The Cumbria Drama Festival a preliminary round of the All England Theatre Festival Programme for 2005

Reg. Charity No. 1071518

The 2005 Festival - March 11th-12th

This year there were four entries, so we had to run the festival over two nights. For the first time in four years, Swarthmoor didn’t win; of course, this may be because they didn’t enter! This year many of the honours went, deservedly, to Barrow AODS (or “Barrow Amateurs”, as they are usually called). Not only did they win the prize for the best production but society actors Bill Calvert, Carol Hannah and Lesley Skelton also won awards, as detailed below. Take 1, a recent offshoot from the Pennington Drama Group, triumphed in the backstage department, scooping the decor prize and the award for the best backstage team work. Steven Beattie of Phoenix (more familiarly known as the South Westmorland Stage and Screen Society) was also rewarded for his acting efforts.

Plays Performed

Friday, March 11th, 2005
Barrow Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society Brenton Versus Brenton by DAVID TRISTRAM Director: KEN SMYTH Stage Manager: JEAN HOWARTH
Setting: The office of Brenton and Brenton Time: The mid-eighties What is the dark secret which enflames the Brenton Family? Who is the mysterious Eddie? And just what was Dyke doing down on the farm?
Cast
Deke Brenton Brett Howard Foxglove Brenton Lana Brenton Mattie Kirby Blanche DeVille Eddie	RAY TURNER KEN SMYTH LESLEY SKELTON JENNY SHIPLEY BERYL DIXON KATH SMITH HIMSELF
Barrow Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society Last Panto in Little Grimley by DAVID TRISTRAM Director: JENNY SHIPLEY Stage Manager: JEAN HOWARTH
Setting: The Little Grimley rehearsal hall Time: The present The committee discusses its forthcoming production, with interesting results.
Cast
Margaret Gordon Joyce Bernard	CAROL HANNAH BILL CALVERT LESLEY SKELTON SEAMUS DORAN

Saturday, March 12th, 2005
Take 1 Merry Widows by PAT BISSON Director: MARK WILLIAMS Stage Manager: MARK WILLIAMS
Setting:A lounge Time: The present Three “ladies”, all in black. Along comes Mr Smith (poor man). All he wants is to give the “good news”.
Cast
Maureen Nancy Avril Mr Smith	GWEN MARRIOTT MARY MILLER BARBARA LOWES BOB HERON
Phoenix Printing Money by TONY PARKER Director:TONY PARKER Stage Manager: JOHN HUMPHREYS
Setting: The stage of any village hall Time: The present An evening mix-up in village hall bookings ends up with the local drama group director and his colleague “owning” a theatre.
Cast
Clifford Peter Mrs Sparrow Debbie Mr Townley	STEVEN BEATTIE RICHARD NEWMAN CAREN NEWMAN MARGARET HESMONDHALGH TONY PARKER

The Adjudicator - Mr Geoffrey Annis LRAM, ADB, BA(Hons), T Cert, BFF, GODA, PGCA

Geoffrey Annis trained at Hull College of Education, Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and London University (external). He retired from full-time teaching in 1993, after 30 years as head of drama and English in secondary schools and many successful school and youth productions.

He is an experienced adjudicator; a lecturer and workshop leader in drama, theatre arts and public speaking, and a pro/am director with many festival-winning productions to his credit. He is also an examiner and private teacher in GCSE and A-level English, a performing arts assessor and a professional actor with radio and TV experience, including parts in “Coronation Street”. He also frequently enjoys recital work. Recent successful productions have been “The Sunshine Boys” and “The Birthday Party” at Leeds Civic Theatre and “Last Tango in Whitby” and “The Crucible” at Hull Truck Theatre. He has appeared in, and directed, more shows than he cares to remember!

Currently, he specialises as a voice-over artist and presenter in the corporate, commercial, documentary, interactive, training and audio-book fields.

He is drama secretary (and ex-chairman) of Hessle Operatic and Dramatic Society and a member of Hull Literary Club, to which he has contributed articles and papers on literary subjects. He writes poetry from time to time and had a poem published in “The Anchor Book of Northern Verse”.

When time allows, he enjoys jazz and avoiding golf bunkers!

Trophies Awarded

The Elaine Richardson Trophy - for the winning company
awarded to Barrow AODS for Last Panto in Little Grimley

The South Lakeland District Council Trophy - for the best individual performance
Awarded to Bill Calvert for his performance in Last Panto in Little Grimley

The Sir John Fisher Trophy - for the best actor under 21
No eligible candidates. Not awarded.

The Lady Maria Fisher Trophy - for the best supporting role
Awarded to Carol Hannah for her performance in Last Panto in Little Grimley

The Renaissance Theatre Trust Award - adjudicator’s discretionary award
Awarded to Lesley Skelton for her performances in both the Barrow entries

The Doreen Brockbank Trophy - for set decor
Awarded to Take 1 for the set of Merry Widows

The New Generation Trophy - an award for merit
Awarded to Steven Beattie for his performance in Printing Money

The David Shipley Memorial Trophy - for backstage work
Awarded to Take 1

Subsequent Rounds of The All England Festival and British Final
North West Divisional Final	Venue: Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight Date: April 16th, 2005 Adjudicator: Irene Rostron
Northern Area Final	Venue: Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands Date: May 14th, 2005 Adjudicator: Colin Dolley
English Final	Venue: Barnfield Theatre, Exeter Date: June 11th, 2005 Adjudicator: Scott Marshall
British Final	Venue: Riverside Theatre, Coleraine, Northern Ireland Date: July 1st/2nd Adjudicator: Michael O’Hara