CATS AMATEUR THEATRICAL SOCIETY OFF TO A ‘MEOWING' START
CATS – Canaipa Amateur Theatrical Society was formed by Tracey-anne Parmeter in October 2023 when she invited theatre-lovers to form a local Theatrical Society.
Response was immediate and by December, CATS had steamrollered its membership to around thirty and began rehearsing “The Death of Dorothy Dingle” - a Whodunnit spoof with musical interludes.
Pulling together an amateur group on an Island has been challenging, in that like everything else on Russell, you either live here or must travel here and are at the mercy of the ferries.
Nevertheless, before long, CATS had established a full backstage crew as well as cast and front of house and a live musical ensemble, ‘The Cool Cats’.
‘The Death Of Dorothy Dingle’ (DoDD) is set in the 1920’s, so fitting the actors with appropriate costumes has been both fun and challenging!
Our Op-Shop costumiers rose to the occasion and procured some remarkable outfits.
We encourage our audience to dress in appropriate attire and prizes for Best Costumes will be awarded on the night of the performance. CATS is auspiced by BICSI and has been well supported by Doris (Coordinator) allowing us to rehearse in the Men’s Shed/Hall in Jackson’s Road.
CATS is extremely fortunate to have secured Chris McGregor of Bay Islands Property to be the very generous inaugural sponsor, enabling the group to afford to build our set and purchase other such things that we were unable to wangle free of charge!
DoDD will perform on Saturday 20th April to a sold-out house of approximately 110 patrons at the Russell Island RSL Club. Guests’ theatre tickets will include a three-course meal and door prizes which have been generously donated by local businesses.
Between the four Acts, the food courses will be served and towards the end, guests are invited to vote for which actor they believe was the Murderer! Sadly, the are sold out for this performance, but wait! There’s more…
Having had such an auspicious start has encouraged CATS to plan our second performance: a comedy called “Island Strife” by local author SA Mandeville. More details to follow…
CATS is encouraging people to follow us on Facebook: to keep in touch and become friends or members.
