Issue 2 2022
Image credits:
Joy Sweeney
Geoff Jones
Contact us:
Our mailing address
Pymble Players Inc.
PO Box 203, St Ives 2075
E: theatre@pymbleplayers.com.au
W: pymbleplayers.com.au
F: facebook.com/PymblePlayers
‘...suit the action to the word, the word to the action;..’
— William Shakespeare - Hamlet
From the President
2022 marks the 65th anniversary of Pymble Players. PP is one of Sydney’s most enduring and successful community theatre associations, committed to producing excellent plays which are professional in execution, and that stimulate and entertain our audiences. This is due to the extraordinary talent of directors, actors and production crews, and hardworking, skilled Management Committees over all of those years. We stand on their shoulders and look forward to the remainder of 2022 and beyond with renewed commitment and enthusiasm.
Well, we finally managed to present our Blithe Spirit production in June after delays of 13 months due to Covid. Even after a long period of starts and stops we still had to cancel the final four shows of the season due to Covid lockdown. The end of season party was finally held in March this year. Our gratitude and admiration go to director, Sarah Lovesy and the cast, crew, front of house, ticketing management, committee and all involved in this highly successful sell-out production for their patience and positive attitude in making this happen. Our next play Building Blocks was directed by Rob and Leah White who brought you the very successful Natural Causes in 2019. Building Blocks bounced from September to November 2021 and finally made the stage on 9th February this year. This delightful comedy was a hit with our audiences and despite the Covid hesitancy kicked off 2022 on a happy note. Again, congratulations to Rob and Leah, cast, crew, and the entire PP team for staging this outstanding production. Excellent reviews of Blithe Spirit and Building Blocks are on the PP website.
Our next play Moonlight and Magnolias is set to entertain our audiences with an exciting, fast-paced comedy under the expert direction of Joy Sweeney with her team of wonderful actors and production crew. We are thrilled that Hayward Hall will again be open for pre-show and interval gatherings that are so much a part of the enjoyment of an evening or afternoon out at our theatre for our audiences. I encourage you all to buy your tickets and promote Moonlight and Magnolias via your various networks. You are in for a treat!
Our final play of the year will be the murder-mystery-comedy Bloody Murder directed by Margaret Olive to be performed 5-30 October 2022.
An historic event took place at the Pymble Chapel and Hayward Hall on 27th February this year. This event was a final service of thanksgiving for, and celebration of, the life and witness of Pymble Chapel 1870-2022. After 143 years of congregation, Pymble Chapel – ‘The small chapel with the big heart’ – has closed-down. Our direct contact with the Uniting Church is now with the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery. For those of you who may not be aware, the Presbytery is the Uniting Church management body for over 50 churches between Sydney and Newcastle.
Our current licence to use the theatre, hall and storage expires at the end of this calendar year. We are in discussion with the Presbytery to extend this and hope to have something definitive in place by June. Notwithstanding some degree of uncertainty, we have an enthusiastic and skilled resource base of directors, actors, technicians, and other volunteers and are planning for 2023 and beyond with confidence.
Warren Blood
President
OUR NEXT PLAY – MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS
By Arrangement with ORiGiN™ Theatrical on Behalf of Samuel French A Concord Theatricals Company.
8 June – 3 July 2022
Written by: Ron Hutchinson
Directed by: Joy Sweeney
An hilarious insight into the five madcap days that brought a Hollywood classic to the screen.
In this 65th anniversary of Pymble Players, I am proud to be directing ‘Moonlight and Magnolias’, a fast-paced comedy based on fascinating, real events about an iconic piece of Hollywood history – ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Joy Sweeney, Director
Cast: David O. Selznick – Murray Fane / Victor Fleming – Clive Hobson / Ben Hecht – Des Harris / Miss Poppenghul – Sarah Dolan.
Photos: Joy Sweeney
Diary Date
Member Night and Final Dress Rehearsal – 8.00pm Monday 6 June 2022
Pymble Players extends an invitation to all financial and Life members to come to the Final Dress Rehearsal of Moonlight and Magnolias. If you haven’t booked yet, please contact Geoff Jones, Membership Manager at theatre@pymbleplayers.com.au
Front of House
Thank you to everyone who has kindly offered to volunteer as Front of House personnel to support Pymble Players and the cast, crew and patrons of our upcoming play Moonlight and Magnolias. As the public face of our theatre, you are all very much appreciated!
