(Honorary Patron: Vanessa Redgrave CBE)
The third Grayshott 24 took place on Friday & Saturday, 25th & 26th June 2010.
The third sextennial Grayshott 24 took place on the 25th & 26th June.
Planning had started some months earlier, as there were some things
that simply had to be done in advance, and as the evening approached,
all we had to worry about was whether enough people would turn up to
enable us to proceed. In fact, as 7.30pm approached, it was apparent
that we did not have enough people, but as we knew that there were
traffic problems on the A3, we decided to delay the start by 15
minutes. We also decided to keep to our original plan of starting the
show at 7.30 on the Saturday, so the Grayshott 24 became the Grayshott
23¾.
As 7.45 approached, it looked as if there were enough people, and the
show was announced: Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". We were very
fortunate that Robert Gilman and Tanya Holmes-Jefferd had volunteered
to play for rehearsals, and under Jeremy Legat's direction, and with
assistance from Anne Bradley, music rehearsals were under way within
minutes. The casting committee took around ten minutes to make their
decisions, and the cast was announced. Music rehearsals continued
until a little after midnight, whilst rehearsals on stage progressed,
scene by scene, with people popping in and out as required. Meanwhile,
the props team, Barbie Badger, Angie Hilder, Steph Ridler and Alison
Owen set about finding the many and varied items that were needed, and
Sylvia Boddington & Jan Ashwell set to work preparing costumes, and in
some cases five or six costumes, for everybody.
As darkness fell, the stage construction crew, Stephen Penny, Peter
Budd, and David Peerman were to be found in the car park wallpapering
flats to create a State Room, and a cabin, after which they explored
deep into the corners of the loft to find all the trappings to create
the ballroom scene. Steve Georgii, our sound wizard, had been hard at
work all evening putting microphones up and positioning speakers to
ensure that everyone could be heard, and he continued to make
adjustments and tweaks right up until the performance.
Shortly after midnight, most people, other than the principals, went
home to get some sleep, whilst work continued on stage. Unfortunately,
at around 1am, our Billy Crocker found that he was unable to continue
with the role, and this presented us with something of a headache.
Help was at hand, however, Will Forde agreeing to take on the part,
but only if the other person that we had in mind was unable to do it,
as he had to work all day and would be unable to be with us for the
rehearsals during the day. Although he was hoping not to have to play
the part, Will worked through on stage until around 6am, just in case.
Those who had gone home had been requested to return by 7am, and this
they duly did, and music, dance, and stage rehearsals got under way
again. By 8am, Heather Legat & Alex Yates were hard at work in the
kitchen, preparing full English breakfast for everyone, and very good
it was, too. About this time, Danny Yates, who had played the part for
another society about eighteen months previously, agreed to take on
the part of Billy Crocker.
A full run through commenced at 1pm, and slowly chugged it's way
through the show. This pointed up the sections of the show that had
only been rehearsed briefly, if at all, and adjustments were made
accordingly. The final dress rehearsal started at 4pm, and finished
just in time for us to clear the hall and put out the chairs for our
audience.
At 7.30 on Saturday 26th June, the countdown clock reached zero, and
the show started in front of an audience of about 60. Of course, we
knew from the beginning that the show wouldn't be perfect, but our
audience were very forgiving, and appeared to be enjoying themselves.
As for the performers, I think that they enjoyed themselves more as
the performance progressed, although whether that was because their
confidence increased, or because the end was in sight, I couldn't say.
All who took part deserve congratulating on their achievements, And in
particular, Choreographer Laura Musco, and Musical Director Jeremy
Legat, without whom the whole event would not have been possible.
The article that appeared in the local paper.
Grayshott Stagers presented Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" in Grayshott Village Hall on Saturday 26th June 2010.
Nothing particularly remarkable about that, one might have thought, except that Grayshott Stagers did this from scratch in 24 hours.
On the evening of Friday 25th June, around forty people gathered in Grayshott Village Hall, and were told that the show to be
presented was "Anything Goes". Casting was completed within ten minutes, and rehearsals commenced with volunteer musicians teaching the cast the music.
Rehearsals continued through the night, and whilst most people managed a little bit of sleep, there were three or four people who were awake
for the whole night. Breakfast was provided for all on Saturday morning, as the cast continued to work on their words, their music, and their dances.
Meanwhile, the props team worked at gathering such diverse items as a wheelchair, two stuffed dogs, and a lobster, and the costume ladies had to
provide outfits for forty people, and in a few cases four or five outfits. The stage crew put together a set, including two state rooms, a nightclub,
the ship's deck, and a jail, and the sound man put microphones all over the place to make sure that everyone could be heard.
A full run started shortly after 1pm on Saturday afternoon, followed by a dress rehearsal at around 4pm. At 6.30 the hall was cleared, and chairs
were set out for the audience, and at 7.30 the performance started in front of an audience of around 60 people, who were very forgiving of cast
carrying books, and making a few mistakes.
Organiser Tony Legat said that everyone involved deserved congratulations for all their hard work, and particularly Chris Deacon, whose name was
inadvertently omitted from the programme, and Danny Yates who had stepped in with just under twelve hours to go. He added that the production would not
have been possible without the hard work put in by choreographer Laura Musco, and his son, Jeremy, as Musical Director.
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Updated: 22nd July 2010
