Sleeping Beauty: The Debrief, Part One!

Huge apologies for the radio silence, everyone! We've been busy, busy, busy since our pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, finished in February. Normal service will now be resumed!

Sleeping Beauty was a massive success - we packed Medina Theatre, selling out four of the five performances, with ticket sales overall up on last year's pantomime. The lead-up was...a little stressful. Two days before the show, we found ourselves without a drummer and the call to arms went up. We had to find help, and we were on borrowed time.

Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming response we received that day. Nothing makes you feel so loved as when people rise to help you in a crisis!

So thank-you to everyone who sent out messages on Facebook and Twitter, and to everyone who got in touch with us to hand over names of potential drummers, and to everyone who offered their services in any way, but particularly to the following we must extend a huge thank-you:

The Isle of Wight County Press - Never have I known such a supportive working environment. Not only did they allow me to spend my afternoon drummer-hunting, my colleagues also used their personal Twitter and Facebook accounts to join the appeal, for which I know the Strollers were all grateful.

Rob da Bank - With over 50,000 followers, and hundreds of people requesting retweets, he was under no obligation to help us. But help us he did, by sending out a message to all those thousands of followers and prompting a flood of help and no small amount of sympathy for our plight...thanks, Rob!


The cast and crew of Sleeping Beauty, their families and friends - Some of our own, and those that knew them, leapt into action the moment the call went up and came up with a number of names and contacts to try. This, I realise, is no mean feat - many of our members work full time, so for them to use their lunch breaks, tea breaks, and working contacts to help us meant a lot.

And finally, one thank-you that cannot be overlooked...

Simon Keates. Our saviour. The man with the sticks, who knows how to use them! As I climbed into my car, my head thunking onto the steering wheel, all but giving up on finding a drummer that could commit at such short notice, my phone rang.

"I hear you're looking for a drummer," said the mysterious voice on the other end. "I think I can help you."

And help us he did! Simon stepped in at the eleventh hour, and gave us better bashing, crashing and tinkles that we could ever have hoped for. Thank-you, Simon, truly, and we're thrilled to be welcoming you back as our drummer for 2013/14.

The show itself ran like a dream and, as the curtain fell each night, we were inundated with excellent feedback; it was so lovely, in fact, that we'd like to share some of it!

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"Thank-you for a brilliant afternoon's entertainment, and see you next year!"
Caroline Seaward, 6th Newport Cubs

"Excellent show. Well done, everyone. Not one thing on my snagging list! We all thoroughly enjoyed it."
Geraldine Tulloch

"More than worth going to see. Excellent."
Terry Adams

"My first ever panto...it was great, and great to see the money raised going to great causes. Well done, The Wight Strollers."
Gray - Wight Time


"Fabulous show, well done Strollers!"
Bayliss and Booth

"Brilliant show last night, well done to all the cast and everyone involved. We had a really enjoyable night."
Jeff Ritchie

"Another wonderful show...loved it! Well done!"
Ann Potts

"Brilliant. Never stopped laughing! Thank-you, Strollers, for making me laugh so much."
Debbie Egan

"Saw the evening show, superb in every aspect of the production. Haven't laughed like that for a while."
Gareth Hayles

"Layla's Trust went to see The Wight Strollers yesterday at the Medina Theatre, and had a fabulous time! Thanks to all the players, production team, volunteers and everyone behind the scenes that put on a magnificent show."
Layla's Trust

"It was fab. My little boy loved it. Sat through the whole thing, joined in with the clapping and booing, loved the bits he could dance to. Wonder if he was your youngest audience member. Well done. Great show as usual."
Vikki Roberts

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With such incredible feedback pouring in from the audiences, with many saying it was our best pantomime yet, there was one question on the lips of all the cast: what would the review be like...?

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End of Part One.

Sleeping Beauty is looming!

It's less then a month until our 2013 production of Sleeping Beauty, and rehearsals are reaching fever pitch!

With musical numbers from films, shows and the charts, this is a show we'd recommend coming along to see, even if you're not usually a panto fan, as it's set to be one of our most magical yet.

It's been a busy few months for our Strollers members: you may have seen our Princess Aurora, Em Scotcher, featured in the County Press and on yoppul for her role in the new Hollywood blockbuster, Les Mis; one of our senior dancers, Kerry Way, has achieved a full house of offers from the performing arts schools she's applied to; another senior dancer, Alex Chambers, is returning to work as a TeamStar on the mainland after a hugely successful 2012 season on the Isle of Sheppey; our wicked fairy, Sarah Scotcher, was interviewed by John Hannam for the February edition of the Isle of Wight Beacon; henchman Ryan Tulloch is finalising plans to visit Ethiopia; and we've decided on our chosen charities for this year - more on that soon!

To see all these members, and our forty others, in action, all you have to do is book a ticket to see Sleeping Beauty at Medina Theatre - the details are as follows:

Saturday 16th February
2:30 and 7:30pm

Sunday 17th February
2:30pm

Saturday 23rd February
2:30 and 7:30pm

Tickets:
Adults £7.50
Senior Citizen £6.50
Child £5.50
Youth Groups (10 or more) £5 - Matinee only

Box Office:
01983 527020

We promise that you won't be disappointed, whatever your age or theatrical preferences!

The carnival theme for this year has also been decided, but it's all very hush-hush until the day of Newport Carnival, the first of the season, in July when our top secret theme will be revealed to the watching and waiting world...well, Island!

