Membership

If you are interested in joining us, our Membership Secretary is Fran Butler. You can contact her in the following ways:

You can email her: enquiries@chandeliers.com

       or you can fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

If  would like to come and see a rehearsal to get a better feel for the group, we rehearse on a Monday and Thursday, at Madginford Hall, Egremont Road, Bearsted, ME15 8LH. Rehearsals start and 8pm and run through to 10pm.

Please let Emmaknow if you do intend to come and see a rehearsal as we will then make sure someone is there to greet you and make you welcome.

Amateur Dramatics is an amazing hobby to have. You will meet a great new bunch of  people, achieve things you didn’t imagine you could and get an incredible buzz. 

It is hard work. You need commitment and drive, vast amounts of patience and dedication, but the rewards are immense.

Below we have given details of ways that you might become involved in the group, although the best way to find out if our group will suit you is to come along to observe a rehearsal or better still, come to see one of our performances:

On stage

Acting

A lot of people would like to act but they are concerned about jumping in.You are very welcome whether you have experience of acting or not. If you haven't acted before it might seem very scary to take the first step, so it's probably best to come along to a rehearsal or a production to get an idea of how things work, and to decide whether we are the group for you. When you do take on a part, it's best to take a small part with just a few lines or a non-speaking part. Although we've seen people who have taken on a lead part for their first acting role and very successfully too, it's probably best not to run before you can walk.  It's best to take on a part that you are comfortable with doing and which you can fully commit to.

Singing, Dancing and Playing an instrument

We are mainly a drama group but there are still opportunities for singing and dancing. Out aim is to perform one production with music a year. They are hard work but great fun to do.

Backstage

 Prompting

The prompt is a very important member of the production team. Ideally the Prompt will attend most of the rehearsals so that they can get used to the script and the Actor's weak points and know when they might need to prompt. Essentially the Prompt needs to go through the script and be ready to prompt should an Actor forget their lines. It takes a lot of concentration and discretion. It is a job that is sometimes taken on by the Director.

 Director, Assistant Director and Producer

The Director is the one that facilitates and leads the Actors. It is hard work, it can be very frustrating and it should only be done by someone that is confident with what they are doing.

There isn't always an Assistant Director, but it is a good idea if there can be. They can give a different point of view and ideas. They can direct parts of the play separately and fill in if the Director cannot make a rehearsal. They are also very useful for collecting rehearsal fees and it is a good way of learning about Direction.

The Producer brings everything together. They book the venue and keep an eye on everything. They make sure that everything comes together for the performances. It is a job that is often taken on by the Director.

Behind the Scenes

 Writing

If you are a Writer, or interested in writing, getting involved in a group like ours is (in time) a great way to get your works on stage.

 Set construction and Design

Anyone who has an interest can do this. If you are handy with tools and can work in a safe way, or you are good with a paint brush, your help will be appreciated. We have a scenery workshop and clothes and props storage, which is called The Barn, and at the moment we are very keen to recruit new blood to help with the building of sets.

Costumes and Props

We need people to find or make props and costumes. This is a job that is often done by members of the group, but some props and costumes are very difficult to find and it really helps if someone is there to co-ordinate.

We also need someone that can organise and manage the props during a performance. Make sure that all the props are available, on stage at the right time and replaced on the props  table afterwards - you'd be amazed how often and how quickly they can go missing!

Hair and make-up

Make-up is rarely used but is sometimes needed.

Hair dressing can make a show spectacular, especially a period show. There is no real need to attend rehearsals although a little bit of preparation is helpful beforehand and they usually need to attend performances.

 Help at rehearsals, front of house and help at fundraising events

This is essentially making tea and coffee, helping to set up and clear away etc. selling raffle tickets, taking money etc. It makes life much easier if we have someone to help and it can be great fun too, a good way of getting to know people in the group and finding out if am dram is for you.

  Publicity

Publicity is so important because if people don't know about us and our productions, then they won't know that we want them to come. We have this website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We have a good online presence. We have a publicity committee and new members and their ideas are alsoways very welcome.   

If you are interested in helping to promote or advertise us, or want to advertise in our programmes - we want to hear from you.

This page is for upcoming audtions and members information - if you are interested in joining us, it gives you a good idea of what we get up to both on and off the stage

There is a monthly "Writers Group" for anyone interested in writing a play, with the possibility of seeing it performed live! A very rewarding experience. This is held via Zoom on the second Monday of each month, please contact Marie Quarman for details.

 Diary

Please put these dates in your diaries

2022

February

Saturday 26th - Performances of "Panto Between the Pyramids" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.

Sunday 27th - Performances of "Panto Between the Pyramids" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.

March

27th March - Performance of Murder Mystery "Sugar and Spice" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.

April

2nd April  - Performance of Murder Mystery "Sugar and Spice" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted."

May

21st May - Karaoke Evening

June

18th June Bearsted Fete

26th June - One Act Play Festival

October

22nd and 23rd October - Seasons Greetings 

We rely on good publicity. They say that the best publicity is word of mouth, therefore we are extremely grateful to any local businesses and organisations that can help us to publicise our events, either by promoting us to your members/employees/customers, or advertising us on your shop window, website or staff notice board.  In return we are only too happy to add your link on this page.

Several of us are associated with other amateur dramatic groups within the area. So, here are a few theatrical links

The following are amateur dramatic  Facebook groups,  mostly for South East England

Venues. Here is a list of venues in which we rehearse or  have recently performed in

Check out our links page to see who we support, and who supports us

(to see the links, click on the nearby image or highlighted text)