Social Scene ~ Jan & Feb 2020

Hello!

Throwing the blog into the social side of things - it’s been a busy couple of months for the group with various events in preparation for the upcoming show, ‘Happy Birthday!’ Which is to be directed by Peter (who previously directed our July 2018 production of ‘Relatively Speaking’) The read through of the play was held on a chilly January evening at our rehearsal but. It was well attended and the comical farce proved very popular among our members. 

The first round of auditions brought us once again to the hit with a fresh set of committee members as our audition panel, pens at the ready. Our auditions are always super laid back and chilled, which we think makes them much less stressful! Unfortunately, the stress manifested in a slight technical hitch meaning another set of audition dates was required.

Nevertheless, our social secretary was on hand to be everyone involved and what better way to do that than with drinks in the pub! Seeing as it is our traditional after-rehearsal-on-Thursday activity, we headed to the local. (The White Lion- near the green in Warlingham) Admittedly, we did have to commandeer the sofas around the coffee table because it was just so busy! It was rather tight and cosy night, but we were a big group too. What we love about a traditional pub night is the simple fact that everyone talks to everyone - like an interchangeable circulating group! 

The pub drinks got us to drum up some interest in the second cycle of auditions which was uplifting enough to get a cast confirmed. The parts of Bernard, Brigit 1, Brigit 2, Jacqueline and Robert were filled and prepped to start rehearsals later on in April, which is bound to come around like the click of your fingers. And just to clarify, yes, there really are two characters called Brigit 1 and Brigit 2 :) 

Fresh off of casting the next play, there was a new social event late-February, trying something new with a trip to a local Mediterranean restaurant called Med Kitchen (the original email was sent out late at the pub social and have ten responses within the hour, and counting.)  For a restaurant that is situated on such a small 'high street,' it's great to see that it's so busy despite opening early last year. The meal was absolutely delicious and the portions sizes were even better- ample even. Some of us might have take a little doggy-bag home to enjoy later! Hopefully the next restaurant we choose will be just as tasty. 

From the success of Med Kitchen, there was an unofficial social outing to attend the Miller Centre's performance of 'Blue Stockings,' to support one of our members in the production. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance from an onstage and backstage perspective with over twenty various locations and scene changes occurring onstage. What hit home more to those who went was the surprising (and downright shocking) fact revolving around the women attending university back in the early 1900s - with the play specifically set in 1896 at Girton College, Cambridge. 

Women matched the men grade for grade and eventually garnered the right to graduate... nearly fifty years later.

Let's just say there was a murmured chorus of 'no!' among ATG-ers in attendance!

Hope to write again soon :)

ATG x

Silver Screen ~ December 2019

Hello! It's 2020! :O

Some of our members all dressed up :D

We were back with another post - and this time, we’re having a throwback to December when we had our annual Christmas party. The theme for this year came about in a slightly unusual year. Almost in reverse because we had members who wanted to come dressed as particular characters from a very large and popular franchise that has been around for almost as long as ATG! A team of our members redecorated our rehearsal hut into a mini studio. There were four photography backdrops used to depict a different genre or styles (under the sea, haunted house, pirate ship and an additional one that we decided to call mysterious fairy garden!) and even Oscar the Oscar came out to celebrate (he tends to only be used at our biannual awards nights, so this was a bonus outing.) 

Blockbuster posters with an ATG twist!

The walls of kitchen and entrance of the hut was plastered with about thirty film posters with an ATG twist. Some of the characters on the posters had had their faces switched with some of our members. From classic films to recent blockbusters, there were a couple that had us laughing. [It was another moment where we said Mori- our social secretary - has too much time on her hands despite having a full time job!] and one of them was even taken home by the member themselves ;) 

Like most Christmas parties, we had our traditional game of pass the parcel and musical chairs. The final round of musical chairs saw Darth Vader battling it out with Danny from Grease! Unfortunately the force must have been weak that night and our Danny was crowned the winner. Whilst traditions work well, there was an extra addition of charades to make those photography backdrops worthwhile. There were films relating to each of the four scenes to make it slightly more cohesive! 

ATG can't resist a game of Pass the Parcel!

