THE GREEN ROOMWESTERHAM AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY Edition 6. June 2017

WelcomeDear All,

Welcome to the Summer edition of theGreen Room.

Where has the year gone so far? Oneminute we’re sorting costumes for thePantomime and yet already we areenjoying this rather lovely weather andlooking forward to the forthcomingSummer Social.

And In between we have had the AGM– see over for details and of course thewonderful play The Unexpected Guest.

As always my sincere thanks toeveryone involved, from the cast - someof whom had an astonishing number oflines to learn but who all transformedthemselves into the most believablecharacters, to all the helpers behind thescenes. You know who you are – andWADS would not and could not beWADS without this help.

So my usual request here for morepeople who want to get involved behindthe scenes and on stage. We have,through our Social Media, attractedmany more people especially thosewho would like to be part of the actingteam, but we certainly could do with afew more techies – of course training,shadowing opportunities and loads ofhelp would be offered – just makeyourselves known to one of the veryfriendly Committee members.

I very much look forward to seeing youat the Summer Social on 1st July. Ourthanks to Jeff and Heather Adams forhosting this at their beautiful home.

Best wishes,Karen Williams-HoltChairperson

WADS CALENDAR15th JuneThirsty Thespian 8:30pmGrasshopper on the Green 1st JulyWADS Summer High Tea3:00pm - 7:00pm,Rustlings, Westerham 13th JulyThirsty Thespian 8:30pmGrasshopper on the Green 16th JulyWADS Youth 3:00-5:00pmWesterham Hall

ContactsKaren Williams-Holt, Chair

chair@wads-web.net

Bev Newbold, Secretary

secretary@wads-web.net

Annick Barbaria, Membership

members@wads-web.net

Mark Mountjoy, Treasurer

treasurer@wads-web.net

“I would just like to thank everyone involved in the production of The UnexpectedGuest. My friend and I are avid theatre goers and regularly attend West End andprovincial plays, but we both agreed that this is one of the best productions we haveseen in a long time. The set was extremely good, the sound and lighting excellent andthe calibre of the actors outstanding. Please can I ask you to pass this on to everyoneconcerned and thank them for an entertaining and exhilarating evening.”

Agatha Christie’sThe Unexpected Guest

directed by Keith Neville

20th JulyAudition - Come On, Jeeves8:00pm, Front Meeting RoomWesterham Hall23rd JulyAudition - Come On, Jeeves11:00am, Front Meeting RoomWesterham Hall21st September, 19th October, 16th NovemberThirsty Thespian 8:30pmGrasshopper on the Green 29th November - 2nd DecemberCome On , Jeeves 8:00pm plus 2:30pm SaturdayWesterham Hall

Paul Bowen, Julie Tushingham, Alex Martineau, Roger Williams, Ian Caldecourt & Patrick Michaels

One has no need to blow one’s owntrumpet when someone, completelyunsolicited, does it for you so eloquently!We unashamedly quote the email abovewhich was received shortly after the closeof our successful May production. KeithNeville’s excellent production of TheUnexpected Guest was well received andthe sentiments quoted above epitomisethe general comments heard from the 400strong audience that saw the show. Castand Crew should be justifiably proud ofwhat they achieved.

We now turn our sights to December andthe planned production of Come On,

Jeeves to be directed by our second guestdirector this year, Sandra Barfield. Sandracomes to us from many successfulproductions in Sevenoaks with TheSevenoaks Players and many othergroups both in Sevenoaks at The StagTheatre and the surrounding district.

Come On, Jeeves was written by PGWodehouse and Guy Bolton and is theonly script form Wodehouse’s Jeevescanon in which PG Wodehouse had ahand. Written with Guy Bolton, a prolificcollaboration which later saw Wodehouseheralded as one of the architects of themodern musical comedy.

