Top Hat and Tails - June 2010

President's Report to the Annual General Meeting

Welcome to Dunedin Operatic’s 81st Annual General Meeting, I am pleased to present the President’s report for 2009-2010. When I first joined Dunedin Operatic in 1981, performing in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Regent Theatre, I had no idea what a profound influence the organisation would have on my life, as I have not only have developed my stagecraft and Board skills, I have made enduring friendships which will last throughout my life. Having have been a member for 29 years and a member of the Board since 1995, I have seen times change considerably since 1981, especially in the technical areas, as shows have become more complex in their staging, lighting and sound and these are areas in which we need to develop more skilled personnel.
Our major show for 2009 was The Producers, a show for which we built the sets, props and costumes for. Directed and choreographed by Douglas Kamo with musical direction by Stuart Walker, this was a massive undertaking and was a critical success, with extremely strong performances from all the cast, who were ably supported by the wonderful crew, some of whom had to dress as old ladies – the first time the crew has been in drag! I pay tribute to the endless hours of hard work put in by the set designers and builders, props and wardrobe departments, as to build this show was a far larger task than any of us initially thought. It is unfortunate that we have not had any hireages to date for the set and costumes, but there is a possibility that that may change. It was a disappointment that The Producers did not receive the houses that it deserved and we consequently suffered a financial loss.
The end of the year theatre restaurant saw a return of an old favourite, Nunsense, directed by Gloria Reid with Patricia Scally-Richardson as the musical director. Although we did not achieve our normal full houses, the show was well received and made a small profit and shows again the importance of the theatre restaurant concept in our annual planning. These shows are our mainstays and enable us to undertake larger and sometimes more riskier productions at the bigger theatres and must continue to be a part of our programme. 2010 started off on a very positive note, as while at the Musical Theatre conference in March, I collected four awards on our behalf. We were placed first in the poster competition for The Producers poster, first for the Lights on Broadway programme, second for The Producers programme and second in the website competition, a fantastic result for us.

The end of the year theatre restaurant saw a return of an old favourite, Nunsense, directed by Gloria Reid with Patricia Scally-Richardson as the musical director. Although we did not achieve our normal full houses, the show was well received and made a small profit and shows again the importance of the theatre restaurant concept in our annual planning. These shows are our mainstays and enable us to undertake larger and sometimes more riskier productions at the bigger theatres and must continue to be a part of our programme. 2010 started off on a very positive note, as while at the Musical Theatre conference in March, I collected four awards on our behalf. We were placed first in the poster competition for The Producers poster, first for the Lights on Broadway programme, second for The Producers programme and second in the website competition, a fantastic result for us.

Miss Saigon will open in the Regent Theatre in September and will be one of the biggest shows we have produced in recent years. The challenges in this show are unique in that the casting has to have a strong ethnic component and the vocal and acting requirements of some of the roles have necessitated us sourcing some performers for these roles outside of Dunedin. While we would prefer not to have to do this, it has been necessary and has been done many times before – Rush!, West Side Story, Les Misérables, Beauty and The Beast and Cats are just a few of the shows where we have imported cast. Directed by Stephen Robertson and musically directed by Steve Miles, we are looking forward to staging this exciting show and bringing it to the Dunedin public for the first time. We need you, our members to encourage everyone you know to book their seats for this iconic show as we have made a heavy financial commitment to it and cannot afford to suffer a loss.

Our final production for the year will be a theatre restaurant in November entitled An Evening With The Stars, a Broadway showstoppers style of show, directed by Steve Miles, musically directed by Steve and Stuart Walker, with choreography by Gina Miles and Melinda Joe and it will be a great way to finish the year.

Over the years our organisation has evolved to the point that although we are amateur in that this is our hobby not our profession, the level at which we operate is that of a business and like any business we cannot afford to make losses on our shows, they must at the very least break even. We endeavour to keep our ticket prices at an acceptable level for the public, but as our costs rise, so must ticket prices as we are not immune from inflation. We need to build a strong brand for our organisation and part of that may be changing the name of Dunedin Operatic to reflect more accurately in the public’s mind what we do. The Board will be calling a Special General Meeting within the next few months to address this issue and may also look to update our objectives and rules at the same time as it is ten years since they were last reviewed. You will be advised in writing when this meeting is to take place. As part of deciding how to market ourselves and our shows more effectively, we are working with a group of MBA students from the University of Otago to try and identify how to do this and we will have some results in the next few months. We are also undertaking major maintenance to our roof and the flooring and cupboards in the kitchen require replacing before the next theatre restaurant.
The theatre restaurant sub-committee is looking for new caterers for theatre restaurant as it is with regret that we farewell our caterers of the past ten years, Austen and Caron Burrell, who can no longer continue in the role due to the pressure of their jobs. We have enjoyed working alongside them and their team and we will miss their wonderful food and personalities in our kitchen, we thank them for not only being our caterers but a part of the Dunedin Operatic family.