What is great about our Christmas parties is how everyone throws themselves into the theme in the dressing up part - and it didn’t matter if you went all out with a spot of DIY, put an outfit together with what you had or bought one online. It was great to see such a several of characters that people had chosen to come dressed as- so much so that it would have been impossible to pick a best dressed! 

With another year over and another Christmas party celebrated, ATG turns its attention to 2020 of which marks another awards night year! Who knows what the theme will be? Definitely something to look forward to :) 

ATG x


Challenge time - how many characters can you name?!

Introducing Members #1 : Mori

Hello!

Creativity with ATG cards

 As part of a new bit of the blog - we're going to interview a random member of our group so that you can get an incite into our group and who we are. To kick it off, we introduce you to Mori. 

Now a little bit about Mori, who has been with the group for

... 

 Wait, wait, wait... I can’t write this whole post in third person - *changing to first person!* 

 Hi! I’m Mori and I am the one who has been writing for the blog so far - or at least trying to! :) (Part of me thought I should just write this post in third person, but that would be weird, don’t you think?)

Friends that act together, stay together :) 

 So I’ve been a part of ATG for seven years in Summer and I don’t think I’d be the person I am today with the group. ATG has given me confidence, some unbreakable friendships and impressive skills that you just don’t get anywhere- who would have thought that an amateur dramatics group would be the one to teach me how to wallpaper a set? Little did seventeen year old me know how big a part ATG would play in my life- it instantly became one of those things I say when someone asks the dreaded “tell me five facts about yourself...”

How would you describe ATG to someone who knew nothing about it?

Antics of ATG at Blanchman's

 Where to begin?! ATG is a theatre group that is not only friendly and heaps of fun, but also incredibly inclusive and has been continually growing over the last 50 years. It’s where you will meet lots of new people that perhaps you wouldn't ordinarily talk to in another environment. What's brilliant about ATG is that there is always a place for you at the table, even if you don't want to be up on the stage! We are always on the lookout for any help backstage or social members, so everyone is welcome.

Playing the murderous Drusilla Tomb

What has been your favourite part to play?

 Like a lot of people will probably say, I couldn't pick just one as there are aspects of various characters that I like! And that’s true for me, but if I had to pick one (which I do!), it would have to be last year’s performance of "Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb" in which I played Drusilla Tomb, the youngest member of the murderous Tombs who had quite a rude and fiesty nature. Whilst it was quite challenging at first, Drusilla was an amazing character that I loved to sink my teeth in as previously I was used to playing slightly smaller parts. Ultimately, in the last year of so, I've been loving the parts I've had. I seem to be venturing into different accents which is all part of the challenge! 

How have you found being social secretary on the committee?

Handmade selfie props

 I realise that the blog hasn't mentioned any of our wonderful committee. The committee 

are a group of our members that help to keep the organism that is ATG alive! Each of these wonderful people are in charge of one vital organ of ATG and I'm sure you’ll get to know the man or woman behind each role of the committee in due course :) 

The wands during production :D

As for me, I am the social secretary which means every now and again, I organise little outings or parties for the group. Being social secretary has been an enjoyable experience and I am so happy that I get to give back to a group that has given me so much. Some years are ram packed in terms of social events, as some years have birthdays, awards night and Christmas parties

Personally, what I love most about being social secretary (aside from the partying!) is that it is perfect outlet for my creativity as I had so much fun putting together all of the decorations for the Christmas parties. For the Alice in Wonderland theme, I produced a rabbit hole photo opportunity and a tea pot spouting playing cards. A Harry Potter party was the most fun to prepare props for - imagine twenty plus handcrafted wizarding wands and wax sealed letters for each attending member. The most recent Christmas party also had secret projects and decorations - of which I'll probably write about soon :) 

Hermione Granger and her wand shop :D

 So I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little bit more about me and ATG!


 Mori x

Cluedo is a game ~ November 2019

Hello!

Nice to see you again - now it has been a while since our last post, but you've missed out on a performance. 'Murder is a Game' (just to clarify, Cluedo is a game, Murder is not!) We started auditions back in September after a gloriously sunny BBQ, with many members both young and old coming to have a stab at the roles on offer. 

