Page 1 February 2011 TOPSTOPS NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

OTAKI PLAYERS A Word From The President INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

 A word from the Presi- 1 dent

 Upcoming Productions 2  The Raft

 Dates for your Diary 2

 Costume Hire / 3 Wardrobe

 We Need You! 3

 Committee 3

 Neighbouring Shows 4

 Social Night 4

 “Chicago!” 5

 We’re on the Web 5

 Feedback 5 I am standing down as President and Treasurer this year & Gill Browne is standing down as Secretary so we are looking for some NEW BLOOD!

Please support the Otaki Players and come to the AGM and perhaps think about the Secretary or Treasurer role. Please contact me if you think you can help out in either of these roles and I am only too happy to talk to anyone who might be inter- “All the ested. Looking forward to seeing you all at the AGM. World’s A Best Regards Stage” Roger

P a g e 2 TOPS NEWSLETTER

Upcoming Productions “The Raft” by Carl Nixon ―The Raft‖ is our first show of the year and is directed by Jacqui Coogan from Levin who many of you will know from her appearances on stage here. This will be the first time Jacqui has directed for The Otaki Players and we all wish her well.

Production Dates 7,8,9,10,14,15,16 April

Sometimes to resuscitate love you have to risk drowning. Set over a stormy weekend in a West Coast batch, The Raft is an intrinsically story by award-winning writer Carl Nixon. His story of a devastating family tragedy, and its appall- ing consequences for relationships, is a strong, gripping and bold drama. A river floods and a family is stranded. With no escape, they’re forced to face each other and confront issues that threaten to tear them apart. The Raft is a stormy emotional journey of realisation. Don’t miss this beautiful and evocative play about the healing power of love. Experience how one intense weekend for a family becomes a stunning night of theatre for the audience. Originally written and performed for the Court Theatre in , The Raft received reviews including: “gifted with Nixon's highly workable dialogue, a powerful human story of insight, drama and compassion is assured.” from ...Lindsay Clark – Theatreview. The Raft, adapted for radio by Dean Parker, was recently awarded Best Dramatic Production at the 2009 New Zealand Radio Awards. "In my opinion, The Raft is a must-see." - Laura McQuillan, Wotzon.com “The raft is a metaphor for not having any control over things, for being out there, pushed around by the currents.” - Carl Nixon “A trump card, giving us an evocative and haunting, new New Zealand work that is ren- dered as marvelous theatre” - Alan Scott, The Press

Dates For Your Diary

PROVISIONAL SHOWS FOR 2011 (still to be confirmed):  April 7th to 16th - ―The Raft‖ by Carl Nixon – Auditions 13th February. (Drama)  May 19th to 28th - ―Lashings of Whipped Cream‖ by Fiona Samuel. (Comedy – One Woman Show)  July 7th to 23rd - ―Chicago‖ by Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse – Auditions 24th April. (Musical)  November 10th to19th - ―Diva Cabaret‖ directed by Tracey Farrelly – Auditions 14th August. (Musical) IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE:  Saturday 5th March – Costume Hire / Wardrobe – 10am to 12pm  Wednesday 9th March – AGM @ 7.30pm (All Welcome)  Saturday 19th March – Costume Hire / Wardrobe – 10am to 12pm  Saturday 26th March – Social Night @ 7.30pm (BYO) All welcome  Saturday 2nd April – Costume Hire / Wardrobe – 10am to 12pm  Thursday 7th April – Opening Night for ―The Raft‖ @ 7.30pm  Saturday 16th April – Costume Hire / Wardrobe – 10am to 12pm  Saturday 16th April – Closing Night for ―The Raft‖ @ 7.30pm  Wednesday 20th April – Committee Meeting @ 7.30pm P a g e 3 TOPS Newsletter

Costume Hire / Wardrobe

Come on down to the Theatre and check out our newly renovated Wardrobe and our HUGE range of Costumes & Accessories available for hire.

