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Nimbus News
Swings and Round-a-Bouts Column
who's doing what where
Theatre of the Winged Unicorn
Newsletter
Events for 2012.
To our all our audience members, thank you for your continued patronage over the years we look forward to sharing more entertaining times with you. To our company of loyal and talented actors/singers/musicians/and mentors our thanks for sharing your time and talent.
To all we wish you a healthy and happy 2012.
Dickens Celebrations.
In order to celebrate Charles Dickens 200th Birthday TWU cast is performing What the Dickens! at the Dickens Fellowship Toorak Rd. Melb. Feb 12th 2.00pm.
This is a special weekend where members of various fellowships from round Australia and New Zealand come together to acknowledge and celebrate the work of this great writer. We are performing in the ballroom and have adapted our production to suit.
Friday Feb. 17th –
more Dickens Celebrations. !!!!!!with a
Dickens Trivia Night. For FUN!! - $12.50 per person. The Scarecrow Patch 8.00pm
A fun night of Dickens Trivia with tables of 7 people hosted by some of What The Dickens! cast in costume. Patrons are encouraged to enter the spirit of the evening by wearing appropriate Dickensian attire if they wish…feel free to book individually and we will place you at tables if so desired. Lovely prizes for those who have researched their Dickens thoroughly.
Sat. 18th Feb.8.00pm & Sun. 19th 5.00pm Performances
What the Dickens! revisited in The Scarecrow Patch. A reshaped version of our Dickens performance to suit the intimate setting of the studio. Lots of fun with some familiar scenes and some new ones complete with an English country dance. A light supper will be served. Seating is limited as we have taken up quite a bit of space for the actors.
March -Textile and Fibre Artists Exhibition
Uniquely Geelong
This is our annual exhibition displaying the work of 15 artists working in, glass, ceramics, paper, drawing, collage weaving, felting etc.
A lovely opportunity to purchase something of quality, handcrafted and really special to our area.
Preview Sat. March the 3rd ..Official opening Sunday March 4th with afternoon tea fundraiser by Cottage By the Sea.
May – Production in the Ceres Hall.
Murder At the Vicarge – Agatha Christie. – Directed by Ben Mitchell
Something to really enjoy with this Miss Marple whodunit murder mystery.
Dressed elegantly in 1930’s costume ( audience members are encouraged again to enter the spirit of the evening by adoring themselves in dress of the era.) this is an evening to be thoroughly enjoyed. A whodunit survey will be conducted at the door during interval with the usual fund raising raffle as well.
We will be using the tiny stage to build a lovely box set complete with the plush red velvet theatre curtain. The country supper will be served in the Sunday School Hall.
A Preliminary reading will be held in March ..the date of which is to be confirmed.
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Second Half of the year briefly.
June- Winter Soltice performance in The Scarecrow Patch.- TBA
August – Music in the Studio – TBA
November /December – Finish off the year with Dicken’s A Christmas Carol – more about that later.
News from The Theatre of The Winged Unicorn Company during 2011.
Ben Mitchell completed his Acting Course at the Drama Studio London in 2010.. a tough year but so much was learned. After performing What the Dickens! in May this year Ben went back to England to work with a company in Gloucestershire, Jenny Wren Productions on a summer performance of Around the World in Eighty Days. It was a wonderful season of working in many beautiful venues around this glorious county. He is busy piano tuning as well as being involved in the Court House Project and is part of the ensemble there. He is to direct the Agatha Christie play in May at Ceres.
Amelia McBride who so successfully created her performance of Something Childish But Very Natural ( the work of Katherine Mansefield) for the studio at Ceres took it to Mooton in France and performed for the Katherine Mansefield Society’s annual gathering there with Julie Fryman. Amelia came back to Australia in July to be married to Andy Baker at Ceres. There was a most magical wedding breakfast in the Scarecrow Patch studio. Amelia is now working for Back To Back Theatre.
Meg Mitchell is busy studying at Victoria University and took herself to Africa with a Vets In The Wild Project through Pre toria University. An amazing animal experience. The year before it was Alaska to see huskies and bears. The year before off to England to travel and work in the Lake District. Meg has been studying, working at Safeway, picking protea, minding houses and dogs and is now also working for Weight Watchers, she is also playing oboe in Geelong Community Orchestra and Geelong Concert Band. Not a spare minute in the day.
Anne Peterson- Commons continues to be our choreographer meeting every challenge put in her way and with Pam Quickmire, our literary advisor and mentor and hostess we all share fantastic animal tales and experiences.