The Green Room Edition 6. Page 2

AGM ReportBy Ashton Taylor Smith

Tuesday, 28th March, saw a reasonableturn out for our AGM, with 19 attending.Karen our chairman, having welcomedeveryone, went on to present a briefsummary of the WADS year. She reportedthat we'd been lucky enough to have BenBorowiecki running workshops during Mayand that this is something we'd like topursue in future. This was followed in theautumn by the pantomime Beauty & theBeast with the highly memorable renditionof Nessun Dorma by Pag. The hard workof all the cast was mentioned too, and inparticular, of our Youth members; we areall agreed that we need to nurture this partof the Society given their consistentcommitment to WADS productions. It wasreally good to have some new facesamongst our adult cast who've not beeninvolved in WADS before.

Karen also highlighted that membershipnumbers are increasing and the twoextremely successful WADS social eventswhich we ran in 2016. She also made aplea for members to come forward withideas for future productions, directors,social events etc as we very muchwelcome input from members.

Our Hon Treasurer, Mark M, reported aslight fall in the societies finances, mainlydue to the unfortunate cancelation of ourMay production. An unexpected windfall,had helped restore the balance in the formof the efforts of Marli Baily, and SarahWilliams, in selling surplus costumes, fromour collection.

After the formal business of the meetingwas concluded, including the election ofcommittee, a special award wasannounced by Karen. The Committee hadagreed unanimously that we should makeBarbara & Tony Lincoln Fellows of theSociety in recognition of all their work overmany years; both were thanked for theirremarkable dedication and tirelesssupport.

Having closed the meeting, and rechargedour wine glasses, Karen asked thoseassembled for their ideas and questions,opening a lively discussion.

Sarah Williams raised the point that 2018is the 100 year anniversary of the end ofWorld War I and requested that we mightlook at ideas for putting on a review-typeproduction to mark this.

Ghislaine Bowden spoke about her ideasfor directing an all-female play, for examplesomething quite edgy or possibly aboutthe Suffragette movement or aTenko’esque. Ghislaine will try to think ofsome ideas but would welcome ideas frommembers.

It was noted that in addition to directingour forthcoming production, Keith Nevilleis directing The Princeford Pals, a playabout WW1 which has been written by a

local couple and is based on one family'sexperiences. This will be performed 21,22, 23 July.

The Green Room, has proved a popularWads newspaper. A new edition has justbeen posted out to members. All presentagreed that this is better than emailing it asit is more likely to be read.

Jeff Adams made the point that we should“concentrate on our own backyard” whenit comes to publicising our productionsrather than, for example, worrying aboutdoing this through other societies; in hisexperience this is the most effective way ofpromoting productions and moreimportantly building awareness of WADSin Westerham.

Steve Bridges raised the question of what,if anything, is happening with the Youthmembership this year given that ourChristmas production won't be apantomime and therefore may not haveany suitable parts for Youth members. Asmentioned earlier, all are agreed that itwould be good to do something as thiscohort of our Society are so keen, JudyDuffield and Marlie Bailey will be arrangingactivities in the summer and needvolunteers to help stage a production if weare going to pursue a project aimed at ouryounger members.

OFFICERS & COMMITTEE MEMBERS

As elected at the 2017 AGM

President Ashton Taylor-Smith

Chairman Karen Williams-Holt

Hon. Secretary Beverley Newbold

Hon. Treasurer Mark Mountjoy

Elected Members:James Atkinson, Annick Barbaria,Marli Bailey, Judy Duffield,Annie Houghton, Julie Tushingham,Roger Williams

Vice Presidents:Katherine Calvorcoressi, Daphne Clemens,Mark de Angeli, Sally Pratt, Jeff Adams,Rosemary Pearson

Fellows:Neville Wells, Shiela James,Barbara & Tony Lincoln

The Unexpected PartMy first experience acting with WADSBy Julie Tushingham

“Just make sure they have all of theircostumes on!” were the instructions. Now,you may be forgiven for thinking that myfirst experience with WADS was a farce –but no. It was assisting with wardrobe forthe 2015 pantomime. My friend, SaraWilliams, who worked wonders dressingdames, ballerinas and beasts, hadrecruited me to help. I didn’t think for aminute that six months later I would be inthe Green Room doing some quickchanges of my own.

