Busy few days for me, despite there being no shows on at the theatre. I've been trying to sort out bookings and publicity materials but have been somewhat distracted by non-theatre issues: my decision to leave the job I've been doing for over a decade.
I've been working in Wigan designing charity badges and then soft toys, and with the 11th Anniversary fast approaching feel it's time for a change. I've got nothing lined up but would quite like a break. Seems a bit weird to give up the paid job so I've got more time for the hobby but right now that's the way I feel, the theatre work interests me more and there's only so many lions and bears I can draw. Things may change when I'm living on water and Tesco Value crisps in the depths of Winter...
Anyway, amongst all this I managed to appear on BBC Radio Lancashire twice in 16 hours! The first appearance was on Drivetime to talk about Chorley Little Theatre with Sean McGinty (who'd been following my tweets). Nice to meet him at last and it went really well - I think I got all the plugs in!
Then because I mentioned I designed the Pudsey soft toys in Asda I ended up on Tony Livesey's breakfast show. I listen to this every day so it was an offer I couldn't refuse, and loved being in the studio. I thought I'd be there for 10 minutes but ended up stopping for 40. Great stuff (though I've not listened back yet).
Funny thing, I don't want to be on stage but quite enjoyed these appearances. Maybe it's because it was like just chatting with mates.
In other news, I've done a CADOS e-newsletter tonight keeping people informed (after one anonymous person angrily e-mailed demanding one). Just got to get the leaflets sorted now...
And sleep.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
New Look, New Logo
There's a big piece about the theatre by Natalie Banks in the latest Chorley Guardian, just being happy and positive about all the good stuff going on at the theatre. They extensively quote Estelle Bryers (some of you may know her from Film Society nights, I know her best as my fabulous girlfriend) and it's all topped off by a great picture of our premises manager Mike Taylor.
I hope it reminds people that, even though the scaffolding is still up, we've got plenty going on and it's a great place for a night out. But this is only Phase 1 - we still need support to pay for Phase 2, which will cover dressing room, the new rehearsal room and hopefully new toilets. The "Spend A Penny" campaign launches soon!
So, coming in January with any luck we'll have new signs on the building and here's the new logo. I like the current one, but the colours don't stand out very well and it's tricky to fit onto posters and banners (entirely my fault, I designed it!). The new logo is more vibrant and bold, but also compact which means I can get important information (like date and time) to stand out better on the posters.
Now's the perfect time to launch the logo as we'll get plenty of people in for the Panto so we can get them ready. I hope you like it - you'll be seeing it a lot!
I hope it reminds people that, even though the scaffolding is still up, we've got plenty going on and it's a great place for a night out. But this is only Phase 1 - we still need support to pay for Phase 2, which will cover dressing room, the new rehearsal room and hopefully new toilets. The "Spend A Penny" campaign launches soon!
So, coming in January with any luck we'll have new signs on the building and here's the new logo. I like the current one, but the colours don't stand out very well and it's tricky to fit onto posters and banners (entirely my fault, I designed it!). The new logo is more vibrant and bold, but also compact which means I can get important information (like date and time) to stand out better on the posters.
Now's the perfect time to launch the logo as we'll get plenty of people in for the Panto so we can get them ready. I hope you like it - you'll be seeing it a lot!
Monday, 9 November 2009
Weekend
So, another packed weekend at the Theatre. YT did their show on Saturday but sadly I couldn't be there. I'm told it was very good though, and there's plenty of talent in this year's group. Their next show is A Christmas Carol, and I'm hoping to get the tickets printed this week (if I remember or have time).
We also showed The Age of Stupid last night, which is a powerful documentary about climate change. Got a different sort of audience, and it went down well. We raised about £30 or £40 for Chorley Oxfam (not that that was the point, we'd kept the ticket price to a bare minimum and were glad to have covered the costs - the rights were more than any other film we've ever shown!).
We also did a bit of painting backstage, but sadly the turnout for this wasn't so great. Seems everyone loves to be on stage but getting them to do a bit of much-needed work is harder. A shame as some people have really put in loads of work to make the Theatre really brilliant, it hasn't just magically become that way. Hopefully more members will do their bit the next time they're called upon.
We also showed The Age of Stupid last night, which is a powerful documentary about climate change. Got a different sort of audience, and it went down well. We raised about £30 or £40 for Chorley Oxfam (not that that was the point, we'd kept the ticket price to a bare minimum and were glad to have covered the costs - the rights were more than any other film we've ever shown!).
We also did a bit of painting backstage, but sadly the turnout for this wasn't so great. Seems everyone loves to be on stage but getting them to do a bit of much-needed work is harder. A shame as some people have really put in loads of work to make the Theatre really brilliant, it hasn't just magically become that way. Hopefully more members will do their bit the next time they're called upon.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Is it November already?
Alright... another apology. Very long time since the last blog - but that's because we've been so busy!
Rent was an epic, and getting the building ready was a massive task. But we all came together, and pulled it off. A great show, and a great new bar. I hope you managed to get down. If you missed the show, you really did miss a treat.
We really were working round the clock to get the place ready for opening night, with carpets, paints and lights only going in days before. The show sold very well (with a few sell-out nights) so it was good we'd managed to create more space for everyone.
There were some teething troubles that we'll iron out next time. Really, it felt like ages since we'd have a proper theatre and it took a while for us to remember what it was like before the builders moved in.
But there's still plenty of work to do, most of which won't be seen by the public. We now have 3 new rooms that have to be finished off and the bar needs some final touches. We hope the outside scaffolding will be down soon but the weather is delaying work. And then there's the new signage - with an all-new logo!
The logo will be revealed in next week's Chorley Guardian so I'll write a bit more about it then, but I think it's vibrant and modern but with a traditional feel. It's colours are more in line with the new bar and the style is a homage to the stained glass we've uncovered during the building work (and just wait until you see that). We'll give you plenty of time to get used to the new look during the Panto (you are coming, aren't you? Tickets are selling fast).
This weekend we've got Chorley Youth Theatre's Talent Tonight on Saturday, and the climate change documentary film The Age of Stupid on Sunday. I hope you can make it to one or the other.
Rent was an epic, and getting the building ready was a massive task. But we all came together, and pulled it off. A great show, and a great new bar. I hope you managed to get down. If you missed the show, you really did miss a treat.
We really were working round the clock to get the place ready for opening night, with carpets, paints and lights only going in days before. The show sold very well (with a few sell-out nights) so it was good we'd managed to create more space for everyone.
There were some teething troubles that we'll iron out next time. Really, it felt like ages since we'd have a proper theatre and it took a while for us to remember what it was like before the builders moved in.
But there's still plenty of work to do, most of which won't be seen by the public. We now have 3 new rooms that have to be finished off and the bar needs some final touches. We hope the outside scaffolding will be down soon but the weather is delaying work. And then there's the new signage - with an all-new logo!
The logo will be revealed in next week's Chorley Guardian so I'll write a bit more about it then, but I think it's vibrant and modern but with a traditional feel. It's colours are more in line with the new bar and the style is a homage to the stained glass we've uncovered during the building work (and just wait until you see that). We'll give you plenty of time to get used to the new look during the Panto (you are coming, aren't you? Tickets are selling fast).
This weekend we've got Chorley Youth Theatre's Talent Tonight on Saturday, and the climate change documentary film The Age of Stupid on Sunday. I hope you can make it to one or the other.
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