The Malvern Theatre Players

History of the Society

Company Profile

The Malvern Theatre Players were formed in 1977 as a result of the amalgamation of two local theatrical societies and with the active encouragement of the Festival Theatre Management. Although closely allied to the Festival Theatre, the Players are a properly constituted, autonomous Society wholly dedicated by constitution to the promotion of the dramatic arts in the Malvern area.

Whilst the bulk of the Players productions take place in the Malvern Festival Theatre, the Company is based around three locations

• The Theatre House workshop and offices (address below). On this site we have our main workshops for the construction of scenery and properties, storage for furniture and smaller items and the Company offices.

• The Wardrobe Department, in the CAB building, at the bottom of the Grange Rd car park, Malvern. The bulk of our costumes are kept at this location, which is open weekly for public hire (Saturday mornings).

• The scenery store, Victoria Rd. Bulky items: flats, revolves, columns etc are kept at this location.

Relationship between the Malvern Theatre Players and the Malvern Theatres

An unusual feature of the way in which the Players operate is the close relationship between the Company and the Theatre. In return for being recognised as the resident company with free access to the Theatre and its facilities, the Company produces a repertoire of drama productions exclusively for the Theatre. Profit from these productions goes directly to the Theatre and the company has no influence upon the way in which the money is used.

Our basic agreement with the Theatre is that the company should not make a loss over a period of a year. In fact, since the commencement of the agreement, profits of many tens of thousands of pounds have been made and in this way the Players have made a substantial contribution towards keeping the Theatre solvent during difficult financial times.

Administration of the agreement between the Theatre and the Company and all production management is conducted by the Theatre's chief executive (who reports to the Board of the Theatre Trust) and the Player's Company Manager who is instructed by our Executive Committee.

Productions

The Production year starts in September and ends in August, during which time we generally present three productions of five performances each, and a pantomime or Christmas show which runs for between two and three weeks and involves about eighteen performances. Most seasons have included a comedy or thriller, a more serious play, the pantomime and a project of a more experimental nature.

The Company makes all their own scenery, costumes and properties to the highest standards. In fact, the quality of making is good enough to attract orders from some professional companies for whom we have made sets, properties, and special effects. Members with skills in carpentry, textiles, plastics and electronics are particularly useful in this respect. Some Company members are professionally trained in design and we have access to professional musicians and a choreographer, all of whom give their services free in support of the ideal of maintaining a working theatre in Malvern.

The company has developed a close relationship with the Malvern Hills Opera. In the past years we have collaborated on 'Carmen' (direction, set design and construction), 'Norma' (set construction), 'The Marriage of Figaro' (direction, set design and construction) and most recently 'The Tales of Hoffmann' (set construction).

Company Finance and Membership

Due to the fact that all our production expenses are reimbursed by the Theatre, we only charge a nominal membership fee. No charge is made to members for any production related expenses, so the only other charges are for optional social events. Non-active membership is discouraged, so the total membership is small (currently around 70). If necessary, directors recruit from outside the Company to fill a particular part, or for example if a chorus of children is required. All auditions are advertised in the local press and are open to all comers.

The main source of company income is from the hiring of costumes, scenery and equipment and this enables us to maintain our independence. These funds are used to support activities not directly connected with our Theatre productions, such as visits of the Theatre du NombreD'or, and our own tour of 'Androclesand the Lion' to France.

Some income is also used to purchase equipment for use in productions. Except for very special items, such as he flying equipment for use in 'Peter Pan', the policy is always to buy rather than hire, thus adding to our own hiring stock.

The Company Logo

The Company logo was designed in 1934 by Paul Shelving (1888 - 1968) for the Malvern Festival Company and has been used continuously on posters, programmes and commemorative china etc until the mid-1970's. It was subsequently adopted by the Theatre Players and the Theatre Association and, recently it has been used as the Theatre Trust's letter head.

The design, known affectionately as the 'painted' or 'crinolined' lady, shows an actress in eighteenth century costume, carrying the masks of comedy and tragedy and accompanied by a page. The design is mounted on a base of arabesque patterning. The original painting is held in the Malvern Public Library.

Paul Shelving was the resident designer at Sir Barry Jackson's Birmingham Repertory Theatre and was responsible for the set and costume designs for all the Malvern Festival Productions from 1927 to 1939, including many plays by Bernard Shaw. He also designed for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon and for many of the London theatres. In a long career, he designed, painted and costumed more than 300 major productions. The last production design by Paul Shelving to be seen in Malvern was 'Caesar and Cleopatra' which transferred from :City>:place>Paris:place>:City> in 1956 and subsequently played the Old Vic Theatre in London.

Improvements to the Workshop

To coincide with the recent closure of the Theatre for renovation, the Company took the opportunity to improve its facilities at the Theatre House workshops. The major improvements are:-

• Converting one of the workshops to a rehearsal hall or small performance space, complete with toilet and catering facilities.

• Doubling the size of the main workshop.

• Adding additional office, electrical workshop and storage rooms.

• Creating a 'historic room' to house the company archives and a small collection of memorabilia relating to the Festival Theatre.

The Malvern Theatre Players are pleased to acknowledge the financial assistance they received from the Malvern Hills District Council, the Malvern Theatre Association Club and private donations for the completion of these improvements.