Ladies and Gentlemen! We Proudly Present......

..................*drumroll*...............

The

DRACULA

SPECTACULA!!

We've had our OPENING NIGHT SUCCESS!!

A TRIUMPH of a performance, with our talented and versatile young performers coping masterfully with the transition from rehearsal rooms to stage - even handling some last minute choreography like true professionals. We could not be PROUDER of each and every one of them!

This Little Theatre in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula is a charming place and such a fun, cosy place to perform; take a look:

The view from outside -  on a chilly February evening it's an inviting, warm respite from wind and rain!

We decorated the theatre as much as possible in the short time available between technical and dress rehearsals - capturing that fun, spooky feeling....moowahahahahaha!

The auditorium is welcoming and an ideal size for our shows -

We saved a lot of time and money by choosing to use 'spectacula' (I can't help it....shush...) lighting projected onto the backdrop, stage and minimal scenery. It's tremendously effective and really adds mood to each scene.  My camera liked it so much that it took this picture all by it's jolly little self -

I know, right? So pretty.  And now - here are the first photographs fresh from the theatre, showing our A*M*A*Z*I*N*G cast in their GORGEOUS costumes all being A*W*E*S*O*M*E:

Opening scene! Yeah - we went DEMONIC! Go for spooky laughter - MOOWWAHAHAHA!

Holy habits - it's Sister O'Stake! NOW - Welcome to Transylvanian Airways! Flying Air Drac with the captain and his all-singing, all-dancing cabin crew, along with the lovely and talented 'Spectacularettes'!

...then back to the classicly rural Transylvanian mode of transport - yes, you guessed it...the reckless and scary coach and driver!   (I'm really resisting the 'moowahaha' but it's losing battle!)

 Our lovely young heroine, Miss Nadia Naive and her eager students arrive at the tavern, run with enthusiasm by Herr Hans and Frau Gretel...

 .....they know how to party in Transylvania!

Enter now our young hero, Nick Nicely, ready to capture the heart of young Nadia...

Love at first sight! Of course it helps when our young hero and heroine are serenaded by those splendid Spectacularettes!

BUT - their bliss is soon to be interrupted.... a dark shadow lurks, a sinister presence......

ENTER THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS - 

Eyes for innocent Nadia.....evils for young Nicely!  Oh, heck, you know it's a-comin' -

MOOOOOOWAAAAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!

What will happen now? Will Nadia avoid the Dark Lord's advances? Will young Nick Nicely win the heart - and soul - of his young love? Will Dracula triumph? Will the Spectacularettes wear even more fabulous frocks? Will the tavern finally install a carvery?? 

MORE TO COME TOMORROW!!! KEEP WATCHING!!!!

Fang-Tastic Preparations!

IT'S FEBRUARY!

THIS is the big month - time to perfect pretty much EVERYTHING in time for our production of 'The Dracula Spectacula' later this month (see end of post for show details).

It's been an INCREDIBLY busy January: rehearsing, planning, advertising, rehearsing, costume making, rehearsing, costume fitting, promoting, rehearsing.... you know how it is! Not a GREAT deal of time for sleep! Costumes are coming along beautifully. Here are Wraith's costumes:

These look anazing when they're fitted on our wonderful actress. The Captain's costume's ready to go-

...and Drac? Well, I think we've done awesomely as he looks SPECTACULA in his cloak and hat!

We have final fittings any moment now so there'll be a whole host of pics here with complete costumes and our young actors and actresses looking awesome!

Just look at how hard they've been working:

Yep - they're incredible. Truly, every week these kids raise the bar for excellence. Every time it seems like they've performed their best, they find even more energy and pretty much blow our minds with their dedication, talent and their ability to find the very best within themselves and in each other too.  Our director, choreographer, musical director - in fact, ALL of our production and support team work so hard both at the rehearsals AND through the weeks as well to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible, but each and every one of us say the same thing ALL the time - that it's a complete delight to work with these kids. They give so much back that there's not a second when it's not utterly worthwhile and totally rewarding. I can't wait till the next rehearsal AND - THE SHOW!!! YAY!

Bookings are coming in, and we're running promotions locally so tickets will sell fast. Do you want to come see our show? It's going to be EPIC! Here are all the details you'll need to buy tickets for you and your family - remember, group bookings are welcome!

Show dates for 'The Dracula Spectacula' are

Wednesday 19th February - Saturday 22nd February

at

The Carlton Little Theatre in Birkenhead, Wirral,

nightly at 7:30pm.

Tickets prices :
£9.00 for adults
£7.00 for concessions

and bookings can be made by calling  0151 639 4189. Leave a message with your name and phone number to receive a return phone call. 

 

We look forward to seeing you! xxx

 

 

 

You SHALL Go To The Swamp!

It's a successful week for costumes, what with the hats and the fabric and I've now finished Wraith's black and red dress - at least to the point of final fitting. 

You may remember that this is what the base of the dress looked like at the time of purchase -

And now? We decided that we wanted Wraith to look floaty and spooky (as her name implies) but also a LITTLE like she's been dragged through the swamp backwards! A bit of flamboyant wildness in the hair and the frock will make the character really stand out on stage...

...you get the idea...

So BOY did I have some fun with all that gorgeous net I bought! Here's the result thus far, as modelled by Bettie, my dressform dummy!

Once it's fitted on our lovely Wraith, stitched and finished it'll look quite splendid, I'm sure. I'm not 100% sure about the flower - I think it should be something more spooky there at the waist to match whatever equally creepy hair adornments are added.

Anyway - I'll add updated pictures as I go along, and next week I should be able to show you the preview (pre-final fitting pinned-on-Bettie) version of Wraith's green swamp dress.  I'm really quite looking forward to that!

Don't forget to check back for updates here and on the other blog pages - more photos to come! I'd welcome your comments and input so please feel free to comment below and add this blog to your favourites.   See you soon! xxx

Puttin' On The Glitz!

We have HATS in the house! Oh yeah! Sparkly ones too....FABULOUS!

Don't we all know how long it takes to rehearse a routine with hats? I'm relieved that they're here nice and early so that everyone can get the hang of them. I'm more than confident that the actors will have NO problem - and once their full costumes are all sorted they'll look amazing! Not going to let you into THOSE costume secrets just yet though!

Of course, these awesome hats of sparkly splendidness will have to live in the boot of my car for a while as my house is FULL of fabric and net - nothing new there! I also have the (OH so gorgeous) fabric for Wraith's swampy costume and it's LOVELY -

I'll be back in no time with costume updates - in the meantime, you may want to take a peek at some of the other pages on this blog as I'm adding pictures all the time. Thank you so much for visiting - I'd love to hear your comments and ideas! See you soon :) xxx

Choreographing The Undead!

It's been a BUSY week! We've been working VERY hard at our rehearsals, which are going well. It's been the week for solving problems, finding solutions and fixing things - there's always one week like this! But we've risen to the challenge and, actually we're further ahead than we thought! Hurrah!

 

*  'Drac' and 'Wraith' rehearsing their characters *

* the resident 'undead' prepare for 'The Rhesus Negative Rock'! *

There's also been some excellent progress with costume and props. I've been working on the dresses for 'Wraith', which obviously MUST be fabulous - floaty as well! This is the base for one costume:

....and this is the fabulous fabric that will transform it from basic to splendid! Out with the sewing machine again! I'll have this pinned and fitted soon so check soon for updates! See you soon xxx