Today's nugget of wisdom April 27th 2020

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Created: 27 April 2020

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.

Mary Lamb replies to ATG Questionnaire 2020

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Created: 24 April 2020

                                         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.)

Today's wisdom nugget Mon 20th April2020

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Created: 20 April 2020

Amature Dramatics can be hard work at times.

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

Joe McCool shares a blog from darkest Tullysaran.

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Created: 19 April 2020

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? 

Sunday's nugget of wisdom April 20th 2020

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Created: 19 April 2020

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.

Today's nugget of wisdom Fri17th April 2020

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Created: 17 April 2020

And today's nudge to wisdom ;

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

ATG Questionnaire Bridie Heaney starts the ball rolling

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Created: 15 April 2020

This is the first of a series of reflections from the members of ATG. An insight into those who have made the Group an enduring and endearing  part of Armagh society for more than 50 years.

Armagh Theatre Group Feature Questionnaire 

 Bridie in a scene from 'OUR TOWN' in the grip of her 'Husband' Peter Kelly with  Monique Rennie hoovering!

NAME AND OCCUPATION?

Bride Heaney, Primary School Teacher, 9-11 Year olds.

MEMBER OF ATG FOR HOW LONG?

I joined Armagh Theatre Group quite soon after I was married in 1988 and I stress there was no correlation there. My husband, Colin, worked with someone who knew Margery Quinn and I went along to a meeting in the Charlemont Hotel; that was it, I was in.
WHY DID YOU JOIN?
I had always enjoyed Speech/Drama from when I was a child. My speech teacher, Mrs Molly Mc Nally, Portadown, gave me a real love of the spoken word and I had been involved in school plays over the years so I wanted to continue that.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PRODUCTION?
Honestly, I don’t recall the name of the play but it was a Victorian melodrama; I played the part of a servant girl, I carried a tray and I had two short lines to deliver I believe. I do remember a more established actor in it who would get ready to go on stage by sticking his chewing gum on the wooden steps backstage and pick the gum back up again when he’d finished…gross!!
YOUR FIRST DIRECTOR?
Again, I don’t remember clearly so obviously they didn’t make a great impression….let me think…oh it has to be Malachi Kelly then.
YOUR FAVOURITE THEATRE TO PERFORM IN?
Well, even though I’ve been lucky to have acted in quite a variety of theatres like The Marketplace, The Craic, The Lyric etc…my favourite theatre will always be our own Abbey Lane Theatre in Armagh where you can hear and feel the audience breathe, almost touching the front row, the best audiences ever. Mind you, can’t wait for the promised extension which promises a WC for the actors backstage.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE PLAY AND PART?
No no I refuse to choose! I’ve been so lucky to have played a variety of parts from funny to tragic and everything in between, don’t make me choose! I don’t care if it sounds corny but, when I’ve played a part, I always feel like I’ve met someone new and got to know them well, so I’ve loved every one of my characters…HOWEVER, anyone who knows me will not be surprised to hear that I especially enjoy a character with a tragic story to tell (tears are a must) so Blanche Du Bois from ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ directed by Margaret Marjoram, was a pleasure. She is only topped by Mai from ‘Our Lady of Sligo’, directed by our own Kevin Mc Eneaney – thanks Kevin! Mind you, I wasn’t thanking him for the six monologues I had to learn at the time!
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING STAGE MOMENT?
Mmmm that’s a difficult one, so many to choose from…like during ‘Our Town’ brilliantly directed by Margery Quinn, when I’m onstage miming my heart out at cooking the dinner and my stage husband doesn’t turn up for what seemed like ten minutes! Oh yes, all I can hear in the wings is, “Where the ….is Peter???”. Now he did turn up as cool as you like and by that stage I had cooked enough to feed the village, brilliant!
Also, once during ATG’s famous Pantomime years, I played Jack of Beanstalk fame and had to take a scroll from the panto horse’s neck to read out a message. When I unrolled the scroll I was faced with a horse’s head on a swimsuit model’s body (minus the swimsuit) and the front and back of the horse was giggling like mad! Thanks lads!! Luckily I’d learned my lines.
YOUR FAVOURITE PLAYWRIGHT/AUTHOR?
I like a lot of writers but my top two are Thomas Hardy and Sebastian Barry, sooo descriptive, delicious to read. As far as poetry goes, I love Instagram’s mysterious poet ‘Atticus’, definitely worth checking out. Also, any poet who has the courage to perform their own work at our monthly Open Mic nights in Abbey Lane – not to be missed!
BEST BEDSIDE READ?
No matter what novel or script I might be reading, I’ll have ‘The Power of Now’ By Ekhart Tolle handy; always worth a glance to remind you to live in the moment as much as possible.
The album you’ll never grow tired of?
I’m making my own albums now from Spotify, usually a mix of Motown/ disco/ funk…my favourite album forever is ‘Aisling 2’.
WHAT'S YOUR PARTY PIECE?
I do NOT have a party piece! I wish I did but I content myself with singing along, especially to ATG’s unofficial theme song ‘Amore’.
FAVOURITE FORM OF EXERCISE?
I enjoy yoga and dancing. I love to walk, on the roads or in the mountains and even sometimes run during my walk. But the best walk always ends up in a café or restaurant with my nearest and dearest tribe, nothing beats that.
THE MANTRA YOU LIVE BY?
Two come to mind-
1. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
2. Don’t be sad that it’s over, just be glad that it happened.
Oh there is a number three of course-
3. LEARN YOUR LINES!

Today's nudge to wisdom; April 13th 2020

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Created: 13 April 2020

Today's nugget of Wisdom;

'An actor is never to tired to tell you how hard they have 'worked'.

Unrelated to today's nugget....this scene is from a performance in Abbey Lane. Can you name it or the Barristers?

Good! Friday again.

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Created: 10 April 2020

Today's nugget of wisdom.;

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

Today's Knugget of Widsom. April 7th 2020

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Created: 07 April 2020

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