KDC Annual General Meeting 2014

Our AGM is the chance for you to find out our plans for the next year, see what state the bank account is in, and of course elect the new committee.  Plus this year we have a very exciting announcement to make about the future of KDC.

KDC relies on its members to keep it running so if you fancy being on the committee we’d love to hear from you. The following positions are currently vacant so send chair@kdctheatre.com an e-mail if you’d like to find out more about what they entail:

Secretary
Publicity Officer
Co-Tech Director
Lock Up Co-Ordinator

Of course it wouldn’t be an AGM without a few drinks and an excuse for another social. So if you missed the picnic, catch up with old friends and new.

KDC Summer Season Picnic

When? Sunday 6 July from 1pm
Where? Hampstead Heath, near Parliament Hill Cafe. Click for map.
Where to meet? We will be in Costa Coffee in Kentish Town from 1pm – 1.45pm and then will walk up together – if you arrive after that head to Parliament Hill cafe (see above) and call us on 07547 018 325 – we’ll find you!
What to bring? Bring whatever you want – Booze, juice, food, picnic blankets and games of a summer variety would all be welcome.
What will happen? Games galore (not compulsory), chat and hopefully epic sunshine and good times.
What if it rains? If it is raining or we have poor weather, we will relocate to a Kentish town pub and a ridiculous sitting down game will be provided.

Social tonight – Winter season sneak preview

As if the appeal of our social secretaries duetting tonight isn’t enough, we will giving a sneak preview of the Winter shows. Come along to The Birdcage Bethnal Green, 80 Columbia Road,Bethnal Green,E2 7QB from 7.30 tonight.

Audition notices will go out in the Monday showdown, BUT we will be announcing tonight, the shows and directors of Halloween AND our Revolution weeks! See you there.

Summer Season Opening Party – 12 June

If music be the food of love… Karaoke on

When: Thursday 12th June at 8pm
Where: The Birdcage Bethnal Green, 80 Columbia Road,Bethnal Green,E2 7QB
Contact: If you have any questions email Kim and Trina social@kdctheatre.com
The Plan: Trina and Kim will be at the Birdcage from 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome for singing or just socialising. We will make a KDC sign for the table so if you don’t know who we are you can find us easily. If you get lost you can call 07547 018 325.

If you love the beauty and class of an evening lost in the melodic tones of Shakespearean text, chances are you will simply adore an evening listening to the excitable screeching of KDC members who have been given exclusive access to a microphone, backing track and a well stocked bar. However you like to get your kicks, we are sure you’ll find your thing.

We would like to invite you to celebrate the start of the KDC summer season, with a Twelfth Night-themed shindig. There will be Karaoke for the brave (NOT compulsory), food and booze for the observers and much love for everyone.

Everyone can attend so we look forward to seeing you there!

Twelfth Night Cast Biographies

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Greg RobinsGreg Robins – Orsino
Greg is new to Shakespeare and KDC, having arrived from the land of Lord of the Rings, Flight of the Conchords and jandals (flip flops) in 2012.  He acted in an amateur production of Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language in 2013 and acted in, wrote for and directed the Wellington Law Revue in 2008-2010.  He is an Associate of the New Zealand Speech Board which, regrettably, has embedded his incomprehensible vowels deep into his psyche.  Off stage, Greg is a public and human rights lawyer, aspiring globetrotter and banana-cake-maker extraordinaire.

Hassan GoviaHassan Govia – Antonio
Although this is Hassan’s first production with KDC, he has been acting for quite some time, having performed with the National Youth Theatre and the University of Nottingham’s New Theatre Society, to name but a few experiences.  He is currently training at Questors Theatre and if any of them will have him, he would like to go to drama school at some point in the near future (*coughs* next year)…

Cindy MaCindy Ma – Festa
Cindy is a student at the LSE, completing her Masters in Media and Communications. She began acting in the 6th grade, debuting as “a clown” in the widely-acclaimed musical Clowns. Since then she has gone on to participate in shows such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Spring Awakening, and Cabaret with her university theatre company. Twelfth Night is her first play since moving to London from Canada, and she is excited to be back in the theatre with such a great cast. The role of Festa will bring her full circle–back to being a clown. In her spare time, Cindy can be found perusing Food Gawker, procrastinating from writing papers, and anxiously trying to find a job so she doesn’t get deported upon graduation.

