Culter Theatre Club

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears… Oh My!

Well folks, we haven't been sitting around doing nothing since the end of ’Allo ’Allo - great plans are afoot.  Not least of which is that we've now decided on our Christmas panto for this year:

“The Wizard of Oz”

We've had a fun time having a read-through of different scripts, and we've now selected one that we're sure you'll enjoy - it's got all the old favourites in there, plus one or two surprises, and lots and lots of laughs for young and old alike!  There's a bit of work to do over the summer to get everything in place, but this year's Christmas panto is already shaping up to be a corker - and we have the promise of some pretty amazing special effects…

As ever, auditions for parts will open in August, so watch this space for more news about the show as it comes!

Categories: General | Panto | Wizard of Oz

Rita Hunter Award 2012: "Star Performer"

Last night Culter Theatre Club had a get together of cast and crew to celebrate the success of our most recent pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, which was enjoyed by hundreds of people over five shows just before Christmas.

As part of the evening, we also remembered Rita Hunter, who had been a member of the club for over twenty years and was a cast member in the club’s very first Pantomime, Robin Hood and his Merry Loons, playing the part of “The Fairy Queen” back in 1992.  Sadly, Rita passed away last year, but over the years she had been involved in all aspects of the theatre club, from performing on stage, creating costumes and being part of the production team, to writing scripts and directing.

Rita was always an encouragement to other club members, and a real support and mentor to many.  For that reason the club felt that one way to remember her, and to continue that encouragement she gave, would be to have an annual award in her name which celebrates some aspect of the work that a member of the club has achieved over the previous year.  This could be from any aspect of putting on a show; for particular flair on stage, superb set design or backstage work, to being a genius on the follow spot!

This year therefore, after a unanimous committee decision, I was very pleased to be able to present the Rita Hunter Award Shield to our “Star Performer”, Callum Turner (16) from Newtonhill.  Callum is one of the pupils at Camphill School Aberdeen and he has come from just watching the panto, to this time being right up there on stage doing a fantastic job with lines, singing, and dancing as one of Gustave’s Gang.  His boundless energy and enthusiasm was an encouragement to all the cast and crew, and his honesty and commitment through all the many weeks of rehearsals and the show itself was a true example to us all.  A well-deserved recipient of the Rita Hunter Award for 2012, our congratulations and best wishes from all the club go to Callum Turner.  Well done!

Colin Jones
Culter Theatre Club Chairman

Categories: Awards | Beauty & The Beast | Panto

Photos from Beauty & The Beast

So another panto year is over, and we hope that you all had as much fun watching as the players did in performing the Culter Theatre Club's Christmas Panto 2012, Beauty & The Beast.  Our five nights were a sell out, and our closing night performance gained a standing ovation!

So sit back and take a browse through some our our candid shots from the performances, relive the moments if you were there, have a look and see if you can recognise anyone if you weren't, and see if you can spot your favourite characters from the cast! 

See the gallery and programme on the Beauty & The Beast 2012 page.

Categories: Beauty & The Beast | Panto

Want to know how long there is to go?

Well, as if you weren't excited enough about our opening night, you can now keep an eye on exactly how long there is left before it's "Showtime!".  We've added a groovy little countdown timer that's going to tick away until the moment the panto opens for our first performance at 7.30pm on Wednesday night. 

So if you weren't sure how long you've got to wait, keep checking the website right here, and you'll find out! :)

Categories: Beauty & The Beast | General | Panto

The Final Countdown… One week to go!

Well in just a week's time the show will open, so the final finishing touches are being put all over the place.  From glitter on the scenery to, well, glitter on the cast - as you can see from the photo!

Everyone is really excited now, with the last couple of straight rehearsals this week, followed by our "Technical Rehearsal" this weekend.  The technical rehearsal is where all our backstage crew have their main run through of the show with the cast.  This allows them to work out the final details of how to get scenery moved at the right times, lighting and sound checked, and any special effects sorted out.

Then next week, that will be followed by our full dress rehearsal, where everyone runs the show in its entirety: costumes, makeup, lights, band absolutely everything, so that the show has been run completely before our opening night on Wednesday.

Hopefully you've got your tickets already because, as you'll see, we've now sold out every night.  Once again thanks to all our many supporters out there - we're so looking forward to seeing you on the night, and we hope you are too!

Categories: Beauty & The Beast | Panto

The last rose withers… time is running out…

Well that's us just two weeks aways from opening night, and everything is gathering momentum for the big performance week.  Stage and sets are being constructed, costumes prepared and of course the cast are busy memorising those tricky bits of dialogue! (How many different ways can I say that line wrong!?)

It has to be said that there's a certain excitement rising throughout the whole club - as well as perhaps a mild sense of panic as the last polish is applied to those lines, songs and dances.  No one wants to be up there on stage with the "startled bunny" expression come opening night.  So we're all going at it to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse in order to put on the best show for all of our supporters out there.

On that note, it's worth mentioning that tickets have been selling like hot cakes as usual.  You'll see on the right hand side that availability is now getting very limited on most nights, and the Saturday matinée performance sold out a while back.  So if you haven't booked your tickets yet, don't delay - we'd hate for you to miss out because you didn't get your tickets in time!

Categories: Beauty & The Beast | Panto | Tickets

It's not just about the actors…

Every time we put on a show, the audience comes to see the performers on the stage.  But without the costumes, lights, sound and wonderful sets and scenery, I'm sure you'd agree that the shows wouldn't really be quite the same.

There's a whole raft of people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make clothes and outfits, to design and paint amazing backdrops and props, to build intricate scenery mechanisms for special effects, and also to organise, cajole, instruct and guide on all the myriad of things that need to be done for the show to even get off the ground.  Not only are there all those creative types who make and build, but there's also the people who help organise the administration of everything, from buying rights to scripts and music, to organising and selling the tickets!

Culter Theatre club is always looking for new people to become part of the club - even if standing up on stage in front of a few hundred people several nights in a row isn't quite your thing, there are so many more opportunities for you to get involved.  So don't think you have to be the extrovert out there on stage, just get in touch with us if you want to get involved and help out in other ways too!

Categories: General | Mid-year Show | Panto