At the beginning of the year, I went alongto auditions for The Unexpected Guest notreally knowing what to expect and not trulyexpecting to be cast. I saw some familiarfaces from the panto and everyoneseemed friendly and scarily talented! ‘Help- they all know exactly what they’re doing.I stand no chance.’ I remember thinking.Everyone was focused on the audition –until teatime, when we shared someamdram war stories. Mine not as recent astheirs as I had not been in a stageproduction for more than 20 years. Fromthe age of seven, I have been involved inmusical theatre: Gilbert and Sullivan’sPirates and Pinafore. Musicals includingCalamity Jane, The Boyfriend, Half aSixpence, Desert Song (oh the costumes!!)and Faust (horror!). My last theatreproduction was in the early eighties and Iplayed Piggie Gilpin in the Council ofEurope’s production of Noel Coward’sHands Across the Sea. Piggie hostedpeople she couldn’t remember at an eventshe’d forgotten to arrange. Result: Friendsto the rescue to create an instant cocktailparty. While The Unexpected Guest’sLaura Warwick was almost undone by alighter, fingerprints, a guest and ‘that awfulfog!’. How I loved that red dress in Act I.

A cast of 10, we helped and supportedeach other. Our production team werebrilliant and our patient and inspireddirector, Keith Neville, brought along withhim Kevin Onley, disciplined as our deadbody but also an extremely talented setcreator – though not while playing dead.Laura was so tempted to say her latehusband was ‘mauled by a zebra.’ If yousaw the play I think you’ll make theconnection.

My first experience acting with WADS wasone of the most exciting and terrifyingexperience of my life and one I hope torepeat.

Kevin Onley, Ian Caldercourt & Julie Tushingham Julie Tushingham, Ian Cladecourt, Roger Williams,Patrick Michaels, Nick Randall & Cheryl Fraser

The Green Room Edition 6. Page 3Attention allThirsty Thespians!!During the last production, the cast andteam availed themselves of therefreshments provided by Anne & Neale atThe Grasshopper on the Green after hardsessions rehearsing! We have decided to‘come home’ to the pub where the wholeadventure of monthly ‘get togethers’started. It would be great to see you there.

The planned time is from 8.30 p.m. (time todigest supper) and the dates will be thethird Thursday of the month, thus makingour first meeting on 15th June!

So, please do join us at The ThirstyThespian at The Grasshopper it will begood to catch up and also meet newfriends who maybe interested in what wehave to offer!

See you there! JD

News June 2017

We are very aware that there are a largenumber of you, our young members, whodid not have opportunity to be involved inthe last production in May (but who werebrilliant in the pantomime last December!)As this year will be ‘panto free’ we need toengage with you all and decide what youwould like to do next.

Therefore, we are arranging a get togetheron Sunday, July 16th from 3.00 to 5.00p.m., firstly, to catch up with you all – it willbe agreat to see you – and secondly, todiscuss how you would like to be involved.We have lots of ideas ranging fromworkshops and coaching to shortproductions and also we need to nurtureour backstage and technical teams. Wewould also love to hear what you have tosay or suggest!

We are very fortunate to have such a goodYouth Team and it’s great working withyou. As a Society, we are very proud tohave nurtured the careers of manyyoungsters who have gone on to havesuccessful careers in theatre and linkedoccupations and our role of honour ispretty impressive!

So, if you would like to come along andmeet with us, make a note of the date andtime – Sunday July 16th 3.00 - 5.00 p.m

If you can’t make this date, please contactme on judyduffield7@gmail.com and wecan stay in touch!

It will be lovely to see you and please bringa friend or two if you wish!

(Hoping the exam season is going well withyou all!)

Judy Duffield

Audition NoticeCome On, Jeeves

By PG Woodhouse & Guy Bolton

Reginald Jeeves, one must remember, is a‘gentleman’s personal gentleman’. He ison loan to the 9th Earl of Towcester whileBertie is away (you find out why later).Jeeves is a brilliant valet and takes controlof this rather endearing young employer’slife. Bill Towcester, having lost heavily atthe races in the past, decides to becomea bookie. Jeeves accompanies him to allhis race meetings as his clerk, he of coursehas the head for figures. However thingsdon’t exactly go to plan and a man calledBiggar actually wins putting on a large bet,leaving Towcester to find over threethousand pounds! This was at the time theso-called upper classes had to find gainfulmeans of employment, as the upkeep oftheir mansions took their toll on thefinances and, post-war, they could nolonger rely on their staff remaining withthem no matter what. Add to this anengagement, a sister, a white hunter, a richAmerican, Rory and Lady Agatha it’s justbound to all go wrong.