Dr Malcolm John seems to be always there to come to the rescue with patience and understanding when prevailed upon for another arrangement or a bit of musical tuition.
The families of the Company continue to thrive and perform despite the busyness of work and family life, Heather Dempsey and Colin with the 3 boys Liam ( last seen as Pip) starting secondary school this year, Kath O’Neill and Paul Burns busy with little Ruby, Jocelyn and David Mackay, ( both in the musical Cats) have Flynn and Genevieve, Rochelle Smith and Shaun Dallman have a new arrival in little Sadie a sister for Hamish and Oscar. Andrew and Trina Weinnmann have little Edie and Ross Pearce continues his work at Wesley and his study for the ministry: William is at Melbourne Uni and Andrew has been teaching for several years. Then there’s Miriam and the girls and Manfred with work and teaching and singing . There’s Colleen and Aileen and their involvement with music across the community, Marylin always so thoughtful , Bruce who continues to ply us with roses and fruits of his wonderful country garden at Maude, and Richard who is always there ! …
We are so fortunate to have these wonderful friends and families a part of our existence.
Golf! Dennis contines to play golf! Play the piano and sing loudly round the house most of the time.
Cats –I have been extremely fortunate to be asked by Peter Wills of Footlight Productions to direct his production of Cats – the musical, opening on 27th January. I am working alongside creative artist , Ferri Bond on Costumes and a host of talented Geelong people. This is a group of young energetic talented singers and dancers working very hard to create a spectacular performance. Together with a creative and also hard working production team this will be a great way to start the year.
2.
Information regarding Casting for Murder at the Vicarge.
We will be casting this play over the next month . Here are some explanatory notes about the characters. Please phone if you are interested in being considered for a particular role or just interested in coming out for a preliminary reading. All great fun.
Now CASTING - Actors Wanted
Theatre of the Winged Unicorn presents the 2012 May play
Agatha Christie’s
Murder at the Vicarage
Featuring Miss Marple
Dramatized by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy
Directed by Ben Mitchell
Characters
The Vicar (the Rev Leonard Clement………..a charming, rather vague man in his late forties.
Griselda…………………………………………………….Vicars pretty young wife.
Dennis ……………………………………………………...Vicar’s healthy, sixteen year old nephew.
Mary ………………………………………………………..their good natured but untidy maid.
Ronald Hawes (the curate)……………………….a pale faced, nervous young man with an unctuous
manner, and given to stuttering.
Anne Protheroe………………………………………..exceedingly attractive woman of about thirty five,
and beautifully dressed.
Lettice Protheroe………………………………………Anne’s stepdaughter aged seventeen, and slight.
She likes to think of herself as ethereally vague.
Miss Marple………………………………………………neat, and of uncertain years. She is, in fact,
to look at, a typical maiden lady living on reduced
means in the country.
Mrs Price Ridley………………………………………….a lady that still wears a tussore suit left over
from her days in India.
Lawrence Redding (an artist)…………………….a young man around thirty with great charm,
though a hint of ruthlessness lies behind his charm.
Dr. John Haydock……………………………………… an elderly man, dressed in tweed jacket an flannels.
Inspector Slack……………………………………………as always, he wears plain clothes.
Police Constable Jennings…………………………..
Please forward expressions of interest by email or call
ceresartstheatre@hotmail.com phone . 52 491 350
All facts and dates in this correspondence are correct at date of printing
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Nadine, Phil and Dennis are working on the Gershwin Program for July 2011.. called George and Ira. John Shawcross is to be on the piano.. some fabulous arrangements by Nadine. This is a cafe concert in the Nimbus Room.
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Bookings have gone extremely well for What The Dickens! We have dress rehearsal tonight and open tomorrow on the 13th May.. The only places left are for May the 27th . Next year is his 200 year celebration so perhaps we shall do something more..
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It has been a pleasure to welcome two new comers to the cast in Andrew Weinmann and Liam Dempsey. Also guest appearances by Peninsula Players creators Rhena and Dennis King and also to welcome ben Mitchell back from London where he has finshed his graduate year at the Drama Studio London. He is currently in Fifddler on The Roof and looking to return to England in July.
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The excellent cast of What the Dickens! is very versatile and very commited and includes Jocelyn Mackay, Colleen O'Toole, Miriam Wood, Bruce Woodley, Maylin Nash,Heather Dempsey, Melissa Musselwhite, Allister Cox, Meg Mitchell ( on Flute), Dennis Mitchell, Dennis and Rhena King, Liam Dempsey, and Andrew Weinmann
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20011 May : Currently we are in rehearsal for What The Dickens! a collage performance involving 16 actor/singers in multiple roles.This is a challenging piece for every one having to develop character and remember movements, positions, entrances and of course word. All done in Victorian costume. It is a pleasure to work with this team of actors who are so supportive of each other, co operative in every way and willing to have a go at something different.
