The OVO blog

Sunday; rehearsal. James Pitchford, who is generally to be found modestly hiding behind the piano, discovers to his alarm that as Fedotik in Three Sisters, he has to dance onto the stage and exclaim, laughing, “Burnt” Burnt! Everything I have is completely burnt!”

But while sipping the birthday champagne he had so kindly brought to share with us, we discovered that James had indeed been burnt out of his home as a youth, so was able to engage in something very Stanislavskian. And we are quite sure the champagne helped with the dancing.

Our Country’s Good which OVO is putting on in conjunction with Act Now! has entered rehearsal.

Director Sue Russell Curtis write: “…lots of lovely new talent. The first two rehearsals are more than promising – a lovely atmosphere and team spirit already – this one is going to be a good ‘un!”

Three Sister re-unites some of the oldest friends of OVO – last night Paul de Burton, everybody’s favourite uncle, attended his first rehearsal, along with  h  is dog, Clover. Clover was the star of the show, and we were tempted to cast her, but we all remember the starring role of the dog Jessie in Cherry Orchard, who had to be banished from the backstage at Trestle, howled throughout the performance, and then missed her cue.

It’s all go at the moment – this week Katalyst‘s    Reduced Shakespeare is playing, which is exciting for us, as it’s our first guest production, and we’re having to remember our manners, and not leave stuff lying around as if we owned the place! It amazes me how empty water bottles and Coke cans proliferate in a supposedly empty space – I think we have a breeding pod of them under the rake.

Three Sisters has started with a hiss and a roar with a great kick-off meeting which was more party than work, the general tone personified by Dewi Williams’ energetic rendition of Blue Suede Shoes. Elvis reborn as a venerable Welshman..

Our Country’s Good is  in the final stages of casting, and starts work this weekend, and auditions for the next two productions (Art & Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin no less) are in the diary for September 24th and 26th. Steve Martin has promised to come and see any production of his play, anywhere in the world…

 Last but not least, our resident music-man James Pitchford has his talented band of musicians polishing up their blue suede shoes and top hats for A Musical Journey – a musical evening out in relaxed jazz-cafe style, on October 2nd.