Hello everyone, I’m Gemma and I’m playing the naive, innocent minded Hero. I’ve been a part of SMP for some time now, however, I have had quite a break but I am SO glad to be back. I must say at SMP we are a family and somehow this show feels the same as always although there are so many differences.
I’m in charge of blogging about our ‘get in’. Now usually, as some of you may know, when a company gets into a theatre, it’s a time for tech teams to sort lighting and sound, crew to organise getting the set sorted and the creative team to run through odd bits here and there with the cast. Now today we had most of those things yet there was no theatre to get into. No red seats for the cast to annoy the crew, no tanoy messages to dressing rooms, no blankets and onesies needed to keep us warm because we were outside in the sunshine in beautiful Bury Lodge Park!
Get in day is always magical as you see the production team’s visions start to fall into place in front of you (no matter the setting). Wedding chapels were being made and painted, moveable sound systems were being wheeled around and so many fairy lights were hung, we couldn’t count them all. I’m so excited to see what the next week will bring as we come to the end of another rehearsal process.
To look back on just a few fun moments, we have Bowman (our director) managing to play every part either once or twice, with impecable likeness to the real actor. Trips to the an-tee-podes with Michael (Benedick). And finally, Warren (Dogberry) sitting in bird poop in the walled garden (don’t worry – I’m sure you’ll all be fine, there’s chairs for that bit).
Being a part of this cast has been such a learning curve, as I believe it’s sometime since we all tried our hand at Shaksey-P. I really hope that everyone gets a chance to come along and share this SMP first with us. We were told at the end of panto, earlier this year, that we would be followed by our regular audience members to the ends of the earth. Well we’ve only gone as far as the park. So come along. We’d love to see you there!
P.S. the view from the dressing room is deffo the best we’ve ever had. From the basement to the attic!!
Huge thanks to our Stage Manager Adam Humphreys, PSA legends Dave Stoughton and Simon Latter, Set builder extraordinaire Matt McManus and all our helpers especially Alex Snow, Luke Clow, David Bowman, Micheal Lacey and Warren McWilliams for spending all day at the park getting it show ready.
Tickets are limited for each performance so please book early to avoid missing out on a unique show. Especially if you would like to attend Friday and Saturday’s performances. You can order your tickets by clicking the banner below. Saturday night is extremely limited so please contact the box office on 07708 708 062 or email SMPTickets@hotmail.com to check availability.
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