Rock Tour 3 - Barry

The following morning we were all up bright and early for the long journey down to South Wales - to the Barry Memorial Theatre. The rain was torrential for the journey, with a real danger of aquaplaning on the motorway on occasion.

But we all made it safely and were thrilled with the theatre. It was a good size, with plenty of space on the stage. The rooms backstage were quite interesting. The dressing rooms (including toilets) were separated from the stage itself by only a curtain - so no flushing during the Look of Love then...

One of the challenges we faced on arrival was to find a way to get enough chairs for the choir onto the stage. This was a nice problem to have - it's always good to have a big choir. Sharon from the Barry choir met us there and we worked on sorting out the stage with her. We finally got the help and permission of the local theatre workers so that the choir could fit on.

After a short team meeting and then the food that had been prepared by the choir (thanks so much for that - we knew we were in Wales as we were fed Welshcakes!) we then all gathered on stage for the choir rehearsal. Unfortunately by this time only the Barry half of the choir had arrived - the coach containing a further 30 singers from Pontypool had been delayed. The Barry choir had been trained by Dot Connel, and she had also done a considerable amount of the organisation, ably assisted by Sharon and a few others. While we were waiting for the Pontypool choir some of the cast joined the choir and we got down to rehearsing. Eventually Simon Oram and his Pontypool choir joined us, and we had a full complement for the rest of the rehearsal.

A problem we sometimes encounter with theatres is their need to sell interval drinks and ice creams to help keep them financially afloat. This is a little difficult as Rock doesn't have an interval. So at Barry the theatre staff decided not to open the doors into the main auditorium until the very last minute, keeping the audience in the bar for as long as possible. Keith and Laura on our bookstall were delighted, as they had a captive group to sell programmes to...

So with a well-lubricated audience, the performance began. We got through it all with no mishaps, and the choir sang fabulously - as Welsh people should! The audience were tremendous, very responsive and excited. For the reprise of Rock of Ages at the end of the night, normally the cast get the audience and choir clapping at first, but then the clapping stops for most of the middle of the song before it is restarted at the end. This audience however managed to keep going right through the song - all 7 minutes of it! Unbelievable.

Some of the comments we received:

"Amazing, powerful, outstanding, unbelievably touching, uplifting, humbling"

"Turning point was the crucifixion - I'd never seen it done so powerfully and sensitively"

So thanks go to Dot, Sharon and Simon and all their helpers - it was great to be able to come to Wales. Thanks so much for letting God use you in this way.

Rock Tour 3 - Leicester

Not 48 hours after our rehearsal, the touring party all met at the DeMontfort Hall in Leicester for the first performance of Tour 3. Leicester has a great history with CMM. Along with Hull and Norwich, Leicester has hosted every single one of Roger's touring musicals, many of which have been performed at the DeMontfort Hall with a huge choir in support.

Marlene Kant, the former organiser of the Leicester production, had a well earned rest this time round, and after a lot of searching, Lomas Smith finally agreed to take over, assisted by Alan Baum, who trained the choir. Lomas did an outstanding job, and the performance involved a number of choirs joining together - Barrow upon Soar trained by Amy Carter, Newthorpe trained by Carolynn Charlton, Nottingham trained by Anne Hicks, Burton Latimer trained by Catherine Muggleton. Those with a good memory will have noticed that Amy Cater and Catherine Muggleton are both part of the Rock touring party. It was great to see them as part of the choir trainers taking a bow at the end.

This was a particularly exciting performance, as several of the team would consider it their home town - Amy, Felicity, Ann S and Helen, as well as Marilyn, Richard, Laura, Ann W and Catherine living very nearby. A coach of 50 Ann W supporters came from Lincoln to watch her, and Richard's whole family came... again...

After a rehearsal as far as song 11 in the afternoon, the cast felt ready, and were used to the incredibly wide stage. The choir started to arrive at about 5pm, including relatives, school friends and past baby-sitters. A lot of catching up needed to happen...

Lomas had worked incredibly hard selling tickets, and as a result over 1300 were sold - it was a fantastic audience, and great way to kick off tour 3. The performance went very well - the dancers managed to incorporate some of their new moves, and Dave made full use of the lighting rig. We also had a full complement of instrumentalists for the first time since November - so that was great.

