The Silent Appeal #2
Beth was chatting to Nicky-Rose over tea and approves of her ideas for costumes.
I’ve opened up a box office spreadsheet. You can tell Sarah-Jane I’ll send her a link to it this afternoon.
Celia and Joel Halliday OBE
Message exchange between Sarah-Jane and Kevin MacDonald on February 16, 2025:
6:33 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Didn’t set-building finish an hour ago?
6:34 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Still here. Pulling props cupboard apart in hunt for cigarette holder and hip flask. For the play, not personal use. Sammy settled?
6:35 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Tried everything to keep her awake. Now she’s snoring on the floor and I’m resigned to my sleepless fate tonight. Verdict on first set-building?
6:36 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Nicky-Rose stole the show.
6:36 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
That girl knows her stuff.
6:37 p.m. Kevin wrote:
She reminds me of you when we first met.
6:41 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
When she left, I didn’t miss her at all. Now I know her as an adult, I regret those lost years.
6:43 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Even the Hallidays are on board with her as AD.
6:43 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
That’s a relief.
6:44 p.m. Kevin wrote:
They can hardly contain their excitement at working with a professional. Not that you’d know it from Celia’s tone.
6:47 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
So long as they stay “on board” she can take any tone she wants. Like it or not, the Hallidays are invaluable to the group.
6:49 p.m. Kevin wrote:
She wants NR to help them stage Noises Off next.
6:49 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
NO! She is not doing Noises Off!
6:50 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
It’s OUR next play. Celia must’ve found out and wants my own sister’s professional expertise to stage the play I’ve wanted to do my whole life!
6:50 p.m. Kevin wrote:
How can she know that?
6:51 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
I mentioned it to Emma. Word travels.
6:52 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Breathe. Be mindful of this play first. Nicky-Rose is our secret weapon to win the NADAs.
Message exchange between Amelia and Lucas Stibson on February 16, 2025:
8:58 p.m. Amelia wrote:
Just what we need after a day set-building. Is everything ok?
9:42 p.m. Lucas wrote:
9:43 p.m. Amelia wrote:
Had anyone broken in?
10:46 p.m. Lucas wrote:
Probably after the booze but legged it when the alarm went off. Thank God for this system. Police ok for once. Have to wait for the guy to reset it though. Sorting a few things out while I’m here. Go to sleep.
10:47 p.m. Amelia wrote:
Night night
Message exchange between Lucas Stibson and Barry Walford on February 16, 2025:
11:04 p.m. Lucas wrote:
If you speak to Ams, Georgia, or Fran, drop a mention of the alarm going off at the club tonight. Cheers
11:07 p.m. Barry wrote:
Shit! Do you want me there, boss?
11:08 p.m. Lucas wrote:
No!
To: Isabel Beck
From: Nicky-Rose Dearing
Date: February 17, 2025
Subject: Re: Hello!
Hi Issy,
Went straight to bed when I got in. Didn’t read emails till this morning. Sure, we can meet for coffee sometime. I’ve got errands and appointments all week so no idea when. I’ll text you when a window comes up.
Cruise ships are floating worlds with everything—good and evil—that you find on land. Only on a cruise ship anything can happen and when it does, there’s nowhere to run. Catch up at rehearsal tonight. NR x
Undated page from a decorative journal belonging to Isabel Beck:
TODAY
What a start to the day! I woke up to an email from Nicky-Rose!
! Yaay! I can’t believe the person who was up there on the stage yesterday, the new assistant director who was telling Joel and Mark where to put the flats, is my new friend!
More than that, she emailed me at ten to five in the morning!
Surely that was her first email of the day!
Here are some bullet points about how this makes me feel:
Excited (she replied!)
Happy (she agreed to meet for coffee!)
Relieved (she takes me seriously as a new friend!)
Anxious (she might have mixed me up with someone else)
Worried (when we meet, I might wear something she doesn’t like)
Nervous (I might run out of things to say)
Sad (she’ll probably cancel)
Depressed (when she cancels, I’ll be disappointed)
Maybe bullet journals aren’t for me.
How funny Nicky-Rose went to bed as soon as she got in from set-building. I got home at 6:30 p.m. and that was after a forty-minute bus ride. If she went straight home (to Carol’s) she must’ve got there at quarter to six. No wonder she was up at 5 a.m.
Well, I’m leaving now for a day at work, then it’s rehearsal tonight! Yay!
Message exchange between Sarah-Jane MacDonald and Nicky-Rose Dearing on February 17, 2025:
10:54 a.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Kevin is thrilled.
10:55 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
A secure archive function is blocking retrievals. Need to disable it before the records can be restored.