Jill Klopfer, Front of House Manager
AGM 2022
The Pymble Players Inc. 65th Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 5 April at 7:30pm. The Committee decided to offer members the opportunity of a combined in-person and a virtual AGM. The meeting was successfully set up and facilitated by Secretary Melissa Abraham, and attendees comprised 38 in total, with 26 in person and 12 by Zoom. There were 10 apologies. Twelve Committee nominations had been received prior to the AGM, and two nominations were received on the night of the AGM. After the required voting process, the new Committee for 2022/23 was announced as follows:
Pymble Players Committee 2022/23
| undefined | ||
|---|---|---|
| Warren Blood | President | |
| Wendy Morton | Vice President | |
| Melissa Abraham | Secretary | |
| Jill Klopfer | Assistant Secretary | |
| Linda Young | Treasurer | |
| Leah White | Assistant Treasurer | |
| Ian Ackland | Property Manager | |
| Rob White | Technical Director | |
| Bronwyn Watkins | Publicity Officer | |
| Geoff Jones | Membership Manager | |
| Tom Sweeney | Committee Member | |
| Kevin Green | Committee Member |
Thank You to retiring and outgoing committee members!
A hearty Thank You along with a round of applause goes to retiring Treasurer Pam Ross and Assistant Treasurer Lloyd Williams for their hard work and support given to volunteering on the PP Committee over many years – Pam for 15 years, and Lloyd for 11 years. A hearty Thank You goes to outgoing Committee members Graham Boswell and Allan Rowsell, for their valued contributions to the Committee and dedication to Pymble Players, particularly Graham who has carried out the role of Technical Director for 15 years.
Thank you also, Carolyn Martin, Whole of Theatre Co-ordinator who is relinquishing the role after 15 years.
INTRODUCING NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Rob White – Technical Director
Leah White – Assistant Treasurer
Rob and Leah White have been co-directing plays since 2011 and are known to the Pymble Players family as Co-directors of Building Blocks (2022) and Natural Causes (2019).
Rob started acting in 1996 when he rang to purchase a ticket to see Sutherland Theatre Company’s A Few Good Men. The person at the other end of the phone asked if he was interested in a part in the play, to which Rob responded, “I just want a ticket for the play”. After some coercion, he joined the theatre and became a cast member of Sutherland Theatre Company. As they say, the rest is history!
Leah got her start to acting in her school’s play, The Dyspeptic Ogre, where she starred as the Ogre. Leah has acted in several plays at various theatres that include Sutherland Theatre Company, Theatre on Chester, The Genesian Theatre and, not forgetting, a Pymble Players Panto!
Her passion, however, lies in co-directing with her husband, Rob, quite possibly because she is forgetful of her dialogue – but that’s another story!
Other forms of relaxation for Rob and Leah are a weekly game of golf chasing the little white ball that clearly has a mind of its own. Leah says it’s a good way to spoil a nice walk. You will also see them regularly at the bowling alley where Leah is more confident exhibiting her graceful style. They are both delighted to be working with such a wonderful group of talented individuals.
Tom Sweeney OAM – Committee Member
Tom first trod the boards at the age of 11 with a stunning performance of Wendy in Peter Pan at primary school. Since then, he has left those heady roles behind and focused on the world of musical theatre, first as a performer in musicals such as Brigadoon, Half a Sixpence, Fiddler on the Roof, and others. Since 1978 Tom entered the world of directing musicals and has ticked up more than 40 productions with Willoughby Theatre Company.
Not forgetting his acting roots back in Year 6 – Tom has appeared on stage mainly with Theatre on Chester at Epping with roles in Journeys End, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Summer Rain, The Philadelphia Story, Love Letters, 84 Charing Cross Road, Hotel Sorrento and The Norman Conquests 1,2, & 3.
During his 50 plus years with Willoughby Theatre Company he has served on committee, been President from 2004 to 2019, received an OAM for services to the performing arts and been nominated into the Community Theatre Association’s Hall of Fame.
Professionally involved in media, special events, marketing and PR, Tom was involved in the opening of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel in 1992 for the Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. Prior to retirement he was special events and marketing at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium and created the now well known “Lantern Tours” of famous and infamous ‘guests’ at the Cemetery.
Tom is also a member of Crows Nest Rotary Club and holds a Paul Harris medal for services to Rotary.
Kevin Green – Committee Member
Kevin began ‘performing’ in the inevitable school nativity play! His teenage manifestation led to key roles in a variety of productions, the most challenging playing the lead as Mr Puff in Sheridan’s The Critic. He continued to act and then direct while reading English at Trinity College, Cambridge. This included touring Europe with all the logistical problems of things like negotiating the use of theatre lights and closing times with a range of unionised non-English speakers at very short notice.
