CURTAIN UP - LATEST NEWS

The Fringe are looking for new and experienced cast members for next year's show - The Roaring Twenties/Les Années Folles. The show will be held on the weekend of the 14th of June. Rehearsals will take place at HQ on Wednesday afternoons, 14h - 16h. There are two rehearsals this year, 22nd November and 6th December. Please contact Wolfgang Schutt if you are interested.

The Rent production team needs volunteers to help with welcoming people to the auditions, taking their photos, etc. If you are able to help out, please write to Nicki Power with your availability. Audition dates are 22nd, 24th, 25th and 26th of November.

At the AGM, The Committee were charged with looking into whether to award Honorary memberships or not.

We spoke to members of the original sub committee who looked at this issue for the GAOS 40th birthday and did a lot of research on how other organisations decide on this award.  

We have decided it is a very emotive subject and even with extremely tight criteria, someone would feel that someone had missed out - a "lose, lose" situation.  

What we have decided to do instead is have an award annual "Outstanding Achievement" trophy, which is awarded by the committee at The AGM, to someone who, they feel, unanimously, has stood out in their contribution to the Society that year.

Serving Committee Members would not be eligible and if no one stood out in a particular year, then the award would not be given.

As a Committee, we think this would be seen as a more positive award, available to all and a token of our appreciation. The trophy would be engraved annually and kept at HQ for all to see. We hope as a membership, you can see the positives and support this decision. Thank you.

Social events are getting underway again at GAOS HQ, and we are pleased to announce our very own in-house movie nights and Pub Quiz.

Here is already a peek at when we are doing what so you can pencil in the dates in your agendas.

3rd November - Kinky Boots. Please register for this event now!

8th December - Holiday Inn

2nd February - Pub Quiz (hosted by Keith Hayward)

1st March - Little Women

The idea is to start at 19h30, with a small break at the interval. We would like to ask everyone to bring something small to share (finger food better), and it will be possible to buy drinks from our grey fridge.

For organizational purposes, we would like to ask you to sign up for each event as it will be limited to 50 people. For any additional questions, you can contact Karin Divià at social@gaos.ch.

A colleague of mine (Susana, the Secretary) has asked me today to share this:

A local film crew is in need of more "non-verbal acting" volunteers of any age. They are filming on Saturday 14th October from 3pm to 2am in Geneva. Please contact Benjamin Burri (Director light and image (cinematographer)) for exact location and details (+41 76 679 82 11). A great opportunity to put on CV and be part of an exciting project.

I've been comparing what we have in the video archives with the list of "Past Productions" on our web page and there are (still) some gaps. If you happen to have some old VHS cassettes (or even DVDs/CDs) of any of these shows I'd be very happy if I could borrow them to make copies. I know some of these shows are pretty old but amazingly we do have video material from as far back as 1972 for The Beggar's Opera, The Mikado and Jack and the Beanstalk - so we live in hope! Many thanks in advance,

Brian, the GAOS video archivists.

These are the missing shows:

Aug 2008 Guys and Dolls

Jun 1982 Old Time Music Hall

Jun 1981 Old Time Music Hall

Apr 1981 Princess Ida

Dec 1980 Sleeping Beauty

Jun 1980 Music Hall

Jun 1979 Music Hall

Apr 1979 H.M.S. Pinafore

Nov 1978 Ali Baba

Jun 1978 Music Hall

Dec 1977 Mother Goose

Jun 1976 A Soirée at the Salle

Apr 1976 The Gondoliers

Dec 1975 Dick Whittington

May 1975 Iolanthe

Dec 1974 Babes in the Wood

May 1974 Ruddigore

Feb 1974 Aladdin

Jan 1973 Puss in Boots

Jun 1971 A Musical Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan

The next Fringe performances will take place on the weekend of the 14th of June 2024. Annette and Wolfgang Schutt will produce The Roaring 20's/Les Années Folles with exciting music of that period, including early jazz and charleston. Rehearsals will start in November. They take place on Wednesday afternoons, but Annette and Wolfgang are also inviting singers who would like to participate but cannot make it for the afternoon rehearsals. There will be plenty of solos and ensemble work. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to Wolfgang.

The Pinocchio sound team is looking for volunteers to help to work on the cues, mic the cast, etc. Volunteers need to be available for some of the run-throughs, all tech week, and show dates. If interested, you can contact Nicki Power on WhatsApp (+41797749620). Don't worry if you don't have experience with sound, the team will train you!

GEDS is participating in this year's edition of the Fête du Théâtre. On Saturday 7th October, GEDS will be conducting a theatre workshop at 5 pm, followed by playreadings at 7 pm. All levels are welcome to join. Please note that places are limited. All events of the Fête du Théâtre are free, but registration is required.

Venue for GEDS Events: Floky La Loutre, 44 rue de Carouge, 1205 Geneva

More information and registrations:

Acting workshop: https://fetedutheatre.ch/team-member/theatre-acting-workshop-atelier-de-theatre-en-anglais/

Playreadings session: https://fetedutheatre.ch/team-member/theatre-playreadings-in-english-with-audience-participation/

Received from Susie Kenny-Smith, chair of a new group in Chamonix:

Are you a man with a passion for theatre?

Mont-Blanc Theatre Group is about to premiere their winter show If the Boot Fits on 7th and 8th December in Chamonix. A modern-day Cinderella story set in the Alps, this fresh take on a much loved story sees love, mystery and intrigue weaved amongst well-known songs.

Roles are being cast right now and there's an opening for two exciting lead male roles. Jamie is a wealthy Scot who is soon to be laird and inherit an estate in the Highlands. When he meets our leading lady, Jess, he pretends to work in a ski shop to see if she'll like him just the way he is.

Jess is a reporter working undercover as a chalet girl to get a scoop with a TV celebrity. She has to make the impossible choice between love and losing her job.

Angus is Jamie's best mate, fun-loving and loyal. He falls hard for Camilla but she only has eyes for Jamie. It all comes to a head at Jamie's party when everyone's secrets are revealed.

Both Jamie and Angus are singing roles, and the songs can be transposed to suit the range of the actor selected. There are also two non-singing male roles, Laurent and Mr. Douglas; these are minor roles with only a few lines.

For more information, contact Susie Kenny-Smith.

The theatre group has a flexible approach to accommodate rehearsal schedules, including somewhere to stay during key rehearsals and performances.

So, if the boot fits for you, Mont-Blanc Theatre Group would love to hear from you. We are also happy to hear from women too, as there are a mix of lead and supporting roles available.