News Archives – Page 17 of 24 – KDC Theatre - Central London based amateur theatre group

New Writing Spring 2015

This season KDC will be running four roundtable readings at the Hoop and Grapes (80 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4BL, 3 mins from Blackfriars), where we’ll read out plays over a pint of beer (or glass of wine) and then discuss them. They are completely free and everyone is welcome to attend.

Thursday 29 January 7pm

MISTAKEN by Nick Mouton
Petty criminals Terry and Barry have decided to take their careers a step further and get involved in a kidnapping plot. However, things quickly spiral out of control.

TOLL HOUSE by Justin Hopper
Going ‘glamping’ with the obnoxious brother of his girlfriend was Jake’s first mistake. His second was deciding to investigate the haunted Toll House.

Thursday 5 February 7pm

TIED TO THE VICARAGE by Bob Eckhard
Vicar-and-wife team James and Karen are moving back to the Vicarage to hide the fact that they’ve been illicitly sub-letting it to their sister-in-law Julia. Sadly, Julia wasn’t quite honest about the type of business she’s been running.

THE TIME TRAVELLER’S MOTHER by Eddie Coleman
How would you feel if your daughter, who disappeared when she was thirteen, suddenly reappeared? And what if she told you that she had been travelling in time?

Thursday 12 February 7pm

AFTER THE BALL by Ian Grant
A play looking at how WWI affected one family over a 65 year period.

ROYAL PEAS by Matthew Partridge
Its 2035 and King George VIII is about to marry his fiancé. However, the law requires that all royal brides need to pass one little test.

Thursday 19 February 7pm

A GAME OF LOVE AND CHANCE by Matthew Partridge (after Marivaux)
Matchmaker Georgia thinks that she’s finally found a potential husband for spolit heiress Sylvia. However, Sylvia insists on swapping places with her maid Lisa in order to find out what he’s really like.

FOXGLOVES by Jonathan Whiteside
Nance and Serge are clearing out her late father’s farm in preparation for it being sold. Will an ugly family tradition thwart their plans?

Winter Season Auditions

We are proud to announce the remain shows in our Autumn/Winter Season shows. Auditions as follows:

When: 15, 16 and 17 September from 6.30pm
Where: Clean Break Studios, 2 Patshull Road, Kentish Town NW5 2LB. Nearest tube is Kentish Town

As ever, the auditions are free to attend. You can audition for both shows on the same night though you can only be cast in one. Please come along as early in the week as possible; the Wednesday always gets very busy.

The shows (for more details, please follow the audition notice link):

18 – 22 November
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis | audition notice
directed by Duncan Moore

25-29 November
Well Dressed inspired by ‘Tailleur Pour Dames’ by Georges Feydeau | audition notice
directed by Emma Knott & Dan West

Committee 2014-2015

Thank you to all those who attended the 2014 Annual General Meeting.

Welcome to the new committee for 2014-2015:

Chair – Emma Knott
Artistic Director – Andy Marchant
Treasurer – Caitlin Homes
Secretary – Charlotte Vassell
Technical Director – David Balfour
New Writing Co-Ordinator – Matthew Partridge
Social Secretaries – Kim Morrison and Trina Hasthorpe
Publicity Officers – Katy Treble and Mauro Galluzzo with help from Vicky Durham
Executive Officers – Steph Urquhart and Peter Cabrera with help from Valerie Antwi
Webmaster – William Baltyn
Deputy Chair – Steph Urquhart

Contact them on our About Us page.

Tech & Backstage Opportunities

We are looking for some enthusiastic and reliable people to join the crews of our summer season shows as listed below. Please contact Fiona or Dave at tech@kdctheatre.com if you are interested in any of the roles or for more details about any of the roles. Although it is preferable if you have some experience, if you don’t please do still contact us as we do offer some mentoring so you can learn on the job.

New Writing Double Bill – 17-21 June
Casual Encounters & Manger A Trois (The Dinner Party)

Stage Manager
Lighting Designer
Lighting & Sound Operator

Twelfth Night – 24-28 June

Set designer (we won’t be having anything particularly elaborate in terms of set, but anyone for an eye with this sort of thing would be very welcome!)
Composer (we would like to put some of the songs to 50s tunes)
Sound Designer/Operator (we are looking to have lots of background sound e.g. the sea, as well as 50s songs)
Lighting Designer
Lighting Operator
Costume Manager
Props Manager (would include helping to get hold of props)

KDC Committee Meeting – 15 May 2014

Where: The Hoop and Grapes, 80 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4BL (2 minutes from Blackfriars tube)
Time: 7pm

Contact: If you’d like to come along or have any questions please get in touch with chair@kdctheatre.com

We rely on our members to keep KDC running and in particular, the very lovely committee. If you think you might like to join our merry gang then come along to the next committee meeting to find out more about how we work. Open to all and we’re always receptive to good ideas!

