2016/17 Committee
President: Tim Egan
Vice President: Judi Williams
Treasurer: Peter Hodges
Secretary: Di O'Ferrall
Ordinary Committee Members:
Shalla Thomas
Russell Lane
John Greene
Ainsley Corbett
Lauren Corbett
Cate Walsh
Outgoing President, Maureen Burgess
President: Tim Egan
Vice President: Judi Williams
Treasurer: Peter Hodges
Secretary: Di O'Ferrall
Ordinary Committee Members:
Shalla Thomas
Russell Lane
John Greene
Ainsley Corbett
Lauren Corbett
Cate Walsh
Outgoing President, Maureen Burgess
Following the AGM, here is an update on your new committee, and a farewell message from the outgoing President:
"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen adieu...." Yes my friends, this is my last Reportage as President.
With others eager to don the ermine cloak, I have decided to gracefully (as I do everything!) retire. I am picturing some of you possibly doing the happy dance at this news, and I ask only that you accompany it with a thunderous rendition of "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead". For those who are not doing a happy dance, picture me performing the same number accompanied by a set of ladybird castanets and three dancing hounds.
Our shed dedication on the 21st was a very fitting way to end my official duties, and I am so thankful to the rest of the Committee for their support and assistance (particularly Di O'Ferrall for her plaque design), and to all the people who turned out for the occasion. I had a lovely text from Judy Jacobs:- "...a sincere thank you for such a beautiful, simple and very appropriate gathering....we were really touched and honoured by the respect given him. The plaque is just perfect and has been beautifully made..". She also very much enjoyed our pop up singalong! Whenever you find yourselves at the theatre and gazing at the plaque on Jaco's Shed, give a moment's thought to all the people who have been a positive role model or mentor to you, as Bill was to me and many others.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the two shows produced since our last AGM- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Pirates of Penzance", the former Directed by myself with the able assistance of Lewis Hackfath, and the latter by first timer John Greene and his offsider Di O'Ferrall. Both were very well attended and received, and both had to contend with strange circumstances. In the case of "Chitty" I didn't have the entire cast at any rehearsal for the whole rehearsal period (truly!), and in fact never had the entire cast at all, as one cast member never made it on stage due to a freak accident, and of course we had the largest prop in the history of the company (thank you Joel Blythe!) to factor in. Despite all the stresses that inevitably accompany the process of Directing, I had a fantasmagorical time with a super cast and crew. In the case of "Pirates" we had an unprecedented amount of cast illness, culminating in us having to cancel one performance and replace one of the leads for a couple of other performances. I'm not sure that the character of Ruth has ever been played that way before, but Lewis did an amazing job in extremely difficult circumstances.
I suppose it is here that I should attempt to condense my Presidency in a few short words. Although we are in a theatrical era of relative calm, there have been some very tumultuous times, particularly in our battles with past theatre managers and Council in which we had to fight tooth and nail for long standing concessions given us in recognition of our valuable and historical contribution to the cultural life of our community. By uniting with other local community theatre groups and forming ACCTS (Association of Coffs Community Theatre Societies) we proved to Council that we are a force to be reckoned with and that we play a hugely important role in community life. I sincerely hope that the new President and Committee will continue to represent CHMCC through ACCTS to enable us to have a loud and proud voice in the future of our company.
Over the colourful course of my term I have Presided over births, deaths, proposals (marriage and others!) and weddings. I have seen all manner of trysts and turns with all manner of unlikely combinations. I have had the great good fortune to meet and befriend a vast array of amazing people, to see through many wonderful productions from conception to after party, to witness and work with some dazzling talents, to witness and work with some less dazzling talents, to perform with my daughters and friends, to play with incredible musos, to have the indescribable pleasure of seeing the shy and unconfident come to life on the stage, and the list goes on. Despite the "Dark Times", it has been a Monumental Journey, and I thank you all from every corner of my heart, for being part of my Theatre Family.
