Show Week – By Anna Trofimova
Well hello there!
My name is Petunia The Frail (aka Anna) and I am here to give you a little walk through the glory that was the show week of our wonderful production of Pirates Of Penzance!
This show has, by far, been the favourite of mine! Despite all the colourful bruises caused by the multiple fainting fits I had to ‘fall into’ throughout the show. These could be caused by pretty much anything / anyone, but were mostly attributed to the appearance on the stage of either our fearsomely fabulous pirates or the main man, Fredric (honestly, you should see him without THE stage make up – terrifying…)
I wish I had the ability to convey even a fraction of the joy all of us got from this amazing production: our sensational costumes (four layers of underskirts under the stage lights is not a fit for the light-hearted but still heart-broken we have to give them back); our absolutely fabulous set, props and lighting and all the talented people involved in those; our incredible production team – director Warren, choreographer and costume director Fay and our super MD Erica – who, through a lot of blood, sweat and tears (but mostly well-timed shouting and well-aimed threats) managed to get us all in line with a tremendous show as a result (we were more surprised than any one else); the crew themselves who are the most talented and wonderful (and ever so slightly unhinged) bunch of people and, of course, our amazing audience whose laughter truly made our experience complete.
A special mention should go to our great backstage crew whose, somewhat off-beat, sense of humour made being on stage even more unpredictable and exciting: the ever moving stage boulder in Act 1 that, in a ‘crouching tiger, hidden dragon’ fashion, with every show, ended up closer and closer to the edge of the stage so that a few of us nearly ended up in the orchestra pit with our wonderful musicians; the lovely faces and slightly rude impersonations performed by the crew in the wings while the rest of us tried our best to keep straight faces and act through it; and, during one of the Saturday’s shows, the ritual hanging of the beloved show teddy / pooch that Patty (aka Carla) left briefly unattended (there is photographic evidence)… With so many of their talents directed at inventing ways of entertaining us, it is a real wonder the backstage crew still had the time to keep everything behind the scenes running so smoothly and without a glitch!
Show week also holds a lot of traditions for the cast members and the after-show activities: Thursday night, for example, is a karaoke night at a local pub/bar which some of the cast members use as a somewhat unusual vocal and dance warm up opportunity; Friday night is a curry night for the whole cast and, finally, Saturday night being the night of the infamous after-show party which includes the traditional cast nominations for things that have not gone quite according to plan during the performances; copious drinking and move-busting (some moves shown to us by our wonderful pianist, Alex, at the party were truly out of this world although her home made honey liquor might have had something to do with that…) and, this year, even a spot of Magic Mike style dancing routine we were treated to, quite unexpectedly, by a couple of the cast members. We all had a chance to recover and reflect on the week at a bbq on Sunday.
All this has not even scratched the surface of all the one fun antics we get up to in the run up to and during our show. And now our crazy, maddening and fabulous show week is over, the post-show blues are looming over the corner so roll on September and the start of the rehearsals for our next terrific production – The Little Mermaid. Come and join us and experience the joy of SMP and performing for yourself!!
The Blues – By Debbie Petrou
Hello me hearties, Hic! This is your drunken daughter Constance (Debbie) today is a sad day in our Pirates HQ as many of the cast have headed back to work and the sunken feeling that the show has set sail is setting in.
We have had the best time from start to finish, we have laughed together and sometimes even at each other!
We have been spoilt with beautiful costumes and fantastic set! Creative direction and endless guidance in singing.
This has been one of the most challenging shows for myself however I am so proud of what we have achieved and can honestly say it is my favourite show to date. Nothing has come close.
We now head into our summer break and will head back to SMP land for our pantomime Little Mermaid which I’m sure will be fantastic!!
Anchors aweigh me hearties I’m off to marry the Pirate King!!!
It’s been a pleasure. “sailors tell stories, Pirates make legends”