The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company News

Theatre Buddies inclusion project update

19/10/2021

We had a brilliant meeting with our volunteer Vikki, to discuss the launch of the test phase of our free inclusion project, Theatre Buddies, helping local people struggling with isolation and loneliness to access and enjoy theatre- and make friends.
The draft ideas are at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/buddies.html

Due to autumn availabilities for Vikki, and Laura (group founder) being seriously ill and currently unable to take on extra things, Vikki and Laura sadly agreed that Theatre Buddies will publicly launch in Spring 2022. This allows more time for preparing the project. This is later than we would have liked but with illness and life commitments eating time this autumn, there has been no choice but to push it to Spring 2022.

It will center around a befriender being available to meet with people who would like to attend our shows at the theatre but have nobody to go with and are anxious about going on their own. The befriender, Vikki, will provide that welcoming, friendly face at our shows. We are also considering having social meetups, maybe once every three months or so, where local people struggling with isolation, depression and loneliness, can meet up with others who have the shared interest of theatre.

Gladiator training

19/10/2021

The second half of our Ben Hur stage production opens at the arena.
The Romans were famous for their gladiatorial games, spectacular and brutal in equal measure.
On Sunday, those of our cast who volunteered, began the training for our staging of the gladiatorial games.
Where we thought, we would get through safety, backgrounds, and basic moves, the cast picked it all up like lightening, and we actually ended up beginning the choreography for the fights.
If Day 1 of this is anything to go by, this is going to be absolutely incredible.
Some gladiators will live, some won't.
A lot of our staging of the latter part of the Games remains a hidden spoiler (after all, it culminates in the epic showdown between Judah Ben Hur and Massala) until show-day
but you will get to see bits of the leadup, as we follow the production.
*Note, please don't try any of this at home - our actors are training in strictly choreographed sequences, working to their own strengths and abilities, under the supervision of fight trainers, with safety-checked weapons - currently mainly foam "larp-safe" weapons.
#theatre #acting #BenHur2022 #BenHur #rehearsal #Brixham #Gladiators #Roman #actors #actorslife #Torbay #theater #staging #Devon #regionaltheatre #britishtheatre

A wonderful play about autism is coming to Exeter, featuring two of the actors from Ben Hur

10/10/2021

Two of our lovely actors from our production of Ben Hur, are involved in this production by Ugly Duck Theatre Company, bringing to life the experiences of an autistic student at college, performing soon at Exeter Phoenix.
As a theatre company founded and adminned by an autistic creative, ourselves, and with several creatives working with us who have similar conditions, this is a theme we can fully appreciate.
Wishing the two gentlemen involved a fabulous performance!
Screenshots below have more information about the show
Blurb online about the show from the theatre Facebook page:

“We are incredibly excited to announce that we are involved in the Exeter Fringe Festival this year
We will be bringing a newly updated "Mental" to

STUDIO 1, EXETER PHOENIX
16th of October 2021.
8:30pm
Tickets are £12 full price/£10.50 concessions
"A behind-the-scenes look at Autism. We follow a day in the life of Jake, an autistic teenager trying to navigate the trials and tribulations of a day at college."
Follow the link below to book tickets
https://exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/mental/“

Great news! More external work offers coming in!

9/10/2021

Dear Casts of both Ben Hur and Henry V;
Some more external work offers have come in. especially for you lovelies, (this time for Halloween scare actors). Please check the respective production facebook groups for more information and how to apply.
This is fab stuff. Well done for being so awesome.
Laura

In addition to that, two of our team have also been asked to assist with the pirate fight choreography for a new short film being made in Brixham next week.

This is one of the outcomes that we love - as well as producing our inhouse shows, we love it when external acting work comes in and is offered to the people currently working with us. Getting into professional freelance acting is a huge and thick glass ceiling especially down here in Torbay (its why we were founded in the first place, lol!) without drama schools and local agencies etc.
Lots of productions come down, and lots of acting work looks further afield to bring people in, when in reality, there is a ton of fab talent right here.

Seeing talented people get additional opportunities is one of the most rewarding things you can imagine.
<3

Please support us through Torbay Lottery

8/10/2021

The all important link to all the information: https://www.torbaylottery.co.uk/support/the-south-devon-players

The Torbay Lottery is a locally run lottery which supports verified local charities and non-profit / community organizations. You play from £1 (and can win up to £25,000! We have already had two winners of smaller prizes) and in turn this helps raise funds for us as well.

