Totnes Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society

TAODS are pleased to present an early Summer production of Tom Stoppard’s murder mystery comedy “The Real Inspector Hound”, with three shows 15th to 17th May in the Civic Hall, Totnes.

The show will be directed by Rich Lea who has been associated with TAODS for 28 years and has both directed and performed in many of our pantomimes in that time. He has also directed and performed in many plays presented by Dartington Playgoers and other societies in the area.

This is a relatively short play so not so many rehearsals as we are used to! The cast is also quite small – 3 female and 5 male roles (plus one corpse – it is a murder mystery after all!) and are open to all actors in the area.

The female parts consist of:
Felicity – a young, sporty girl with great ambitions to go far in the acting world.
Lady Cynthia – a woman of a certain age who is not averse to romance and bridge.
Mrs Drudge – a house servant whose name rather tells you all.

The male parts consist of:
Birdboot – an old school theatre critic with an unprofessional interest in Felicity.
Moon – another theatre critic, somewhat insecure in his position.
Simon – a dashing young man.
Magnus – an older, somewhat bizarre man, apparently wheelchair bound.
Inspector Hound – who may not be quite what he seems!

There will be a read through of the play on Wednesday 26th February at the Masonic Hall, Totnes starting at 7.00pm until no later than 10.00pm. Hope to see you there.

Auditions will be held on Sunday 2nd March from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. Rehearsals (and possibly further auditions) will commence on Wednesday 5th March and will continue weekly until the show goes up. There will also be Sunday afternoon rehearsals in April and May.

If you are interested in taking part, but cannot make the above dates, please contact Rich on [email protected] to discuss.

Roll right up and buy your tickets for the most swashbuckling event of the season!

The TAODS 2024 AGM will be held on Tuesday 14th May, 7:30PM at the Dartmouth Inn, Totnes. Come along to hear our esteemed committee members (pictured) chat about all things TAODS and let us know your own thoughts about what the society should be doing!

Coming up next is our annual pantomime, in January 2024. The show will be Puss In Boots, directed (and written!) by Gina Tredwell.

The show will be running 24th – 27th January 2024 and the important dates for your diary are as follows – 

Sun 3rd Sep – Interest Meeting 2pm – 4pm
Wed 6th Sep – Auditions 7pm – 9pm
Sun 10th Sep – Auditions 2pm – 4pm

All at Masonic Hall, Totnes

Interest Meeting

Sunday 3rd September, 2-4pm, Masonic Hall, Totnes

For those thinking of auditioning, at the interest meeting you can hear more about the parts available and have a look at the script. We are also, as always, very keen to get more people involved in all the very important off-stage roles – if you’d like to get involved in any of the following, please do come along to the interest meeting, say hello, and hear all about it!

We are looking for… Stage manager, stage crew, production, lighting, sound, hair & makeup, chaperones, stewards, bar staff, box office, front of house manager

If you would like a reminder via email when the interest meeting and auditions are coming up, click here & fill in the form.

Auditions

Wednesday 6th September, 7pm – 9pm at Masonic Hall, Totnes
Sunday 10th September, 2pm – 4pm at Masonic Hall, Totnes

If you would like a reminder via email when the interest meeting and auditions are coming up, click here & fill in the form.

Any questions about the show, contact Gina.

So another year’s panto is done and dusted – congratulations to our wonderful cast and all the other people behind the scenes who helped make it happen! You can take a look at some photos here.

Our next production will be The 39 Steps – an uproarious comedy adapted by Patrick Barlow from John Buchan’s novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film. The show dates will be May 11, 12 & 13.

In this version of the 1935 movie a minimum of four actors play all the parts (there are 139 if you count them all).

We will probably have a few extra (!) and are looking for performers with the ability to give an energetic comedy performance, perhaps have a stab at an accent or two and switch between several roles.

AUDITIONS:
Sunday 26th February, 2 to 4.30pm at Dartington Village Hall (in the meeting room down the path to the right of the main hall).

Thursday 2nd March, 7 to 9pm at the Masonic Hall, Totnes.

We hope to see you there!