Unoriginal Sin - the first night.....

Cast Shot for our production of "Unoriginal Sin"

The first night was not as packed as we'd have liked, since some of our groups failed to confirm their usual bookings this time. Despite that, we were nearly half full, which doesn't sound too good but their reaction was more than enough for us to enjoy the evening.

First bit of bad luck was when our box office manager turned up without his reading glasses. This would not normally have been such a bad thing, since the seating plan has, until this play, been hand-written by Steve himself. However, this time Keith had written a computer programme to make the booking system easier to use for Steve, so he had to try and read from the laptop by means of various differing head angles and squints!

The play opens with a sermon in front of the tabs (Stage curtains) by a priest. Once that has been delivered, the intro music begins and then the tabs open to let the play commence. Last night, the audience obviously enjoyed the opening music so much that they ALL (except maybe one or two) started singing along with it! In case you're wondering, it's "Love & Marriage". I am on stage alone at the very beginning of the play, and I found it very hard not to smile when they failed to stop singing after the music had stopped playing! However, I think that introduction just set the scene for the rest of the night.

Everything went smoothly and the two new members, Mel and Liz, settled into their "roles" serving refreshments and selling raffle tickets for us with such a pleasant attitude that I'm sure it influenced the mood of the audience - thanks girls!

We love to hear the comments from the audience on a Tuesday night in particular, as I'm sure many of them think we can't hear them! The first comment was "Oooh, she's packing her bags, look". Yes, that particular lady got ten out of ten for observation! Then it was just regular little remarks and the fact that they were pre-empting the action which amused us back-stage and on.

Another new member, Paul, was helping out on car parking duties. That is always a thankless task - Keith was helping him last night, and they are both amazed at how people refuse to reverse into a parking space!

Sometime during the second half of the play, a pop and a flash signalled the demise of one of our stage spotlights - certain areas were a tad darker than required. So, instead of the usual celebration of the first night at the pub, several of us stayed back to change said spotlight (which I think had blown because 2 fuses had gone?) Keith and Neil to the rescue! Scott helped me set the stage, wash the glasses and cups, then replenish all the drinks that get used for this production, ready for tonight's performance. Not only had the spotlight blown, but just as we were about to leave, we noticed that one of the emergency exit lights had blown, too - so that had to be replaced as well!

I have thoroughly enjoyed being in this play, as have the other cast members, I'm sure - if we get as good a reaction from the audience tonight, we will be happy King Leopolds. (You will have to come and see the play to understand that little gag!)

Andy Jowett, Eloise Guy and Dave Hawxwell in the "chase"

This is one of my favourite photos!

It's nearly time for my bath, I'm desperately trying to stay calm, but I don't think the nerves ever leave me until I'm actually on that stage - even then, like last night, I can still feel incredibly nervous. I was shaking when I came off at the end of my first scene, not realising how much the adrenaline had been pumping through me!

Oh, one more thing I MUST mention about last night - Ellie (Eloise) had made some brownies for us all back-stage. I can't eat a thing until the play is over, but at the end of the night I had two and they were absolutely delicious! Thanks Ellie, my birthday is in December!

Opening Night!

The nerves are kicking in already, with just over 3 hours to go till the play opens!!! I'm just about to start putting my hair in rollers - something I'm not really very good at but I need "big" hair for this play since it is set in the eighties - which just adds to the humour, I guess!

We had a publicity photo and small article in the Holderness Gazette last Thursday, but as yet not much more from the local media. It seems as though  they only cover productions that take place at the large theatres in Hull - such as The New Theatre and Hull Truck, which is a shame really as we used to get a lot of coverage in the Hull Daily Mail.

If anyone out there fancies a job as an independent reviewer for the local amdram scene here (on a voluntary basis, mind) I'm sure it would go down well.

My bra strap snapped and the label on one of my shoes came off at last night's rehearsal - making a very strange noise as my foot stuck to the shoe where the label used to be! Both ahve now been rectified so it's all systems go. Our Tuesday night audience is mainly made up of members from local Old People's Homes and they always come out expecting a good laugh, in fact it's often difficult to speak due to their laughter, but at least it's called for this time! I will report back on the opening night tomorrow.

Forthcoming Production - Unoriginal Sin

I can hardly believe it, but one week from now I will be nervously awaiting the first night of our next production. Rehearsals have been going really well (dare I say it?) and the cast and director (my husband, Keith) have thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in preparing for it. The past few rehearsals have felt more like actual performances which means that we should be raring to go next week! Bookings are coming in thick and fast now, and the Friday evening in particular is filling up fast!

