Bryan Hourihane - ASM etc

Bryan Hourihane -

Assistant Stage Manager etc

Selection of the playBryan as artistic director is involved in the choice of plays to be put on. As

2006/7 is the 70th anniversary year of the East Lane Theatre Club it was decided to put on four

productions of ‘classic’ East Lane type plays that had been previously put on by the club. All

members aspiring to be directors were asked to put forward their choices of plays and the

criteria for selection were published in ‘Scene Setter’. The artistic committee then made a

selection of plays together with the directors who had proposed it. A balanced set of plays was

needed for the season and the other criteria were the ability to cast for each of the plays from

the membership. It’s a long, iterative process and A Doll’s House, directed by Linda Hampson

was chosen as one of the four. The others wereThe Importance of Being Ernest, the revue,

Christmas Crackersand ?inaudible.

Roles in A Doll’s House Bryan was back-stage, in charge of operating the sound for the play. He

modestly passes the credit to Gerry Tivers who set it up and says that it is an easy job consisting

of pressing buttons on cue. The only type of sound in his charge was music as all the other

sound such as doorbells was done by the actors.

The sound role allowed Bryan to have a walk-on part as well, the smallest in his acting career,

that of the porter. It had the advantage that he could guarantee to get his line(s) absolutely

right every time! It had the disadvantage that he had to wear an enormous, silly and

embarrassing hat. He found that the only time that he could get into character was when he put

the hat on.

BudgetBryan has the responsibility for making a budget for every show to act as a guide for the

director and stage manager. This play is the first to which proper budgeting has been applied.

The money available is arrived at by assessing the ticket sales for the play. Most of the costs are

fixed: the theatre hire, licence, photographs, advertising. The variables are income from bar, café

and ticket sales. For a simple, straightforward play likeA Doll’s House, it relatively easy to

estimate most costs, though costumes and properties may be more difficult.

The Theatre Bryan was chairman of the club when first it was decided that ELTC would go for

building its own theatre on the site of what was then its storage room and workshop. This was a

major decision – the alternative was to look for a church hall to replace the one they had been

using and which was being pulled down. Bryan headed the ‘build it’ group and at an

Extraordinary General Meeting the go-ahead was given even though it meant raising a huge

amount of money and stopping productions for a year. The original estimate was about £20,000

but building costs over the years have been closer to £100,000. The theatre was opened in 1990

and facilities have been added continuously since then. The initial grant of £36,000 came from

the Sports and Arts Foundation and many events were put on to raise money by sponsorship

and other means. Each seat, for instance was sponsored. They originated as old cinema seats

that were refurbished, re-covered and installed for £50 each. 12-hour, no-stop play readings

were put on and sponsored. The carpet was donated and other contributions in money and in

kind came from members and others.