PIP'S PERSPECTIVE

Mrs Baker, I have had the honour of serving in a variety of technical roles in six of your thirteen shows, spanning a half-decade in which I have grown a great deal, both physically and mentally. With each show, my respect for your style as a leader and a thespian has deepened.

I would like to highlight two themes that have run through a number of the shows that we’ve done, which are “surely to [your] credit” (with apologies to Gilbert, Sullivan, Sorkin et al.). The first one is the near-wizardry of some of the casting decisions. Knowing many cast members as I do, I’ve been blown away by the interaction between the personality of an actor and that of the character they inhabit on a great many occasions

The second one is the number of times these shows have involved a last-minute change of plan. From trying to put on Bugsy Malone in the dramatic first weeks of the pandemic, to complete re-organisations of the tech team for School of Rock, to moving Alice in Wonderland indoors for some rehearsals and a performance, you’ve consistently got the big calls right and then kept the cast out of the tech team’s way as we scrambled to implement them. I’ve lost count of the number of times that hard work has meant we haven’t had to rely on our audiences’ admirable patience half as much as we thought we would

In short, Miss, you are an inspiration to many in our Grove community. Thank you for your good and faithful service to our school; I wish you God-speed in whatever He will put next in your path.