All about us

About us


The Chandeliers Drama Group is one of the oldest in Maidstone having had it's first production in 1961.

 

We aim to put on at least three shows a year and these will either be comedies, straight drama or musicals. In addition we have formed a Concert party which has already given some charity concerts and is seen by us as a way of attracting new members who are musically inclined, which forms a strong base for being able to put on quality musical productions in the future.

 

The group enters two festivals each year, The Kent Drama Association Full Length Play Festival and the Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival.


Apart from performing on stage, we also have a good social calendar including a yearly Quiz night and car treasure hunt, we take part in Bearsted carnival, we help to raise funds for charities and we have our own award ceremony at our Annual General meeting.

 

So to summarise we are a friendly group of people, from all walks of life, all with different skills, who enjoy the thrill of putting on a good show.


GDPR Policy


The data held is based primarily but not exclusively on the application form filled in when applying to join the Group or any changes subsequently notified to the Group and will contain name, address, contact details in the form of telephone numbers and e-mail addresses and any preferences specified in relation to their membership together with membership renewal dates.


In addition any Group owned property in their possession will be recorded, e.g. awards, costumes etc.that ultimately have to be returned.


Data held by the Group will be used in order to administer their membership and to keep member informed of Group activities and may be viewed by an individual member upon request.


Data held on members will only be released to other members where it is necessary to enable them to undertake their role in the running of the Group.


Data will be held during the currency of their membership and for a period of three years after their membership ceases or until any Group property has been returned whichever is the longer.


Any member has the right to resign their membership at any time and request removal of their data subject to satisfying the return of property condition.



25th May 2018




Membership


If you are interested in joining us, our Membership Secretary is Fran Butler. You can contact her in the following ways:


You can email her: enquiries@chandeliers.com


       or you can fill out the form at the bottom of this page.




 




















If  would like to come and see a rehearsal to get a better feel for the group, we rehearse on a Monday and Thursday, at Madginford Hall, Egremont Road, Bearsted, ME15 8LH. Rehearsals start and 8pm and run through to 10pm.


Please let Emmaknow if you do intend to come and see a rehearsal as we will then make sure someone is there to greet you and make you welcome.


Amateur Dramatics is an amazing hobby to have. You will meet a great new bunch of  people, achieve things you didn’t imagine you could and get an incredible buzz. 


It is hard work. You need commitment and drive, vast amounts of patience and dedication, but the rewards are immense.


Below we have given details of ways that you might become involved in the group, although the best way to find out if our group will suit you is to come along to observe a rehearsal or better still, come to see one of our performances:


On stage


Acting

A lot of people would like to act but they are concerned about jumping in.You are very welcome whether you have experience of acting or not. If you haven't acted before it might seem very scary to take the first step, so it's probably best to come along to a rehearsal or a production to get an idea of how things work, and to decide whether we are the group for you. When you do take on a part, it's best to take a small part with just a few lines or a non-speaking part. Although we've seen people who have taken on a lead part for their first acting role and very successfully too, it's probably best not to run before you can walk.  It's best to take on a part that you are comfortable with doing and which you can fully commit to.


Singing, Dancing and Playing an instrument

We are mainly a drama group but there are still opportunities for singing and dancing. Out aim is to perform one production with music a year. They are hard work but great fun to do.


Backstage


 Prompting

The prompt is a very important member of the production team. Ideally the Prompt will attend most of the rehearsals so that they can get used to the script and the Actor's weak points and know when they might need to prompt. Essentially the Prompt needs to go through the script and be ready to prompt should an Actor forget their lines. It takes a lot of concentration and discretion. It is a job that is sometimes taken on by the Director.


 Director, Assistant Director and Producer

The Director is the one that facilitates and leads the Actors. It is hard work, it can be very frustrating and it should only be done by someone that is confident with what they are doing.

There isn't always an Assistant Director, but it is a good idea if there can be. They can give a different point of view and ideas. They can direct parts of the play separately and fill in if the Director cannot make a rehearsal. They are also very useful for collecting rehearsal fees and it is a good way of learning about Direction.

The Producer brings everything together. They book the venue and keep an eye on everything. They make sure that everything comes together for the performances. It is a job that is often taken on by the Director.



Behind the Scenes


 Writing

If you are a Writer, or interested in writing, getting involved in a group like ours is (in time) a great way to get your works on stage.


 Set construction and Design

Anyone who has an interest can do this. If you are handy with tools and can work in a safe way, or you are good with a paint brush, your help will be appreciated. We have a scenery workshop and clothes and props storage, which is called The Barn, and at the moment we are very keen to recruit new blood to help with the building of sets.


