FHODS Highlights Edition 85 (February 2024)

A WORD FROM THE CHAIR

I would like to begin by thanking Myra, Paul, Adam Button and all those that came along to the “working party” day for all the hard work they have put in to making the theatre look so tidy and organised. What a difference it has made in all areas, and I know work is continuing in the work room and also in the containers outside, where we store many larger set items.

We will be holding another “working party” on Saturday 13th April from 10am to work on tidying the outside space behind the office and around the containers. We have lots of gardening tools, so would appreciate any members with green fingers, or just some enthusiasm, to come and join us. This is currently a wasted space and we would eventually like to make this into a nice seating area for members and customers.

We hope to see you all at our next quiz night on Friday 1st March. We raised around £400 for the society last time and it would be amazing to beat that, plus you will be guaranteed an entertaining evening.

Rehearsals are well under way for our upcoming production of “A Murder is Announced” and tickets are selling well, so we wish the cast and crew a successful and enjoyable run. Make sure you get your tickets quick……

Rehearsals have started for our may production of “Hobson’s Choice” and we are pleased to announce that our summer musical “Beauty and the Beast” has been cast, apart from the children’s ensemble and dancers. Auditions for those roles will take place on 2nd March and you can contact Michelle Hartley if interested. michelle.candles@gmail.com

Alice Hawkins

PERFORMANCE & PLANNING COMMITTEE UPDATE

With rehearsals for our first four shows of the year in full swing, and our summer musical cast just announced, the theatre is a hive of activity. There’s just three weeks until Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced opens – Folkestone seems to be full of murder-mystery fans as tickets are selling quickly so don’t leave it too late to get yours before they sell out. Following that, our talented Youth Section are bringing us Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods in April, followed in May by Hobson’s Choice and new for 2024, our foyer play Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.

We’re on the lookout for shows to fill our 2025 programme – if you are interested in directing, have an idea for a production you’d like to share, or would like more information on how to get involved please drop me a line at jules_morrow@hotmail.com

We’re also still open for proposals for our 2024 Panto Aladdin. If you would like to bring this show to the stage in December, then we’d love to hear from you. You’ll need a draft script and a proposal, but we can help you pull the plan together if you need support, and work with you to build a team to make the show really take off!

The deadline is 31 March – if you are interested, or have a proposal to submit, please send it to jules_morrow@hotmail.com by the end of next month.

Julie Morrow

GET TOGETHER AND AUDITION NOTICE – SISTER ACT

Sister Act is a feel-good musical comedy based on the 1992 film, set in the fabulous late-1970s Philadelphia. When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she’s placed in protective custody where she won’t be found: a convent. Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with the rigid lifestyle of Mother Superior.

Using her unique talents, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community, ultimately blowing her cover. Will Deloris and her newly found sisterhood be a match when the murderer shows up?

Sister Act will be performed September 13-21. We will be having a get-together at the Tower Theatre at 7pm on Tuesday March 27, with auditions from 1pm on Sunday April 7. The show and cast will also be featured on the FHODS float at the Hythe Venetian Fete on August 21.

Character Breakdown

Ages are of the characters and not necessarily of the actors portraying them.

Deloris Van Cartier (Female, 25+, vocal range F#5-E3)
An aspiring performer, trying to find both fame and a place in the world. When forced to hide in the convent, she initially refuses to embrace her new lifestyle but learns to embrace it when she works with the choir. Loud-mouthed and sassy, but ultimately caring.

Mother Superior (Female, 50+, vocal range E5-D3)
The head of the convent, sarcastic and a bit stiff. Extremely protective about keeping her sisters away from the outside world, which puts her in direct opposition to Deloris and her musical teachings.

Sister Mary Robert (Female, 18+, vocal range A5-F#3)
A postulant, abandoned as a baby and raised at the convent. Shy and soft-spoken, but singing with Deloris lets her find her voice. Her wallflower lifestyle has made her live a shell of a life.

Sister Mary Patrick (Female, 35-50)
A nun of the convent. Consistently perky, enthusiastic, and easily excitable.

