Latest news from CADS
November 2019 newsletter
(November 21, 2019)Beans talk
Rehearsals continue apace for Jack and the Beanstalk by Tom Whalley, the 2020 Royston Town Pantomime being directed by Nicky Paton with Louise Atkins as Musical Director, and tickets have now gone on sale - you can book online by simply clicking here, or you can ring the CADS Box Office on 07925 674967. Tickets this year are £12 full price, £6 concessions (children, seniors and students) and performances will be on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 January, and Friday 31 January and Saturday 1 February at King James Academy Royston (KJAR), Senior Site (formerly Meridian School), with the usual matinees on the two Saturdays and evening shows on all four dates.
Currently, among the more unusual outstanding requirements for the show is half a cow! We have one actor willing to don the costume but a two-legged cow would probably be a little quirky, even by CADS standards, so we need... wait for it... an udder person! (Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!) If you'd like to take up this opportunity to appear on stage as part of an energetic and talented group, please get in touch by e-mailing [email protected]...
We could also do with volunteers to assist at one of the set building weekends, the first of which is on Saturday 30 November (9.00 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday 1 December (9.00 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Even if you can only spare us an hour, that'd be enormously helpful as there is always much to do, from construction to painting to simply holding things in place. There's also a second set building weekend on Saturday 14/Sunday 15 December (same start and end times) so you've no excuse!
Finally, a reminder that, if you're taking part in the pantomime in whatever capacity, you need to have paid either full membership of CADS (£15, which entitles you to a free ticket for any one show) or a one-off participation fee (£5) that covers you under our insurance policy. You also need to have signed to say that you've read our Child Protection Policy, which can be found here, with a link to the relevant form.
Don't feed the plants!
Tonight (Thursday 21 November) sees the opening night of the King James Academy Royston (KJAR) annual show, and this year it's the ever popular Little Shop of Horrors - a sort of rock'n'roll sci-fi comedy horror musical ! Performances are at the KJAR Senior Site (formerly Meridian School) on Thursday at 6.00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday at 7.00 p.m. Tickets are £5.50 (£3.50 concessions) for the opening night and thereafter £8.00 (£6 concessions) and can be obtained from the Senior Office at the Academy or by ringing 01763 242236 or, I should imagine, on the door. Note that the show isn't suitable for young children.
Christmas at the Museum
It may be too late now to book tickets as numbers are strictly limited and have been selling fast, but just to record that CADS were recently asked by the Friends of Royston & District Museum & Art Gallery to organise an event to raise funds for proposed developments at the museum. Kathy Young has put together an entertainment entitled A Christmas miscellany which features sixteen members of the group performing songs, poems and sketches relating to the festive season, interspersed with some news items about Christmases past in Royston drawn from back numbers of the Crow, and it promises to be an all together jolly evening.
The event takes place actually inside the museum in at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday 4 December and tickets are £10 each; there may still be a handful left by the time you read this, so if you're interested, please visit the museum or contact them directly on 01763 242587. Ticket holders are guaranteed a glass of mulled wine (or apple juice) and a mince pie into the bargain!
Drama awards
It's that time of year when we start to think about our annual drama awards. These are presented each January to people in Royston and the surrounding villages who've made an outstanding contribution to the performing arts. This could be in clubs or schools, in acting, dance, music, backstage and so on. It's open to anyone to nominate somebody to receive one of these awards and the final decision is taken by the committee.
There are two awards given each year, both named in honour of former members of CADS; the Fred Sillence Award is open to anyone over the age of 18, and the Lizzie Houghton Award to anyone under that age. The winners each get a trophy and a cash prize! If you'd like to put someone forward for an award, please e-mail [email protected] before the end of December, stating their name and (in the case of the Lizzie Houghton Award) their age, your own name, and - briefly - your reasons for nominating them. Your contact details would also be helpful.
Evening meetings
Our programme of evening meetings continues, with new events being added all the time. These take place at roughly six-weekly intervals and each is hosted by a different person. They happen at the Coombes Community Centre in Royston and run from 7.00 to 9.00 p.m. unless otherwise stated.
Our next three meetings are:
- Wednesday 27 November - workshop: "The Meisner technique for actors", hosted by Martin Maynard
- Wednesday 8 January - illustrated talk: "Theatre on film", hosted by Michael Young
- Wednesday 19 February - drama quiz, hosted by Pauline and Phil Rowe
There's no need to book for any of these meetings - just turn up on the night - and they're completely FREE! If you're lucky, we might even manage to provide some refreshments...
Just because it's Christmas!
CADS would love to see you at a pre-Christmas drinks evening at the Old Bull on Friday 20 December. This isn't in any way a formal meeting, just an excuse to meet up with members (or introduce yourself if you're not already part of the group) and have a bit of festive do! We'll be in the bar from about 8.00 p.m. so please drop in and raise a glass with us...
Committee
Our next meeting is on 9 January 2020 so if there's anything you'd like us to consider or discuss, please feel free to contact any of us at any time via our Contact page!