1986, HMS Pinafore
Rehearsals
Immediately after Messiah, plans were afoot for the Gilbert and Sullivan production, which was to be H.M.S. Pinafore. Carole Driscoll was appointed as director and Graham as chorus master. Ian was to conduct the performances, which would be accompanied by the Eltham Community Orchestra. The venue was to be a real theatre - the new performance centre at Eltham College, which was provided free of charge.
Rehearsals began in early June, with auditions the following week. The chosen cast consisted mainly of "new chums", with the lead roles being filled by Rod Chappel (Sir Joseph Porter), Barbara Amatnieks (Buttercup), Simon Laidler (Dick Deadeye) and Penny Rendell (sharing the role of Josephine with Mavis). Chris White, from Trial by Jury was to do the Captain. It took some time to find a tenor to fill the part of Ralph, but Graham eventually persuaded his friend John Overberg to save the day.
During this period Bert, the treasurer, moved out of the area and wasn't seen again. Alan, the new secretary, was offered the post of organist at a church in Essendon, and his place as rehearsal pianist was taken by Rita Birchill.
By July rehearsals were in full swing at Greensborough Uniting Church, although men for the chorus were in short supply, and appeals were made for reinforcements. The orchestra was also making progress in Ian's capable hands, while Chris White said "Leave the sets to me".
A publicity committee was formed and performance dates finalised - October 9, 10, 11 and 12. As Eltham College theatre was made available free of charge, the decision was made once again to donate proceeds to World Vision, who had agreed to print the tickets and posters and to provide refreshments at the performances.
Rehearsals became more complicated with the addition of choreography, directed by young dancer Sarah (Kindy) Vallance, who on more than one occasion gave vent to her frustration in finding that the cast consisted mainly of people with two left feet and amnesia.
After a charity performance at Templestowe Retirement Village, Carole was quite happy. By the next rehearsal in the Eltham College theatre, it looked as though we had a show.
Performances
Simon Laidler as Dick Deadeye
Penni Rendell with John Ousberg
Barbara Amatnieks and Chris White
Penni Rendell as Josephine
Simon Laidler as Dick Deadeye
Use of a proper theatre had promised the opportunity of having dressing rooms, but further exploration of the facilities revealed a cold and draughty concrete-floored dungeon which functioned on the unisex principal. In this intimate, subterranean environment cast members learned more about each other than ever before! What's more, the only toilets available were also used by the audience, so cast had to wait for opportunities between scenes on stage to make a dash for the loo. Those on stage for long periods at a time were often in dire distress.
Mention must be made of the magnificent sets designed and built by Chris White. The shipboard scene was complete with forecastle and rigging, but Mavis, who was afraid of heights, did feel apprehensive about negotiating the steps in a crinoline with parasol in hand. It was only later, when Chris became so much in demand as a professional set designer, that we realised what a godsend we had in our formative years.
The orchestra pit was so tiny that its conductor, Ian, had to conduct sitting in the middle seat of the front row, and the lighting was so bad that he had to conduct with a small torch in his hand. Despite this the orchestra held together.
Opening night brought an audience of 150. The cast members were all fired up and Carole and Kindy were pleased. Subsequent performances also went well, in spite of some missed entries and the mistiming of the cannon shot! Audiences were much better and the general consensus of opinion was that the whole enterprise had been a great success. A videotape ensured that the show was preserved for posterity.
As a postlude there was another performance for the Eltham Festival in the Community Centre with no sets or costumes and an audience wandering in and out looking at the various exhibits. Different!
These history notes have been kindly provided by our long-term artistic director and co-founder, Graham Ford.