1983 School Magazine

Brimstone and Treacle

TT{E JE,AN liR{J}dDLE DRAVXA COVfPET'ITTON

T'HE COMBTT{ED SCHOOL FLAY This year's performance, "Smike" made Combined Flay hisiory. Nbt only was it a musical which has never been attempted before, but each of the three nights were "sell-out" performances" Rehearsals were initially twice a week, but as the weeks drew us closer to performance dates, rehearsals were daily from after school until nine P.m. The technical side of the play was' as musicals tend to be, slow and difficult in coming together' The social aspect of the production however' was quite the op^posite: the backstage bedlam could have created a play of its own' The musical was loosely based on Dicken's novel "Nicholas Nickleby", and although there were only a few female parts within the play, many girls played major roles backstage, particularly with make-up and costumes' Naturally not all progressed smoothly, but everyone contributed wholeheartedly in overcoming the difficulties, and the production was most definitely a success' Credits go to our Director, Mr. Bell and Musical Director, n't.. nnuy, B.G.S. teachers whose invaluable time and patience are what created the play's foundations' Special thanks to our much-loved Miss May (costumes), Miss I-ee and Miss Story (make-up), and to both Mr' Cannon and Bev Niven whose final touches were greatly appreciated. Last, but never least, an enormous thank you - and congraiulations to all 65 members of the cast, crew and orciestra, whose marvellous performances are what made the musical a wonderful success. Samantha Hellen

On the 6th May, a group of 7 aspiring actresses - Sybil Curtis, T-esfie F{awke, Natasha Dobrovolsky, R'uiha Webster, Helen Barry, IMirni Cardell and Karen tr-ewis - performed in The Jean T'rundle Drama Festival held at the ,Arts Theatre. The play chosen for this years' entry was "Window Dressing" a very unusual play, adapted and- directed by Miss tsrirrowt. Aft.. many hours of rehearsal, we all felt confident in our roles as shop mannequins, male observers and window dresser. T'he play was a very demanding one, both physically (you should try standing in -the same pose for l0 minutes) and dramatically. We were all very grateful for Miss Buirows' infinite patience, enthusiasm and guidance. n will never forget some of the more arnusing iroments - for example walking through trndooroopilly Shoppingtown with a 1950 bee-hive hair-do - and I'm ru.. m. itale actors' hair has never been the same after all that tsrylcream. Unfortunately we didn't gain a place in the .o*p.iition but everyone enjoyed acting in a "real" theaire. Thanks to the stage crew (Karen-Ann Cole, Sharon tsailey and Alex Seckold), Mrs. Thomas and Libby Lynch for their excellent make-up job, and Sue Sinnamon for perfect sound elfects and lighting. We were also give the chance to perform on 'Assembly which was even more nerve-raking than the Arts Theatre performance. X hope Grammar will enter the competition next yehr, as it is rially a worthwhile experience and a lot of fun. Sybil Curtis

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