And finally, to Dave Brammah, Natalie Boyle and all the other Theatre staff, thank you for all your help and support, and to my fellow committee members, for all the hours spent, the hard work, the stress, sweat and the laughs, thank you from a very grateful soon to be former President. A special thank you for all of the above to the outgoing members, Jenny Beatson, Fay Castle and Laura Smith. And to the new President and Committee, I wish you all the very best. You are inheriting a Company in very good shape financially and artistically, and I sincerely hope that you will continue to fight the good fight with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
With gratitude and love,
Mauz
"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen adieu...." Yes my friends, this is my last Reportage as President.
With others eager to don the ermine cloak, I have decided to gracefully (as I do everything!) retire. I am picturing some of you possibly doing the happy dance at this news, and I ask only that you accompany it with a thunderous rendition of "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead". For those who are not doing a happy dance, picture me performing the same number accompanied by a set of ladybird castanets and three dancing hounds.
Our shed dedication on the 21st was a very fitting way to end my official duties, and I am so thankful to the rest of the Committee for their support and assistance (particularly Di O'Ferrall for her plaque design), and to all the people who turned out for the occasion. I had a lovely text from Judy Jacobs:- "...a sincere thank you for such a beautiful, simple and very appropriate gathering....we were really touched and honoured by the respect given him. The plaque is just perfect and has been beautifully made..". She also very much enjoyed our pop up singalong! Whenever you find yourselves at the theatre and gazing at the plaque on Jaco's Shed, give a moment's thought to all the people who have been a positive role model or mentor to you, as Bill was to me and many others.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the two shows produced since our last AGM- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Pirates of Penzance", the former Directed by myself with the able assistance of Lewis Hackfath, and the latter by first timer John Greene and his offsider Di O'Ferrall. Both were very well attended and received, and both had to contend with strange circumstances. In the case of "Chitty" I didn't have the entire cast at any rehearsal for the whole rehearsal period (truly!), and in fact never had the entire cast at all, as one cast member never made it on stage due to a freak accident, and of course we had the largest prop in the history of the company (thank you Joel Blythe!) to factor in. Despite all the stresses that inevitably accompany the process of Directing, I had a fantasmagorical time with a super cast and crew. In the case of "Pirates" we had an unprecedented amount of cast illness, culminating in us having to cancel one performance and replace one of the leads for a couple of other performances. I'm not sure that the character of Ruth has ever been played that way before, but Lewis did an amazing job in extremely difficult circumstances.
I suppose it is here that I should attempt to condense my Presidency in a few short words. Although we are in a theatrical era of relative calm, there have been some very tumultuous times, particularly in our battles with past theatre managers and Council in which we had to fight tooth and nail for long standing concessions given us in recognition of our valuable and historical contribution to the cultural life of our community. By uniting with other local community theatre groups and forming ACCTS (Association of Coffs Community Theatre Societies) we proved to Council that we are a force to be reckoned with and that we play a hugely important role in community life. I sincerely hope that the new President and Committee will continue to represent CHMCC through ACCTS to enable us to have a loud and proud voice in the future of our company.
Over the colourful course of my term I have Presided over births, deaths, proposals (marriage and others!) and weddings. I have seen all manner of trysts and turns with all manner of unlikely combinations. I have had the great good fortune to meet and befriend a vast array of amazing people, to see through many wonderful productions from conception to after party, to witness and work with some dazzling talents, to witness and work with some less dazzling talents, to perform with my daughters and friends, to play with incredible musos, to have the indescribable pleasure of seeing the shy and unconfident come to life on the stage, and the list goes on. Despite the "Dark Times", it has been a Monumental Journey, and I thank you all from every corner of my heart, for being part of my Theatre Family.
And finally, to Dave Brammah, Natalie Boyle and all the other Theatre staff, thank you for all your help and support, and to my fellow committee members, for all the hours spent, the hard work, the stress, sweat and the laughs, thank you from a very grateful soon to be former President. A special thank you for all of the above to the outgoing members, Jenny Beatson, Fay Castle and Laura Smith. And to the new President and Committee, I wish you all the very best. You are inheriting a Company in very good shape financially and artistically, and I sincerely hope that you will continue to fight the good fight with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
With gratitude and love,
Mauz