Thanks so much to all involved - it was a wonderful event.

Cast Rehearsal

So with just two days to go before possibly the biggest performance of the tour, the cast gathered together in Birmingham once again to rehearse. All of the cast were able to be present except Paul, all of the dancers made it (in the end - Anna's Megabus had an incident) and all the instrumentalists except Carole were present.

It was an excellent rehearsal - the team had obviously made a huge effort to relearn their parts, and things went very smoothly. Darren, the producer, seemed very happy, and he only had to polish a few small bits.

At the end of the rehearsal Roger, Alan, Viv and Margaret anointed the whole touring party ready for the ministry ahead. It was an excellent commissioning time.

Rock Previsits

Before the third tour of Rock, Roger was very busy with his series of previsits - this is where he visits every choir ahead of the performance, checking the choir is doing ok, setting attainable goals, generally getting everyone excited...

The Leicester previsit was quite an exciting occasion as there were several choirs meeting together, including two trained by touring party members - Amy Carter had trained the Barrow upon Soar choir, and Catherine Muggleton a small group from Burton Latimer. It is also one of very few previsits for which we have photos - Felicity, one of the dancers, was present and she danced her way around the room all evening taking photos.

Manchester Choir Rock

One of the joys of working with CMM is that we occasionally hear from across the country how performances of Roger's musicals have gone.

We recently heard from the United Christian Singers, Manchester - a choir that originally formed for the 1990 tour of Mary Magdalene. They have supported us ever since. After their performance of Rock with us back in the autumn, they have put together their own soloists and actors for several future performances. This is what John Pye said in his email.

We (the UCS choir) had a wonderful time singing ROCK at all seven venues. It was wonderfully received by all who came to see it. None more so than the visibly emotional impact it had on the 25 women in Styal prison. Our 'finale', at All Saints & Martyrs church in our Deanery, was sold out with over 300 people and was a fitting climax to our 'Spring Tour'.

We are hoping to sing Mary Magdalene to celebrate the choir's 20th Anniversary near Easter next year, as it was the first musical they presented after the formation of the choir.

Crowborough Rock Roadshow

Saturday June 13th was the fourth of the Rock Roadshows and our first in a venue from Tour 2. The team for the day was Roger, Richard Harvey and Ann Steer from the Rock cast, Sarah Moreton - the Watford Choir trainer, and Alan Walker and Gill and Brian Johnson from EBRG.

Despite low numbers the day was much appreciated and people really seemed to appreciate the freedom to worship. Roger's team was supplimented by some of the musicians from All Saints Church, who really added to the day.

Gill, Brian and Alan all led workshops, and they were absolutely thrilled with how they went. Brian's workshop was 'The Look of Love', and he was really inspired by the picture that despite the clouds and rain, only a mile away above the clouds the sun is shining.

These are comments already received on Facebook:

"Thank you so much Roger to you and your team. We have been greatly blessed today. See you in 5 weeks (at Lee Abbey). God bless."

"So enjoyed your ministry at All Saints and what a joy to 'work' with you. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry."

"What a blessed day with you! Thank u! Felt so close to the Lord! And took so much away with me... I don't mean the church silver!!!"

"I had a very blessed day at the Rock Roadshow"

"Thanx for today - felt so healed after a grotty start"

Tour 3 is coming...

Roger has been travelling out and about visiting the choirs for the venues for Tour 3. So far he has been to Gloucester and Barry, and next week he will visit Leicester and Macclesfield. If you are interested in any of these performances, these are the dates and ticket details:

Thursday 25th June - Leicester DeMontfort Hall, 7.30pm
Tickets £10 full price, £8 children available from Lomas and Joan Smith - 01530 515068

Friday 26th June - Barry Memorial Theatre, 7.30pm
Tickets £6.50 full price, £5.50 groups 10+, £4.50 groups 20+ - 01446 744914

Saturday 27th June - Gloucester Crypt School, 3pm and 7.30pm
Tickets £8 full price, £6 concessions - 07831 408469

Sunday 28th June - Macclesfield St Michaels in the Marketplace, 7.30pm
Tickets £7.50 - 07702 376937