I always like to use the countdown widget that Eventful provide whenever I add the play to their site, too!

Time seems to pass by so quickly when measured by the plays we put on! Last night Keith took some photos during the rehearsal for publicity in the Holderness Gazette this week, which I will post later on.

This comedy is not really suitable for young children, which is a shame because normally our grand-daughter aged 9 loves to come and watch every play we do - she has been coming for 3 or 4 years now. You can read more about it on Eventful or the Facebook page where I've created an Event here.

Featured in "Our Local Crafts"

Many thanks to Vicky Harrison from Our Local Crafts, who included my Arty Aitch Facebook page in her recent Yorkshire Businesses showcase. Showcasing arts and crafts from different regions of the UK is a really useful way of sourcing new contacts for traders and customers alike.

Vicky also runs an online home and gift ware shop on Facebook, Yummy Spirit.

Beady Spiders....

If you haven't already seen them, these little beady insects make great gifts for girls of all ages (or boys, too, if they like insects). Made by Lorna Storey you can see the whole range on her website here but I just had to share with you the photos I took of our two grand-daughters wearing the beady bugs I bought them as an Easter gift. They were so pleased with them, as you can tell by the photos - especially when I suggested they were attached to their headbands as unique hair accessories!

Matheea with her Scarlet Aranna beady spider.

The sisters wearing their beady spider sisters.

Evie proudly displaying her Amethyst Sparkle spider

Winners awarded prizes

Apologies for the delay in writing this and posting the image - my mind has been a bit distracted by other things of late.

Here are three of the four talented winners in the competition we held to design a Mother's Day card at the Craft Fair last month.

Pictured left to right are Chloe Gray (6), Laura Jones (15) and Mikey Kellaway (8).

The cards were judged by the adult members of BADS and it was a close thing but winning the 1st prize in the 10years and under category was Chloe Gray, whose simple yet heartfelt message on the front melted our hearts - and everyone adored the little bumble bee she'd added to the scene. In second place, Mikey Kellaway was praised for the amount of time and effort that he had spent in creating the card.

A clear winner in the 11 to 16 year age group was Laura Jones. Her drawing skills impressed everyone, particularly the shading she'd created on the vase of flowers, the heart and the table.
Second place went to 14 year old Amy Burnitt, whose card stood out from the others due to the inclusion of an image of her mum created through a combination of drawing and collage. Unfortunately Amy could not be there to receive her prize. Congratulations to all the winners - we look forward to more entries from them at the next craft fair (which will probably be a Christmas themed competition).

L-R: Chloe Gray, Laura Jones and Mikey Kellaway.

Craft Fair Success - Vote of thanks!

Well, after weeks of planning, organising, worrying and creating new items (including a few nights of waking up in a panic about the failure of it all!) the first Craft Fair I organised was a success for (nearly) all concerned. I say nearly, because one lady (who'd only booked in for the Saturday) left early (2.30pm) as she'd left her dog at home, so she obviously missed out on a few more sales for the rest of that afternoon. Also, a last minute entry for the Sunday table was taken by a lovely lady called Helen Hall who didn't really sell enough to cover her cost this time - but she wasn't put off by it and is still happy to take part in the next one, so I must have done something right!

I must begin, however, by giving thanks to all the people and companies who so very kindly donated items for either the tombola (HUGE success)  or as prizes for the Children's Card Competition. So, please join me in thanking the following - I have included links to their websites where relevant so please pay them a visit, too.

Andrea Farmer - fellow Rogue Gene Collective artist, friend and talented artist. Andrea donated two sets of her button hair-grips for the tombola:
andreafarmer.co.uk
andreafarmerart.com
Andrea on etsy
Andrea on roguegenegallery

Lorna Storey -  fellow East Riding Artist member and supporter of BADS - who donated a beautiful beaded spider for the tombola stall:
Lorna Storey
Lorna on Affordable British Art

Mike Finley - another Rogue Gene Collective colleague and amazing photographer, who created a set of stunning A5 sized cards just for the event, which I split over the two days for the tombola stall:
Mike Finley photography
Mike on roguegenegallery

Amanda Hunt - the third "A" of the Rogue Gene Collective (Andrea, Aitch & Amanda!) and a really lovely artist too! Amanda sent me a couple of small prints of her works, a key-ring with one of her paintings printed onto the design, and two small original works of art:
Amanda Hunt Gallery
Amanda on roguegenegallery

Georgia Coote - Georgia is another artist on the Rogue Gene Gallery website and her surface pattern designs are for sale as prints on there. Georgia also creates vintage-inspired jewellery - including necklaces and brooches. She kindly donated a couple of necklaces, brooches and pocket mirrors for the tombola stall. I was very happy to win one of the necklaces on Sunday!:
Georgia Coote 
Georgia on roguegenegallery

