MADS 10th Birthday

Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society: Ten Years

www.melbournamdram.co.uk

It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years since the idea of a Melbourn based amateur dramatics group was brought to life. It all came about when husband and wife, Paul and Donna Sleight, attended a local performance for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and loved the show so much that it inspired them to join an amateur dramatic group. They were surprised when they discovered that there was no group in either Melbourn or Meldreth. From there, the immortal words “how hard can it be?” were first muttered and following a successful application to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘Community Chest’ funding, the concept of a Melbourn based amateur dramatics group was achieved. Along with nine of their good friends, they got together and with the help of two local writers put together their first script, The Lost Slipper, which was performed in December 2012 on stage at Meldreth Village Hall and Melbourn Village College. These were very humble beginnings for the team. Costumes were sourced from charity shops, chopped about, cut, reshaped and fabric added to transform them from an evening dress into an elaborate dame costume. Curtains were made into nineteenth century style britches and jackets and props were put together using items from either recycling centres or from odd bits and bobs found in the loft or at the back of the garage. The scenery was built using two hanging rails with fabric draped over, which was then painted to depict a scene. This made it through the first show, with help of Gaffer tape but then, mid-way through the second

show – yes you guessed, it duly collapsed beyond repair, much to the audience’s delight! Why do they love it so much, when it all goes wrong? We learned a lot from that first show and we all agreed that comedy is our ‘thing’ and have never tackled serious plays or shows. Even today, we still go by the philosophy that as long as the show is funny and the audience are having fun, then all is well with the world! From these humble beginnings, MADS has gone from strength to strength. The first show proved so popular, was such a lot of fun to put together and received amazing feedback from ticket buyers, that we decided to do it all over again the following year. So in 2013, we brought to the stage Murder Down the Aisle followed by the pantomime Aladdin in December. The MADS family continued to expand and by having extra people in the team, this meant that we no longer had to double up with doing stage and backstage duties. Mother Goose Dec 2019 MADS have grown into the successful and popular group we are now. We are a not-forprofit society, so proceeds from ticket sales are used for buying and improving either technical equipment such as lighting, speakers and radio mics or costumes - which all enhance the enjoyment of our shows for all who come. As the shows get bigger our team also grows and we a lucky enough to have some very talented members. Our youngest MADS member is just eight years old and our oldest is 79. New members are always welcome irrespective of their knowledge or experience. Technical skills can be easily learned so reliable, friendly people who like to occasionally do silly things and generally love to have fun are always welcome. It is with great excitement that this year we will be seeing our first MADS wedding as two of our members, who met during one of our former pantomime rehearsals, got married in July.

Over the last ten years we have performed eight pantomimes, three interactive murder mystery evenings, two comedy plays, a fundraising variety show and (in December 2021) a Christmas cabaret. Now things are starting to get back to some normality, we are all very excited to announce that for Christmas 2022 we will be back on stage at Meldreth Village Hall to perform our Christmas Pantomime Dick Whittington. We hope that you will come along and help us celebrate our tenth birthday. More information about what we do and the shows we have performed in the past can be found on our website at www.melbournamdram.co.uk. You can also keep up to date with our next events and shows on the website or on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/MelbournAmateurDramaticsSociety. We look forward to welcoming back all our old friends and offer a huge welcome to all those who will be joining us for the first time! Donna Sleight (MADS Founder and Producer)

Whaddon Road, Meldreth, SG8 5RL

Club Facili es

Licensed bar Hall available for private hire for any occasion (compe ve rates) Fully equipped gymnasium (annual subscrip on) Snooker room, Pool table Large children's outdoor ac vity area Petanque pistes Football pitches, changing rooms

Entertainments

1st Friday of the month Melbourn Rock Club One Saturday a month Melbourn Rock Club Rock and Roll Night Every Thursday night Eternit bingo—starts 7.30pm

Local gig venue Big charity events during the year

Motorcycle Rally - Air Ambulance - Mini Chill weekend - Camping - Local Chari es Club Charity - LUPUS