Travels with the chain

As I continue my wanderings up and down the country, I continue to be so impressed with, well just everything! The unusual venues, the truly fantastic shows, the absolute dedication of performers, - and ‘the small army of enablers’, who sometimes outnumber the performers on the stage, but without the small ‘army’ of unseens, the productions would never hit the stage. Their dedication is just as great, but they don’t receive the standing ovations and the enthusiastic applause. They do it just for ‘the love of theatre’ and thank heaven they do or our wonderful hobby, which we all love so much, would hardly get off the ground. They truly do make the shows and deserve our absolute thanks and gratitude, as without them, we would not be ‘able to shine’. From the person who makes the tea at rehearsals, absolutely vital as any performer will tell you; the front of house teams, who welcome audiences so warmly and sell programmes and raffle tickets; of course the directors, whose vision is paramount; the MDs, orchestra; wardrobe; lighting; sound; make-up; props; chaperones; stage crews, who make cars and elephants and cardboard camels in their garages; the list is seemingly endless (and if I have forgotten anyone I am so sorry). The committees who run the society and ensure all the ‘rights and legal issues’ are all in order; and of course the casts who learn the lines and musical numbers and shine ‘on the night’; each one plays their part in bringing these fantastic productions to the stage and I just want to say thank you ALL so very much!

As I, most unfortunately and regrettably, near the end of my term of office, I just want to say a huge thank you to all the members of every single one of the societies that I have visited, as well as all the societies who invited me but I was unable to attend, which I estimate somewhere in the region of 60. I could not be in two places at once no matter how hard I tried and there is only one of me, for which I think we can all be eternally grateful.

The total of productions visited over the year is likely to be in the region of 175 shows. I have been welcomed and made to feel ‘part of the family’ of whichever society I am visiting at the time. I have been warmly welcomed onto the stage to have my photo taken with the cast, when I am sure they really just wanted to get into the dressing room and get their costumes off. Thank you, I really appreciate it and it has therefore, enabled me to create a permanent record in the form of the NODA President Facebook page. Thank you also to all the NODA Councillors and regional committees who have invited me to their conferences, enabling me to meet even more members.

Of course, all this travelling has its down side: if I never see another set of temporary lights, or roadworks, (down to a single lane on the M6!!??) or motorway queue, it will be far too soon, but it has absolutely been worth all the queues, temporary lights, frustrations et al. I would not have missed a single show, so really, all this just to say thank you all so very much to each and every one of you. I have been honoured, privileged and very, very proud to serve as your president for an extra year. I said at the very beginning of my term of office, that this time I wanted to do it properly and I think I have, I hope so anyway, so just thank you to all the societies who invited me, irrespective of whether I was able to attend or not. Thank you for welcoming me into your NODA family for the evening and thank you for all the wonderful productions!

Christine Hunter Hughes

NODA National President