Great turnout at the play reading in August

'Murder is a Game' centres around two mystery novel authors called Sloan and Toby Bigelow that have been invited to an old mansion that was previously used for a movie set. Their publicist has arranged for a couple of unusual characters to be present to serve as inspiration for the writers' next story - each one has been presented with an index card containing their character biography and notes. Ultimately, the question is, will the Bigelows be able to find inspiration for their next story?

The cast saw a lovely range of old and returning members - with Kelly returning fresh off the bat of Pirate Radio to take on the role of the resident ingenue and Jake coming back to the group after a six year hiatus (his last performance having been in a Jack and the Beanstalk style pantomime back in 2013!) 

Rehearsals were fully underway!

The rehearsal were off to a flying start and the cast bonded incredibly well over them. It's safe to say that there wasn't a single rehearsal that didn't start, have or end in laughter, which goes to show just how much fun we had. 

Knowing that we would be performing over five nights, we were keen to start Set-Build-Saturdays in order to produce the dream set. With lots of brick work being painted onto the flats, the earlier we started, the better. It's safe to say that it's very tricky to produce a unified wall when there are multiple members contributing over the weeks leading up to the construction day. Fortunately, it was decided that the fireplace would be wallpaper (nothing to do with saving on paint...!) ;) The set construction day was super helpful with the added new members that we met from Blanchman's fair and returning newbies being on hand to help. Take a lot at the photo of the finished set below!

The finished set, complete with actors onstage

'Murder is a Game' also produced some wannabe American accents - and like every amateur accent, there is always a word or phrase that they always struggled with. (One accent might have potentially slipped into an Australia during a performance!) Mori said it even felt like 'Pirate Radio' was accent practice for the American, BB Mink. 

Like every ATG performance, our social secretary Mori was prepared with the traditional afterplay activities. In her words; "Thursday Night, Pub Night. Friday Night, Panahar. Saturday Night, Party Night!" and to have a show running over two separate weeks meant double trouble! And let's just say that the first party continued the on-stage charades (much debate from the cast on the pronunciation- which wasn't helped by Jake and Mori joking about every potential way of saying the word to throw Kelly off!) The final party saw us singing and dancing into the early hours of Sunday morning which means it was a very successful party for ATG. :) 

The cast and director ~ Murder is a Game 2019

With 'Murder is a Game' acting as the book end of plays in 2019, it goes without saying that Christine deserves huge thanks due to her directing both Pirate Radio AND Murder is a Game. We hope to see her back on stage for 2020. 

The play finished in the first week of December, with a couple of weeks before the annual ATG Christmas Party of which the theme for this year is Silver Screen - which loosely translates into film characters - hopefully there will be a future post to follow in due course all about that!

ATG x

Blanchman’s fair ~ June 2019

 Hello! 

Earlier in June, ATG headed up to the Warlingham Fair up at Blanchman’s Nature Reserve with the hopes of drumming up interest and new members. As a drama group that isn’t just specialised to performing, we like to show that we are a creative and social bunch both on and offstage.

Some members ready to meet and greet at Blanchman’s 

Our little gazebo was pitched up in the early hours of Sunday morning, completed with a couple of tables (including one that may have been borrowed from the food tent nearby...), a carefully crafted set model and one of our lighting desk. To add to the silliness of the group, we also had an array of different wigs and hats for people to joke about with! Some of which may have been used during our last performance of “Pirate Radio” back in May. 

The fair itself was full of different stalls - whether it was creative people selling their own produce, cakes or cards, or various groups that were also recruiting for new members. Not to mention there was also a large space in the centre of the field where people were able to watch the parade, dance performances, falconry and an agility course for dogs throughout the day.

A small team of our members were ready and armed with advertisement flyers and a clipboard for potential members details. In reflection of our previously mentioned silliness, some of us were all decked out in fancy dress of which may or may not have acted as a deterrent! Only time will tell on that one, but if anything, it did land us a photo in the CR2 magazine! 

A glimpse of ATG in the CR2 magazine! 

Unfortunately, and in true typical British weather, we were hit by the odd occasional burst of rain, but we refused to let it dampen our spirits! (Yeah, there was some lovely sunshine in the morning, although short lived obviously!) 

