Bucket Collection Report

February 2023 - £379,89 - 8 shows

March 2023 - £882.98 - 7 shows

April 2023 - £768.17 - 8 shows

February kicked off with a murder mystery play - Who Killed Agatha Christie - with three shows, then in contrast we had two shows of 9 to 5 the Musical, from Curtain Call Creative. All five shows raised over £170.

Irish band, One Night in Dublin, collected £87. Jack Up Events presented ‘60s with the Zoots and then a Night of a Thousand Freddies, collecting nearly £200 and taking us into March.

Stories and poems from Pam Ayres filled the theatre with laughter, and raised £230.

Then two weeks of the IW Dance and Drama Festival was followed by First Act’s Spring Show.

March Ended with Madama Butterfly, performed by the Ukrainian National Opera, with an emotional flag-waving finale. It raised over £400.

Always a favourite, The Sound of Music collected over £570 during the Savoyards’ four-show run.

Pop music ended April with the ELO Experience, Michael, Lost In Music ‘70s Disco Hits, and Think Floyd The Wall all of which raised over £200.

The Summer Brochure is out now, with something for all.

Alana Bird

Welcome to Billie’s Blog

Maintenance Team

We are so fortunate at The Theatre to have over 130 volunteers all giving their time and skills. From gardeners, catering, ushers…. Too many departments to mention…. This time I managed to catch up with some of our fantastic Maintenance Team when they found a spare five minutes!

I tell you, these guys are so busy! Their work around the building is constant. Neil leads the team and his background as a Building Inspector has helped in the design and alterations of major works backstage and in the dressing rooms.

He is ably assisted by Peter and Geoff, both with years of experience in engineering and who have taught themselves carpentry, plumbing and many other DIY skills. David is keen and loves DIY and then there’s Chris who is invaluable as a qualified electrician. These guys have saved the Theatre literally thousands of pounds by sourcing materials themselves and working on major projects and maintaining the building on a day to day basis.

Let me give you an insight into some of their work.

Firstly, there is a system in place for anyone that may see something that needs repairing in the building or that may have an idea for something that could be done or installed to enhance the building. A Maintenance slip is available to fill in. These are collected by Neil and any jobs that are urgent are quickly distributed to the team. This could be anything from a lightbulb not working or a door handle that has become loose.

Very often they are called to repair the toilets. Taps that won’t turn off, leaky cisterns, doors that need attention and they even deal with blocked toilets. No need to wait for a plumber to come out – this team will get the drain rods out and do it themselves. Due to the hundreds of patrons that use the toilets, there are always going to be problems but these are dealt with quickly and efficiently.

The team all give a hand to any job but they all agree that Chris as an electrician is amazing because not only can he fix and repair and install electrical items, running cables etc., but he can also sign off any smaller fixes that the rest of team may have done. It is clear that the team themselves appreciate there is no lack of waiting to call out an electrician and I wonder if Chris has a ‘steps counter’ in his pocket because he was certainly on the go, back and forth repairing outside emergency lighting when I was there.

Yes, it’s not just inside the building, but the car park, walkways, and foyer steps need to be kept in order as well as windows, notice boards and doors. Despite the skills and enthusiasm among the team, sometimes, there are bigger issues that they just cannot attempt themselves – major roofing issues or digging up concrete etc. Major works that the team have completed have included renewing the floor in the Green Room. The original concrete floor had timber grounds cast in the floor and then floorboards nailed to that. The floorboards had rotted over the years through damp and these all had to be removed. This took days of back breaking work and then a two inch plinth of concrete that supported an original dumb waiter had to be broken up and removed before the floor could then be screeded.

COVID produced many other jobs for the team; from fitting a dozen sanitising units around the building, installing screening in the Box Office, to fitting a large new fan in the auditorium ceiling and a new vent through the roof to enhance the airflow.

