Rehearsals going very well

Rehearsals for AP are going really well. We managed to block the whole play in two sessions and for the last two weeks we have been working steadily through the play concentrating on marrying up lines and moves and practical business. We've also been working on characterisation and there's some lovely stuff happening on stage already with the promise of much more to come. Today we ran the whole second act and it's coming together brilliantly. I am so pleased with the hard work this cast is putting in, it's making my job of directing it a joy. Keep up the good work team!

RepTalk appearing in Midweek 3rd March

Renata Szarvas from Mainstreet Art and Framing with the beautifully framed print of The Wings of Love by Stephen Pearson.

Preparations continue in the run up to opening night of Repertory’s latest production, Abigail’s Party with plenty happening behind the scenes. Rehearsals are well underway now and our resident set-builder John McGowan has almost finished transforming the Repertory theatre stage into a 1970s suburban living room.

Appropriate furniture is being sourced as are all the props needed for this production. One of the pivotal props in the play is a large 1970’s print of the iconic painting The Wings of Love by Stephen Pearson. Although it was a fairly common sight on living room walls in the 1970s, this wonderful piece of kitsch art is somewhat of a rarity now – most have either faded badly or were relegated to the dustbin a long time ago. After scouting around local secondhand shops to no avail, a chance word with Renata Szarvas at Mainstreet Art and Framing in Victoria Avenue, meant our search was over.

Remarkably, when Renata took over the framing business, she inherited a number of these prints from the previous owner, and, being in storage all these years, the colours were as bright and fresh as the day they were printed.  Enthused by the whole project, Renata also offered to research and create a typical 1970’s picture frame to finish the whole thing off.  She sourced the appropriate moulding, assembled the frame and then passed it on to Andrew Toy at Furnique in Somme Parade who did a fantastic spray painting job to create an authentic period finish. Very kindly, Renata has provided this brilliantly framed picture (and her time involved in creating it) to Repertory free of charge – thanks Renata!

Thanks too must go to Eileen Martin of Springvale who, after last week’s appeal in RepTalk for unwanted carpet for the Abigail’s Party set, came to the fore with several rolls of lovely carpet in very good condition. We’re still after 1970s wallpaper, however , so if anyone has any unused rolls lurking in the garage drop us an email to abigailspartynz@gmail.com

Incidentally, if you’d like to see The Wings of Love in the flesh, it will be on show at Renata’s shop at 15 Victoria Avenue (next to Maxilab) for the next couple of weeks.

Tickets are now on sale at the Royal Wanganui Opera House. Call in or telephone 06 349 0511 to book seats for Abigail’s Party which plays at Repertory from 31^st March to 9^th April.

The official Abigail’s Party blog continues at http://abigailspartynz.blogspot.com/

RepTalk appearing in Midweek 23rd February

Production managers Jodie Palmer (left) and Dee Brough (right) have fun
sorting through 1970s costumes in preparation for the upcoming production
of Abigail's Party at Repertory.

Countdown to rehearsals

It’s been a busy week at Repertory with more preparations for our upcoming production of Abigail’s Party. The set design has been finalised (featuring a fabulous 1970s decor) and the design for the front of theatre billboard has gone off to Display Associates for printing- it’s going to look great when it goes up – very eye-catching!

Rehearsals start in a few days time and then it’s going to be full steam ahead until opening night on 31^st March. We have a brilliant cast assembled for this play. Talia Annear-Kjoss will be playing Beverly (a glamorous ex-beautician) and her performance is going to be just brilliant. Certainly no stranger to the stage, many will have seen her amazing performance as Rita in Educating Rita last year as well as numerous Repertory productions including Noises Off and Stepping Out. Peter Dilloway will be joining her, playing her long-suffering husband Laurence (Peter recently demonstrated his spot-on comic timing in Black Adder at Am Dram) and Repertory stalwarts Linda Kerfoot and Karen Ellett (both brilliant in Stepping Out) will be playing neighbours Susan and Angela. With all that combined stage experience, it’s also great to welcome newcomer Troy Taylor into the fold – he’ll be playing Tony, Angela’s mean and moody husband. It’s going to be great fun!

For those of you unfamiliar with the play, Abigail’s Party has been described as a ‘Comedy of Bad Manners’ by its author, Mike Leigh. Set in a suburban home in the late seventies, it follows the comic (and dramatic!) events of one evening when bored and bitchy hostess Beverly throws a drinks party for the neighbours. A few too many gin and tonics later and what starts out as a civilised soiree quickly descends into the ‘party from hell’.

Tickets, priced at $20 (with concessions available), are on sale from February 28th at the Royal Wanganui Opera House. Call in or telephone 06 349 0511 to book your seats for Abigail’s Party which plays at Repertory from 31^st March to 9^th April.

The official Abigail’s Party blog continues at http://abigailspartynz.blogspot.com/  - log on and sign up as a follower and go in the draw to win two tickets for opening night.

Stranger on the Shore

...and this is the piece of music Beverly chooses when she gets smoochy with Tony...

It's not Unusual

Time for another music clip. Here's the unmistakable sound of Mr Tom Jones singing It's not Unusual - this performance from the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969. Eight years on, and Beverly is a big fan of this Welsh crooner - maybe it's his fondness for open-neck shirts, gold chains and tight trousers!

Production meeting

We had a very successful production meeting last night at Repertory - thanks to all for attending. Talked everyone through the set design and John, who will be building it, doesn't think there'll be a problem with construction. The Front of House Theatre Sign was all okayed as well so that's gone off to Display Associates today to be printed - can't wait to see it up outside the theatre! We also discussed the smoking (or non-smoking) issue and, as it's a big no-no, we have decided to explore the possibility of using electronic smoking cigarettes. Apparently they are quite realistic. They're available at the Amcal pharmacy, so I will make enquiries before the weekend.
The countdown is on for the first proper rehearsal this Sunday at Repertory - am itching to get stuck into rehearsals now!
The Midweek RepTalk column came out today and we've had one new follower sign up already - thanks Denita!

Theatre Sign - first draft

Here's the first draft of the Front of House AP sign that will go up outside Repertory Theatre. Although it may need a bit of tweaking still, I'm very happy with the overall look - the colours are certainly nice and punchy with a definite seventies feel. Just need to sort out the poster design now!