How do I join Wyong Drama Group?
This question is one we are asked a lot, and there are, in fact, many answers
to it. There are many ways to become involved in the group's activities,
and the group can always do with more assistance. It really all depends on
how keen you are.
Meetings
The first point of contact might be to come along to a monthly meeting.
We hold meetings generally on the First Tuesday of Each Month (except
January) in the Green Room at the Rear of Wyong Memorial Hall. Meetings
start at 7:30pm and visitors are welcome at all meetings. The AGMs are
held in March, and at these meetings we elect our executive for the next twelve
months. Click here if you need a
Map. Just occasionally, these meetings might be held
back or put forward a week if we have an upcoming production and the meeting
clashes with production dates. If so, this will be announced on the
Events Page on the website, but this is quite rare.
Productions
Secondly, you might like to become involved in a show. As mentioned, we
produce three major shows a year, as well as the TheatreFest in the middle of
the year. You can not only be an actor in a show, but also might like to
help out backstage.
For each show, in addition to the cast, we need such people as director,
production manager, front of house manager, stage manager, assistant stage
manager, props person, production designer, prompt, backstage crew, set designer, set builders,
set decorators,
lighting operator, sound operator, videographer, technical director, sound
effects person, costumes manager, makeup person, hair stylist, bookings
co-ordinator, box office manager, ushers, raffle sellers, runners, kitchen
manager, kitchen helpers, publicity officer, poster designer, programme
designer, photographer and probably a lot more besides. There is an
article on the site describing some
of these functions in detail, incidentally.
Although things vary a little for each show, auditions for actors are held up
to four months before each show opens. The rehearsal period is from nine
to fourteen weeks, usually twice a week (which gets a bit more frequent as
opening night approaches). The crew for each show is usually enlisted two
or three months before opening - some tasks need to be done for the whole
rehearsal period, other tasks might be just on production nights and a little
bit beforehand.
We try to give as much notice as possible about auditions and publicise them
on this website, via word of mouth, through Facebook and in the local theatrical
press, particularly the What E News fortnightly
newsletters. Keep an eye out for auditions generally in November
(for the April show), April (for the August Show) and August (for the November
show). If we are doing one-act plays for the Theatrefest these call for
actors generally in March. All these months are very approximate,
however.
Events
Not only do we have productions, but we sometimes have other events.
Every play we do starts life as an informal reading in the Green Room, for instance.
Some plays are read multiple times. We also
hold occasional workshops, working bees, and even get drama teachers in to hold
classes on certain aspects of productions (eg voice projection, lighting,
makeup, etc). We also hold readings of plays that do not eventually get produced.
This year, Julie Bailey is convening F.I.T. (Fun in Theatre) Nights,
consisting of a theatrical activity such as a playreading. In the past we had a series of Club Nights where we held a drama-related
activity like a workshop, reading or class. We also used to hold Speed Reading nights, where we would read the first section of a
play in order to gauge its suitableness for production. In 2012 we will be
celebrating our Sixtieth Anniversary, and so there will be activities related to
that. For all such events, keep an eye on the
Events Page of this website for announcements of the dates and times.
Mailing List
Make sure you are at least on our mailing list for
advance notice of future productions. There is a web form you can fill in
to add your details to this list on the above page. This will mean we send
you info about upcoming productions about six weeks before the opening night.
This won't be far enough in advance if you wish to audition for an acting role,
however. Our show dates are always listed on the main
(home) page of the website, however, so you can remain forewarned.
Executive
We always need people to help out on committee positions. This can be a
lot of work, but also very rewarding. Office bearers are elected in March
of each year, at the AGM, and hold office for a year. The
Executive Page lists the current incumbents and the
positions involved. The executive meet about eight or nine times a year in
addition to the normal meetings and discuss more mundane items of day-to-day
operation. All decisions of the committee are, of course, subject to
approval by the group meetings at large.
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