Another challenge for the team was when The Savoyards produced the show “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. The full sized car to be used was large and heavy, It was apparent that the stage flooring had a weak spot and the stage needed reinforcing. This included building a timber frame underneath the stage and bolting this to the timbers that were already there. Then an additional problem was to get the car into the building and of course it was just a couple of inches too wide for the doorway so the doors had to be removed to get the car in, then put back again for the shows and then obviously all taken off again to remove the car after the shows had finished its run. Let’s not even talk about how they got the car up onto the stage!

‘Chitty’ on-stage at Shanklin Theatre 2019

Work in the bar area was another project for the team. They were asked to move the bar serving area 18 inches forward to give the bar staff more room to move behind and therefore they could use extra staff to help serve.

This included replacing parts of the floor, the bar top and the structure underneath it, installing new plumbing for the coffee machine, new lighting, new optics and all this had to be done to a timescale. They played close to the wind and it was completed by 3pm on the day that Michael Portillo officially opened the bar at 6pm!

The Sweets kiosk was another project that the team put their hand to –totally refurbishing it from re-shelving, new ceiling, new drinks units, a pegboard to hang the packets of sweets, new counter top, new flooring, new lighting and this has totally transformed it. Although the team only come in two days a week, much of their other time is thinking about sourcing materials and planning.

They have replaced windows, installed new handrails, made tables for the bar area, standardised paintwork and so the list goes on. Any recommendations following Fire Risk Assessments have been dealt with to ensure the safety of everyone using the building. Shanklin Theatre is a listed building which produces other challenges but the team continue to work within the guidelines. There is no hiding the camaraderie among this team who clearly ensure they have fun whilst tackling the most arduous of jobs but are equally very proud of their achievements and find it very rewarding.

I leave you with this report from Neil describing the finalisation of 3 years’ work to refurbish the dressing rooms that included new plans submitted and agreed by the Council, new walls, ceilings, toilets and shower, whilst also considering the corridor width and ventilation. Billie Thornton.

Dressing Room Refurbishment 2023

After a highly successful pantomime run, the dark time for the Theatre falls again and “The Maintenance Fairies” set about the planned tasks for the brief period of time, the project for this year being the refurbishment of the smallest but, well loved by performers, Dressing Room 7

The wall for this room forms part of an escape route, so needed rebuilding to meet current fire regulations. The team loves a bit of demolition, so in no time the old wall was down and the framework for the new wall was in place. The inside was plasterboard so that the necessary wiring for power and lighting could be run prior to insulating and closing up the outer part of the wall forming the corridor.

After initial internal decoration, the second fix for electrics got underway, then in with the new worktop with sink cutout and raking props to allow clear floor areas for cleaning to be made easier.

Image left. The team working on the new dressing room. Photo by Neil Reader

Whilst this progressed work started on the second seating area by taking down and relining the inner wall by way of fire upgrade ready to receive worktop, light and power.

As you can imagine, a team of five working in quite a small area did get quite cosy at times and the consistent banter kept us all focused on the task at hand!!!

Time moves quickly, so before long, push did come to shove, as there was wiring to complete, walls and ceiling to paint, sink and hot water heater to fit, skirtings, new door and closer to provide, oh and a hanging rail in readiness for the Music Festival.

Image right. The work continues. Photo by Neil Reader All was in place by close of play on Thursday 16th just before the festival started, so a total of 20 days in all as we attend the Theatre two days a week.

New floor covering is scheduled for June which will replace the old worn-out Lino, after which we can say Dressing Room 7 has had a complete makeover.

Our Team is proud of what we achieved and hope that this will be enjoyed by many performers over the years to come.

Image left. Almost finished! Photo by Peter Tuppen

For and on behalf of Geoff, Dave, Peter, and Chris.

Fost Patrons

The FOST committee recognises the value of the support of our FOST Patrons and would like to express their gratitude by offering them additional benefits. Printed FOST ‘Stage-Write’ NewsletterPatrons who normally receive ‘Stage-Write’ via email may choose to have a printed copy delivered to them. Patrons Social Evening - A biennial event for FOST Patrons will be organised at the Theatre in recognition of their contribution. The next Patrons Thank You evening will take place on Mon 25th September 2023 – More details to follow The current list (dated 15/5/23) of FOST Patrons are below.