Sister Mary Lazarus (Female, 50-70, vocal range B4-F3)
A nun of the convent and the head of the choir. Rather deadpan and the least welcoming of any of the nuns, but she gets caught up in Deloris’s soul music.

Monsignor O’Hara (Male, 40+, vocal range G4-E3)
One of the heads of the convent. Constantly concerned with financial matters, though soul music surprisingly puts him in a different mood.

Curtis (Male, 30+, vocal range Ab4-A2)
A club owner, notorious gangster, and Deloris’ boyfriend. Cocky and controlling, always on the verge of violence.

Eddie (Male, 25+, vocal range B4-Ab2)
The desk chief at the Philadelphia police station and a high school classmate of Deloris who helps get her into hiding. Faces a lot of nerves when under pressure, causing him to sweat profusely. He still yearns for Deloris after all these years, and dreams of being her hero.

TJ (Male, 18-30, vocal range Eb5-Db3)
Curtis’ nephew and one of his thugs. Deft and cognizant of the fact, constantly in a state of ignorant bliss.

Joey (Male, 30-40, vocal range Eb5-Bb2)
One of Curtis’ thugs. Believes himself to be quite the ladies’ man.

Pablo (Male, 25-40, vocal range F5-C4)
One of Curtis’ thugs. A natural follower, constantly speaks in Spanish.

Sister Mary Martin-of-Tours (Female, 40+)
A nun of the convent. Clearly in her own world, but has her moments of surprising clarity.

Sister Mary Theresa (Female, 60-70)
A nun of the convent, the oldest of the group. Decrepit at a glance, but secretly packs a punch.

Michelle (Female, 20-30, vocal range F5-Bb3)
One of Deloris’ back-up singers. Lippy and always quick with a retort.

Tina (Female, 20-30, vocal range F5-Ab3)
One of Deloris’ back-up singers. A little thick and naive.

Ernie (Male, 25-35)
One of Curtis’ thugs. Initially thought to be a mindless yes-man, he turns out to be an undercover police informant.

Ensemble will consist of women and men who will portray various characters in the show, including backup dancers. The roles of Michelle, Tina, and Ernie will be played by ensemble actors.

The Sister Act Creative Team

Director – Alice Hawkins
Musical Director – Steve Hawkins
Producer – Mike Manton
Choreographer – Sophie Burgess-Adams

Further details and audition pieces will be available on the FHODS Audition Website soon. For any questions, please contact Alice Hawkins (a.bell3@btinternet.com) or Mike Manton (mikemanton@gmail.com).

CAST ANNOUNCEMENT – BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

It is with deepest pride, and greatest pleasure, that I can now announce our cast! (did you see what I did there!?)

We’d like to start by saying a massive thank you for the time, patience and commitment given by everyone who auditioned, and to our panel – it was a very long and cold day, and greatly appreciated. We had 46 people turn up to audition on the day, and saw over 60 different auditions (not including the ensemble workshop) for 12 Principal roles and 18 ensemble roles, and we still have the children’s acting ensemble and dancer auditions to come on Saturday 2nd March.

The standard we saw on Sunday was absolutely phenomenal, and we as a panel were blown away by all the performances presented to us. It also made our decisions incredibly difficult, and there have been ongoing discussions constantly since. Well done everyone for an outstanding day of talent!

Our wonderful, talented cast are as follows:

Belle – Sophia Jones
Beast – Robert Emptage
Gaston – José Barrientos
Lefou – Luke Jones
Maurice – Graham Burgess
Lumiere – Richard Hawkins
Cogsworth – Still to be cast
Mrs Potts – Alice Hawkins
Madame De La Grande Bouche – Friesia Schuil
Chip – Cora Prineas
Babette – Georgia Smith
Monsieur D’Arque – Damian McGuire
Les Filles De La Ville – Jasmine Bradley, Eden Law & Abbie Shepherd
Beggar Woman / Enchantress – Kate Wright
Ensemble: Sam Parry, Trudy Cocks, Trish Smith, Ben Prineas, Isaac Tomlin, Jack Willcox, Ava Wright, Andrea Reid, Pauline Gullidge, Nicola Jarrett, Karen Prineas, Emma Franks, Amanda Angus, Sarah Smith & Katy Hydon

Once again, thank you all so very much for your patience, talent and energy – we can’t wait to start, and we know that with this amazing cast, the show is going to be fantastic!

