John Beamer

John Beamer

I know this is a resume and it’s supposed to tell you something about me, well sorry but I’d rather use my few lines to tell you a bit about Roger and what I believe this show would have meant to him.

The Man
Roger loved Sondheim and would have loved putting this show together. We worked together on several of his “Sondheim projects” and to me his greatest moment was staging Into the Woods at the Grand Theatre. I only realised recently what a great achievement this was, when several of us who were in his production went to see the professional show at the Lowry, it's bloody difficult! But Rog being Rog just did it. He had the “Conceive”, “Believe”, “Achieve” attitude. He knew what he wanted to do, put the work in and saw it through to the end. There must have been moments when he thought to himself “what am I doing?” but I never once heard him doubt himself or the people around him.

The Show
“Putting it together” – This show is not only about Rog, it’s about the rest of us, family and friends trying to make some sense of his death, trying to put our own lives back together and some how “moving on” positively. Of course our lives will never be the same and however we put things back together, a very special piece of the jigsaw will always be missing but never forgotten. I know that working together has helped us all, one way or another, along the long and difficult journey of letting our dear friend go.

Rog; I know you would approve, we’ve worked hard for you and I’m sure your as proud of us as we are of you.
We all love you and miss you.

God bless
John

PS. If anybody wants to know what I have done in the past then see me in the bar after the show and I’ll tell you (as long as you bought a ticket!!)

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Phil Gibson

Phil studied orchestral percussion, drums and piano at the City Of Leeds College Of Music, gaining a 1st Class Honours degree.

Since leaving college, Phil has performed with many different bands and orchestras and has regularly played for various productions at The Lancaster Grand Theatre.

Phil now teaches drums, keyboard and singing at a number of schools and colleges in the Lancaster area.

He played drums for many years for Red Rose AODS later taking on the appointment of MD for two shows. Phil then "crossed the footlights" and became an acting member; playing leading roles in several productions including Singin' In The Rain and Meet me In St.Louis.

In 2000 he co-wrote the musical For Love Or Money, with Geoff Houghton, earning him membership of the Performing Rights Society and a Guiness World Record for Most Production Roles In A Musical, after the show was staged at the Lancaster Grand Theatre!

Phil is currently working on a new show and writing mainly classical musical and is delighted to be part of About Theatre's Putting It Together.

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Dan McIllmurray

After a lengthy lay off from treading the boards it gives me great pleasure to be back and to be part of a show dedicated to a very special guy…

All my Show Experiences have been with L.A.D.O.S. Here, I have met many fantastic & talented people… There are too many fond memories to mention but highlights & favourite shows would include…

Playing Frank in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers 1989; Barnaby in Hello Dolly 1990; Doody in Grease 1993. Guys & Dolls also has to go down as one the greatest shows to be involved in.

Here’s to you Rog… As such an integral part of these memories, I thank you for making them so special.

(www.classiccruises.co.info)

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Kay McLaughlin

My friends might say I can be quite vocal what they actually mean (I hope) is that I never stop singing. My first performance in front of an audience was at the tender age of 4 singing Away in A manger in the school nativity.

Through both primary and secondary school I couldn’t be held back singing in assemblies, playing the euphonium, guitar, keyboard, trumpet, cornet and not forgetting the recorder!

When I was sixteen I sang at Westminster Abbey which was an exhilarating experience and another highlight in my career was in 1992 when I recorded a CD for Polygram.

From infant to teenager, treading the boards has mainly included pantomimes, playing leading roles such as Cinderella and Aladdin, and singing very loudly in the chorus. From this I went into my first singing part for LADOS. My first show was Jesus Christ Superstar, my part? Maid by The Fire. My next show was La Cage Aux Folles, my part? Maid by The Stage Door (offstage but singing my heart out!!) My most recent performance was as Katisha in Hot Mikado, alongside my dear friend Roger, a wonderful lasting memory.

I appeared in the About Theatre production Girls Night Out which played to packed houses in Lancaster, Carlisle, and Ulverston and was a huge success.

Roger was an excellent director who had great vision. I feel very privileged to be a part of Putting It Together, both in the cast and working as the Company's singing coach and would like to take this opportunity to thank the Director, MD and the entire cast for making this possible.

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Nici Marriott

Nici trained at Birmingham University in Drama and Spanish and has been a drama teacher for 20 years. She is currently Head of Drama At Casterton School and has directed over a 100 productions, the most challenging and rewarding of these being Cabaret and Les Miserables. She is passionate about the works of Lorca and staged The House of Bernada Alba at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal.