Happy January, everyone, and we'll see you in February at Medina - but hurry up and grab your tickets, they're selling fast!

This year has brought with it the best of times...

Wow, what a year 2012 has been so far!

Since this is our very first post on this, our new site, it seems only right to update you on The Wight Strollers’ year so far...

February 2012:
Our panto, Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood, was a huge success, packing Medina Theatre full to bursting once again, and getting a wealth of positive feedback. Cast and audience alike loved it, and – most importantly – we were able to give away more money to Island charities.

Thanks must go one more time to everyone who came to see or was involved in Robin Hood and we can’t wait to see you at the next one!

April 2012:
On Thursday 26th April, we had our AGM, where it was decided that our pantomime for 2013 would be the popular classic, Sleeping Beauty. It was decided that our script would be written by Mike Sutcliffe and Sarah Scotcher, who were responsible for both Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood and the previous year’s panto, Cinderella.

We also had our annual cheque presentation of the money raised by panto, and were thrilled to welcome representatives of our chosen charities to accept the donations:

- £2,000 to John’s Club
- £1,000 to the Isle of Wight MS Society
- £600 to Revive
- £500 to the Saturday Club for the Deaf
- £200 to the 6th Newport Beavers
- £200 to the 8th Ryde Brownies


A new committee member was elected in the form of Emily Scotcher, and the director for Sleeping Beauty was voted in – well, we wanted Psychic Sue but after she proved unwilling we had to settle for Sarah Scotcher instead!

Some tea, biscuits and bingo later, we went our separate ways before the beginning of the summer season, which for us involves dressing up and dancing through the Island’s streets...


May 2012:
 

In May, our hugely popular Merry Men from Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood were invited to perform their show-stopping rendition of The Overtones hit song, Sh-Boom, at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice Grand Charity Auction, held at the Bargeman’s Rest on Friday 18th May.

Sadly, Little John (alias Stuart Egan) was unable to make it, so ‘The Undertones’ - as they were affectionately known among the cast – recruited a stand-in...a woman, no less, in the form of Musical Director Em Scotcher. Not quite as big as Little John, she completed the line-up, joining Robin Hood (Henry Noon), Friar Tuck (Rob Jones), Alan-A-Dale (Ryan Tulloch) and Will Scarlett (Tim Smith) in what was an undeniably memorable performance!

Tim went on to finish running the auction (as if he wasn’t talented enough on stage, he’s a brilliant auctioneer to boot!) as Will Scarlett, causing much hilarity and convincing men and women alike to part with ever-increasing sums of cash for a very worthy cause. A great night was had by all, and The Wight Strollers certainly enjoyed themselves...and spent perhaps a little too much money into the bargain!

June 2012:
...Carnival time was almost upon us, and both the float and costumes were well underway for this year’s theme: trolley dollies! Under the banner of Try Me Airline, thirty-five of us would be dancing in purple pencil skirts, blazers and hats, pink scarves and blonde wigs to Michael Bublé’s Come Fly With Me, Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman and Cher’s Shoop Shoop Song.

The trolley dollies choreography, done by Sarah and tried out on Emily and Ed, was effective as ever and when you threw in the full company plus wheeled suitcases it made for a lot of laughs even in rehearsal...six-foot-four male trolley dollies are a sight to behold, whichever way you look at it, or them!

Also in June came the first of our fund-raising efforts to pay off the loan we’d had to take out after our carnival trailer broke down following last year’s carnival season. We had a lot of money to raise, and special mention must go to Judith Day for her tireless work organising a hugely successful variety show to help raise the money.

Fund-raising spread further still over the coming months, with a brilliant beetle drive organised by Sarah Occomore, and a Guess the Time the Watch Stops game arranged by Mike Squibb. In short, we made the money we needed, and carnival was good to go!

July –September 2012:
Newport Carnival kicked things off, and the crowds seemed to love this year’s offering. Seeing everyone laughing and smiling is what makes the carnivals for us, and that Try Me Airline was lucky enough to take first prize and best overall was a bonus we were thrilled with.

Our flight destinations over the carnival season included Sandown Main and Illuminated, Cowes Main, Ventnor Main and Illuminated, Ryde Main and Ryde Illuminated. By the time we landed at our final destination (Ryde Illuminated on Saturday 3rd September) we were laden with much silverware; everyone involved in the carnivals worked harder this year than ever before, and to have our hard work rewarded so generously was truly a privilege - thank-you to everyone, not only for the awards but also for the kind words that came with them. As long as everyone enjoys watching us, we’re more than happy!

And that brings us right up to now! On Thursday 6th September we held an informal get-together for this year’s panto and sang through some of the music, introduced the cast and welcomed a host of potential new members.

The script is finished, the panto is cast, the music has been chosen and this Sleeping Beauty is set for lift-off! The first rehearsal will be taking place on Thursday 27th September, so stay tuned for our next blog post, which will be coming to you shortly afterwards, on Monday 1st October, and we promise not to tell (too many) bad jokes as panto season kicks in - don’t miss it!

Thanks for reading...and don't forget to visit our Facebook and Twitter pages for more Strollers news, updates and pictures.

Coming soon, The Wight Strollers blog!

Coming soon - the first post under our brand-new blog! Keep up with all the latest as we start rehearsals for out February 2013 pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, and catch up on the news from this year's carnival season and our adventures under the TryMe Airlines banner.

17.09.12 - Don't miss it!

In the meantime, follow us on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest news.