Costumes and Props

We need people to find or make props and costumes. This is a job that is often done by members of the group, but some props and costumes are very difficult to find and it really helps if someone is there to co-ordinate.

We also need someone that can organise and manage the props during a performance. Make sure that all the props are available, on stage at the right time and replaced on the props  table afterwards - you'd be amazed how often and how quickly they can go missing!


Hair and make-up

Make-up is rarely used but is sometimes needed.

Hair dressing can make a show spectacular, especially a period show. There is no real need to attend rehearsals although a little bit of preparation is helpful beforehand and they usually need to attend performances.


 Help at rehearsals, front of house and help at fundraising events

This is essentially making tea and coffee, helping to set up and clear away etc. selling raffle tickets, taking money etc. It makes life much easier if we have someone to help and it can be great fun too, a good way of getting to know people in the group and finding out if am dram is for you.


  Publicity

Publicity is so important because if people don't know about us and our productions, then they won't know that we want them to come. We have this website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We have a good online presence. We have a publicity committee and new members and their ideas are alsoways very welcome.   


 

If you are interested in helping to promote or advertise us, or want to advertise in our programmes - we want to hear from you.


 



 




 




 



 




 


 



 




 




 






 

You can save a copy of our membership form to print off

Current membership costs are:


Single adult

£40

Joint adult (living at the same address)

£70

Junior (up to the age of 18 or still in full time education

£15

If you would like to see more of what we get up to off stage, please click on the button below.

 
 
 
 

This page is for upcoming audtions and members information - if you are interested in joining us, it gives you a good idea of what we get up to both on and off the stage



There is a monthly "Writers Group" for anyone interested in writing a play, with the possibility of seeing it performed live! A very rewarding experience. This is held via Zoom on the second Monday of each month, please contact Marie Quarman for details.


 Diary

Please put these dates in your diaries


                              

2022


February

Saturday 26th - Performances of "Panto Between the Pyramids" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.

Sunday 27th - Performances of "Panto Between the Pyramids" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.


March

27th March - Performance of Murder Mystery "Sugar and Spice" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted.


April

2nd April  - Performance of Murder Mystery "Sugar and Spice" - Memorial Hall, Bearsted."


May

21st May - Karaoke Evening


June

18th June Bearsted Fete

26th June - One Act Play Festival


October

22nd and 23rd October - Seasons Greetings 




We rely on good publicity. They say that the best publicity is word of mouth, therefore we are extremely grateful to any local businesses and organisations that can help us to publicise our events, either by promoting us to your members/employees/customers, or advertising us on your shop window, website or staff notice board.  In return we are only too happy to add your link on this page.

Several of us are associated with other amateur dramatic groups within the area. So, here are a few theatrical links

Drama groups.com which kindly advertises Chandeliers

The Medway Little Theatre

Brilliant local theatre based in Rochester and  organisers of The Duncan Rand One Act Play Festival.

Kent Drama Association (KDA)

The KDA organises the Kent Drama Festival every year, and we have strong links as our Secretary is the Chair, and our chair is a committee member.

Three Towns Theatre Company

Group based in Medway, whose Chairman is a member of Chandeliers

Sardines Magazine

Brilliant directory website and magazine with information, previews and reviews

The following are amateur dramatic  Facebook groups,  mostly for South East England

Venues. Here is a list of venues in which we rehearse or  have recently performed in

The Hazzlitt Theatre. Maidstone. Once our regular performance venue, we now aim to perform here when we can.

Madginford Hall, Bearsted

This is our regular rehearsal venue

George V Memorial Hall, Bearsted

This is now our new regular performance venue.

Chequers Shopping Centre, Maidstone

and Bearsted Co-op

Admittedly, these are slightly more unusual as performing venues. For the last few years we have raised money for charity by singing in both of these venues

Otham Church

This is a regular rehearsal venue and performance venue for our Concert party

Larkfield Village Hall

We have performed many productions in this venue. It was our regular venue up to 2018 when we decided to move to the Memorial Hall in Bearsted.

Click on the pictures to see them at full size

Check out our links page to see who we support, and who supports us

(to see the links, click on the nearby image or highlighted text)

This is our Facebook Supporters page.

We also have a Facebook members page,

which is a closed page purely for members.

Please add us to your list of likes.


One.com.

This is our domain and website provider - excellent value.

Add us to your Twitter feed @chandelierdrama


Ticket Source

Is our online booking service. There is a small charge but it provides our audience with quick and easy online booking.