Today's wise words; 

Charlie Chaplin once lost a contest for a Charlie Chaplin  look-a-like competition.

Some times people just don't believe what's in front of them.

                                         ARMAGH THEATRE GROUP QUESTIONNAIRE 2020

NAME; Mary Lamb.

JOB. Secondary teacher of English.

HOW LONG ARE YOU A MEMBER.

I am a foundation member. When I went to a meeting in the City Hall the audience was divided by an aisle down the middle of the hall and by religion left and right. We formed a group that had no divisions and has worked through some divisive times. At festivals adjudicators often mentioned the exceptional standard of cooperation in our team. A proud tradition.

REASON FOR JOINING;

I always wanted to be an actor being fortunate enough to have had apart in “I Want to be an Actor” a radio programme run by Cicely Matthews from which I think Jimmy Ellis may have emerged to run Z Cars. In the sixties I was looking after 2 children and needed to do something .James encouraged me to investigate this new group. I had a really rich experience over the following 25 or so years, learning and making friends with other actors who are still friends..

We made our home in various pubs and moved like gipsies from camp to camp until we landed first in the Loft in Jenny’s Row and finally in Abbey Lane, our permanent home, loved by us and our audiences alike.

MY FIRST PLAY was:

“The Crucible” produced by Larry Ryan, then teaching at the Christian Brothers school. The process of production was a drama in itself, with a magnificent outcome. Mary Knipe cut Puritan collars as we stood in the wings and broken ankles were a publicity opportunity. Stanley, Seamus and Larry argued passionately.

FAVOURITE THEATRE;

Is of course Abbey Lane with its closeness to the audience, but The Grand Opera House in Belfast runs it a close second .We were able to experience its intimacy with Factory Girls.

PART MOST PROUD OF;

Was Theresa in “The Hostage”. Playing a young girl in middle age was not easy- And I was supposed to sing! Then there was the humiliation of being told not to sing. I learned a lot. That was one of several productions that had a political background, both in the writing and in the reality simmering around us. Tensions ran high and sometimes benefitted the performance.

GREATEST DISLIKE;

Is background music either unnecessary or played at a volume that obscures the words.

GREATEST LOVE; The family is my greatest love

Having grown up with rationing I have escaped a sweet tooth. What a benign diet Lord Wooten devised. We were really all in that together.

ENTERTAIN or be ENTERTAINED:

Entertain is best and if you can’t do it then to be entertained is next best.

WORST MOMENT ON STAGE;

Was in “The Actress and the Bishop” by Stuart Parker when Malachi’s line about putting on his cassock was marred by the fact that I as stage manager had forgotten to put it in position. Sorry again Malachi but your improvisation skills saved the day.

BOOK OF THE MOMENT;

As for the book on my kindle at the moment is “The Mirror and the Light”.

FAVOURITE ALBUM;

I think my favourite album might be a compilation of all the songs in the plays we have performed. Anyone take it on?

BEST HOLIDAY DESTINATION; . Italy is hard to beat, but Donegal comes close.

PARTY PIECE:  A poem of four lines.... or preferably three.

MANTRA FOR LIFE :  Hoping to find it!

MOST ENJOYABLE EXERCISE  : Yoga

FAVOURITE FOOD:  Good bread.

BEST BOOK :  Impossible but “Mothering Sunday” by Graham Swift is perfection.

HOPES FOR ATG by 2026.

Another influx of talented younger people to carry on the regenerative work of the current committee. Open mic (that spelling is my other hate)

Night has been so good for involving the wider community and has boosted numbers of people wanting to be part of our organisation. “ Our Town” so magnificently presented a couple of years ago was testimony of that.         All sorts of luxuries will be in place: a foyer ! Toilets backstage! Good disabled access and facilities! There’ll be no stopping us!

Shutdown will be past and we will be harnessing all sorts of technology in the cause of drama for all.

Best wishes, Mary.

(Top left, Mary and grandson Rory concentrate on rehearsals of 'Our Town' in St Catherines college 2016.)

Our friend, supporter and Open Mic contributor Joe McCool responds to a call for stories to entertain our vast web audience.

This is not for the easily offended or for those with an underlaying problem, or flatulence.

The  onus for any offence taken lies solely with the author.

Click on the link below.   Good Luck!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eQFMYjm3gu4FNPOgiSxgEb9ii1MRMz8m/view? 

Amature Dramatics can be hard work at times.

Stage construction on 'Gaslight' stalls as Malcolm, Hilary and Madeleine check their Lotto numbers.

Today's nugget;

Performances can be like crosswords. 

You seldom get all the words  exactly wright...rite...write...right IT'S RIGHT!

1 DOWN) Adam's ................

2 ACROSS) 3-2-SONS

3 ACROSS) The wind took it.

And today's nudge to wisdom ;

Straight cues are essential to both snooker players and actors for a good performance;

Today's nugget of wisdom.;

Just remember when you think all is lost, tomorrow remains.

Today's nugget of wisdom.     If pregnancy were a book, they would cut the last two chapters.

(There will be no accompanying image with this thought)

                                           *****

Yesterdays answer;  'Night boat to Tangier' by Kevin Barry

The first 3 lines from the page below are taken from what Irish writer's novel?

Hello everyone, hope you are all cocooned and keeping well.

As the Market Place Theatre has closed for the forseeable future and we were to commence rehearsals for our IMPACT play this week, circumstances has

meant postponing these performances.

We have been offered a new date, week of November 9th 2020 provisionally, and all ticket holders for the orginal dates will be informed by MPT.

Fingers crossed we all get through this summer fit and able to hit the stage with our customary vigor and passion at rehearsals in Sept.

More details nearer the time. Keep checking the website and send relevant  news/messages to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Best wishes to all.

Margery, Byddi,Tim and Malachi.