As always, we are constantly on the lookout for new members both onstage, backstage and socially. If you are interested in finding out a little bit more about the group then check out our website at https://www.atgdramagroup.co.uk/ where you can check out our backlog of past shows, social events and upcoming dates for your diaries.

Hope to hear from you soon,

ATG x

Avast me hearties! ~ May 2019

Ahoy-hoy!

Cue cards for the crew and Cut Throat Bill

Can you believe it’s already June?! More importantly, we have just finished our first show of 2019 - Pirate Radio. A play that centred around a drama group called TWADS who are about to broadcast a radio drama that has been written by the chairwoman of TWADs, but it was never going to be plain sailing. The group experience various issues, technical faults and having to rely on members of the audience to fill in for the crew of the Black Gherkin and the ship’s parrot called Cut Throat Bill!

You may not have heard of a play called Pirate Radio and there is a good reason for that too - we are fortunate enough to have incredibly talented writers in our group and this particular play was written by Christine and actually marks the eighth play hat she has written for the group(!!) 

Kelly on stage as Calliope



Wellies, bonnets, hats and wigs in rehearsals...

Pirate Radio saw us welcome new member Kelly to the stage. She told us she wanted to join a drama group - to try something new - and once the cast had been announced, she couldn’t wait to get started on rehearsals. Playing the part of Pamela/Calliope got Kelly to jump into ATG with two feet and she cannot wait for the next performance that ATG puts on later this year. 

The rehearsal period went by like the click of your fingers... (made even more enjoyable with the extra trips to the pub for a quick tipple after rehearsals on Thursday!) and before the cast knew it, they were standing on deck waiting for the curtain to go up. 

One thing that proved challenging/funny was the voices and accents that the cast had to use in order to differentiate between the many different characters within the radio broadcast of ‘High Winds in Tortuga.’ Hats off to Adam who was not only TWADs member Edgar, but also... wait for it and take a big breath!... The narrator, Old Hugh, Ben Pistol, Pestilence Pete, Bulk, Gnasher, Foul Old Tomaso (originally just Tom, but it was amended mid rehearsal), the Great Giant Clam, the Siren, the shrunken heads and Captain Blaggard. 

Introducing Vera the Voodoo Priestess

After the shows were done, ATG partied late into Saturday and played some comical games - including a returning yet challenging cereal box game. What is this game? I hear you say. Ultimately it’s torture for the less flexible of us! Imagine an empty cereal cardboard box that you must pick up using only your mouth and only your feet can touch the floor. With each round that passes you rear off a strip or the cereal box until it’s just a small slither of card on the floor. 

So what’s next for ATG? Well at this current moment in time, we are looking at a couple of plays to put on at the end of November. For now, we have a couple of social events coming up including a trip to Blanchman’s fair and our annual BBQ and AGM.

That’s all for now :)

ATG x

The cast of Pirate Radio



Looking back at 2018

Hello!

It has been a while, hasn’t it?

Having realised that we’re nearly at the halfway point of June, it seemed only right that we cast our minds back to 2018 and share our favourite moments with you. Twenty eighteen saw us celebrate our fiftieth anniversary, hold our biannual awards night and put on three enjoyable performances.

Taking a bow with Cat's Cradle

Kicking off a cold 2018 and hot off the success of Billy, we were set to put on Cat’s Cradle  as our March production - a play set in the Creswell Arms where Detective Inspector Frost finds himself returning to, set on solving a peculiar mystery that happened many years before. Cat’s Cradle saw us welcoming new and returning members to the stage in Peter and Amy (Amy joined us last year in September so it’s safe to say we didn’t scare her off!) 

Exactly a year ago, (or at least it will be by the time this post is uploaded) we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary of which you can read about the laughs and memories we shared in one of our previous posts. At the end of the event, it was safe to say we all looked forward to the next however many years the group continues to grow and thrive. 

Dress rehearsal for Relatively Speaking

Shortly after came our second show of the year - Relatively Speaking, a hilarious comedy full of misunderstandings and confusion. For a cast of four, it was amazing to watch them have fun on stage and see how well they bonded over the rehearsal period (of which we’re sure they were glad that the temperatures were warmer than for the March production!) 

