It won't be
long now .........................
Time is
ticking and the excitement is certainly building. Continuing on with my
preview of the build up to Darlington Operatic Society's Autumn spectacular,
Strictly Musicals, this week there have been plenty of tears shed as rehearsals
for one of the shows most emotional numbers took place. This piece comes
from one of the more modern shows and whilst I might be slightly biased as
Becca played the lead in her GCSE production, I have to admit that it's hard
not to cry when you hear this one, especially when it follows the high tempo,
upbeat numbers.
Whilst
at this weeks rehearsals, I was really lucky to bump into Samantha
Morrison, a well established member of the Operatic Society and a real
favourite leading lady of mine. Sam was just waiting to start her
rehearsal of ...... (come on, should know by now I won't give too much away)
but I managed to grab a few minutes to find out what it's like to be a part of
the North East's {premier Amateur Theatre Companies.
AB
– When did you join Darlington Operatic Society and what prompted you to ?
SM – I
studied performing arts at Stockton and Billingham College. After that I
took a year out to decide if I wanted to pursue an acting career full time and
move down to London. During this time I got a job and started to enjoy
the freedom of life. It was around this time I joined Darlington
Operatic Society and took my first part as a chorus girl in Sweet
Charity. This gave me the avenue to continue performing without having to
take the plunge and make it my career. It also meant I could act without
the pressure of it being my job and I think that has helped keep it more
enjoyable.
AB
– You have been a member of the society for quite a while now (obviously
starting very young means you are still young!), what was it like when you
joined?
SM –
When I started, the Operatic Society was like many other societies in
Darlington; the WI, the Round Table, the Lions etc – they were all made up of
Darlington people and were social and cultural hubs. Members of the
operatic society were very active in the community and our audiences were
heavily made up of members from these other groups. We were supported
because we were Darlington Operatic Society, the town’s amateur theatre group,
and felt quite a connection to and with the town. As such the shows
we staged were quite traditional to appeal to the audience we had.
AB
– How has the society changed over the years ?
SM –
Culture in general has changed an awful lot over the past 10 or so years.
Theatre has had to compete with so many other leisure pursuits all vying for
time and money; cinema, home movies, the change in drinking habits, even video
gaming have all drawn on people so theatre in general has had to up its game
and come up with more innovative shows to grab the audiences’ attention.
Being an amateur production company means we really have to be on the ball in
show choice to try and appeal to as many people as we can. When the
society’s long standing director left we had a series of guest directors, each
of whom had to try and appeal to new audiences whilst not alienating our
traditional fans. It’s not been easy as there is a real fine balance
between staging the long established shows (Sound of Music, Guys & Dolls,
Sweet Charity) which will appeal to a more mature audience with the more modern
ones (Full Monty, Footloose, Blood Brothers) needed to capture the younger
theatre goers, but with Jo (Hand) and the team we have a great understanding of
how to deliver the best and most exciting shows.
AB
– Picking up on your point of being an amateur company, how difficult is it to
compete with other, professional theatre productions?
SM -
we don’t have the time and resources to compete directly with the professional
touring companies, yet when someone comes to see our show they need to feel
that they have had a great evening, value for money and want to come and see
our next production. We are very lucky to have a wonderful theatre to
perform in which always give us such a buzz come opening nights but with it
comes the pressure to make sure we don’t disappoint (ED Which you never
do!). Like any production company we are reliant on our cast being
committed to putting in the hours in rehearsals, the back stage crew building
and running the sets and of course our Director and Choreographer giving us a
great show to present. It is perhaps because, rather than in spite, of us
being an amateur company that we can tackle the shows we do as everyone is here
because they want to be not because it is their job. We have a great team
and whilst many of the society have been with us for years, we still attract a
good number of people auditioning to join.
AB
– For someone thinking of applying to join Darlington Operatic Society, what is
it like to be a member?
SM – I
guess we are the epitome of one big family; we are such a diverse group of
people that there will always be someone around to talk to, laugh with, help
with steps, practise, rehearse or just listen. There are times when
you’ve had a really bad day at work but when you walk into rehearsals you can
forget all about it and just throw yourself into performing. Often when
we start preparing for a new show we will spend time at someone’s house,
watching DVDs and just practising steps or singing. Think of the fun you
had at school with your group of friends extended into adult life – in fact
after the thrill of performing on stage it really is the best part of being a
member.
AB
– Personally, I loved your portrayal of Vi in Footloose but which has been your
favourite role to play ?
SM Having
been a Chorus girl first time around, it was great to be able to play Charity
in Sweet Charity when we next performed it. I really enjoyed playing
Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and also as Mrs Barnum opposite Julian (Cound)
– me & Julian have played opposite quite a few times now so we have a good
understanding of each other’s’ style. I do find that I am getting offered
the ‘more mature’ roles now ….. (ED –
yeah but these young girls need someone to show them just how it’s done!)
AB
– Finally, rehearsals for Strictly Musicals are well underway – without giving
away too many secrets, what’s it going to be like?
SM –
'Strictly' is an amazing show, packed with some of the biggest stage numbers
which normally we wouldn’t get chance to perform. Jo (Joanne Hand,
Director & Choreographer) has worked so hard on designing some really
fantastic numbers, challenging to perform but really exciting and powerful –
the audience will be amazed and moved throughout the show. The best thing
is that in a normal show there will be perhaps 5 or 6 lead characters with the
rest of the cast taking chorus line roles etc, in this show there are over 24
numbers which are shared around so lots of us get to take centre stage for a
bit – it gives the younger members a chance to lead without the pressure of
carrying a whole show.
So there we
have it from the lovely Sam; the Operatic Society is much more than just
a production company putting on two shows a year, it's a club, a school, a
family, an institution and one which Darlington should be very proud of.
Strictly
Musicals, a show packed with the biggest hits from the biggest musicals of the
past 70 years is on from October 23rd until November 2nd at the wonderful
Darlington Civic theatre. Check out the website for tickets and make it a
night to remember. http://www.darlingtonoperaticsociety.org.uk/
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