Round Table Readings – 6 May 2014

Our next Round Table Reading is again at the Hoop and Grapes, Farringdon.

This week we have three plays to read, details below. It’s free to attend and you can read, listen and give feedback about the plays.

THE CLUB
By MATTHEW PARTRIDGE

Tabloid columnist Alex is at war with the modern world. However, he’s in love with shallow TV presenter Celia, while’s she’s pursued by other men. A confrontation with one of them, the failed actor Grant Hughes, causes events to spiral out of control.

WHAT’s YOUR POINT GRANDAD?
by EDDIE COLEMAN

Talking with his grandson, Jim has a flashback to a time in the past when he made a life changing decision.

FISH BOWL
by SUSAN GRAY

A couple have been selected to by a corporation to bring up a child in dystopian world. But when they start to ask questions, things start to go wrong.

Halloween Writing Project 2014

KDC are gearing up to follow the success of our What the Dickens new writing project from 2012 with a NEW challenge in 2014. For this year’s Halloween season, our new writing challenge is to take a comfortably familiar bedtime story, and turn it into more of a modern, slightly grim, slight gritty campfire horror urban legend. Instead of getting lost in the wood, little girls in hoods get lost on the tube. Instead of abandoned cottages in the forest, there is the only flat in the creepy estate with a light on. “Once upon a time, far far away” becomes “Tonight, just round the corner from you, on that street you don’t risk walking down too late”.

So far, we’ve authors working away on Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. But we want more!

It won’t cost anything to submit. You don’t need to have written loads of plays before. If you want some help along the way, we can provide that. In 2013, the Dickens plays got the chance to be performed as our Halloween show. Who knows, this time next year, it might be this! And YOU have the chance to be a part of that.

How it works

1) If you’re interested contact our new writing co-ordinator, Matthew, or our Artistic Director, Andy.

2) When you contact us, you can either suggest a story you’d like to play with, or if you are open, we will give you one to play with!

3) Scripts don’t have to be long at all. We would like each one to be around the 10 – 15 minute mark. 20 minutes is ok. 25 is pushing it. 30 is the maximum really (but if you’re taking more than 30 minutes to retell Snow White, you probably have too many songs or animals doing the washing up as it is

So get in touch, and let’s huff and puff and blow this Halloween away!

Summer Season 2014 Newcomers

Date: Wednesday 9th April
Time: Join us from 7pm for a drink. The meeting will start at 7.30pm
Venue: The White Swan, 20 Farringdon Street, EC4A 4AB. The nearest tube is Blackfriars

Each season we hold a Newcomers Meeting where the directors will tell you more about their plays and the audition process. It’s a great way to find out more about the season and of course you can quiz the directors and committee too.

Summer Season Shows

Next season we’re at The Rosemary Branch Theatre in Shoreditch from 17th to 28th June with a New Writing Double Bill and a Shakespearean classic with a twist. Click on the play title to read the audition notices.

17 – 21 June 2014

New Writing Double Bill
Casual Encounters by Andy Moseley – directed by Carl Fletcher
Manger A Trois (The Dinner Party) by Doc Watson – directed by Caitlin Homes

24 – 28 June 2014
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare – directed by Alex Hedges

Director Pitches – Summer 2014

Closing date: 23rd February 2014

Attention! Attention! This is your Artistic Director speaking (typing)

In Summer 2014 we’ll be performing at the Rosemary Branch in Islington from 17-28 June. We intend to embrace the season with some sunshine and light-heartedness, by giving some new writing the opportunity to get staged, AS WELL as a slot in which we would like to revisit a classic.

For our new writing week, our New Writing Coordinator, Matthew Partridge has been taking care of all our inbound scripts in our new writing bank. The plays come from friends and members of KDC Theatre. They have been read at our Round Table Readings (such as the ones we will have this season), and this slot gives directors the opportunity to get these new scripts on their feet, potentially even working with the writers. The New Writing arm of KDC Theatre is something that has been up and running for close to 10 years now, and is something that we really love to put our support behind.

A synopsis of the plays will be available on request to anyone interested in learning more, and following that, we will be able to email you any scripts you have an interest in.

For our second week, we would like to put on a classic. Something over 100 years old. Something familiar that you as a director, and KDC Theatre as a company, can put your own personal stamp on. In the past year alone, we have had a female Hamlet and Richard III, an all female production of Electra, and relocated a Wilde play to contemporary Russia. We would love to hear your pitches for the classic plays that you love, as well as what you want to do with them (whether it’s something very different or a classic interpretation).

Don’t feel that you have to stop at Shakespeare, Wilde or the Greeks through! There are so many more writers to choose from. Just remember that we are aiming to keep our season light-hearted! (Titus Andronicus will have to wait for another day)

If you would like to pitch, or write to us to tell us you have an intention to pitch, please email me at artistic@kdctheatre.com

Our pitching process will close on 23 February 2014, so please contact us by, or before, that date.