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The CompanyDurham Musical Theatre Company (DMTC), (formerly Durham

Amateur Operatic Society) was founded in 1908. Currently it has a membership of over 100 members and aims to present two large-scale musicals each year. In January 2002 the Company moved into the brand new, state-of-the-art 510 seat GALA Theatre in the centre of Durham City. This was a considerable advance both in terms of seating capacity and facilities compared with the Company’s previous homes at the Garland Theatre, based in a local technical college (with 350 seats) and the old city Assembly Rooms (with 210 seats). Since 2002 the Company has presented large-scale musicals such as: “Me and My Girl”, “My Fair Lady”, “Camelot”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Titanic”, “Company” and “Mack and Mabel”, usually to 100% capacity. The challenge faced by DMTC is to choose a musical which will be attractive to audiences and also challenging to the Company. DMTC has a very sound membership base and rarely has to go outside its own membership to fill principal roles. Each production has attracted new members as chorus and principals. It is a Company in the true sense of the word, with a wide age range and a large number of members under the age of 35. DMTC usually fields large casts with principals from one show

THE MUSICAL PRODUCED

often appearing in the chorus of another. A social committee organises a number of events throughout the year for members and Friends of the Company. DMTC pays rent for two buildings in which it stores its own supply of costumes and properties.

The ShowIn March 2009 DMTC presented “Fiddler on the Roof”. It attracted a

number of very talented young people to play the roles of the sons and daughters in the show and consequently “Scrooge – the Musical” was chosen as the second show of 2009, in part because it would afford opportunities for these new members. November was a good month to present a show which glorifies the Christmas spirit. Leslie Bricusse wrote the music, lyrics and script for a film musical version of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” in 1970 and in 1992 he adapted it into a stage musical. The professional production opened in Birmingham and has since been seen on a number of tours throughout Britain as well as several West End appearances together with productions in America, Australia and Japan. The show has a lively score of toe-tapping numbers and requires a large cast of adults and children, as well as spectacular scenery and costumes. As with all productions

ScroogeFred Wharton looks at the challenges associated with his recent production of Scrooge for Durham Musical Society.

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involving children, trained CRB checked chaperones are required at all rehearsals and performances. DMTC has a team of chaperones organised by our own Child Protection Officer. The ending of the show provides the audience with a ‘feel good’ factor. It seemed to satisfy all the requirements of DMTC.

ReheaRsalsThe show was to be presented at the GALA Theatre in Durham City

for 7 performances commencing on 17th November 2009. Planning by the production team (director, musical director and choreographer) began in December 2008. In April 2009, the Company hosted a Presentation Evening at which the director outlined the origins of the show, told the story and talked about the casting requirements and characterisations of all the roles. Some music from the show was also played to give everyone a taste of the score. The evening ended with refreshments. Singing rehearsals (1 per week) for the full company commenced the following week and auditions for principal parts took place in June. Singing rehearsals continued, with principals now singing in their parts, until the end of July. After a short summer break production rehearsals started in early September. A detailed rehearsal

schedule is published in advance and members are called only to rehearsals when they are needed for specific scenes. In total there were 47 production rehearsals. Chaperones were present at every rehearsal when children were required.

Casting“Scrooge – the Musical” is a big company show having a cast of 33

named parts as well as a large chorus. Some of the principal parts are small, enabling the actor to also appear in some of the chorus numbers. The main part is huge and is rarely off stage. It requires a good actor/singer who can act as the ‘driver’ of the show. At DMTC most of the parts had a number of applicants at the auditions. Casting is conducted by the full DMTC committee (14 members). Readers are brought in and applicants act and sing specified scenes. Many applicants bring their own props and costumes. The director and musical director advise the committee and then discussion and if necessary voting takes place to complete the casting. For “Scrooge” all parts were cast from DMTC members at these auditions. Principals were then asked for their non-availability dates and a detailed production schedule was arranged around these dates. A read-through was then organised for all the principals, at which the director gave further information about their characterisations. Costume plots, chorus plots, props plots and stage plans were also issued at this time. It had been decided that the set changes would take place during the show by the cast in full view of the audience. As the set was fairly complicated, pictures of the sets were projected to show the cast precisely how it operated.

stagingFollowing the auditions for principal parts, a Production Meeting was

organised. This was attended by the production secretary, props team, wardrobe department and stage manager who met with the director to discuss the show’s requirements.

sceneryThe set for “Scrooge” was hired from Scenic Projects. It was a very

effective set with 23 scene changes. There are a number of ‘magic’ effects incorporated into the set to allow spectacular appearances by the ghosts. These occur through a floor-length mirror, hidden doorways

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and a revolving high-backed chair. A large four-poster bed on a truck is an important component of the set. At the end of Act One it opens up to reveal the Ghost of Christmas Present surrounded by Christmas gifts inside the bed.

FlyingScrooge, Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Present all flew in this

production. The equipment was hired from Hi-Fli and Mike Frost, the company manager, came to give the principals the necessary training. This took place one afternoon in the GALA Theatre. DMTC members provided the flight crew (3 people are needed for each person flying, 2 to lift vertically and the other to traverse across the stage) under the control of a Flight Director.

CostumesFor decades, DMTC hired its costumes from W. Homburg in Leeds.

The DMTC director had a close relationship with Homburg’s, who were always ready to make new costumes to suit his specific requirements. Unfortunately for DMTC, Homburg’s went out of business in 2008 and so a new costume supplier had to be found. After much searching, the director settled on Molly Limpet’s Theatrical Emporium based in Sheffield. They were very co-operative, made new costumes and took a personal interest in the production. Their commendable approach to dealing with amateur societies and a desire ‘to get things right’ pleased DMTC and its director. The costumes were singled out for great praise. DMTC’s own wardrobe department provided the working-class costumes. It was an equal split with 50% of the costumes being hired and 50% coming from the Company’s own costume store. The show requires very careful planning by the wardrobe department as the main part of the story takes place in Victorian times (1843), but some scenes take place in the Regency period, requiring a completely different style of costume.

PropsDMTC has an excellent collection of properties, built up over many

years and lovingly tended by a dedicated props team. Although

“Scrooge” requires an extensive array of props no props needed to be hired for the show; they were all provided from the DMTC props store or newly made by the props team.

The GALA TheatreDMTC hires the GALA Theatre for a week. On Sunday morning the

scenery arrives and is erected through the morning and early afternoon. Lights are rigged. On the Sunday evening there is a technical run through/piano dress rehearsal. The cast wear costume but no make-up, to practise costume changes. Microphones are used to set levels. During the day on Monday, work is completed on the set and lights are focussed and cued. There were 115 LX Qs for “Scrooge”. DMTC greatly benefits from the help, advice and support given by the backstage staff at GALA under its technical director Brian Dunn. He arranged the lighting design according to the wishes of the director. He also made the 28 sound effects. DMTC hires a professional DSM and sound engineer (21 microphones were used in this production, with several exchanges occurring during the interval between acts one and two). There were also 17 stage effects (pyrotechnics, smoke, etc.). On Monday evening a full dress rehearsal with orchestra takes place and the show opens on Tuesday.

FinALeThe final company consisted of 54 adults and 15 children on stage,

an orchestra of 12 and 46 backstage personnel and chaperones. The show was a total sell out and the ‘house full’ notices were out every night. “Scrooge – the Musical” is well-suited to large amateur groups with a wide age range of members and it requires some good singing and sympathetic characterisation. More details of this production and the work of DMTC together with press reviews of the performances can be found at www.dmtc.co.uk

Scrooge The Musical is licensed in the UK by Samuell French Limited.

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