Auditions:

Thursday, 20th July at 8pm

Sunday, 23rd July at 11am

Characters:

Lord Carmoyle, Rory 40/50

Lady Carmoyle, Monica 40/50His wife

Jill Wyvern 20/30Engaged to mary

The Earl of Towcester, Bill 30/40

Jeeves, Bill’s Butler 40 ish

Ellen, Bill’s Housemaid youngish

Mrs Spottsworth 50’ishA wealthy American widow

Captain Biggar 50’isha ‘White Hunter”

Colonel Blagden 50/60Chief Constable

These ages are a rough guide line.

Scripts will be available shortly. Pleasecontact Sandra Barfield on 07973 657311or sandrapbarfield@gmail.com

A Rustling Good Summer Social!

Tea &Frivolity

Saturday, 1st July3:00pm - 6:30pm

Rustlings, Goodley Stock RoadCrockham Hill, TN8 6TA

Members & friends are invited to enjoy awonderful summer high tea in the lovelygrounds of Rustlings courtesy of Jeff &Heather Adams.

High Tea will be served comprising a widebredth of fayre both sweet and savoury tobe washed down not only with, of course,lashings of tea but also proseco etc.

To make sure the proceedings go with aswing WADS favourite mistress of theivories, Sally Higham, will be on hand toentertain.

Tickets are a mere £10 per head toinclude everything!

We urge you to book early by sending yourcheque made out to WADS as soon asyou can to our Treasurer at ThePheasantry, Vicarage Hill, Westerham,Kent, TN16 1FY.

Ian Cladecourt & Sally Boulton

Alex Martineau, Cheryl Fraser, Roger Williams& Patrick Michaels

Nick Randall, Patrick Michaels & Roger Williams

The Green Room Edition 6. Page 4

Slap- without the tickle!

By Annette Houghton

“Make-up! Oh no, do I have to?”

This is a cry I hear all too often. But do yourealize just how important make-up is inorder to convey to your audience thecharacter that you are portraying? Whetherit is a pretty, beautiful ingenue or aroughish, sinister, conniving Svengali, oreven a comical character, make-up is thereto support your acting and enhance theaudience understanding. After-all - firstimpressions...

Theatre make-up, though steeped inhistory and tradition, is not what one wouldwear out on a date nor to a party. In orderto register with the audience at first sightunder the stage lighting it is much heavierand more obvious than when viewed awayfrom the stage. When you look in the mirrorin the Green Room the face you seelooking back at you is not the face theaudience sees. It is a more extremeversion of the same that projects in thelight of the theatre and communicatesdirectly to the audience. In the greattraditions of theatres such as the Kumadoriof Kabuki or the masks of the Commediadell’Arte the ‘face’ is prescribed and onlythe great performers are given leave tomodify it from the long held original form.Such faces are akin to subtilties to their

audiences. Their appearance on stage isas clear to the audience as an inter-titlewas to the film goers of the early 20th

century. Elements of this wereincorporated into early theatre here but, ingeneral, make-up has always been morecharacter, and in many cases, actor, led.As indeed was the case for Thespis inancient Greece, he applied make-up so hestood out from the other un-made-upchorus around him and earned his placeas arguably the first actor playing acharacter on stage. The fact the make-uphe chose to use was white lead andmercuric sulphide (bright red), whilst beingeffective, probably killed him. Thankfullytoday we do not even have to suffer therigours of Lichner 5&9. No more therendered down animal fats but kind andeasily cleaned Auqua Pak and moderncake water based make-ups suffice.

But, despite all this history and tradition, Ihave seen actors rub make-up off or puttheir own make-up on they way the think it

should be seen, and all too often this is fartoo subtle to project beyond the lighting onstage and results in pale, eyelesscharacters - not quite what the directormay want, and certainly bland andindistinguishable to the audience.

If only you could see yourself under thelights as we do and then you wouldappreciate just what the audience will see.

