the website.

If anyone has a Christmas Party coming up then please don’t forget our wonderful Costume Hire facility. We have all sorts of costumes and accessories to suit all sorts of occasions. Please contact Mary-Lou or Mary via the Haslemere Players website – follow the link “Costumes”.

Happy Christmas to you all!

Arabella Burwood, Treasurer07811 439694 arabellaburwood@gmail.com

Everyone enjoyed finding their younger selves and others in the pictures! Hamish gave a short welcome speech before the dinner and we then enjoyed a three-course meal followed by coffee and dancing…..and boy, do we have some dancers we didn’t know about before!

Lastly, we’ll be having our usual Christmas Carols & Mulled wine at 9 pm on 22 December in the Annexe, the last Tuesday rehearsal before Christmas….. well, I say ‘usual’…. but I’m told we’re going to ‘spice it up’ a bit. Hope to see you there. For now, have an excellent Christmas & New Year.

Vicki Gavin68 Victoria Way, Liphook, Hampshire. GU30 7NJ

07827 331320 vmgavin68@gmail.com

Chairman’s letter cont.

Contributions to the Newsletter toLinda Donaldson

Linda.haslemere@btinternet.com

SHOW STOPPERS 2016Preparations are well underway for next year’s Show Stoppers which will be performed on 10th and 11th June. Please note that we have had to change the date so as to avoid clashing with the Thespians and the Grayshott Stagers, both of whom have shows at the end of May.

We will be presenting Memories of the Movies Part III – the final instalment of the movie trilogy.

Director Jonathan Foster is busy compiling a programme of show-stopping songs, all of which have featured in films.

Once again, we will present a selection of solos, duets, small groups, dance numbers, boys’ numbers, girls’ numbers and seven chorus numbers including a medley and the encore ‘That’s Entainment!’

Before the programme can be decided, Jon needs to know who would like to be in the show, so please get in touch with him at jcpdvfoster@tinyworld.co.uk if you would like to be involved.

The presentation evening will be at the School on Tuesday, 22nd March at 7.30p.m.

CHRISTMAS CRACKERAlthough it was thought that 2014 would mark the last performance of the community concert, by popular request, the Christmas Cracker will be back.

The new format of seasonal music, song and verse will feature many members of the Players. They will be appearing in the choir and presenting humorous verse (and a potted pantomime). A school choir is also featured and member Verity Foster will be playing the harp. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served in the interval.

It is always a very happy occasion and we hope everyone will come along and support the event at the Haslemere Hall on Saturday, 19th December, at 7.30 pm.

HASLEMERE PLAYERS AMATEUR PANTOMIME COMPANYAs those of you who have read my history of the Haslemere Players* will know, although the company was officially inaugurated in 1905 (hence the anniversary party), a group of actors, calling themselves the Haslemere Players Amateur Pantomime Company, had been established six years earlier.The first recorded Christmas production was Aladdin in 1899 which the parish magazine of the time referred to as tableaux with songs from children of the Guild of Hope and Pity. At the time theatrical performances were given either in the Town Hall building (in the middle of the High Street), or in a big barn behind the White Horse Hotel, finally demolished in 1998. In 1900 the new Church Primary School (the back part of which is now the Players’ Studio) was built and, with a small stage, was used from then on. When the Haslemere Hall with its state-of-the-art facilities was given to the town by Barclay Day in 1913 anything theatrical was then staged there. The annual pantomime was a ‘must’ for all Haslemere residents. Written entirely by local people and starring mostly children, it was said that “No child was truly a Haslemere one until it had acted in a pantomime once”. The adult actors were all local stalwarts who were, at the same time, starring in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. These home-spun pantos struggled on until 1941 and, because of the War, didn’t resume until 1950. Since the operetta was always presented in October and time for rehearsal for the pantomime was limited, the Players started producing the pantos jointly with other local societies. This carried on until 1957 when the Thespians took it over completely and are now currently in rehearsal for their latest offering, Red Riding Hood, in January.One anecdote from my book highlights the dangers associated with the amateur stage which, thankfully don’t happen too often. When Norman Pearson, headmaster of Haslemere C of E Primary School, wrote the words and music for the January 1954 pantomime, The Babes in the Wood, he little guessed that it could have been the death of him. As producer, he was also appearing as one of the wicked robbers and, during a riotous school room scene, fellow robber Chris Forde lost his footing. Norman fell on top of him, and his dagger - caught in his costume with point uppermost - pierced his rib. No-one in the audience was aware of the accident and the victim gamely carried on. By the final curtain the wound was bleeding profusely and he went straight to Haslemere Hospital to be stitched up. There doctors told him that, had the dagger entered his body at a slightly different angle, it would have penetrated his lung. In true theatrical tradition Norman Pearson was back in his place for the next performance.*The Flowers that Bloomed in the Spring – a Century of Musical Theatre in Haslemere by Fay Foster, published 2000. It is intended that this will be put on the company website in due course; the story of the next fifteen years up to December 2014 is already there (click ‘History’ on the ‘About us’ drop-down menu).