We would (naturally) be enormously grateful if you would like to sign up to support our work, in creating exciting new theatre, and providing inclusive, exciting opportunities for local people of all demographics and backgrounds to get involved in theatre, to build experience in theatre towards or as part of careers in the arts, and work towards their Equity cards & Spotlight registrations if they need to.

100% of everything raised via Torbay Lottery goes directly into our work: hiring a room in a local community centre for rehearsals; costumes, props, insurances, printing posters and flyers to advertise the shows, developing free education packs for schools and audience members.

A look behind the scenes at the Ben Hur rehearsals

5/10/2021

Our amazing deputy stage manager, Jenny Abrahall, captured these fab photos of some of the Ben Hur cast in rehearsal last Sunday. We hope to start bringing in costuming soon soon very he next few weeks (we are still in early days!) . The characterisation and focus of the cast is brilliant.
With many thanks to Crafty Cwtch and Tesco bags of life who are helping with sponsoring costumes and such - these are some of the amazing local actors who you’re helping!

Welcoming a new tech

3/10/2021

Today Awesome Sarah (and the lovely Ziggy!) joined our tech team- today, Sarah came along to meet us, find out what our rehearsals are like, etc. Sarah will be one of the new people helping with tech on our shows- we will have 4 technicians for sound/ lighting so that there’s always one, and ideally two, technicians available for performances - around their life/ jobs/ family / other commitments
The other new technicians will be coming along to rehearsals over the next week or so to also sit in on a rehearsal and meet us- then training will begin!
#womenintheatre #theatre #performingarts #stagesound #stagelighting #brixham #britishtheatre #devon #torbay #arts

Rehearsals for Ben Hur Oct 3 2021

3/10/2021

Absolutely great Ben Hur rehearsals again today- including the galley slaves, Judah Ben Hur’s return to Jerusalem, and the trial & Crucifixion of Jesus. The cast are doing absolutely fabulously- and an enormous thank you to those who read in for those not able to attend with the petrol shortages etc
Our fabulous deputy stage manager, Jenny, also got some fabulous photos which will appear on our social media over the next week or so.
#theatre #Brixham #BenHur #actors #actorslife #theatrelife #Devon #Torbay #britishtheatre #stage #theatrerehearsal

October 02nd, 2021

2/10/2021

We are so pleased to be closing the call for the tech crew, and welcoming some great people who will be getting involved with us.

With the pandemic, our most frequent tech, Simon, is also a paramedic, and is snowed under with his job, so we all agreed to put the call out for some other people who would like to get involved with the tech side of theatre, with lighting and sound etc. We agreed to find two other people, so that shows could be teched reliably, working alongside everyone's availabilities and commitments of life, work, etc, - and to be willing to provide training as well.

As it has turned out we will be welcoming three fabulous ladies who will be learning to run tech on the shows. Over the coming rehearsals, they will each be coming to visit and sit in on a rehearsal to see and meet the rest of the team. Then, we will be arranging the tech training sessions for when they, and Simon are all available - that may take a few weeks to sort out around everyone's availabilities, but we will get there!!!

Ultimately between the four, we should always have at least one, ideally two, techs on each of our upcoming shows.
It is going to be so exciting to welcome them to work on our shows.

- Laura Jury

(photo: stock image at local theatre)

#theatre #theatrelife #stage #acting #stageshow #stagelife #stagelighting #stagesound #brixham #devon #torbay #britishtheatre #womenintheatre

Meet King Henry V

1/10/2021

Meet King Henry V!
An actor who frequently works with us, Rich Sandford, is playing the title role in our production of Shakespeare's play Henry V, on at Brixham Theatre at the end of November. (Psst! tickets are on sale now! Pop over to https://www.southdevonplayers.com/box-office.html for ticket links and show information).
Originally performed online earlier this year, this show went on to be well received as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2021.
Henry V now heralds the South Devon Players full return to the live stage at Brixham Theatre, after the pandemic, with three performances of this drama set in and around the Battle of Agincourt. Transplanted to a war-torn "near-future", but performing the original text and characters, the play follows the both the English and French nobility, as well as a group of “common soldiers” combining action, drama, and comedy as we follow the fortunes of a wonderful array of memorable, and diverse, characters though the events of the campaign.
At the end of October, the cast will re-convene, to re-rehearse the show; ready for three live stage performances at Brixham Theatre – on the evening of November 26th 2021, and a matinee and evening performance on November 27th 2021.