Stage 2 drama – blog

It’s Spring! Must be time for another Stage 2 production then…  Here’s all the info on the latest upcoming extravaganza…

Stage 2 drama group cordially invite you to our latest comedy presentation which has a spoof gothic theme…  “”The Case of the Count Formerly Known as Dracula – A Justin Thyme Mystery” by Bruce Kane. We are enjoying rehearsing this gothic comedy play featuring the hardboiled detective Justin Thyme, who takes on the toughest, dirtiest cases in English literature.

Plotting the Plot…

Dracula is having a terrible time finding virgins to get together with – for some reason there is an acute local shortage of virgins in Transylvania…. What can he do?  He decides to try online dating to increase his chances but finds the forms impossible even with his Mother “helping”!
Is there any way to find the elusive virgins he craves?
Is speed dating the way to go?
Or maybe Dracky should “persuade” someone to do the finding for him….

Enter Justin Thyme: fictional detective. Sam Spade. Philip Marlowe. Mike Hammer. Dick Barton. Humphrey Bogart. Dick Tracy… and then there’s Justin Thyme. Hard-boiled. Rugged. Scotch-soaked. Gravel voiced. Chick magnet. And a private eye to boot. Make that a fictional detective. You know, the go-to guy when you’ve got a classic case of missing virgins.
After receiving a mysterious phone call, Thyme travels to Transylvania to find out why the country has experienced a sudden shortage of virgins. No sooner does he arrive, then his old fiend Igor tells him that the man who summoned him is dead. He meets the delicious Molly, takes refuge in an eerie castle, encounters its master Count Dracula, gets locked in a cell, loses Molly, goes on a bender, and eventually recovers only to find Molly has become an undead bride of Dracula. Will Thyme defeat the immortal vampire? Will he rescue Molly? And will our intrepid gumshoe escape a fate worse than death when Molly proposes they marry and move to the suburbs?

Find out as Stage 2 present: “The Case of the Count Formerly Known as Dracula – A Justin Thyme Mystery”
This hilarious production runs on Thursday 14th May Friday 15th May and Saturday 16th May at Berrow Village Hall, Parsonage Road, Berrow. All performances begin at 7.30pm.

There will also be an easy peasy (!) quiz and a light supper, and,  if you’d really like to “get in the spirit”, fancy dress is optional but not essential – we will be awarding a prize for the best costume – come as a vampire, a vamp, a fictional detective or just as yourself – it’s up to you!

A hilarious evening of entertainment is on the cards and all our usual great value for money!  Advance tickets from Grahame on 01278 782319 or Ken on 01278 795619.  Advance tickets are only £7.50 – get yours now!  On the door ticket price is £8.

If anybody out there is at a loose end, we would be grateful for behind the scenes helpers – eg: assistance with make up, costume changes, prompting and front of house tasks. Give us a call if you would like to get involved!

Now that the show is over…

Let me thank everyone who put in so much time, effort and money to make it happen:

• The actors: for all their time learning lines and their unmitigated courage in standing up in front of an audience (and) making fools of themselves.
• The technicians: for the stage, set, lights, sound etc etc which was almost flawless…
• The front-of-house: For making it all run so smoothly.
• The catering division: for producing enough delicious food to feed the five thousand – several times over.
• The audience: for giving generously of their time and money to make it all worth while.

Thanks especially to everyone who stayed on after the last performance to strike the set and make in unnecessary for us to stagger back in on Sunday morning to finish off…

YOU ARE ALL HEROES (and HEROINES!)

So, another production fades into the mists of time. It all went remarkably well, considering. Unfortunately, the audiences were smaller than we would have liked, but you can’t win ’em all. With luck, we’ll do better in the Autumn.

There will now be a short intermission… There will be no more meetings for at least the next three Fridays. Once everyone has recuperated, I’ll arrange a wash-up meeting and we can begin to plan our next extravaganza…

Welcome, indeed, to the new Stage 2 Drama Youth Section.

As those of you know who’ve been following our last few performances, a year ago we welcomed Tom to our ranks, and, at Christmas, we added Georgia, both of whom have put in sterling work on our behalf.

However, it’s hard to find plays that contain a suitable mix of geriatrics and neophytes to make full use of our new members. In addition, more youngsters have expressed an interest. This may mean that there are enough younger members to cast their own plays as well as help the oldies with theirs.

Hence Stage 2 decided to set up a Youth Section which will meet on Fridays, from 7pm, at Berrow Village Hall.

For more information, why not contact us using the

Welcome to 2013. New year; New play; New enthusiasm!

Following on from a rather disappointing year (in terms of aspirations rather than actual performance) Stage 2 emerges into the New Year with enthusiasm rekindled by the (slightly unexpected) success of the Christmas 2012 production.

It was always going to be a challenge, with the performance dates so close to Christmas, as not only did the prospective audience have other things to do on the cusp of the Festive Season, so did the members! A number of situations (including two – more – members moving away and several illnesses – after all, we’re none of us getting any younger!) threatened to take away a number of our key helpers and performers. This was offset somewhat by Tom (in his second production with us) and Georgia: two youngsters who – we hope – will form the core of an age renaissance for the group. All we need now are another half-dozen less-then-wrinklies and we’re sorted!

In the event, the production was a huge success, and all the comments we received were positive: the food was superb; the acting excellent (even given the last-minute drafting in of a couple to fill in for two stalwarts who couldn’t make it) and the quiz was a success, despite causing many competitors some considerable head-scratching!

The Group AGM discussed our next step and we decided to try to repeat the Christmas formula – with adjustments for the change of seasons, of course – for our spring production, so we are currently looking at a wide range of short plays which can be strung together to make a production. Shorter plays definitely impose less strain on individual performers (anyone who has tried to learn 80 or 90 pages of an Ayckbourn play will know what we mean!) and generally have simpler production requirements, too. A perfect opportunity for someone looking to dabble their toes in the slightly murky waters of Amateur Dramatics! So, if you fancy giving acting a try, or even if you prefer to help with costumes, props, set, technicals, production, publicity etc, etc, etc, then please come along to a Friday evening meeting (8-10 pm, Berrow Village Hall) and give us a try! Alternatively, call us on 01278 795619 and speak to us or leave a message with:

• Your name
• Your Telephone number
• What you’d be interested in helping with

and we’ll call you back.