Michelle, Andy and Sophie

CAST ANNOUNCEMENT – SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS

We’re delighted to announce the cast for Six Dance Lessons in Sex Weeks, our first studio theatre production in the foyer. Performance dates are May, 23, 24 and 25, and tickets are on sale now!

Lily Harrison – Anne Mortimer
Michael Minetti – Ben Forrest

FACILITIES UPDATE

January has been a very busy month for us. With the theatre being mostly dark we’ve had the opportunity to get in and do so some much needed work to the old girl. Chief amongst these has been a complete overhaul of our electrical systems. We are required by law to have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EIRC). An EIRC is to the theatre what an MOT is to a car and we didn’t have one. Now we do. It wasn’t cheap and there was a lot of work involved but happily we are, at last, ‘legal’.

Also we had a finding of asbestos in the cellar and this had to be removed by specialist contractors, this is now complete and the cellar has been returned to service. Those two jobs together have cost us in the region of £35k so that’s most of 2023 profit gone before we start 2024. Yay.

Looking ahead, the ‘next big thing’ is a heating re-circulation system for the main auditorium. As is well known, the back of the auditorium heats up while the front rows freeze, I can explain in detail the reasons for that if anyone is interested but basically ‘Ye canna change the laws o’ physics’ (actually it’s The Second Law of Thermodynamics but whatevs).

The plan is to install a double redundant heat re-circulation system (‘double redundant’ is a clever way of saying if half the system goes down it will still operate at 100% efficiency) and the intention is that when the back of the auditorium reaches a certain temperature then silent pumps will kick in, suck in warm air which is pumped through ducts down through wardrobe, under the seating and expelled at floor level in the front of the auditorium and establishes a circular warm air flow. Also this should reduce our energy costs. It’s not cheap, but we’ve got a design and a quote which we are using to chase some ‘green grant money’ with FHDC and currently we’re flat out with that as the grant window is closing fast.

Fire Risk Assessment. It’s a legal requirement for us to have a Fire Risk Assessment and there is a slight technical problem at the moment in that we don’t got one. We are going to source quotes for that and once the electrical works are complete (i.e. once the thing mostly likely to burn us to the ground is finally made safe), then we’ll address the FRA. This may very well lead to more works (and expenditure).

In other news. We’ve now got an EPC – Energy Performance Certificate (another legal requirement – ours lapsed and for some reason this was missed). We asked the EPC surveyor to rate how energy efficient we are and once he’d stopped giggling he gave us a D rating. We’re getting quotes for insulation and secondary glazing and will be seeking grants for same.

The car park pot holes are being filled and disclaimer notices have been put up advising car park users that cars are parked at their own risk (and on a wholly unrelated point if anyone knows how to hotwire an SUV please get in touch with the fundraising team).

The heating system has received it’s annual maintenance and we have upgraded that to have a wifi interface that will link into the heat re-circ system, slight problem in that it doesn’t work because the wifi signal isn’t strong enough so next steps are to install signal boosters, this will hopefully also improve the operability with sum up machines used to facilitate bar/tea/ice cream sales in the foyer (which will make us more money which I will promptly spend on more stuff you can’t see).

We also need to address the boilers which have fallen into disrepair and flush the radiators which hasn’t been done. We’ve sourced and replaced the failed light bar winch in the flies, that was one of those easy five minute ‘take out the old unit, drop in the new one’ jobs that wound up taking 3 of us 4 hours. We’ve put up pictures and certificates of past productions in the green room and dressing room areas. We would like to decorate the stairs and corridors with playbills from past productions (just like we used to do at The Little Theatre) so if anyone has any of those they could lend us for photocopying please let us know.

Sorry this has been a bit of an essay, but we’ve spent a lot of time rectifying things and it’s your theatre and you should know what is going on and on what we are spending your money. I hope future updates will be much shorter and even less interesting.

Paul Milton
Exec Facility Manager