Di Jennings - Di is an art tutor who loves to pass on her knowledge to all her pupils and regularly features them in her blog - "Painting My Way". Di sent one of her original oil paintings of poppies in a field as a donation for the tombola stall.  I know Di through various online art forums, and once met her when we were on holiday in Shropshire!:
Di Jennings

Annette Cox -  I have met Annette once, and chatted online to her for about 4 years now. I was thrilled when I received an acrylic/ink landscape painting that she'd created just for the tombola - as was the winner of it on Saturday!:
Annette on Saatchi website

Artists taking part at the Craft Fair also deserve a mention for donating their works to the tombola stall:
Nichola Foster - I first discovered Nichola's finely crafted pieces of jewellery on Etsy last October when I did a search for local sellers in order to raise some interest in the Craft Fair. Nichola has been supportive throughout and proved to be great company at the event as well as a generous crafter, donating a bracelet and handbag charm to the tombola stall:
Nichola on Folksy
Nichola on Etsy

Katie Railton - Katie is a self taught photographer specialising in floral photography. She was also sought out on Etsy last year for the original dates in December and stayed on board for the April Craft Fair instead! Katie donated a large floral print:
Katie Railton Photography
Katie Railton - Etsy Shop

Lynne Smith donated a huge amount of prizes for the tombola - lots of soft toys, hair accessories, jewellery and framed pictures. Her silver jewellery sets were very popular - I bought a couple of coloured bangles from her for my grand-daughters, after I'd tried them out on myself first!

Lesley Wadforth of "Health In Harmony" donated two gift vouchers for the tombola stall. Lesley is a qualified General Nurse who now runs workshops and courses on holistic therapy including aromatherapy, yoga, reiki and stress management:
Health in Harmony website

For other tombola prizes, thanks go to friends and parents of our younger members at BADS - in particular Lisa Jones, Jenny Benge and Debbie Smallwood. Also, our neighbour Margaret was kind enough to donate a couple of prizes, too.

When I originally set the date for the Craft Fair in December (which had to be cancelled due to the bad weather) I contacted a few online Art/Craft suppliers that I regularly use in order to ask for donations. I am therefore very grateful to the SAA and Fred Aldous for supplying me with enough materials to cover the prizes in the "Design a Mother's Day Card" competition and  for some extra tombola prizes.
Society for All Artists
Fred Aldous

I hope I haven't left anyone out, as I am really grateful for all the donations we received - the tombola stall alone raised £132. Thanks also must go to the stallholders, without whom I obviously couldn't have run the event. They all put their faith in me for this first time venture, which really made me feel good. So thanks to Joan Hardy (Jams & Pickles), Christine Petch & Mary Wood (Wooden Figures), Lynne & Steve Smith (Silver Jewellery), Katie Railton (Floral Photography), Nichola Foster (Beaded Lampwork Jewellery), Kathy Marshall (Paintings, silk paintings and greetings cards), Anna Carter (Textile art and craft) and Helen Hall (Baby clothes and teddy t-shirts, cross-stitch cards). Thanks to Andrea Farmer too, for sending me a selection of her wearable art and small ethereal paintings to sell.

I would also like to thank two members of our youth section for giving up their time on Saturday afternoon to help out with the tombola stall - Molly Smallwood and Bethan Holloway.

Special thanks to my mum, June Greendale, for making the delicious cakes we sold and to my Dad, Albert Greendale for helping her sell them and the drinks on Saturday. I will treat you next weekend for your Mother's Day, mum!

Thanks to Scott Roberts and Steve Dale, both members of the Society who helped selling drinks and cake on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who turned up to support us.

My biggest thanks, however, must go to my best friend and husband, Keith. Not only did he help with creating the signs for outside the theatre on the day and prior to the event, he also helped with delivering leaflets, sorting and packaging the tombola prizes and actually running the tombola stall both days (as well as selling drinks when necessary). He supported me throughout and helped me fulfil the idea I'd had last year. Thank you so much.

I will be posting a bit more about the sales I made and any bits of news related to the success of the fair in another post, but for now, here's a few photos to show you:

The competition prizes donated by SAA, Fred Aldous and myself.

My stall

Mother's Day Card entries - 10years and under

Mother's Day card entries - 11-16 years

Hand-crafted wooden figures for the garden. All unique, and great gifts! These were really popular. Prices ranged from £3.50 to £5. A percentage of their sales go to a Meningitis Charity.