10:56 a.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Yes, he’s thrilled about the accounts, but more so what you’ve done with the stage.
10:57 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
Need to see it lit up. Suspect some of those lights are so old they’re not even LED.
10:58 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
We can hire Fresnels and uplights, but I’d advise buying a couple of decent rig units.
11:02 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
Kevin said “simple and effective” and of course cost is a factor, but it’s meant to be midsummer. We need to see that stage with crystal clarity so the murder happens literally in the cold light of day.
11:05 a.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
I have the program layout open right now. Can I put your name down as assistant director?
11:07 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
Need to speak to your props people and treasurer. 1951 for this social class would look like 1900 in décor and fashion.
11:10 a.m. Nicky-Rose wrote:
Except Midge, who would dress in the latest styles. BTW can’t believe little Beth Halliday is so grown-up. Celia had just had her when I left.
11:12 a.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Assistant Director: Nicky-Rose Dearing. It’s official.
To: Kevin MacDonald
From: NADA Awards Panel
Date: February 17, 2025
Subject: Your entry
Dear Mr. MacDonald,
I am in receipt of the Fairway Players’ entry into the 2025 NADA Awards and can confirm the following:
Play: The Hollow by Agatha Christie.
Awards for consideration: best director, best play, best leading male actor, best leading female actor, best male actor in a supporting role, best female actor in a supporting role, best lighting, best set, best props, and best costumes.
Your judge will require a free front-row ticket on the Thursday night. They will not accept free refreshments, and request that interactions with group members are kept to a minimum, to protect everyone against accusations of flattery, blackmail, and bribery.
All you must do is make sure your Thursday night is the very best it can be. Last year the Questors swept the board with their inventive interpretation of “The Scottish Play”. Utterly mesmerizing and a tough act to follow.
Very best of luck,
Mandy Davidson, NADA Awards Committee Chair
Message exchange between Kevin and Sarah-Jane MacDonald on February 17, 2025:
1:03 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Bloody NADA are sending a judge on the Thursday!
1:04 p.m. Kevin wrote:
The first bloody night! Do they HAVE to? Couldn’t they have mercy on my nerves and come on the FRIDAY when, historically, we deliver our most confident, least complacent performance?
1:05 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
The play should be at its best EVERY night.
1:06 p.m. Kevin wrote:
It should be, but bloody Celia was right about casting so many new actors. I’ve packed the cast with unknown quantities. Even the bloody prompt has never prompted before! What was I thinking all those (six) weeks ago? Literally anything could happen.
1:08 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Apparently Macbeth on Mars was out of this world and stormed last year’s awards.
1:09 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Relax. Repeat: This is not my circus.
1:10 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Yep. Doesn’t work when it IS your bloody circus!
1:11 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
I am a ship in a bottle.
1:12 p.m. Kevin wrote:
A useless piece of clutter? If that’s a calming mantra then the AI app needs reprogramming.
1:14 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
A ship in a bottle is untouched by time, tide, and stormy weather. I find it rather effective.
1:15 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Nicky-Rose will make our play worthy of at least a couple of NADAs.
1:16 p.m. Kevin wrote:
Still, an email reminding everyone to learn their lines wouldn’t go amiss.
1:16 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:
Don’t nag the cast.
1:17 p.m. Kevin wrote:
I’ll make it sound like a cheerful update.
To: The Fairway Players mailing list
From: Kevin MacDonald
Date: February 17, 2025
Subject: Director’s Update
Dear Fairway Players,
Well, rehearsals for The Hollow are well underway and while the actors are diligently learning their lines, backstage crew are busy sourcing, building, decorating, and making lists.
As not everyone attends rehearsals every week, I am delighted to bring you a director’s update on developments this month.
Gerda
Georgia was unable to take up her part as Gerda, so an old Fairway Player, Isabel Beck, has agreed to take up the mantle of John Cristow’s long-suffering wife. I’m sure she’s busy getting those lines learned after missing a couple of early rehearsals. Thanks, Issy.
Assistant Director
The Fairway Players are thrilled to welcome Nicky-Rose Dearing as Assistant Director. Nicky-Rose is Sarah-Jane’s younger sister and brings with her a treasure trove of professional experience. She’s already transforming our set and will be working her magic at rehearsals too. Thanks, Nicky-Rose.
The Big Sleep Out
I’m delighted to see we’ve reached peak sign-up for the Big Sleep Out on April 26th (technically a sleep OVER at the church hall, but you know what I mean).
Thank you to all who registered and especially those who volunteered to help with activities and refreshments.
I’ll be holding line-learning workshops during the evening for any cast members who want an opportunity to brush up.
Books Down!