Jasmin HindsJasmin Hinds – Olivia
Jasmin graduated from the Acting and Performance foundation course at The Questors Theatre in July 2013. Her first involvement with KDC Theatre was in March 2014, in the rehearsed reading of Wellington by Cat O’Shea. Other recent roles include Helen of Troy in Trojan Barbie by Christine Evans, Miss Blumenblatt in On The Razzle by Tom Stoppard, Jenna in Sheltered by Greg A. Smith, and Queenie in Be My Baby by Amanda Whittington. This production of Twelfth Night is the first full-blown Shakespeare production Jasmin has been involved in.

Ayryn JonesAyryn Jones – Maria
Twelfth Night marks Ayryn’s first production with KDC, and in fact her first performance on a public stage. Ayryn’s passion for acting and performance started at a young age, leading to a heavy involvement in all sides of theatre in high school, and working in Children’s Theatre back home in Australia. Since moving to London a year ago, the lure of the rich theatrical culture here has proved a great motivator to rekindle that passion! She is incredibly excited to hit the stage with such a fun and talented group of people.

Bernard OSullivanBernard O’Sullivan – Sir Toby Belch
Bernard was educated at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and the Open University. He was called to the Bar in 1971 and has been in private practice since then. He took a year out to train as an actor with the Actors Company in 2005-2006. Since then he has appeared in a number of short films and in plays, most recently in March this year at the Tabard Theatre as the Gaoler in Heresy by Tilo Ulbricht.

Amy WackettAmy Wackett – Viola
Whilst slightly disappointed to discover that she had not been cast as Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love 2, Amy has thoroughly enjoyed playing Viola in this production. She last appeared in KDC’s Halloween special, What the Dickens?, last year and has previously had roles in numerous shows with Studio Theatre Club in Oxford and Lancaster University Theatre Group. Highlights include: Agatha Christie’s The Hollow (Henrietta), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), Much Ado About Nothing (Margaret), The Importance of Being Earnest (Gwendolen), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Emilie) and My Fair Lady (Mrs Higgins).

James SaundersJames Saunders – Sebastian
Born and bread on a derelict milk float in Liverpool, James’ acting career started at an early age when he was cast as the kid in the ‘Accrington Stanley – who are they?’ milk ad. This is James’ first performance for KDC. Most recently he’s performed in Chekhov’s Three Sisters and Sink the Belgrano for Sedos.

Doug BakerDoug Baker – Malvolio
Douglas’ theatrics began in utero where he performed off broadway sketches to the organs. Unfortunately his material was often divisive and his one man show closed after only 9 months. He trusts you will receive his performance in Twelfth Night with greater appreciation.

Casual Encounters Cast Biographies

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Terry-sq

Terry Scotchmer – James
Terry started acting two years ago and in May of this year finished a 1 year acting programme at The Brian Timoney Actors Studio. Previous stage work includes John from After Miss Julie, Lyle Britton from A Blues For Mister Charlie and Brick Pollitt from Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. At the Transcend Festival in St Giles this summer he played Half Hanged Smith in a play called A Kind Bowl. Terry is a lazy actor and couldn’t be bothered to write a fresh bio. He’s super excited about doing his Method research into swinging, and already has several profiles up in the dodgier corners of the internet. Nudge nudge wink wink ladies. Or gentlemen. Whatever.

Kat-sqKat Wootton – Jennifer
Kat Wootton, most recently a director with KDC (Hamlet, Stag Nation, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You), is returning to her acting roots in Casual Encounters. She works in television production, writes and directs films, occasionally writes freelance, and practices Hapkido. And no, she has never read or answered a ‘casual encounters’ ad.
Not deliberately, anyway.

Kim-sqKim Morrison – Annette
After a few years hanging around the dark edges of KDC, persuading innocent people to drink, attend social gatherings with puns in the title and take part in devised theatre, Kim thought it was high time she actually auditioned for a KDC show. Much to her delight she found the process simply thrilling and now understands why everybody does it.
Kim really likes the theatre, she has been in quite a few plays and has directed some too. She has even managed the stage and on occasion switched lights on and off.
By day she is a desk monkey and project manager for an education charity, she would love to pursue her dreams but she isn’t too sure what they are just yet, she will happily accept your suggestions on the back of a postcard.