ATG Awards Night 2019

Before we started auditions and rehearsals for the final performance of the year, the group held its biannual awards night. Having had the fiftieth anniversary of the group in June, there was some debate as to whether or not we should push the awards night back a year... but ATG members love a good party and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for an awards night. The theme for the night was “The Greatest Show” and it certainly embodied that! (Make sure to check our older posts if you haven’t read about the awards night!)

Part of the PTMTT cast backstage

Rounding off the year was the performances of “Prepare to Meet Thy Tomb” and it certainly played to one of the group’s strength of murder mysteries. With Drusilla and Hecuba being the only surviving members of the Tomb family, they’re ready to modernise the Monument House into an alternative health farm (“whatever that is!”) but when some unwanted guests start appearing, new plans needed to be set in motion... Seeing ATG put on a show with a big cast made the experience all the more exciting and we had a lot of fun at the after play activities! 

Speaking of after play activities, ATG is super traditional and normally has shows running from Thursday night to Saturday night with something to do after each performance. Thursday night - pub night (we have a choice of two well loved pubs just further than a stone’s throw where we perform!) Friday night - curry night - this may sound bizarre but it’s actually quite fun being able to have a meal after a show! Saturday night - party night (need I say more?!) 😉

And thus concludes the year of 2018 for ATG seeing as we kind of had the Christmas party in January! 

Hope to write some more posts soon!

ATG x

Potter Party! ~ January 2019

 Happy New Year! 

Time to fill you in on our Christmas party, but first- here's a snapshot of some decoration, any guesses??

Our beloved hut was transformed into a floating letter haven!

Bellatrix was a popular character!

  This year, ATG had to celebrate Christmas a little later than usual and earlier in January. The hut was adorned with floating letters, flying keys and magical wands. In case you haven’t guessed, the theme was Harry Potter, and after last year’s Alice in Wonderland extravaganza, the magical world was about to hit ATG in incredible ways!

ATG's Ollivander's shop!

  Our social secretary and a small team of helpers tidied up the hut of all the numerous props and leftover wood from the last show, “Prepare To Meet Thy Tomb” and armed with an array of material, transformed the beloved rehearsal space into an almost unrecognisable space.

  Like any ATG Christmas party, we all have a lot of fun getting all dressed up as various characters and with a franchise like Harry Potter, we were sure that our imaginations would run wild. Although nobody came dressed up as Harry, we have some fantastic costumes - Voldemort, Ron, the Grey Lady and a Professor Sprout with a home made mandrake to name a few. Even those who weren’t familiar with Harry Potter got stuck in :O 

Each member got a unique wand

  The eagle eyed amongst our members were quickly keen to know the significance behind the letters that had been hidden around the perimeter of the room. Letters that were addressed to each attendee, with a Hogwarts seal on the back. On opening the letters, members were invited to visit a pop up Ollivander’s where a number of wand boxes were waiting. Everyone had their unique combination of wood and core that their wand would be made up of so it just depended on what kind of wand they would choose. 

  
Once we got to the games, we were intrigued to find that we would be playing a modified, health and safety appropriate game of Quidditch. Based on who we had all come dressed up as decided who would be on what team - whether that was Gryfinndor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. (It’s important to note that Bellatrix Lestrange was a very popular character so Slytherin was healthily filled!) Members took turns at thrown bean bags into three various sized holes in a stack of three boxes, points varying based on which “hoop” the bag was thrown through. There was a three way tie for second place, but pipping them all to the post by one point was Slytherin... there must have been some dark magic in the air!

Slytherin took first place in the Quidditch game

  In ATG’s eyes, it isn’t a party without a game of musical chairs - some of us knew just how surprisingly violent a game of musical chairs with a bunch of adults can get and chose to sit this one out... there has been know to be a few bruises in the past when it can to musical chairs!

Luna or Harry's glasses? 

 Towards the end of the night, Harry Potter inspired selfie props were on hand to mess about with and create some funny photos- with Hedwig, a death eater mask, some butter beer and lots of other props, it is clear to say we have some creative minds in the group.

