As producer a number of people have asked me the question of why our spring show was such a success.
I believe that one of the significant reasons for the club’s success comes down to a simple saying and collective value coming from improvisation theatre the “yes and….” spirit of being open to ideas offered to you, fully embracing their potential and running with them. I sincerely believe that this spirit and energy stemming from it drove the production success from the beginning to the end of the production cycle. We started with play selection from club members and well organised recruitment of a director and production team.
We were able to cast the show with diversely talented and experienced actors after receiving much support from our membership and the public who came out to audition. From there on it literally took a community or two to build this show; from holding regularly planned production discussions prioritising key tasks, timelines and forming sub teams, being generously lent a barn in St Lazare to construct our set and rehearse in (thanks Sabrina and Oisin), Our set being designed byexperienced club past president Lea Durocher with construction crew volunteers led by long time set builder Marc Roy.
Publicity and support being take care of by other volunteers who walkedthe streets of Hudson to put up posters and recruit advertisers. Our props team using their collective talents to create large amounts of fake “adult” videos and books, and many other aspects of the show being brought to life with club skills in sound, lights, ticket sales, newspaper articles…the list goes on and on.
We were also able to further develop our community ties with others and for the first time we were fortunate enough to be able to partner with the Vaudreuil Soulanges Palliative Care residence to share our success with a special fundraising show to befit families using this resource at an important time in their life.
The Town of Hudson provided us with rehearsal space and this year we received show sponsorship and box office support through the generous efforts of Nicky and Derek, owners of Clarence & Cripps,
Through the energy and dedication of a great cast, crew and fearless director, we also had a lot of fun along the way which energised the performances on stage and allowed the audience to experience a wonderfully polished quality show.
This was an extraordinary production journey together and we are proud that through our volunteering efforts we experienced the sum being in this case was greater than all the parts!
Diana Gausden
Producer
President, Hudson Players Club