If you wish to upgrade your membership to Patron (£25/year or more), just email: FOSTmembership@shanklintheatre.com

Fost Corporate Sponsors

FOST Corporate sponsors are businesses passionate about the theatre who support it with their Corporate membership. In return, their company is advertised in our FOST website which is open to anyone and our FOST newsletter circulated to over 650 members from the Isle of Wight and beyond. Corporate membership is £100 a year.

Clive Thorogood Building Surveying Services Ltd

Clive Thorogood provides Building Surveying services for residential and commercial clients in the following areas: West London, Surrey, Berkshire, West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Clive Throrogood Building Surveying Ltd

Delysia Farmshop

Products at Delysia Farm are arguably as fresh as you can get with owner John Day catching, growing, smoking and preparing the vast majority of it himself. On display you will find freshly laid duck, goose and chicken eggs including rare Araucana eggs, handpicked fruit and vegetables mostly home grown; seasonal meats and game; plus John’s own freshly caught crab and lobster.

The Village Inn

Independent family run free house Church Road, Shanklin PO37 6NU

Traditional thatched pub in the centre of Shanklin old village, serving real ales, good homemade food and locally caught crab and lobster in a warm and cosy atmosphere. Pretty enclosed courtyard garden to the rear. Live easy listening music from local talent

The Snowdon House http://www.thesnowdonhotel.co.uk/ https://www.ronbirdandson.com/ tldesignworks is an Isle of Wight based web design & development company with a mixed portfolio of Island centric websites and mainland websites. https://www.tldesignworks.co.uk/

A Visit England –Silver Award, 4 star guest house situated just some 100 metres away from the spectacular cliff walk and views of Sandown Bay. Sally & Michael Beston – Resident proprietors since 2001.

Ron Bird & Son offer a high quality and affordable piano tuning service across the Isle of Wight and Southern England.

Jane Oliver, Educational Consultant, can assist schools with all aspects of behaviour management, based on sound practical experience and theoretical knowledge. Contact details and services can be found on this website: http://www.janecoliver.co.uk/

The Clifton: Brimming with coastal charm, this oasis of calm is perched perfectly on Shanklin's clifftop; it's the home from home where you can make yourself comfortable in one of 15 individually designed bedrooms. https://www.thecliftonshanklin.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/FirstAct2011/ Island Webservices is an Isle of Wight based web design and hosting company. We make search engine friendly, quick to load web sites that are accessible and easy to use on all devices. https://www.islandwebservices.co.uk/

Shanklin Theatre provides a great home for First Act Theatre Group (a theatre group for people with learning disabilities).

STAGE WRITE Summer 23 Crossword Answers

ACROSS

1. Jessica 4. Garlic 9. Ora 10. Norway 12. Turin 13. Blue 14. Turk 15. Song 16. Shine 18. Abba 21. Croatia 24. Water 25. Loo 28. Swede 29. Genevan 30. Split 31. Dion 33. Malmo 35. Spain 37. Dub 38. Candle 39. Phoenix 42. Fix 43. Nil 45. Olivia Newton-John

DOWN

1. Janus 2. String 3. Cry Baby 5. Act 6. Lordi 7. Contest 8. Katrina

11. Lugano 17. Heroes 19. Waves 20. Peseta 22. Alesha Dixon 23. Ireland 25. London 26. Oslo 27. Istanbul 32. Bucks 33. Mental 34. Lulu 35. See fit 36. White 40. NI 41. On a 44. ISH

Contentious Grooviness (the xword title) is an anagram of the Eurovision Song Contest. **********************************************************************

A Quick Theatre Quiz - Answers

Answers:

1. Alan Alda

2. Agnetha (Fältskog), Anni-Frid (Lyngstad)

3. Annie Get Your Gun

4. Aida

5. Aldous Huxley

6. Amadeus

7. Anthony Hopkins

8. The Andrew Sisters

9. Aaron Copland

10. Rose Ayling-Ellis