Those who come to our shows applaud the performers but have little idea of the hundreds of hours that have gone into getting the show to the stage and I give my heartfelt thanks to the Board, sub committees, casts, crews and all the teams of people who have worked so hard over the past year, your contributions are greatly valued and I wish you all could get a standing ovation, as you thoroughly deserve it. Thanks too to our honorary solicitor, Stuart Walker and honorary auditor Peter Hocking for the work they generously do for us during the year, we do appreciate your work for us.
Julie Williams has decided not to stand again for the Board but will continue to be an active member of Dunedin Operatic and I thank her for her contribution to the Board in the past few years, as we also thank Carol Duncan who resigned from the Board after The Producers. We have been fortunate to have the continuing support of Mediaworks, Mark Laughton Motors, Image Art Sign and Design and The Community Trust of Otago, who have been our major sponsors again this year, along with many other smaller sponsors, we thank you for your belief in Dunedin Operatic.

On a personal note, I would like to congratulate Kelly Olson and Peter Hocking on their marriage in February and Jane Cragie and Darrel Read on their marriage in April, long may you continue to make beautiful songs and dances together!

In 1981 I had no inkling that in 2010 I would be presenting the President’s report but it is an honour to do so. Dunedin Operatic is an organisation filled with talent, both on and off the stage but we need to ensure that it will remain strong and continue to grow for many years to come, nurturing and encouraging musical talent. However our shows must be profitable and we must adapt to changing times in order for that to happen. I am excited to anticipate where our organisation will be in another 29 years time.

Lynda Wright-Sear, President, Dunedin Operatic

Dunedin Operatic will be staging "Miss Saigon" at the Regent Theatre from 16 - 25 September (no performance Monday 20th).

Prices will be as follows:

$61 Adults
$52 Concessions
$47 Opening Night Specials only (numbers limited at this price)
$37 Special Student Price for Tuesday only (numbers limited)

Bookings open to the public on Monday 26 July at the Regent Theatre Ticket Direct. However, Preferential bookings open one week earlier on Monday 19 July. If you want to purchase Early Bird
Preferential Discount Vouchers for $50 (saving $9 on the Adult price) and book your seats before the public bookings go on sale, then call Marie Maker on 454-5220 or email: mariemaker@gmail.com to arrange this.

Suggestions, Complaints and Comments

Your Board would welcome any feedback. We really want to know what you think of how things are going. What content you’d like to see in the news letters, if you are unhappy about something, the shows you’d like to see including theatre restaurants, any ideas and comments you’d like to make, things that are relevant to Dunedin Operatic that you think would be helpful... we really want to know! And of course ...in the strictest of confidence.

You email these direct to dunedinoperatic@xtra.co.nz or by mail to The Executive Board Secretary, Dunedin Operatic, P.O. Box 1203, Dunedin 9054

We welcome all comments and we are hungry for as much feedback as possible.

SHOWGOs

Let me welcome you all to our new column in 'Show Gos'. This column is basically an opportunity to talk about things that you, our members are up to that may or may not be directly linked to a show.
Due to the busy start to the year in the wedding department, it seemed appropriate that this be our introductory topic. Congratulations to Peter Hocking on his marriage to Kelly Hocking up at gorgeous Mt Difficulty in February. This was followed by the Dunedin wedding of James Adams and Jemma Montagu in March. Finally over Easter Darrel Read and his gorgeous bride, Jane Craigie were married at the historic and gorgeous North Taieri Church. A twist to all of these weddings was that the couples all met each other while being involved in a Dunedin Operatic show. At the wedding of Darrel and Jane, it became apparent that there were quite a number of couples present who had met at Dunedin Operatic (see photo below). And who thought that we came together to sing?
Anyway, I shall cut this brief, but I don't believe that this is the last of wedding bells for now. Just in the last couple of months I have become aware of three other engagements of Operatic members... watch this space for these announcements!

Julie Williams

Miss Sigh (the elastics) Gone!

