Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Strictly Musicals by Darlington Operatic Society - interview with Samantha Morrison

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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