Nici has also taken a production devised by students, Bangers and Slash, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Nici has been a member of both LADOS and Footlights for 10 years.

• Favourite role: Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors
• Favourite Musical : Jesus Christ Superstar
• Most Memorable: Moment: Being voted best transvestite in La Cage Aux Folles!

Nici has previously appeared in two Sondheim shows – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Into The Woods. It is appropriate that the title of this production and the opening song originate from Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in The Park with George. I saw this production in 2006 with Roger his favourite Sondheim song was “Move On” – he would want us to do this but he will never be forgotten!

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Ginny Scott

GINNY SCOTT graduated from The Webber Douglas School in London a very long time ago! She worked professionally in theatre for many years, touring with the original production of My Fair Lady. She appeared in several West End musicals, and worked in repertory theatre all over the country.Stints in Summer Shows and Pantomimes led her on to cabaret and television work.

After a break when her son George was born, she moved to Lancaster and now regularly performs and directs at the Grand Theatre for the Footlights Club. In 1990 she teamed up with fellow actor David Ash and now teaches drama to young people and adults through her company Drama Factory.

She is also a Voice Coach.

She is very flattered to be asked to join this talented young company in a tribute to Roger.

(www.dramafactory.co.uk)

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Jane Silvester

I first became involved with musical theatre at 6th Form College in Nottingham when a friend suggested that we audition for the chorus of West Side Story and I ended up with the role of Maria (presumably because no-one else fancied the top 'A'!). Ironically, Stephen Sondheim was the lyricist of that show and I have, therefore, been familiar with at least some of his music and words for at least 25 years.

Three years later, in 1986, whilst at Lancaster University, I joined LADOS and played Anne Pornick in Half a Sixpence when Peggy Brierley first took over as director - and this was the start of my association with the local district's musical groups. After a couple of years back in Nottingham I returned to Lancaster to work and rejoined LADOS where I was involved in productions of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hello Dolly, Oklahoma and Grease. I have also been a member of several choirs in the district including the Lancaster Singers and the Regent Singers and I have sung with the Rushley Singers - a small chamber choir - for nearly 10 years.

I was tempted back to the stage when Roger directed Chess for LADOS and I was fortunate enough to be asked by him to join the cast when About Theatre staged the Sondheim musicals Company and Into the Woods at the Grand Theatre, Lancaster.

I am delighted to be involved in Putting it Together which is proving to be a clever collection of Sondheim songs - great fun for the cast and hopefully equally good fun for the audience!

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Karen Simpson

Karen hasn’t had any formal training and started her amateur performing career as a dancer at the age of 16.

Karen has appeared in several shows for LADOS, About Theatre and Footlights. These include Jesus Christ Superstar, Elsa Schraeder in Sound Of Music, Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me Kate, Florence Vassey in Chess, Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and most recently as Golda in Fiddler On The Roof.

Karen was first introduced to Stephen Sondheim when she was asked to join Roger Bradley’s About Theatre for Company. Since then she has played the Bakers Wife in Into The Woods and is happy to be part of this production Of Putting It Together for Roger.

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Russell Walsh

Russell has been in numerous shows, first treading the boards in West Side Story at Morecambe High School during the late 1980's when he was aged 15, playing the part of Arab. Singing lessons and competing in the Morecambe Festivals followed with a chorus part in "The Sorcerer" at Skerton Methodist Church hall at 17.

After a stint in the Royal Air Force he joined LADOS in 1993 for GREASE and he had the pleasure of singing "Beauty School Drop Out" on a very dodgy swing! the rest is written so to say, although he was also in Charlie Girl and was Little Shop Of Horrors', "voice of the plant" (at the Superdome for Joyce Warrington) at some point but can't recall the years he managed to fit those in!

Other notable parts include Peter in JCS, Bobby in A Chorus Line, Frank(insense) in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Freddy in My Fair Lady and Pish Tush in Hot Mikado.

Of all the shows I have enjoyed doing over the years the part of "the captain" in Return To The Forbidden Planet had me buzzing, and it was thanks to "Rog" that i got that chance . . and I lost just short of a stone in weight!

Being part of Putting It Together is a heck of a challenge and it is an honour and a pleasure to be a part of this About Theatre cast!

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Bryan Wood

After training in Theatre Arts, Bryan has appeared in numerous productions throughout the Bay area.

