South Gloucestershire | Archive | 2006 | February | 3
From the archive, first published Friday 3rd Feb 2006.
A ONE-ACT play festival, part of the All England Theatre Festival, returns to Chipping Sodbury at the end of this month.
Ten teams will be competing in Chipping Sodbury Town Hall from February 22 to February 25.
They will be adjudicated on each of the four nights by the very popular Chris Jaeger.
Ann Aplin, from Avon Association of Drama which organises the local festival, said: "This festival is for clubs around the Bristol area, and the venue changes each year - currently the strength of support is in the South Gloucestershire area with teams coming from Patchway, Filton, Oldland, Iron Acton, Winterbourne, Rangeworthy and Sodbury itself, though we are also hoping for a visit from a team from Wiltshire."
She added: "It can be quite scary - doing your very best on a stage in front of a strange audience, and then listening to an expert's informed views on your effort.
"But this event is always good fun, especially for the audience who often try and second-guess what the adjudicator will say - bearing in mind the fact that points are awarded for stage presentation, costumes, sound and lighting as well as directing and acting."
It is very much a knock-out competition and the winners will go on to divisional and area finals at Clevedon and Weymouth respectively, following which will be the English Final at Hereford and the British Final which is in Perth this year. The winning youth team will compete in the Five Counties Youth Festival, being held for 2006 at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud.
One of the competing teams in the February event will be the Actonians. Simon Carney is the latest Actonian to have a go at directing - he really struggled to find a play for the festival but eventually settled on JM Barrie's short play Seven Women.
Simon said: "This one made me laugh, so hopefully our audiences will do the same."
He tracked it down, out of print, and is now enjoying rehearsing with a very able and experienced team. Well known Actonian faces, Rob Pardoe, David Hebblethwaite, Rachel Taylor and Pat Stimson are joined by newcomer Emma Stewart.
Simon Carney is a good example of the many ways in which people can join amateur drama groups - he always enjoyed acting at primary school but did nothing else until, as a hunt supporter, he had a small role at the Hunt Revue. This whetted his appetite and he was put in touch with the Actonians - he found himself in the rain-swept parish meadows playing the hero in a melodrama and since then he has stage-managed a pantomime, played in The Lady's not for Burning and worn himself to a frazzle as the very active lead in Run for your Wife.
Further information and tickets are available from 01454 228243.
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