  Looking back at the night, we only wished that we had taken the chance to give a prize for the best dressed! 

Obviously we are past saying Merry Crimbo and a Happy New Year, seeing as we are in February now!

So here's to wishing you a magical 2019, 

ATG x

This is the Greatest Show ~ October 2018

Hello! 

 Back in October, we celebrated our bi-annual awards night and after many of our members fell in love with the film, the theme just had to be “The Greatest Show” in homage to The Greatest Showman.

 The awards night is a fun celebration where we look back at the productions over the last two years having previously voted for our favourites in a number of different categories. Categories that include best and supporting actor/actress or best female/male newcomer. It isn’t all about the acting onstage, we also have three additional shield awards (the Grimwood, Wooderson and Davison award) that are awarded to individuals who have contributed to the group backstage or contributed above and beyond to the group that we want to celebrate and thank for their hard efforts.

 A helpful team of members decorated the hall with balloons, a drinks table and colourful bunting to create a twist on the circus environment. Traditionally, attendees receive a cocktail on arrival that links to the theme. Last year at our Casino Royale themed awards night, the obvious drink was a margarita - accidentally strong ones too! This year we were treated to a Pink Elephant. The drinks table was complimented by two cardboard cut out pink elephants that almost reminded us of the Pink Elephant Parade in Dumbo (You’d never know that the cutouts were made and decorate the night before/early hours of the morning!!)

 Entertainment was also on hand as well in between the dinner courses and awards. The opening number was headed up by the committee members who each dressed up as a wacky circus performer and it seemed only fitting that our chairman became the ringmaster. Our other cabaret acts included a beautiful rendition of ‘Never Enough’, a gymnastics and poi routine, a guitar solo and not forgetting the ATG anthem. It is always interesting to see the hidden talents that’s are buried within the group, some people are full of surprises.

 You would think that we would all be pretty tired after a delicious three course meals (which included a circus top cake that tasted amazing!) and all that entertainment and excitement, but it wouldn't be an ATG event without some dancing! As a typical ATG tradition, you can be sure of a couple of standard ATG favourites like Love Shack and Bohemian Rhapsody- we are a silly bunch sometimes!

 The 2018 awards night was a pleasant success and we cannot wait for 2020 when we will have our next awards night!

 Let us know if you have any questions at all,

ATG x

Our 50th Celebration ~ June 2018

Hello again- it’s been a while!

 Lots has happened since we last posted, but the biggest thing has to be ATG’s 50th celebration! Yes, 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of our little drama group and we all love a good party!

ATG turned the big five-o

 So much has happened since the start of the group... Rewind fifty years back to 1968, and ATG started with a leaflet drop in houses around the Selsdon and Forestdale areas asking for anyone who was interested in joining a drama group to attend a meeting at a local church. The meeting was well attended and fast forward through a few names changes, a couple of different rehearsal spaces and many enjoyable performances and ATG has blossomed into one heck of a group. 

Planning for the 50th started months ago, and no doubt that it was going to be upon us before we knew it! With a pre-prepared selection of delicious food either from Cook or our members, and the hall adorned with an array of decorations, we were ready! Our new tradition of having some hand made selfie props made another appearance and has proved humorous once again! They’re great fun, and we even had a photo opportunity with our chaise lounge (it should be mentioned that this particular piece of furniture is part of ATG as well - it’s been used in so many of our plays!) 

Baby ATG members both new and old

 Along with the selfie props and photo opportunity, we also had a guess the member’s baby photo for people to get all fourteen photos correctly identified. After all of the entries were marked and counted, we were surprised to find that only two members managed to correctly identify all of the photos correctly! (Even if they were working together, but teamwork makes the dream work, right?!) It’s always interesting to see who actually looks similar to their baby photo :) 

 It was an absolute pleasure to see our newer members mixing with the established or older members over the shared interest of ATG. One thing that is amazing about ATG

is the variety of different people that are a part of it - from all different walks of life that share ATG, whether it’s performing or being backstage. 

 Celebrating fifty Years was an absolute delight and we all hope that we will continue for another fifty!

ATG :)