THORPE PLAYERS
A friendly Amateur Dramatic group based in Runnymede
So what is Thorpe Players all about?.........
It's amazing how often people ask what goes on behind the scenes at a drama group - and even more surprising to see their reactions when they find out that we're are not all luvvies that talk about theatre every waking minute.
Back in 1953 Frank Muir decided to put his considerable talents into forming an amateur drama group based at the Thorpe Village Hall. All the members were local people who enjoyed performing. Although none of the original members are with us today, many are long standing (some for over 30 years) and several are second generation Thorpe Players. One of the reasons that people stay with the group is its friendly, almost family-like atmosphere, where everyone pulls together to put on a production and, most importantly, ensure that we have fun doing it.
Over fifty years later, with many of our members coming from outside Thorpe, the aim of the group is still the same - to enjoy our acting, each other's company and to make sure that the audience enjoys our productions. We still perform two major productions a year at the Village Hall, but have now expanded our calendar to include Drama Festivals, Quiz Nights, One-Act Supper Evenings, Murder Mystery Evenings and numerous social events.
Many people think that you have to be an actor to join an amateur dramatics group. Not true, there is a lot more to running a group than the productions themselves. We also have a busy social calendar, write some of our own productions, need a committee to ensure that group is properly run and, of course, to manage our financial matters. It is relatively easy to recruit people who want to act, but far more difficult to find people who would be more interested in the technical, production or management side of the group.
If you either have, or would be interested in developing, any of these skills, then Thorpe Players would certainly be interested in hearing from you.