Dates of Forthcoming Board Meetings

Unless changed through circumstances the board meet on the second Monday of each month as follows:

July 12
August 9
Sept 13 (Miss Saigon. Meeting date may be changed)
October 11
November 8
December 13
Jan 10
Feb 14
Mar 14
April 11
May 9
May AGM Date to be confirmed

New Executive Board 2010/2011

EXECUTIVE OFFICE BEARERS	SUB-COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO
President - Lynda Wright Sear	Ex officio all sub-committees
I/P President – Gladys Hope	Name Change, (then complaints) (c), Sponsorship, Shows.
Senior V.P. - Peter Turner	News Letter (c), Building and Strategic Planning, Building Maintenance, Name Change, Shows
Junior V.P. - Brent Bishop	Building and Strategic Planning (c), Shows, Key Register.
Treasurer. - Alistair Martyn	Finance (c)
Secretary – Samuel Keen	Wardrobe (c), Shows.
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS
Bill Borlase	Health and Safety (c), Marketing, Props.
Nigel Donehue	Props (c), Marketing, Theatre Restaurant.
Callum Jamieson	Theatre Restaurant, Building and Strategic Planning
Melinda Joe (Co-opted)	Social, Marketing.
Barry Kloogh	Marketing (c), News Letter.
Dale Lovett	Theatre Restaurants (c), Props, Hall Bookings.
Marie Maker	Social (c), Marketing, Name Change.
Gina Miles (Co-opted)	Social, Shows.
Gloria Reid	Shows (c), Marketing, Building and Strategic Planning.
OTHER NON-ELECTED POSITIONS (Not Board Members)
Lori Moodie	Membership
Charles Campbell	Almoner
Helen Horsnell	Archives

Regent Sponsorship

As you’ll probably be aware the Regent Theatres largest development project since it was first built is to be undertaken.

The Otago Theatre Trust is thrilled to be able to present these different options to you and as users of the Regent Theatre, Dunedin Operatic would like you to consider becoming a sponsor of the Regent Theatre.

There are several sponsorship options : you can become a gold sponsor, a silver sponsor, or a bronze sponsor and there are opportunities for naming rights and sponsors of seats. You can also make a cash donation.

Dunedin Operatic is pleased to support the Otago Theatre Trusts development of the Regent Theatre and would wish and hope that some of our members would see fit to donate or become a sponsor.

Lost and Found

The following articles of clothing have gone walk about.

Wee grey jacket and silver scarf missing from the last night Dusty party
1 x black dirty dog hoodie
1 x Rivet Workwear 3XL brown jersey

These were left at the Mayfair after pack out

1 x black coat with fur trimmed hood

Also various articles of clothing accumulated at the Operatic rooms since Christmas. If not claimed in the next few months they will be taken to the Hospice shop.

A Client Perspective

From time to time a number of my clients have come to Dunedin Operatic’s productions. Over the years I have provided tickets for many theatre restaurants as well as our main productions.
It was interesting to see how many people were very much into the last production ‘Dusty’. I had a few clients go on the Sunday matinee as well as the following Wednesday. Even more interesting were the amount of phone calls I received from those clients who went.

The comments were certainly the most encouraging that I have heard compared to any other show put on by Dunedin Operatic. Our office also received many cards and comments (one client even put cash in an envelope for a donation to hospice which we were not expecting).

As a performer and as a member of the Executive Board, I would also have to say that this was the best cast I have ever worked with. I had quite a small role within the company, however I had a chance to observe and found such a young cast dedicated and diligent. This contributed to the success of the show. Just saying the words dedicated and diligent about a bunch of people in their late teens is somewhat of a maverick statement these days, but when my clients asked about the cast I was happy and quite proud to “sing their praises.”

So too was the stalwart way in which the backstage crew performed their duties. Without the guidance of Brent Bishop (Stage Manager), this show would not have been the success that it was. What I saw was a very smooth operation.

Believe me...there were times when things did not go well, however everyone pulled together and created a very successful show which will talked about for many years.

Our company is already planning for Miss Saigon and inviting clients to enjoy the experience of live theatre, and the major international award winning show that is “Miss Saigon”. Don’t miss it!

Barry Kloogh
Board Member

Help

We are going to be stretched this year with two major productions (one of which was the very successful season of ‘Dusty), so we need YOUR help!

We need people who can help in the following areas:

Backstage
Rigging before and de-rigging after, we go into the Regent Theatre for ‘Miss Saigon’
Plotting and focusing of lights. (Stand on stage and get lights pointed at you)
Catering for pack in and pack out at the Regent Theatre
Waiting staff for theatre restaurants
Social functions
Marketing activities

There are probably a myriad of other things as well but if you are interested in helping, please contact Marie Maker on 4545220 or email k.m.maker@actrix.co.nz.

Thank you for your continuing support of the Dunedin Operatic!