Graeme-sqGraeme Thompson – Peter
Graeme first found theatre whilst a juvenile, as a means of channeling latent aggression. Upon release from borstal, it has continued to prove a useful tool to maintain the straight and narrow. Taking on the role of Peter in Casual Encounters therefore has added significance for Graeme and his preference for the method school of acting. He us now wanted in three counties, and if seen, should be considered dangerous and not approached.

Nick-sqNick Edwards – DC Cook
This is Nick’s 13th play in the last 6 years, with favourite roles including Mickey in Blood Brothers, Benjamin in The Graduate, Ruben in Bones and Tristram in Taking Steps. By day he is a maths teacher and tries to inject as much of his acting life into his lessons as possible every day! Nick couldn’t resist the opportunity to get involved with a play of such… ahem… interesting subject matter and is looking forward to getting back on stage following trying his hand at assistant directing, at KDC’s sell-out run of Blood Wedding this spring.

Manger A Trois Cast Biographies

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Cameron K McEwan Cameron K McEwan
Cameron was fortunate to be part of a rehearsed reading performance of this play back in April and is delighted to be back in the same role for KDC. He started acting last year with his debut taking place at the RSC Dell in Stratford-upon-Avon as Feste in Twelfth Night and then going on to perform in a two-hander, Who Are You Supposed To Be?, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (which then transferred to London later in 2013).

Gemma-May BowlesGemma-May Bowles
This is Gemma’s first production with KDC theatre.  She trained at the Bridge Theatre Training Company and has professional experience in screen acting, voiceover, corporate role play and TIE.  Her previous theatre credits include: Maggie Hobson Hobson’s Choice, Claire Zachanassian The Visit, Helena A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucy (and other comedy roles) Dracula – Fangs of Destiny and Oliver Simply Dickens.

William Baltyn

William Baltyn
William is a regular KDC actor, having most recently appeared in What the Dickens? for Halloween. Prior to this, he played Prince Charles in The War of the Waleses in London , Stratford and at the Edinburgh Fringe.  Other roles have included Konstantin Levin in Anna Karenina and a surprising number of nameless parts such as Father, Interviewer, Priest, Narrator and Zookeeper.  He is relieved to be doing so again.

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)

Halloween and Winter Season Pitches 2014

When: Pitches need to be received by 26th May
Contact: If have any questions please get in touch with our Artistic Director

The seeds of summer are now planted after a fantastic week of auditions, and as these shows now bloom, we find ourselves looking to see what winter holds for all of us at KDC… and what a send off for 2014 we have!

There are FOUR slots open to close the year with, and two fantastic venues at our disposal.

HALLOWEEN 2014
Lion and Unicorn Theatre w/c 27 October

Following the success of “Dracula”, and last year’s mega event “What The Dickens?”, we are looking to continue our tradition of Ghost stories to be played out in the week of Halloween. If you have a play to pitch that might be a fantastically twisted tale of horror, or an unnerving voyage into the supernatural, then by all means get in touch.

REVOLUTIONARY WEEK
Lion and Unicorn Theatre w/c 3 November

Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot! Our second week in the Lion and Unicorn gives us the opportunity to put on a play about rebellion, revolt, or upsetting the status quo in whatever way. This doesn’t have to be political. It doesn’t have to be bloody. It just has to be rebellious and defiant!

WINTER SEASON 2014
Barons Court w/c 17 and 24 November

We return to an old favourite, the Barons Court, for our last two weeks of the year. There are no specific criteria for these shows outside of those that are detailed below. Just come to us with some brilliant pitches that we can end the year on

What we need from YOU:

You may just want to pitch one show… that is fair enough, if there is only one that you want to focus on, HOWEVER, we are willing to hear as many as three pitches per potential director, so if you have a few ideas you want to float with us, please do. There are some things we ask you to consider though:

1)      How do you imagine your show looking? Think about the size of a stage in comparison to what you have in mind?

2)      Cast size – We like to make sure we give our members as many opportunities to perform as possible. Ideally plays with 8-14 roles are good – 7 is an absolute minimum unfortunately – anything north of 15 might be hard to fit backstage

3)      Cast ratio – We like to present as many roles for male and female actors equally as much as possible, and to that end, we try to find a balance in the roles. If the play has 9 men and 1 woman, it wouldn’t be something we could consider… If some of those male roles are not gender specific, it might be.

Pitches need to be in by Monday 26th May and the Artistic Director and Chair will hear them in the last week in May.

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!