CURTAIN UP - LATEST NEWS

The courses for the 2026 NODA Summer School, which will be held at Yarnfield Park, Stone, Staffordshire (UK) from the 1st to the 8th of August, have been announced:

1. Accessing Accents - Tutor: Rosemary Berkon

2. Acting for Absolute Beginners - Tutor: Chris (Tomo) Tomlinson

3. Acting for Screen - Tutors: Elianne Hawley and Graeme Hawly

4. Discovering the Golden Age of Musical Theatre - Tutors: Conor O'Kane and Sarah de Tute

5. Improvisation for the Bold and the Bashful - Tutor: Jonny Dixon

6. Introduction to Stage Combat - Tutor: Tom Jordan

7. Make Up for Theatre - Tutor: Paul Herrington-Hurley

8. Making a Murder Mystery - Tutor: Jasmin Mandi-Ghomi

9. Set Design - Tutor: Alex Marker

10. Shakespeare - let's get physical! - Tutor: Grace Goulding

11. Sing the Story - Lift the Lyric - Tutor: Pamela Rudge

12. Starting a Society Producing a Show - Tutor: Sarah Osborne

13. The Magic of Menken - Tutors: Jack Bennet and Jordan Langford

14. Welcome to the Moulin Rouge - Tutor: Lynne Bustard

15. We're Just Wilde About Oscar - Tutor: Eva Sampson

You can find more details on the courses here. The fee for this year's Summer School is £775 (with a non-refundable deposit of £150 at registration), which covers accommodation, tuition, meals, and evening sessions (optional). Registration opens on the 1st of December, at 19h (Geneva time). Here are instructions on how to register. Contact Susana if you have any questions!

Love to dance? Want to choreograph? Sarah is starting a new informal GAOS dance group open to all members aged 18 and over! The group will meet at HQ once or twice a month (first session on the 21st of November) on Friday evenings to create dances together, share choreography ideas, and explore different styles - all just for fun. No pressure, no auditions, just good music and great company!

If you are interested in joining or finding out more, get in touch with Sarah. Let's get dancing!

Our old GAOS VHS cassette player has broken down and, rather than trying to get it repaired, we were wondering if you might have a working machine you no longer use and would like to donate to GAOS.

The old machine was used to convert lots of cassettes of past shows into streaming MP4 files, but the task is not over. Thoughtful members are still giving Brian Thomas their carefully preserved cassettes, quite a few of which he finds give better image quality than those already in our archives.

If you are in a position to help, then please contact Brian and then arrange to meet or perhaps leave the machine in a mutually agreed place in HQ next time you are there.

It's that time of year again - the Annual General Meeting of our beloved GAOS! Join us for an evening of lively discussion, a touch of drama (the good kind, of course), and plenty of good food.

All AGM documents are online. Don't miss the proposed amendment to the constitution, under "Motion".

Date: 2nd November 2025

Venue: HQ

Time: 16h30

After this year's AGM there will be a potluck dinner, so please bring along a dish to share - sweet or savoury, star or supporting role, it's up to you! Let us know what culinary masterpiece you'll be bringing so we can avoid an all-dessert cast (tempting though that may be). Please announce as soon as possible what you will bring by filling out the FramaDate form.

Your presence truly makes a difference - after all, every show needs its full cast. We promise not to make you audition for your seat!

Looking forward to seeing you there,

The Committee

These are the nominations received so far for your Committee 2025-2026:

Chair Gisela Schmid-Martin

Vice-Chair Jo Beveridge

Secretary Bindu Kapur-Campbell

Treasurer David Ball

Membership Secretary Cheryl Rooney-Ball

Business Manager Wenona Christie

Assistant Business No nominations yet

Publicity Manager Chris Cartwright

Assistant Publicity Lauren Stocker

Technical Manager Derek Mathieson

Reminder from the GAOS Constitution: "Nominations for election to the Committee shall be made in writing to the Secretary no less than forty-eight hours before the time of the meeting. The Secretary shall ascertain, before the meeting, the willingness of the nominee to stand for election. Nominations shall state the post(s) for which the nomination is made and the name of the proposer. Only if no nominations for a post are received shall nominations be accepted from the floor."