GRAPEVINENEWS OF MEMBERS

Sadly we have two deaths to report this time. At the end of October John Turner finally lost his battle against leukaemia. John was a hugely resourceful member of the scenery-making team. . One of his great achievement was making the aeroplane for ‘My One and Only; - into which the pilot had to get in and out. He was always good fun to work and will be sadly missed.

We also heard of the sad death of one of our long-term Patrons, Len Wheeler. Len was also known to us as Val Bishop’s father, and I don’t think he had ever missed a show. He and his wife, Olive, would always sit in the middle of the front row, and from the stage it was always a pleasure to look down and see them there, smiling their support.

News has also just come from another long-term Patron and Life Member, Jane Hamlyn in Devon. She writes that she is directing this year’s panto – Cinderella – on a stage about the size of the big dressing room at the Hall! She is also singing in three choirs. She is absolutely inde-fatigable but thoroughly enjoying it all!

Congratulations to Verity Foster who has shared the Queens Award for Voluntary Service together with the other Volunteers at Haslemere Museum

Congratulations, too, to Hamish and Linda who celebrate their Golden Wedding on 18th December.

Those of you who are eagle-eyed may also have noticed a lovely photo of Hazel Hawkswell in the Haslemere Herald in connection with her work at the Co-op Funeralcare.

Dates for Your Diary22nd December Players Christmas Carols and Mulled

Wine in Annexe. 9.00 p.m.19th December Christmas Cracker in Haslemere Hall8-16th January Little Red Riding Hood by the

Haslemere Thespians26-30th January Whistle Down the Wind by Farnham

Operatic Society15-19th March Sister Act23rd March Read-through Showstoppers in the

School

Spring Show After some excellentauditions of a very high standard we now have an amazing cast. Everyone has worked so hard in less than two weeks to get so much done. It is an energetic show (which many of the nuns are already finding out) but we are all so pleased with the commitment everyoneis showing to their roles, and I am pleased to say that one or two principals are already off book. This is both remarkable and also allows more timefor direction and correction.We are looking for two more male chorus which will only require a few rehearsals.

There is a huge positive energy flowing through the rehearsals and we are hopefully on the way to a fabulous show.

Howard Bicknell

The principal cast is as follows:-Female Principals

Delores van Cartier Jessica-Alice McCluskeyMother Superior Vicki GavinSister Mary Robert Abbi RogersSister Mary Patrick Chloe Johnson-JonesSister Mary Lazarus Judy FowlerTina Carolyn BeaumontMichelle Frances Cross

Male Principals Eddie Souther Andy Armitage-LarbyCurtis Jackson Bill HudsonMonsignor O’Hara Tony CreaseyJoey Chris SadlerTJ Peter FosterPablo Zac RasullianErnie Peter Lucas

Singin’ in the RainAs you may have heard our Autumn show next year is Singin’in the Rain. It is another very exciting show with a large cast and plenty of minor roles.It will require the whole company to learn to tap dance (we provide the lessons) but, for the avoidance of doubt, we do put the more gifted dancers at the front.It is also quite a challenging show in two more respects: we have to have real rain and we have to shoot a number of black and white film sequences. Do come to the read-through on May 24th to learn all about it. Yes May 24th is in the final stages of Showstoppers (thank you Jonathan) because we can’t afford to lose the week of the date change, Best wishes, Hamish