Its Braap was interested to discover more about the world of amateur dramatics, having reviewed C.O.D.A’s performance of ‘Fame the Musical,’ last November and we would like to thank Vicky Watkins for this most enlightening interview.
Vicky has been with CODA for many years and enjoyed appearing with the company in a whole host of productions, learning the trade of singing and dancing as she went along. In the past Vicky has directed plays and ‘Fame’ was her first experience of directing a musical. Vicky loved every minute of it and described her work with C.O.D.A. 'akin to having a second job that was so exhausting yet so rewarding.’
Would you like to tell us a little about the background of C.O.D.A?
Yes, it started just after the war, in fact it’s coming up to its 50th Anniversary this year. In those days they used to do Operetta’s and Gilbert & Sullivan, so it would be an Operetta in the spring and G&S in the autumn. It was just starting to come out of that cycle when I joined back in the late 70’s as they were just starting to produce more full-blown musicals. C.O.D.A has gone from strength to strength and is one of the top 2 companies in Croydon. We are very lucky that we get to use the actual theatre (Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls) however they are beginning to price us out at the moment and in fact the other popular company, The Croydon Stagers, aren’t doing any shows there at all this year which is really sad.
Do you think it takes away the community spirit?
Absolutely, the ridiculous thing is that the box office told us that we were selling a lot better than their professional shows, so I really don’t understand their reasoning at all.
Will you be doing anymore shows at the Ashcroft?
Yes we will this year but our slot has been moved forwards 6 weeks to mid-September which will really affect our usual schedule. It will be a challenge trying to work out how to hold proper rehearsals on the tail of the holiday period.
Going forwards, if the Ashcroft becomes unavailable to you, what other venues might C.O.D.A consider?
It really isn’t easy to find large enough venues. The Charles Cryer Theatre in Carshalton is lovely but it is a little small. We rehearse at the Royal Russell 6th form college and they have built an arts block which includes a nice theatre. It is not too far from Croydon so our supporters should be able to get there fairly easily which is important. A good venue with a fantastic space would be the Trinity School which is in Croydon, however it is used exclusively by their old boys who run a theatre company called, ‘Mitre Players.’ That would have been an excellent option otherwise.
How would you describe C.O.D.A?
It’s a really vibrant company and it has a good community feel; a friendly company and we put on really good shows.
You had some auditions didn’t you last month?
Yes we did. We had some new member auditions and took on a few new people. The people we are looking for are obviously people who can take lead parts but we also want people who are happy to be part of the company, in the chorus and that sort of thing. We don’t want everybody wanting to be a star! They were very successful and we have some good new people.
You have been with C.O.D.A an extremely long time, are there many other members who have served C.O.D.A as well over the years?
Yes, in fact there is one member who has been there 9 years longer than me! There are a few other members who have also been with us for a long time.
What do you really value about the company?
What’s great about the company is that the turnover makes for strong productions. We have a good core of people and we get a number of people who come and go so it’s a good mix. Some of the young people we have for a year or two and then they go off to university, but sometimes we are fortunate to get them back as well. I like the way the company works. Quite often people will take a lead in one production and are willing to be in the chorus for the next production, so it makes the companies productions strong, which is very, very good.
Do some of the people who have joined your company go on to have professional careers?
Yes, several of our members have dedicated themselves to careers in show business, with several appearing in Sister Act. Two of our members have become very well known, Simon Cooper who played Joseph, in, ’Joseph & the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat’ and Nigel Harman who starred in East Enders and is now playing in, ‘Shrek’ in the West End musical.
How do you go about financing your productions as they are obviously big productions to finance with regard to costumes, venues etc?
Yes, they are hard to finance and it has to be self financing. A show costs around £20,000 to run for a week. Members pay a fee of £40 to join the company, then if they are in a show they pay a show fee which again is usually around £40 and this goes some way to helping with costumes and that sort of thing. The rest of it has to be done through ticket sales and a little advertising revenue. We also have associate members & patrons.
How does your marketing work?
With regards to the programme we have regular advertisers and in addition we always support a couple of charities. Last year we supported St. Christopher’s Hospice & Cancer Buddies.
Our marketing is managed by an amazing girl called Sasha, who did such a brilliant job in relation to ‘Fame,’ she ended up impressing the management at St Christopher’s Hospice and has since been employed there as, ‘Fund raiser.’
Have you ever been awarded any grants?
We have been awarded a few and we had one from Sport & the Arts. Many years ago we used to have a grant from Croydon Council, in the same way that the Ashcroft did, but as with all things that has gone out of the window now so we literally have to finance it mostly through ‘bums on seats,’ so it’s really important to sell the shows.
You have mentioned the expense of costumes, how do you go about kitting out your members?
We have an amazing woman called Sue, who is very experienced at making costumes and has an excellent knowledge of period dress. ‘Fame,’ was one of our easier musicals to dress, mainly because it is relatively contemporary. Most of the cast were able to provide their own clothing and Sue made 6 matching skirts for the girls for a dance number.
‘My Fair Lady,’ is a good example of a period show that we produced where the costumes accounted for a large percentage of the budget. This is because we had to hire them. Fortunately we have established a good relationship with the Miller Centre, which houses its own theatre area and has a wardrobe for costumes so we can arrange a good deal with them. It is still an extremely expensive business!
How many people do you have working behind the scenes?
We work that on a different basis and get people in for each production. We have sound & lighting engineers and do try to use people again because they are very loyal and provide a good service. We have been very fortunate to work with Richard Burchell who is the best stage manager around and respected by professionals in the business. He knows his job inside out, is always calm and handles every situation that is thrown at him.
Do you attend a lot of musicals yourself and if so which are your favourites?
Oh yes, ‘Les Miserables,’ has to be up there and ‘Blood Brothers.’
What about other artistic forms?
I like most things from art to music to all kinds of dance including ballet and tap. With music I can quite happily listen to classical or pop. In fact, there is very little out there that I wouldn’t want to see.
What is the next production C.O.D.A will be bringing to us?
We will be doing the musical ‘Westside Story,’ which is a wonderful musical.
Is there any musical you would really like to direct?
I would love us to do ‘Hairspray,’ but it is not available yet being relatively recent.
How do you decide upon your productions?
You have to decide first what will appeal to both the company and to the public. Then we check to see whether it is available. We check with French’s, Music Scope & Weinberger’s and need to obtain a licence in order to produce it. With Fame we were also very excited to have the support of David De Silva, one of the original creators of Fame.
What were your favourite C.O.D.A productions?
I loved ‘Chicago,’ which we did in the 80’s and I played Velma. I also enjoy playing Miss Hannigan in Annie.
What other strings does C.O.D.A have to its bow?
Empire Magazine has a movie competition where you produce a 60 second spoof of a famous movie. Member Michael Hall was in the top 20 the last 2 years and C.O.D.A acted in his version of ‘Lady Killers.’ We also did a viral video advert for Kimberley Clark. That was very funny about man flu.
Finally, what did the public have to say about last year’s production of ‘Fame?’
The feedback from Fame was phenomenal, absolutely fantastic. We had your write up for Its Braap, an amazing review in Sardines magazine which is an amateur version of The Stage, and The Stage came along on the Friday and put a picture of the show in their ‘Out & About’ section alongside the professional shows. We had a glowing write-up in the local paper and received countless emails & audience feedback. Overall it was summed up by the comment, ’I was knocked out by the energy & enthusiasm of the cast which is not always the case with professional productions.'
To find out more about C.O.D.A. & the up-coming murder mystery event visit: http://www.coda-shows.co.uk/
If you would like a little exposure for your venture please contact itsbraap@live.co.uk
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