Also take time to look at the society’s web page, some of the costumes have been put onto the site so you can look at what is available. Over the next few months we will endeavour to add to this. If you have photos of yourself in a costume you have hired from us and are willing for us to use them; could you please pass them on to me. You could email me on [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you and helping to outfit you for your next costume event. Thank you. Nancy Carr & Wendy Jones

New Days & Hours for 2011: 1st & 3rd Saturday of every month 10.00am to 12.00pm. email us on [email protected] to arrange another time if possible. Closed on all public holidays. Adults costume ~ $25 Children’s costume ~ $15 Wigs ~ $5 to $20 each

Please have money with you when you come.

We Need You!

Otaki Players Society NEEDS YOU!!!

We are a very friendly group of people and a good way to get to know us is to meet us in person, so why not come along to a production or join us for one of our activities. We always welcome new members, whether your interest is in acting, singing, costume, technical or to be a supporter in the audience. We are always looking for help behind the scenes with a large variety of tasks. Here are just some of the tasks involved.  Costume and Wardrobe.  Set construction.  Light Operation.  Sound Operation.  Front of House.  Bar & Kitchen help.  Make up.  Props.  Publicity (Ads, Photos & Posters) Contact Roger Thorpe on 364 8848 or [email protected] for more information.

Your Society’s Committee

PRESIDENT/ [email protected] or Roger Thorpe 364 8848 or 021 259 2683 TREASURER [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENT Brent Bythell 364 8949 (phone or fax) SECRETARY Gill Browne 364 3312 [email protected] COMMITTEE MEMBER Margaret Andrews 364 5926 or 021 144 1256 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBER Alan Browne 364 3312 [email protected] COMMITTEE MEMBER Brigid Carkeek (04) 905 6268 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBER Peter Carr 364 6977 or 021 991 045 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBER Jan Dykstra 364 0009 [email protected] COMMITTEE MEMBER Allan Marsden 364 6331 [email protected]

COMMITTEE MEMBER Lesley Wicks 364 5867 [email protected] P a g e 4 TOPS NEWSLETTER

Neighbouring Shows

Levin Performing Arts Show ―Death by Taxes‖ March/April

Foxton Little Theatre present ―Steel Magnolias‖ March/ April

Levin Little Theatre present ―Weighing In‖ April

Kapiti Playhouse present ―Steaming‖ Thursday 23 March to Saturday 26 March & Thursday 30 March to Saturday 2 April

Coasters present ―Larf a Minute‖ Friday 25 March to Saturday 9 April

Wellington Repertory present ―Old Tyme Music Hall‖ Thursday 14 April to Thursday 21 April

Otaki Players Social Night

Don’t Forget!!! We are having our Social Night on Saturday 26th March at 7.30pm.

It’s a BYO and ALL are welcome!

P a g e 5 T O P S

CHICAGO!!!

Coming to you July 2011

We’re on theWeb Otakiplayers.org.nz

Otaki Players is a vibrant group of locals that enjoy putting on THE OTAKI PLAYERS live theatre. We boast a current membership of over 80 peo- SOCIETY ple from all walks of life. Civic Theatre Each year we endeavour to perform three productions, performing both PO Box 26, Otaki. theatre and musicals. This is firstly to meet the needs of our society mem- Main Street, Otaki. Phone: (06) 364 6491 bers who enjoy performing the different genres of theatre, but also it pro- vides, for our community, a range of different live theatre opportunities for Roger Thorpe (President) them to attend. As a group we do endeavour to perform New Zealand sto- 37, Kirk Street, Otaki 5512 ries. ―A Trick of the Light‖ written by was an example of this, Phone: (06) 364 8848 but we also enjoy the humour of . Mobile: 021 259 2683 Over the years we have performed numerous musicals including many of Email: [email protected] the great West End Stage shows. Highlights for the theatre have been: ―Evita‖, ―Jesus Christ Super Star‖, ―Fiddler on the Roof‖ and Les Miser- ables. These musicals have had up to 90 people involved and reached a good few thousand people from all along the Kapiti Coast. We are a fun group that takes pride in our on stage achievements and en- joy the social aspect of a belonging to a theatre society.

F e e d b a c k

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this Newsletter, please feel free to contact:

Huia Veale [email protected]—(06) 364 0098 or Roger Thorpe [email protected]—(06) 364 8848

We hope you enjoy reading this month’s newsletter.

Huia Veale Roger Thorpe