This aversion to stage make-up appliesequally to men as it does to ladies. Whilstit would appear more natural for men, wholet’s face it, until recent times, have noritual nor experience of applying make-upas part of their daily lives, to take agin theapplication of our art I still find itextraordinary how they will accept, if notpositively reinforce, make-up when sittingat my table in fishnet tights and a basqueyet decry it when about to step on stageas Peter Grimes or Jean Valjean. Our artcan bring a belly laugh to the audience asyou step out as the Dame, a flutter ofuncertainty as the transvestite or a fullchurn as the newly born monster ofFrankenstein.

So I lay down the challenge, use the timesitting in my chair as a rare moment ofpeace and tranquility to become yourcharacter rather than wrestle with anxietiesof “how will I look”. We will always makeyou look just as amazing, alluring,exhilarating, sexy, strong, weak, well, ill,sane, demented, comic or downright foulas your character demands.

Who is Jeeves?By Roger Williams

Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in aseries of humorous short stories andnovels by P.G. Wodehouse (1881–1975),being the highly competent valet of awealthy and idle young Londoner namedBertie Wooster. Created in 1915, Jeevescontinued to appear in Wodehouse's workuntil his last completed novel Aunts Aren'tGentlemen in 1974, a span of 59 years.The name "Jeeves" comes from PercyJeeves (1888–1916), a Warwickshirecricketer killed in the First World War.

Both the name "Jeeves" and the characterof Jeeves have come to be thought of asthe quintessential name and nature of avalet or butler, inspiring many similarcharacters (viz the Internet search engineAsk Jeeves). "Jeeves" is now a genericterm as validated by its entry in the OxfordEnglish Dictionary.

In a conversation with a policeman in"Jeeves and the Kid Clementina", Jeevesrefers to himself as both a "gentleman'spersonal gentleman" and a "personalgentleman's gentleman." This means thatJeeves is a valet, not a butler; that is, heserves a man and not a household.However, Bertie Wooster has lent outJeeves as a butler on several occasions,noting that "if the call comes, he can buttlewith the best of them."

So, Butler or Valet? A butler is a domesticworker in a large household. In greathouses, the household is sometimesdivided into departments with the butler incharge of the dining room, wine cellar, andpantry. Some also have charge of theentire parlour floor, and housekeeperscaring for the entire house and itsappearance. A butler is usually male, andin charge of male servants, while ahousekeeper is usually a woman, and incharge of female servants. Traditionally,male servants (such as footmen) were rarerand therefore better paid and of higherstatus than female servants. The butler, asthe senior male servant, has the highestservant status. In older houses where thebutler is the most senior worker, titles suchas majordomo, butler administrator, housemanager, staff manager, chief of staff, staffcaptain, estate manager and head ofhousehold staff are sometimes given. Theprecise duties of the employee will vary tosome extent in line with the title given, butperhaps, more importantly in line with therequirements of the individual employer. Inthe grandest homes or when the employerowns more than one residence, there issometimes an estate manager of higherrank than the butler.

A valet or "gentleman's gentleman" is agentleman's male servant; the closestfemale equivalent is a lady's maid. Thevalet performs personal services such asmaintaining his employer's clothes,

running his bath and perhaps shaving hisemployer.

In a great house, the master of the househad his own valet, and in the very grandestgreat houses, other adult members of theemploying family (e.g. master's sons)would also have their own valets.

At a court, even minor princes and highofficials may be assigned one, but in asmaller household the butler – themajordomo in charge of the householdstaff – might have to double as hisemployer's valet. In a bachelor'shousehold the valet may perform lighthousekeeping duties as well.

Valets learned the skills for their role invarious ways. Some began as footmen,learning some relevant skills as part of thatjob, and picking up others whendeputising for their master's valet, or byperforming valeting tasks for his sonsbefore they had a valet of their own, or formale guests who did not travel with a valet.Others started out as soldier-servants toarmy officers (batmen) or stewards to navalofficers.

Traditionally, a valet did much more thanmerely lay out clothes and take care ofpersonal items. He was also responsiblefor making travel arrangements, dealingwith any bills and handling all moneymatters concerning his master or hismaster's household.