CODS, Crediton Operatic and Dramatic Society certainly know how to entertain an audience.

From August 9 to 14 the society staged the musical “Sister Act” in the hall at Queen Elizabeth’s School’s Barnfield campus.

Audiences were treated to a delightful evening and the talent of the cast really shone threw.

With faultless performances and fantastic singing, acting and dancing, CODS proved again that it is a leader in amateur dramatics and more besides in the South West.

If you missed “Sister Act” then look out for forthcoming productions and appearances by CODS members.

Here, Mike Canning, director, reflects on his experiences with CODS and “Sister Act”:

Sister Act - A Director’s Diary

WHEN I joined CODS in November 1977 I never realised that the first musical I would direct for the Society would be set at the same time of December 1977!

But this is exactly the time frame for "Sister Act" and little did I know when appointed what a journey it would turn out to be! CODS is extremely lucky to have a group of talented individuals who are prepared to give their time to direct shows and, as I was beginning to feel that my time treading the boards could be put to better use, I was delighted to be selected by the committee back in April 2019.

Rehearsals for CODS musicals start in November and it is tradition that the auditions are held on the first Sunday in December. From that moment, I knew that the Society was on to a winner, as the standard achieved on the day was nothing short of incredible.

If a Director has a solid group of soloists to work with, then the job is half done, but in this show there was nowhere to hide for anyone in the company; the "chorus of Nuns" soon became a unit that was as important as any soloist - as all soon found out with the intricate dance movements they all had to master.

The show in itself is both uplifting and challenging, even without all the other obstacles that were then placed before us. As we got closer to our opening date in April 2020, it was obvious that the Covid situation was getting worse in the country and the committee were already putting in place a contingency plan.

Ultimately, this wasn’t even needed, as four weeks before opening night the whole country went into lockdown and any hopes of performing our show were dashed.

A quick call to the company who grants us the licence confirmed that it would still be available for  whenever we were in a position to proceed and thankfully the costumes that we managed to source via a message on our website were also available on an open-ended basis.

So the enthusiastic cast insisted that "the show must go on!" and the committee put their heads together once again.

At this point there were several changes to the personnel in the cast as some joined and others had to leave due to work commitments, the uncertainty of when the production might be staged, or family commitments.

A plan was put in place to perform at our normal slot in the Easter holidays during April 2021, but unfortunately again this proved impossible.

In addition to all the Covid measures we were trying to master, the whole group then unexpectedly had to deal with the tragic death of our close friend Chris Barlow and the deep loss that everyone felt.

I had instilled a desire from the very beginning that teamwork was going to be so important for this show to be successful, even though inevitably during performances there are many times when individuals take their glory.

It was this spirit which showed through in all of those challenging times and with Steph Morgan, CODS Chairman, and I trawling through pages and pages of advice for amateur groups during Covid, we formulated a plan which meant we could continue our journey.

This began with Zoom rehearsals where everyone sang in their own home bubble and Allan Fouracre, our Musical Director, and I had no idea what sound was being produced, though it did offer the cast a chance for the lyrics to be embedded.

Very quickly these Zoom rehearsals passed to our choreographer Georgia Steer who could at least see the fruits of her labour. Looking back, this was the time that brought our show together, as one of the last blows to hit the production was the final release from lockdown being deferred to July 19, from June 23, which meant that all the scene movement needed had to be done in just three weeks.

When we were allowed to meet in a room together, all rehearsals took place with the cast having their temperatures taken on entry to the building, lateral flow tests were taken by anyone involved in the rehearsal and rehearsing on a socially distanced spot wearing a mask!

We followed to the letter the government guidelines - not only wanting to protect our members but to also get to the performance level we all wanted - and Steph, the wider committee and I ensured these were constantly reviewed.

We even, courtesy of the cricket club, went and enjoyed a glorious sunny evening rehearsal at Shobrooke Park.

History now shows that April came and went and, until a possible theatre emerges in Crediton, our venue has to be QE School which was obviously - and thankfully - available during August.

Government guidelines eased to allow theatres to reopen and - with reduced seating, increased ventilation and mobile toilets hired in - we did as much as we could to stage our production as safely as possible.

The enjoyment on our audiences faces showed how much pleasure they had in being a part of a special evening’s entertainment.

The comments sent by text, email and posted on social media justify the incredible perseverance that was shown by everyone.

CODS is an amateur group but prides itself on achieving the best possible results whether it be the musical, choral, drama or Panto.

It has been my pleasure to direct an incredibly talented cast, who received fantastic support from a technical team that beaver away for many hours, again unpaid, in the background.

The teamwork hopefully came across and should hold us in good stead as we move forward to future productions.

Mike Canning