His subsequent career embraced the advertising and music businesses, but he managed to maintain a profile in productions when time pressures and travel commitments allowed. He eventually morphed into a marketing and communications consultant for a range of Fortune 500 companies, and government offices. These adventures included a life living and working out of nine different countries, the most recent being Australia, where he is now proud to be a citizen. In what constitutes a freer amount of time these days, he continues to write technical books under his real name, and fictional books under the nom de plume, Merlin Cullinan.
He is delighted both to be living on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and with being presented with the opportunity to contribute to Pymble Players’ superb output and highly talented support crew. He hopes to help to maintain the rich variety and outstanding reputation of the group, built up over 65 years of performances and accumulated experience.
MEMBERS’ NEWS
Rene Bartel Turns 100
Constance Irene…Rene
Pymble Players Life Member and long-serving stalwart Rene Bartel celebrated her 100th birthday on 24 May 2022. I visited Rene at her charming garden unit at Chatswood, to give her a floral tribute from Pymble Players in celebrating her achievement. Not only in longevity but also in retaining her humour, sharp wit, and Yorkshire frankness. We reminisced about Pymble Players characters, particularly the much-missed Patron, John Howitt. Rene noted sagely that tragic though his death was, he was on his way to entertain children in one of his most memorable roles, the world’s best Santa Claus!
Rene reminded me of when in 2020 she had endured a fall and was rehabilitating at Uniting Northaven Turramurra and realising that this interesting resident whose company and conversation she enjoyed was my mother.
Rene played an invaluable role over many years, providing meals for those involved in set construction, keeping supplies up to date in the theatre and Hayward Hall, performing Front of House duties (especially on Opening Nights) and amongst other roles, performing the role of victualler for Club Nights. These were monthly activity nights that included events such as play readings, social events, and rehearsed performances.
Members who attended the PP Christmas Party may recall that Rene attended, after recovering from another mishap. She was acknowledged as a near centurion and long-serving member and it is wonderful to see and hear her in good health and spirits.
Rene remains a stoic and lively character. As we were having a cup of tea she remarked ‘sup up lad’. Again, that delightful Yorkshire brogue.
Rene shall have the last word. Her response to being asked how she is going is invariably ‘another day upright and breathing is always a good day’.
Geoff Jones, Membership Manager
Membership Renewal
It’s time to renew your membership! The membership year is 1st May to 30th April the following year. Please head over to our website to get the ball rolling – click on the following link and it will take you to our revamped Membership Page. You can pay for your membership online using a Credit Card (Mastercard or Visa) as well as via bank transfer – click on the orange payment button of your choice, to fill out your form and make your payment. You can also scroll through the fabulous ways that you can get involved at Pymble Players.
Members of Pymble Players must all abide by the Pymble Players Code of Conduct. We also need Members to volunteer to assist with Front of House duties at least once during the membership year. We can’t stress enough how important this role is to support PP and all those involved – actors, directors, and production crew – in providing excellence in theatre to our loyal patrons and audiences. Life Members do not need to renew their membership.
An enormous thank you to those who have already renewed for 2023! We greatly value your continuing support of Pymble Players.
If you have any suggestions to improve your experience as a member of PP or the service we provide, please don’t hesitate to contact me at theatre@pymbleplayers.com.au.
Geoff Jones, Membership Manager
ACTORS AWAY
Jennifer Willison is directing The Female of the Species at Hunters Hill Theatre from 17 June to 3 July 2022. Pymble Players’ members are Catherine Potter, Dan Ferris, and Jan Johnson. Jennifer Willison has also directed for PP, and we wish everyone a successful season.
Cast:
Margo - CATHERINE POTTER
Molly - BETTINA GIRDLER
Tess - TONIA DAVIS
Bryan - ANTHONY SLAVEN
Frank - DAN FERRIS
Theo - MICHAEL RICHMOND
Production:
Stage Manager - JAN JOHNSON
Costume Design - RHONDA CHAPMAN
Lighting Design - WAYNE CHEE
David Allsopp’s short play Buried Treasure won Best Script, Best Director, and an Actor’s Circle for both David and his co-star Jacqui in the Short+Sweet Sydney Theatre 2021 Final. Written by David Allsopp and Jacqui Duncan, and directed by James Brettell, the play stars Jacqui Duncan and David Allsopp. Once more, congratulations, David!
FINAL PLAY FOR 2022
Our final play for 2022 – Bloody Murder, By Arrangement With ORiGiN™ THEATRICAL, On Behalf of Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois from 5-30 October 2022, written by Ed Sala and directed by Margaret Olive – will end the year on a high and humorous note. Auditions will be held on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th July. Call backs, if required, will be held on Sunday 10th July. The full audition pack will be available soon.
