Mick Loftus reflects on four decades of writing,
producing and directing for the amateur stage,
starting in 1980 with a production of Aladdin,
with made-to-measure roles for members of
his alma mater - Acton Dramatic Society
"Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing" Macbeth Act 5, Scene 5
Having been a jobbing writer for most of my working life, I have always favoured observation over participation in life's great pageant. So no surprise that when it came to amdrams I quickly decided I was much more comfortable behind the scenes than strutting and fretting my hour upon the stage
As a member of Acton Dramatic Society from 1964 to 1989 I enjoyed messing around with music and effects and the other backstage functions of theatrical production. Over time I developed an interest in what was actually happening on stage and began collaborating in the business of putting on plays
ADS was not a musical group even though it had been founded in 1909 as East Acton Musical and Dramatic Society. But in 1976 they decided to stage a Music Hall to celebrate the Good Old Days. Being musically minded, I was encouraged to help out with the programming and script writing
This proved to be the little acorn from which Stopgap's little oak would grow. In the ensuing years
I wrote and produced Christmas revues and, in 1979, a special show to mark the group's 70th year
It was a compilation show I called 1909 and All That. Wonder where I got that from? It was put together in my front room with a 3-piece band and a cast of 15 or so. Low budget stuff, but....
It was a success. The ADS committee decreed that I would henceforth be allowed to direct music shows. They believed, quite wrongly of course, that drama is a much harder creative nut to crack
Thus it was that in 1980 I was invited to put on something musical pre-Christmas. It was my good fortune to hit upon the idea that would stretch me and the actors both musically and dramatically
Always a serious sort of chap, I packed a lot of thought
into meeting my biggest creative challenge to date.
This was evidenced by my first epistle to a dazed cast:
The observant reader will have seen that at this stage
I had not even completed my part of the deal by finishing the script.
This would prove to be my indelible trademark during a long career
I had however completed a list of characters and their attributes:
OK it should be "Glamorous". But lots of great writers couldn't spell, right?
I blame the old Olivetti Lettera 32
Anyway, if you've read this far, and you'd like further evidence of my illiteracy,
maybe you're game enough to have a look at the SCRIPT what I wrote for A.L.A.D.D.I.N
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= TO BE CONTINUED =
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