Reps Theatre Maasdorp Ave / Sam Nujoma St, Harare, Zimbabwe

Latest Reps Newsletter - May 2006

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Thank you to all those people who have contacted the Reps office or members of ExCo to say they enjoy receiving this newsletter we are glad it is serving the purpose of keeping you all up to date with Reps issues and topics.

Annual General Meeting

The 76^th AGM of The Repertory Players took place in the auditorium on Sunday April 30, with about 70 members in attendance. There was general satisfaction over the outcome of 2005 and a new Executive Committee was elected for the coming 12 months, including the following members: Teri Grimmell, Dave Fleming, Barry Edmunds, Gill West, Stan Higgins, Chris Charnley, Tim Garrard and Sue Bolt. Tim Garrard was re-elected Chairman and Chris Charnley was elected Vice Chairman. These are your representatives and they are there to serve you and the society as a whole. Please make your needs and views known to them.

The Drawer Boy

Fresh from his success as co-winner of the Oude Meester Award of Excellence for 2005 (for Proof), Graham Crutchley presents the first Reps play in Theatre Upstairs this year, with The Drawer Boy, which runs from Thursday May 4 to Saturday May 13. This drama with touches of humour is set in Canada in 1972 and tells of a young student coming to a small farm to study farm life for a play. He meets up with two farmers living on the property and is the catalyst for an unravelling of 30 years' mingling of fact and fiction. This will be excellent theatre and is highly recommended. Booking is now open at The Spotlight and tickets are $400 000 each. The Drawer Boys stars David Smith, Mike Blackburn and Warwick Broad.

The Music Man

Rehearsals are going full steam ahead for the 75^th anniversary production, The Music Man, directed by Adrian Stanley, assisted by Mark West. This promises to be a superb musical production, featuring the well-known and much-loved music of Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Choreography is by Debbie Fleming and musical direction by Annette Eastwood, with a large cast presenting some of the best show music ever written. The Music Man opens on Thursday May 18 and runs until Saturday June 3. Booking opens at The Spotlight on May 8 and tickets will be $1 million each, with the usual discount for members. It is hoped that the opening night, May 18, will be a gala occasion, so keep watching for more information on this.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Rory Kilalea was set to produce Macbeth in June but has changed this to the classic Tennessee Williams drama A Streetcar Named Desire. Auditions have already taken place and work starts soon on this production, which is regarded as one of Williams’ best works. It is also a schools set book this year and will assist students studying this for their English Literature examinations. Production dates are June 8 to 17.

Sister Action Auditions

Debbie Fleming is planning a spectacular follow-up to her popular Broadway Hits and Musical Bits a musical comedy inspired by the movie Sister Act, scheduled to run in August. Auditions will take place at Reps at 10am on Sunday May 14 and Sunday May 21 and Debbie is hoping for a good turnout of known and unknown talent to star in this exciting show. She especially want some good nuns!

Foyer upgrade

As you will have seen there has been considerable progress in this project, with all the painting now having been done. Toyota Zimbabwe very kindly helped with funds and as a result we have named the refreshments area the Toyota Zimbabwe Service Centre. MWEB has come up with a colourful new bar, known as the MWEB Wine Bar. The big new effort is to raise funds for the new carpeting for the foyer and auditorium, so please support this by buying a square (50cm x 50cm) for $2 500 000.

Repteens

Chris Charnley reminds younger thespians that Repteens starts again after the school holidays. The group meets each Friday evening during school terms in the Repteens Room, starting at 6.15pm. This is a valuable training ground for young people and it is from here that the stars of tomorrow will emerge. If you are a teenager in search of a creative outlet for your talent then get involved right away.

Social

Social events organiser Kathy Keen is hoping to set up a social committee to run these affairs. If you would like to help out, then contact her through the Reps office to volunteer your services. Key to their focus are the Friday night entertainments and other events held in and outside the reps bar. These are always great fun and help keep funds flowing into the Reps bank account, so they are very important for the society.

Discounts and membership

Some members have asked why discounts are not available to them for Reps shows that run in Theatre Upstairs. This is because the return on shows there is very much smaller than from main stage productions but with costs not far different. So, to make a profit and keep these shows viable, we need to maintain a standard ticket price for all patrons of Theatre Upstairs. There are discounts for main stage productions, however, and these assist in keeping members costs down. currently these discounts are 20% on four seats only for any night of the run. Membership of Reps is worthwhile from a number of perspectives discounts on main stage shows, access to the bar not only when coming for a show but also throughout the year, access to information on all Reps productions and other events held in and around Reps. Discounts are available for ordinary members only, as there are already discounted membership subscription levels for other members, such as spouses and pensioners.

Speaking of membership, please could you do your best to help us build up membership this year. Membership stands at about 630 at the moment but we would like to have reached 1 000 by year end. As a special incentive, every member bringing a new member into the society during the months of June and July will be placed in a draw for a BIG BIG PRIZE to be conducted in early August. More about that in coming weeks, but get ready to get your friends, family and colleagues on board. Everyone wins when Reps has a strong and active membership. If you are a member of Reps, please also make sure the office has your e-mail address and that this address is kept up to date on our records.

Until next time, keep well

Tim Garrard

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