SECRETARY BIRD NOW ON STAGE
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1974.
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The cast of five are still desperately cramming their words, and the back stage crew are slapping paint on furiously, and hammering in the odd last minute nails. Audrey Shuttleworth and Catherine Davies are still cadging sundry items of furniture and they, and the Cayman Drama Society, are grateful to all those kind people who have been so generous in lending their things.
Unfortunately the C.D.-S.Patroness, Mrs. R. Crook, will not be able to attend the first night as she and the Governor will have already left the island. However, they did manage to watch an entire rehearsal last week, and enjoyed it very much. We are very pleased that they should have spared a whole evening when their last days in Cayman must have been so crowded.
All those people who have watched rehearsals enjoyed the play tremendously. Its sophisticated humour is in contrast to the slap-stick fun of One for the Pot and a far cry from the touching drama of Johnny Belinda. There are a few poignant moments, however, when Hugh Walford, played by Michael Maberley, lets down his rather flippant facade in the face of his wife's (Judith Dredge) callousness.
Several people have asked what the difference is between the Producer and Director of a play. Well, Evelyn Andresen, as the producer of the play has the responsibility of selecting those people who build and design the set., prepare the programme and advertising, handle the furnishing, costumes, make-up, publicity and a thousand other jobs. It's a big responsibility, and we are very glad to have someone like Evelyn to handle it. Directing a play is quite a different matter. Jack Dredge, Director of THE SECRETARY BIRD, selected the play which was then approved by the C.D.S. Committee. He then held auditions and cast the play. According to tradition he was able to introduce some new faces to Cayman audiences, Liz King and Michael Maberley. The other three members of the cast, Angela Crichton, Judith Dredge and Jacko' Connell, have appeared before in C.D.-S.productions. Once the play has been cast, the average rehearsal time is approximately six weeks until opening. During this time the Director has to plan all the movements (invariably on a set which is somewhat smaller than shown in the official plan) and guide the actors on the interpretation of the author's words. Jack Dredge has had a lot of experience in directing, and enjoys it more than any other job connected with dramatics.