Bryans theatre appearances include Barnum (playing the role of Bailey), One For The Road (Roger), Blood Brothers (Mickey), Company (David), Anything Goes (Moonface), Hayfever (Simon), Into the Woods (Baker), Jesus Christ Superstar (Caiaphas), Showboat (Frank), Little Shop of Horrors (Mushnik), Arcadia (Bernard), Fiddler on the Roof (Tevye), Die Fledermaus (Orlofsky), Kiss Me Kate (Perchico) The Crucible (John Proctor), Chess (Molokov), Me And My Girl (Gerald) and Ragtime (Whitman).

He is delighted to be part of "Putting It Together" for About Theatre and raising funds for this worthy cause.

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Sharon Bell

director

Sharon started dancing at the age of seven and completed her training at the Northern Ballet School, Manchester. She went on to open her own dance school in Lancaster. Sharon became a Fellow and Examiner of the International Dance Teachers Association in 1991 and went on to study a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts at St. Martins College. This was followed with her appointment as Head of Dance and Tutor of Performing Arts at Oldham Sixth Form College.

Sharon has been involved in Amateur theatre for over 20 years as Choreographer for Lancaster Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society commencing in 1987 with their production of West Side Story. She went on to choreograph many musicals for LADOS and Lancaster Footlights Company memorable ones including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret and Little Shop Of Horrors. She has also appeared as Nancy in Oliver!, Anne in La Cage Aux Folles and Sheila in A Chorus Line. More recently, Sharon has choreographed Girls Night Out and Company for About Theatre in Lancaster.

After moving to the Manchester area Sharon joined Romiley Operatic Society in 2003 for Jesus Christ Superstar She also appeared in Honk! and Hot Mikado and has assisted with the choreography of West Side Story and choreographed Fiddler on the Roof for ROS.

I would like to thank everyone involved in Putting It Together, in particular the other members of the production team, Angela Pearson and Kay McLaughlin for their help and support during my first venture as a director.

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Angela Pearson

Musical Director

Angela started to learn to play the piano from the age of 6 years old, and hated it! After a twelve month break, she began studying music again, under Susan Fielding, firstly with piano lessons, and followed by singing lessons from age 14. She performed in many concerts and music festivals around the country, playing piano solos and duets.

Her first appearance on the Grand Theatre stage was at age 12 in a production of ‘Lloyd George Knew My Father’, performed by the Little Theatre Group, although she was never actually seen, as this performance involved playing the piano off-stage as the play’s main character mimed!

From the age of 14 Angela played for a small ladies choir, The Regent Singers, under the musical directorship of Susan Fielding; the choir grew in number and performed in concerts and won at many festivals.

Over the years Angela became an accomplished accompanist, playing at concerts and festivals for many solo artists, including singers, and string, woodwind and brass musicians.
At the age of 16, Angela became rehearsal pianist for the Morecambe Warblers and played for the first time in the Grand Theatre orchestra pit for a production of ‘My Fair Lady’. At the same time she became rehearsal pianist for Heysham Choral Society, and St Joseph’s Choral Society, playing for many Gilbert and Sullivan productions over the next few years.

Prompted by a move from Morecambe to live in Lancaster, Angela first joined LADOS for their 1989 production of ‘Hello Dolly’ as their rehearsal pianist.

In 1998, she was asked by Roger Bradley if she would consider taking on the role of musical director for a Footlights production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, and after a little persuasion (well, a lot actually!), agreed.

The following year, for their production of ‘My Fair Lady’, LADOS asked Angela to take on the role as their musical director, as well as rehearsal pianist, a role she still holds today. She is looking forward to starting rehearsals for their next production, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in the New Year.

Angela is still called upon as the Footlights musical director, whenever required, and until recently worked alongside Roger Bradley for their productions including ‘Company’, ‘Into the Woods’ and ‘Return to the Forbidden Planet’.

Angela has also helped out as rehearsal pianist/chorus mistress for the Footlights pantomimes over the last few years, and is about to start rehearsals shortly for the forthcoming production, ‘Mother Goose’.

She also recently became rehearsal pianist for Morecambe Amateurs for their production of ‘South Pacific’, and is looking forward to working with them again next year on ‘The King and I’.

Angela currently teaches piano and singing, and in her spare time (of which there is very little!) enjoys reading a good book, going to the cinema, and generally socialising with her friends, either over fine food and wine, or in the local pub!

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