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Working on a performance like What The Dickens takes, many hours of reading and research.I have been workng on this idea since last year when it was suggested by Heather that we get back to the classics after several of the Agatha Christies and Ayckbournes. First of all and most importantly you must have a group of actors ready to be involved and prepared to work in a flexible setting. This performance is worked in the round. This is quite a challenging format and one that needs actors with skill and self confidence
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- We are to congratulate Ben on completeting his post graduate year at the Drama Studio London, where he majored in acting. It was a difficult course in many ways but there was much to learn and a depth of understanding of theatre technique and skills. In the last three years he has done a Summer School at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (RADA) , and finished his post graduate course at Drama Studio London. At the moment he is involved in What the Dickens and Fiddler On The Roof, and will return to England in July to work on Round The World In Eighty Days, touring throughout the summer, in Gloucestershire.
Confusions has been very well received. A versatile and lovely cast who rose to the challenge of multiple roles. See Colin's review.
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After the Katherine Mansfield performance in Menton, France, Julie went to Austria to the ski fields, Amelia went to The Hebrides, The Isle of Mull to work for several months. See Amelia's report on Menton here.
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Ben Mitchell has completed his Post Graduate Year at Drama Studio London and learnt heaps.
- Meg arrived back from her third world adventure up through Canda to Alaska. Over to England, London then Wales and Cornwall.
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Meg finished her Cert 4 in Small Business, runs her own pet minding business and is doing a Diploma of Animal Technology at Vic Uni, Animal Studies at the Gordon and working in between at Safeway.
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Ben went up to have Christmas 2009 with Amelia on the Isle of Mull and enjoyed a visit to Iona. After returning to London he found out that Macbeth was buried there.
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Kathryn O'Neill and Paul Burns were married at The Scarecrow Patch on the 12th December. It was a lovely lovely wedding and some beautiful photos were taken by Amber Birkin.
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After her trip to Peru where she did some community work in one of the villages, Heather Dempsey is now planning to take her family to Vietnam. See A Bridge in Peru.
Theatre Round-A-Bout
The Nutcracker - Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Review by Amelia.
Productions at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, England. Review by Amelia.
What we have read lately:
Drama Studio London (DSL) is set in the heart of leafy Ealing in West London opposite the famous Ealing Studios. DSL chiefly resides in a large Georgian house on the corner of St. Mary’s and Grange Roads and comprises four smaller studios, a large studio, a performance space called The Grange Court Theatre, a radio studio, a library, student kitchen and changing rooms, several small offices and staff living quarters. With sixty students on the One Year Acting Course and numerous staff members on any given day DSL is an industrious, boisterous and dynamic environment in which to learn. Students selected for the One Year Course require maturity and competence to cope with intensive one year training as well as life after school, this mix provides a diverse range of age, experience and skills amongst students enhancing and extending the education.
The One Year Acting Course has been forged by principle Peter Craze and has a reputation for excellence and relevance to the current and changing nature of the industry whilst maintaining a classical technical basis for approaching acting and text. DSL training focuses on the diversity and practicality of the day to day life of a jobbing actor and as part of this ideology a majority of staff balance teaching with professional industry work. This novel approach provides training across many varied aspects of the industry from professionals working within them. The subjects covered in the One Year course extend from movement, Laban, yoga, contemporary and period dance, stage combat, devised theatre, improvisation, ventriloquism, voice, accents, solo and ensemble singing, to acting verse, text analysis, stage craft, theatre history, interview technique, auditioning, role play, television and radio.
Accompanying these subjects are scene study blocks in which a style of theatre performance is explored and rehearsed over a three week period ending in a performance to fellow students, staff and external critics. The scene study blocks begin with contemporary writers such as Mark Ravenhill and David Hare, then expand to the classics focussing first on the plays of Anton Checkov, then a Shakespeare tragedy and comedy, then Restoration (Jacobean) comedy from the likes of William Congreve and William Wycherley and finally 19th and early 20th century playwrights such as Oscar Wilde and Eugene Labiche. As well as working with quality dramatists from across the ages there is also a Pantomime block leading up to Christmas in which five groups of twelve students tour different Pantomimes to local primary schools performing every day across a week, which is probably the toughest of all the scene study blocks!
Training at DSL provides the technical and theoretical skills that the industry demands and the friendly professional staff become the basis of a most important network from which students can begin a career in the industry.
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