What a whirlwind of a day yesterday at the beautiful Gawsworth Hall Theatre. This beautiful ancient Cheshire Manor House with its Tudor courtyard forms the backdrop for the venue. Fortunately the Grandstand and performers areas are covered and protected from most of the elements; however it rained throughout the rehearsals as we caught the tail end of hurricane Bertha 🙁
I began my day at 8am by having a good breakfast following which a skilled hairdresser looped my hair and pinned it into place ready for the performance that night.
This month I’d discovered that a friend from Tap class and High School had qualified as a beautician; Daniella is now working freelance and building her own business which I really admire. I hardly ever wear much makeup, usually only for stage work, or for special occasions, so consequently I’m not very experienced. I usually end up getting mascara all up my eyelids and if I’ve already put eye shadow on that’s a bit annoying, blending powders and not getting a chin line is a skill I’m still mastering and let’s not mention my attempts at eye liner! So I took the opportunity to have a master-class from Danielle ready for the performance, great fun and lovely to catch up.
You all know by now that I have a wonderful amount of support from my family and friends, yesterday my parents drove me to the event for 1pm for a meeting and full cast rehearsals. I got the opportunity to rehearse my first act songs, ‘Think of Me’ and ‘Wishing you were Somehow Here Again’ from the Phantom of the Opera with Christopher Ellis and Derrick McGill ( Des ) who provided atmospheric accompaniment including timpani, trills and skills. My brother Tom said that they added so much to the songs and he was really impressed.
Then good fortune shone down on us,the rain cleared up just before the performance, and although it was still quite windy the skies stayed that way until the end of the show. On the way home the rain poured down for the entire journey with the roads flooding.
I loved that despite the weather people still brought their gazebos and enjoyed their picnics overlooking the beautiful lake, we’re hardy souls us Brits. 🙂
Click through to see Tideswell Male Voice Choir’s next events or you can see photos from last night on their Facebook page .
My next shows with the choir are on 8th November at The Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield, Derbyshire and 9th November 2014 at Buxton Opera House: ‘Never Forget’ A Remembrance Spectacular. Tickets