Dress Rehearsal 2. Thurs 30th Dec

What was planned as a potential lie in and a mid afternoon start to prepare for this evening was terminated I had a call from Director to say that the first of the portacabins we had borrowed had arrived on site and could I go to the hall to make sure it went in the right place in the car park.

I then went home briefly to collect my kit and returned to the hall in time to supervise the second delivery and wait for the raked seating to arrive in the van with Director from Leicester.

Director, Setman, Box office and I then unloaded the van and then we sat down to toasted sandwiches with Setman's new purchase (4.99!!) before Box Office and 'Bilgewater' set about erecting said raked seating whilst Setman did the electrics for the portacabins.

'Alice' and I finished off filling the matinee boxes for the first performances then Alice made signs on the pc for front of house whilst I sewed numbered labels to the drapes for the Sultan's Palace to help them set the scene quicker.

The Dress Rehearsal itself went well although the pace is still slow and the band seem to have ongoing problems with sound levels.

One problem arose today. The Sultan can't get Sat 9th off work for the matinee.Not only did he not try and take the day off work until today! but he didn't even tell Director or I that he can't do the performance and left it to someone else in the cast to sort out for him. Not impressed.

Director, Director's wife and MD gave us notes and/or instructions tonight on the performance yet some people still took it upon themselves to 'do their own thing' and adlib in both script and songs rather than sticking to how the show has been rehearsed for the last 3 months. It's just not professional.

We may be a bunch of amateurs, having fun with our hobby, but I get very frustrated by people who insist on going their own way and either doing extras without thinking or doing something they have been asked not to, blatantly, out of sheer bloody mindedness, instead of working as part of the team. Part of me pervertedly hopes that these people will get to direct or produce a show one day and have someone do the same thing to them so they know what it feels like. Even less impressed. Understatement.

The only thing that annoys me more than this is the "It's only panto, it doesn't matter" attitude. It may be panto rather than a serious play or musical and yes, it's supposed to be fun, but it DOES matter. We are putting on a show which people are paying to see and if we muck about or don't get it right, what's the point in doing it at all.

Maybe I care about all this far too much......

Tomorrow night we get let loose on the paying public. God help 'em all !

Lyric of the Blog: " I tried to fight the feeling, the feeling took me down, I struggled and I lost the day you knocked me out. Now everything’s got meaning and meanings bring me down, I’m watching as a screening of my life plays out. Every day I fight these feelings, For your sake I will hide the real thing, You can run all your life, all mine I will chase... You should never fight your feelings, When your very bones believe them, You should never fight your feelings, You have to follow nature’s law" Embrace