GETTING the show on the road.” Now there’s a theatrical expression, I suppose it dates back to traveling players roaming the countryside with their stories and music.

Nowadays it’s a question of getting the show ready for the audiences to see and hopefully enjoy. As with all such enterprises the final appearance is the result of hours and hours of work by a large number of people.

Leading the work of the performers for a musical are three VIP’s. The Director, the Musical Director and the Choreographer.

For “Carousel” we have a great team to lead us. Firstly, with his debut Directors role for CODS, is Ben Edgecombe.

Ben has been in CODS from the tender age of 12 (I think). He has performed in many of our shows, but this is a new part for him to play. He has been entertaining on the professional stage all over the world, on cruise ships, as a holiday camp animator, and most recently on an exhausting National tour with a professional Panto company.

Ben is bringing all this experience, and shedloads of energy, to directing “Carousel”. Tireless enthusiasm and full of ideas, he’s making the rehearsals really enjoyable and putting together a wonderful version of this classic musical.

Leading the singing, and in charge of the band, we are delighted to have Allan Fouracre with us again. Musician extraordinaire, Allan can play most orchestral instruments, a rare talent indeed.

In addition to being a gifted musician, he’s great fun to work with. Allan is in huge demand and works with Societies all over Devon and Cornwall. We are very lucky that he is able to work regularly with CODS.

He also has the skill of getting a group of equally talented musicians to be in his band for our productions. One could say his contribution will be “instrumental” to the success of the show!

Taking all the dancers through their paces we are so very fortunate to have Amy Charles as our choreographer, and she has brought some of her very talented young dancers with her. Amy is a very busy person and runs the Charles Academy of Dance, teaching dance and the performing arts to children and adults in Crediton.

Her Dance Academy has been running for 10 years and many “Courier” readers will know her inimitable style and smile, either from watching her Academy performances or actually being in them. “Carousel” has two important dance scenes and Amy’s work developing these scenes is going to greatly enhance the show.

In addition to these VIP’s, getting the show on the road also involves many other people. The preparation is divided into departments and led by other talented and experienced people. There’s a whole list of these departments.

Looking in the programme for the last show there were 19 various areas listed. Everything from set design construction and painting, lighting, sound, costume, props, publicity, box office, stage management and crew etc.

The list seems almost endless and many of these people do not see the glare of the lights, or experience the applause from the audiences. It’s all definitely behind the scenes.

Overseeing and co-ordinating the whole of the presentation side of things is the Production Manager. This year, once again it’s Anton Heal. Without a doubt, he is very well-known to many “Courier” readers. An engineer by trade, and would be Elvis and Stage performer by vocation, Anton makes sure by the time we get to our “theatre”, namely the lower school hall, everything is in place to construct, rehearse and perform our show.

It’s a daunting task, much of which takes place in the rather unglamorous surroundings of our scenery store.

When it comes to the “get in” everyone will be keen to be directed to the many tasks that turn a fairly unprepossessing hall into a real theatre. Anton, and his extremely able deputy, Steph Morgan, will be giving the orders and seeing the jobs are completed in the correct sequence.

Everything has to be brought in and assembled. Firstly the hall is curtained and then the floor is laid. All the materials are made ready to construct the set and the raised seating. The lighting rig, lamps and all the sound equipment, costumes and props, and even the bar and the nightly raffle has it’s place in this huge operation.

At the end of the show Anton is also responsible for seeing we put it all away again, every bit in its rightful place.

CODS shows have been lit for many years by a very well-known Crediton face. Jo Ward has hung countless rigs and lamps, plotted a million lighting cues and run the lighting for many shows in the town, not just CODS.

With assistance from an accomplice or two he has even managed to light shows and be in them as well, standing in his own spotlight you might say.

Design of the lighting begins well before the actual production. For several months Jo will have been watching rehearsals and liaising with the director in order to be familiar with the story, the big scenes and the small scenes, in order to capture the right mood for the performers. It’s a real skill and we are grateful that Jo will bring all his experience to “Carousel”.

Set in about 1890 to 1910, in a whaling town in New England, “Carousel” requires a considerable amount of work by the costume department. Led by Bobby Murphy there is a team of ladies who have been beavering away for several months, making and converting costumes to fit the period. A few need to be hired, for example we don’t seem to have a policemen’s costume for the period in our stock.

Occasionally, in some shows, the required item is not even available for hire. When this happens there is no alternative but to set to and make whatever is needed. For example in “Made in Dagenham” a distinctive Biba dress of the 60’s was essential to the plot, and we needed to make two! So making up the pattern, for none was available, and then construction the dresses took two of our team many hours … but they didn’t half look good in the show!

“Carousel” has a lot of costume changes, so the team is going to be very busy.

When it comes to the actual production run the whole thing becomes the responsibility of the stage manager. Her word is law!

From the moment the audience is seated and the “curtain up” time arrives our SM, Gina Williams, will be full on, concentrating hard so that everything happens just as it should. She makes sure the cast are in the right place at the right time, the props/set changes take place when they should, and everyone who needs to, gets their cues for entry at exactly the right moment.

Gina will be ably assisted of course by a willing and very attentive stage crew. On the night they are as busy as the cast on stage!

There are, of course, all the other departments that are important to the production. We haven’t mentioned props, front of house, publicity and all the others, but hopefully those described in a little detail will help readers imagine all those hundreds of hours that make sure CODS “gets the show on the road!”

If you haven’t got your tickets yet they are on sale from Olivia James in the High Street (Telephone 01363 777968) or you can click on the CODS website BOX OFFICE www.codsonline.com .

Come and join us and see this lovely show … Oh, and please remember to invite your friends.

Mike Palmer