Tickets sales start on Sunday 26th October 2025.

Don't be a Ninny Muggins! Your Elf the Musical 15% members discount is here. Because making you smile is our favourite!

Use the code SMILINGSFUN until the 9th of November. Remember, you can use the code as many times to buy as many tickets as you want, but please do not share with non-GAOS members.

Rehearsals for Elf are in full swing! We've noticed that more and more of you are keeping up with GAOS news on social media - and we love it! But don't stop there... please share our posts far and wide!

We really need bums on seats (yes, literally!) and good old-fashioned word of mouth - or a friendly mention in the media - are our best ambassadors. Here's a digital flyer you can share with everyone!

Your ever-grateful Publicity Team thanks you warmly (and digitally)!

Mark your calendars and get working on your audition piece! The Kinky Boots audition pack is now online. Our fabulous production team is excited to welcome you to audition, and we invite you to spread the word widely to others who are ready to don their boots and strut the stage!

Details on the audition can be found here, and audition materials here.

Ticket sales for Deathtrap, by Ira Levin, GEDS's next production, open on Saturday 18th October, and GEDS is offering GAOS members a reduced rate until Saturday 8th November. Discount code is GAOS 2025. You can find the poster here.

Play details:

Geneva English Drama Society presents

Deathtrap by Ira Levin

Directed by Veera Valo 

Dates: Tuesday 25th to Saturday 29th November 2025

Times: Tuesday to Friday 19:30, Saturday 19:00

Venue: Théâtre de Terre-Sainte, Rte. du Jura, 1296 Coppet

Tickets: https://geds.ch/GEDSTICKETS & 
information: www.geds.ch

Price: CHF 25 & CHF 35 

"Darling, I may be devious and underhanded enough to be a successful murderer, but not, I think, a Broadway producer. One mustn't overestimate one's talents."

Sidney Bruhl used to be a powerhouse, a celebrity playwright of Broadway thrillers. Now, it's the late 1970s in Connecticut and Sidney is suffering with a bad case of writer's block that is driving him and his wife toward bankruptcy. A former student of his has a new script, though - a sure hit called "Deathtrap." If only Sidney could find a way to get the script for himself, all his problems might be solved, but there's no way to know who might get hurt in the process. 

A hilarious meta-play and Broadway's longest running comedy-thriller, Ira Levin's Deathtrap was nominated for four Tony Awards and has been staged across the globe since it's 1978 opening. 

Starring: Joshua Levens, Pia Oberoi, Aitor Mateo, Ariunzul Ganbaatar, Glenn MacStravic

Opening night patrons are invited to share a glass of bubbly with the cast and crew after the show! 

We are looking for people to join our publicity and marketing team. If you have a passion for GAOS and creative ideas for how to promote our society and shows, please contact publicity@gaos.ch.

Would you like to try your hand at taking a set design and turning it into a 3D reality? We are looking for people to join our set construction team. If you would like to know more, please contact chairman@gaos.ch.

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 Youth Show will be Chaplin, by Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan, directed by Arthur Mitchell, mentored by Sarah Irwin. Rebecca Bowker will be the Musical Director, and Alexia Chan and Orla Cartwright will be the choreographers. Auditions will be held on January 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th, with callbacks on the 14th.

Chaplin is based on the real-life story of Charlie Chaplin, the iconic film actor, writer, producer and director. The musical spans the comic's entire career, from his first performance as a child in 19th-century London to his tearful acceptance of an honorary Academy Award in 1972. It dramatises the making of his legendary films, telling the touching story of the man who makes the world laugh as his legendary screen persona, the Tramp, but struggles to find happiness in his own life.

A large number of lost items have been gathering in our break room. If you have mislaid a water bottle, a piece of clothing, or even a pair of reading glasses, please check. Anything that hasn't been collected by the 2nd of November will be donated.