Following our move back into Berrow Village Hall in February and the commitment to stage ‘Fringe benefits’ as our next production, we have had to overcome some significant problems.
For one, the village hall now has a suspended ceiling, which means our previously used lighting bars have been removed and cannot be put back.
After weeks of research and more weeks of feverish calculation to decide what we could fit in and how the components could be fitted together, stored safely and fitted round our modular stage, we ordered a huge aluminium frame made by global truss. This had to be shipped from Germany, so it was quite important to get the order exactly right!
We anxiously endured the weeks of waiting for the last few items to come into stock, and finally the frame was on its way to us…
A week later there was the lorry outside our door. In accordance with the instructions from the Supplier, we took the driver hostage while we checked off all the bits and pieces present and correct before finally allowing him to leave.
The next bit of fun was how to get the boxes (some of which were over 3 metres long) into the car and down to the hall. This was easilly solved by opening the back window on the CRV and sticking the excess length out through it.
Next was the big trial assembly. Ken and I had meticulously worked out that it could be safely assembled and would just clear the roof ties in the hall and amazingly, it did!
We needed 6 people in total. Four to help with the assembly and lifting into position of the legs, and the others to connect the two halves. It looks great and is really strong. We are now very much poorer (the thing cost £1700), but hopefully we are a step closer to being able to stage our first production in the new hall.
I decided to call the frame ‘Helga’ as she came from Germany, (actually she came from Taiwan via Germany but I don’t know any Taiwanese names and anyway I think Helga suits her).
From left to right: Ken, Dennis, Owen, Mike, Doreen, Serena, Greg
