Long Live Franklin Players…

It is incomprehensible that The Franklin Players Amateur Drama Society has after, 60 years, been reduced to a ghostly empty hall, and 6 members i.e. our new committee.

Two years of Covid lockdown has made it impossible to put on any productions. No productions. No members, no membership fees…. You get the picture.

And to top it all, the Rec Centre renovations, now in its second year, is advancing at a pace that would frustrate a snail to tears.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The dressing rooms are being revamped with new tiles and a fresh coat of paint. It’s a start folks.

A new and inspired committee has emerged and put their hands up for the revival call. All solemnly pledging…

“The show must go on”.

And go on it shall… starting with One Act Festival in July and a Pantomime planned for End of Year show.

Read more about these upcoming events in today’s newsletter.

2022 One Act Play Festival

2022 OAPF

We are gearing up for our annual Franklin & Friends One Act Play Festival and this year is sure to be another fantastic experience for everyone involved.
We will choose 4 of our winning one act plays from the past 10 years to compete against each other as well as a few original plays.

AUDITION DATES
• Saturday 23th April (12PM)
• Sunday, 24th April (12PM)

DIRECTORS
Any budding (or experienced) directors who are keen to direct a play in the festival, please take a look at the Festival Rules and Guidelines on our website and let us know as soon as possible. We are always on the lookout for new directing talent and this is the perfect way to hone your skills in a co-creative and friendly environment.

FESTIVAL DATES
Please make sure you are available on the following dates should you wish to take part in the festival: 30th, 31st July, 6th & 7th August

Audition Workshop

There’s never been a better incentive to pay your membership fees!

We encourage all members to join us for an in-depth workshop on Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th April from 10AM – 12 AM covering all aspects of characterization and stage etiquette, among other things. We will also discuss notes and critiques received from adjudicators during previous festivals and even perform some practical exercises on and off the stage. This is going to be awesome guys!

Call For Donations

There is no way to put it politely… “ We need need funding to kick start Franklin Players back on stage.

If you have been a member in the past, chances are you still have our banking details on your banking beneficiary list.

And if you have, how easy would it be to quickly renew your half year membership fee (now reduced to R150 for adults and R75 for student and pensioners)

So go ahead and do your bit to keep community theatre alive. Just in case you lost our banking details, it is as follows:

Franklin Players

FNB

Branch Code – 250655

Account Number – 50400030074

Reference – Name and Surname

Our Temporary Home

With Roosevelt Centre renovations still a few months away from completion, the committee had found a temporary home to conduct our Auditions and rehearsals for the upcoming One Act Festival – 2022

Die Suid Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie (SAVF), based in Claremont like Franklin Players, is a Non-profit organisation that depend on donations to assist with their daily community feeding scheme.

Thus, instead of financial payment they have agreed to take donated cans of food as payment instead. So remember, when you audition, please bring along a can of food for a good cause.

2022 Franklin Players Committee Members

Tess Doust – Acting Chairperson – tessdoust@gmail.com

Wendy Brehm – Secretary – wendzkim4@gmail.com

Monika Jacobs – Treasurer – monijac528@gmail.com

Brandon Randall – Technical – brandonwjrandall19@gmail.com

Hennie Greyvenstein – Communications – high.end.sport@gmail.com

Sone Pieterse – Social Media – sonepieterse247@gmail.com

Chuckle for today

• Two neighbors in Stratford have a dispute about whose house is the authentic birthplace of William Shakespeare. Officials kept the peace by putting a plaque on both their houses.
• A Stage Manager’s View of the World: The tech crew trips over clearly marked ledges. Actors trip over tape on the floor. Dancers trip over tape that was pulled up yesterday.
• How do you drown an actress?
  Place a mirror at the bottom of a pool.
• How many actors does it take to change a light bulb?
  100 of course! 1 to screw the bulb in and 99 to stand around, saying, “It should be me up there!”
• How many producers does it take to change a light bulb?
  Sorry, a new light bulb isn’t in the budget.
• A sound technician, a lighting designer and a stage manager find an old lamp, backstage at the theatre. One of them gives it a rub, and out wafts a genie!
  “Since you all found me,” he says, “You each get one wish!”The sound technician steps up and says, “I wish to be sitting poolside in my own multi-million-pound mansion!” And POOF, he is gone.The lighting director takes his turn and says, “Well, I wish to be sitting on the beach on my own multi-billion-pound private island!” And POOF, he is gone.

  Then stage manager turns to the genie and says, “I wish to have them both back in 10 minutes.”

• The funniest part of Macbeth is when the soldiers all cut a branch of a tree to hold in front of them while they march on the castle; pretending to be innocent trees instead of an army.The second funniest part is that it actually works.

  And a few one liners for luck…

• A friend of mine got sacked as a set designer for not getting the work done. He didn’t make a scene.
• Tried acting on a farm once. It went terribly; I got mooed off the stage.
• Planning to open a new shadow puppet show. Business plan says we’ll make a fortune, but those are just projected figures.Source: https://blog.fromtheboxoffice.com/2017/10/25/funny-jokes-that-only-theatre-nerds-would-understand/