Here we go...

Here it is - the moment we've all been working towards: the performance of Sunshine on Leith in front of a paying audience.

Aye, important distinction there. We did a final dress in front of an invited audience last night. And wow - we were fantastic. The words were delivered, the band played on, the piper piped 'til he could pipe no more and the audience loved it. We even got a "fantastic" from the director at the end of the first act. She must've loved the second half too, based on the comments she made on Facebook.

But it's a different kettle of fish tonight. Last night the audience was composed of people that we knew, and there were only 20 of them. Tonight we don't know all of the audience...and there'll be 120 of them!! Here's hoping...

There's more to this than singing, dancing and acting

When you go and see a production like Sunshine on Leith it's very easy to forget those who aren't actually on stage, without whom the production wouldn't happen. So without further ado let's set that to rights.

When you come and see Sunshine on Leith this next week one thing that will amaze you is the band that are providing the musical accompaniment. None of them are professionals, but the sound they produce is amazing. It's only fair that they get a name-check, so here goes:

• Claire (band musical director / keyboards 1) - keyboard wizzard.
• Rachel (keyboards 2) - when the first chime came out of that keyboard, it really did add a depth to the tune.
• Martin (electric guitar) - the axeman cometh. And your slide on What do you do? is amazing
• Kris (acoustic guitar) - like Martin, your work on What do you do? is fantastic, brings a real depth.
• Thom (bass) - merge Donald "Duck" Dunn, Jack Bruce & Alan Gorrie - that's you. Keep the funk going.
• Michael (drums) - Phil Collins, Iain Bank & Aaron Comess? They're not even close.
• Joseph (accordion 1) - you and Gary Innes and Phil Cunningham need to jam together.
• June (accordion 2) - do you, Joseph, Gary and Phil have plans to jam any time soon?
• James (bagpipes) - any Proclaimers song that has pipes added is instantly 500% better. You rock!!

All the band are at UHI with the exception of James - he's still at school.

OK, that's the band covered. But what about the backstage people, the stage crew? Oh yes, we have them too:

• Amanda (Stage Manager)
• Blythe, Rosa, Laura & Hannah (Stage Crew)

They've only been with us for 3 weeks but they have the moves (like Jagger?) and get the props on and off in d*mn quick time, Thanks guys - you make things a lot less stressful for us all. Without you it definitely wouldn't happen.

Tunnel + light =

Yes, it's that time in a production when you do actually start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're coming to the final week of rehearsals for the first UK amateur production of Sunshine on Leith...and it's been a heck of a trip. For some people it's been easier - those who have a basing in drama. For others it's been an eye-opener: the amount of work that has been put into preparation for this production has been amazing. We've drawn on resources that we never knew we had, hit notes that we never thought we could and learnt impossible dance moves too. Well, that last one's not 100% true but if you've got two left feet...

A lot of the learning, the pushing, the teaching has been down to one very special individual: our Director, Victoria Rice. When she started the Ad-Lib Musical Theatre group little did we know that we'd end up doing this. We started off with Little Shop of Horrors, then bounced over to Les Misérables before settling on Sunshine on Leith. A strange progression you might think, but sitting back and analysing it over the past couple of weeks a pattern does emerge.

For example, there's a canon/round in Les Misérables and one in Sunshine on Leith. There's military personnel in Les Misérables and also in Sunshine on Leith. There's a giant man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors and...err, help?!

The point is, there was method in how Victoria started us off and the way she continues to lead us onwards. And for that all of us in Ad-Lib Theatre Arts are eternally grateful.

But where would a production of Sunshine on Leith be without music? And where would music be without a band? And what a band they are: a drummer, two guitars, a bass, two keyboards and an accordion. And they are AMAZING. They've had to put up with the cast getting things wrong, repeating sections over and over until the vocals are nailed. They may well have thought naught of the cast at some points(!). But through perseverance the end is in sight.

By the way, did anyone notice the freight train in the tunnel coming towards us? Oh no - it's Opening Night.

Unlike the ECB we can make this work...

We had a first full dress rehearsal last Sunday...and boy, were we hot. Squaddies and Sarge in full combat gear, cleaners in full cleaning gear...and Glen in a surgical gown. And there will be a surprise for you all at some point ;-)

We sailed through the whole thing, and aced all the scenes...unlike the ECB and team down in Australia.

Roll on the next full dress, where it'll be full full dress.

Time to "go for hard burn"

Happy New Year to you all. 2013 was certainly an interesting year. Ad-LibMusical Theatre was instituted, starting with Little Shop of Horrors, then replacing that with Les Miserables before finally settling on Sunshine on Leith. Boy, was that a challenge - singing, acting and dancing. Some are good, but some are born with two left feet and a very short-term memory. However, encouragement of others does help those people and make them feel more confident.

However, it's now just over three weeks until opening night. That means not a lot of time to get things polished to a shine that gleams. So it's time for "hard burn" - those who are fans of the short-lived TV show Firefly will know what that means.

Full musical rehearsal tonight, followed by full dress on Sunday. It should be pointed out though that it's not the full dress rehearsal with sound and lights. 'Tis but a test, to paraphrase Monty Python.

See you all tonight.

We're well-known now...

It seems that word about our forthcoming performance of Sunshine on Leith gets around. Check out Amateur Stage Magazine - they've got us on their website at http://www.asmagazine.co.uk/magazine/page/3. You'll need to scroll down to see it.

We're rich(er)...

Y'know, putting on a show like Sunshine on Leith is not cheap. There's the licence, hire of the venue, costumes, lighting, sound, beer(!) and other assorted items. Some of that can be covered by ticket sales and sponsorship, but the rest of it has to come via fundraising.

To that end, towards the end of November Ad-Lib Theatre Arts ran held a pub quiz at the Abbotsford in Perth. There was singing, dancing, drinking and quizzing. There were prizes too:

First place prize was 4 tickets to Sunshine on Leith
Second place prize was 4 bottles of wine
Last place prize was 4 giant tubes of Smarties!

There was also a raffle.

As a result of all the activity on the night the amazing sum of £723 was raised. Wow!!

Of course, it wouldn't have worked without a lot of help. So thanks go to the following:

• Chic and the staff at The Abbotsford
• Scott Reeves, Kelly, Alice & Tom, Kyle, Rachel, Sharon and Gill for entertaining us with music and song (not forgetting Pat and her tambourine)
• Vicky Glennie for organising the event
• Gill, Alice, Sharon and Steven for helping out on the night

Finally a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated raffle prizes and who took part in the quiz. Everyone had a fantastic evening.