Worthing Theatres Open Day
Today Worthing Theatres opened the doors to its three very different venues to the general public for free and I have to say it was a great success. Unluckily being a fool I did forget to fully charge our digital camera so we only got shots of the Connaught really, but the pics we took were mostly interesting and I will post them in the blog. So here is my review of the day.
Doors were supposed to open at 12 Noon and there was a nice group of us in the Connaughts Lobby by 11:45 and plenty of staff who were happy to chat to you and answer questions. At Midday we entered the main Auditorium of the Connaught Theatre, now I haven't been in there since they showed 'This is It' last year and was very impressed with the new seats, and also the wonderful work done on the previously tatty boxes. The stage was free of set and sound equipment generally, apart from the equipment for the lecture that would later take place, so we could walk up there and look around.
The Connaughts Stage
Me looking uncomfortable on the stage!
From the stage Abby and I were allowed to explore the theatre pretty much to our hearts content, the only place that seemed off limits was the fly floor although thats probably a good thing health and safety wise. After being on the stage we moved down into the ground floors dressing rooms. On our exit we noticed a much loved sign.
Little things like this kept catching our eyes as we walked around the theatre, after seeing the ground floor dressing rooms we were allowed below the stage where Worthing Theatres Manager Peter Bailey was giving a little Q&A. Down there is where they store the majority of their lamps and effects machines.
Lights stored under the stage.
We also noticed a couple of trap door mechanisms and got to ask a few questions about the way shows are put into the theatre. All questions were answered and the staff were very helpful. After being under the stage it was up to the second level and into the other dressing rooms. This too was very interesting each one had obviously been modernised over time but still had their links to the past with various photos in frames of past stars and productions.
We were making our way out when we realised that we were by the staircase that must be the one reported in the last couple of incidents regarding the Connaughts infamous 'Grey Lady'.
Sadly no sight of the Grey Lady.
We took some more photos and then decided to retire to the auditorium once more where we went into one of the boxes and enjoyed one of the technicians lectures on lighting/sound and film within the Connaught and Ritz. Of course it was very interesting and well presented with the only snag being that the sound wasn't working for his demonstration. It was a very eye opening talk which revealed many things about the theatre including the fact that they are going to, hopefully, be installing 3D into the Connaught at some point in the next year and they are just choosing the format. A good sign that Connaught is trying to be more competitive as a cinema and continue its excellent service to our community. Then before we left for the Pavillion we checked out the theatres bar, I wish I had taken some photos as there are some real period features in there.
The Lecture
The Pavillion Theatre Worthing is a beautiful venue capable of seating over 900 audience members and is generally used for Stand Up Comedy, Musicals and Concerts nowadays. Originally built as a concert hall it has changed over the years and forms part of Worthings Award Winning Peir complex. I only took one photo of the Pavillion before our camera went to sleep for the day, I won't make that mistake again, it is of the classic ceiling and chandeliers of the building.
The Pavillion tour was very short, there was no chance of going under the stage but we did get to see all the backstage and dressing rooms including a very grand dressing room for the stars. Where the kids who perform during Panto at the Pavillion are kept who knows for there is remarkably little space back there.
We went up to the control room where a young technician was speaking about how the sound board and lighting system worked. The rig at the Pavillion is bigger than that at the Connaught so there was a lot more to see.
After leaving the Pavillion we headed to the Assembly Hall where we often go to watch Premier Promotions and were delighted to see the Wurlitzer Organ out on display and being played. Unfortuanately no camera meant no pics but I did look up their website and found some excellent picture.
In the Assembly Halls again we looked at the backstage area of dressing rooms and equipment lock ups, we also looked under the stage and then at the control room where children were getting the chance to experience a lighting board. We then sat and watched about 20 minutes of the Wurlitzer being played which was very enjoyable, I have never really thought about going to see an Organ concert but it was lovely music and I would love to see it again.
All in all a great day out seeing a lot of the inner workings of Worthing Theatres. Of course I have almost an obsession with the Connaught and so I found that one the most interesting of the three. However I must commend the entire staff at Worthing Theatres for their hospitality and help. I found them all very nice and chatty with an obvious love for their jobs, something which is really a credit to the organisation. The only negative I can give on the day, one which is not all the fault of Worthing Theatres, is the lack of attendance. We saw many older people, at one point in the Connaught we were the youngest people there! However as the day wore on we saw more children and young adults attending, I blame this on the lack of advertising. I did not see any advert on the Worthing Theatres Website, or read about it in the local main papers such as the Argus or the Herald. I heard about it through one of my partners Colleagues who also works for Worthing Theatres. The only media advert I believe was released was an article within the free weekend paper 'The Weekend Guardian' which isn't available everywhere in Worthing, this is just poor advertising which made it harder work for Worthing Theatres to get as many people through the doors as possible so they could sell tickets.
I hope today spiked ticket sales for Worthing Theatres but most of all I want to say thank you to them all for giving us nearly 100% access of some wonderful venues. I only wish I had an interview with Peter Bailey the Theatre Manager to go along with this review, however he has so far ignored my emails. I will try and still get it as there were questions I wanted to ask but didn't get the chance.
So Thank You Worthing Theatres and good luck with this coming season...
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