PAST THE HALF WAY MARK AND ROCKIN'!!!

So-o-o happy with the way it's all going and so-o-o-o relieved that the bums have arrived to go on the seats!
Audiences are loving it, ticket sales are increasing daily, and some Very Important People are coming to see us and making very encouraging noises.
I've just put the Age review up on the Comedy Festival website for all the world to see and I'll add the link here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/arts-reviews/absolutely-silly-old-buggers-a-musical-celebration/2009/04/20/1240079576255.html
I'm afraid there's been a bit of false advertising for this particular blog. It says on the ASOB website: "Click here for opening night pics, videos, etc." Well - there are NO opening night pics because we were all so busy talking and laughing (with relief as well as happiness!) that no one thought to actually take out a camera.

Performance photos are being shot tonight and I will get them up on the web ASAP.

I have taken videos of a couple of performances for archive purposes and had intended to put excerpts on the blog but unfortunately, with the available lighting and the distance from the stage, they're just not good enough for that. We'll have to make do with the stills.

JOY-FM had a terrific interview with Maggie and Jan last week and podcasts of two different broadcasts of this will be on their website at the end of this week. When they're available, I'll blog the link.

Plenty of work to do still with ticket sales, comps, and any further publicity we can manage so not a lot of time for blogging.
The end of the season is approaching and I'm pretty sure those silly old buggers will be due for a rest. They've certainly earned one!

Back to: www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au
or: www.gillianmwadds.com.au

OPENING NIGHT ...AND ALL'S WELL

It's Friday morning now, following a VERY successful, official "Opening Night" after the two previews on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The cast were brilliant and the whole show buzzed with energy. The audience was also brilliant and greeted every song with applause - and we even received effusive compliments from audience members who weren't there as friends or relatives!
All this bodes well for the rest of the season.
On Wednesday the cast took part in the Prime Time Comedy for Grown Ups at the Melbourne Town Hall and did a great job show-casing the show. Many of the audience there greeted the song "We're tired of being old" with nods and great cheers of recognition. We expect to see some of them at our venue in the next few days to enjoy the whole thing.
I'll be doing some videoing over the next couple of performances and hope to get an excerpt or two up on this site and on the Comedy Festival site as soon as possible.
Keep checking this site for the latest news.
Back to: www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au
or: www.gillianmwadds.com.au

UP AND RUNNING!

The Silly Old Buggers had a very successful first preview with lots more in the audience than we expected or, in reality, could have hoped for. Considering we're virtually unknown, it's very encouraging to find that people are turning up to 'have a look'.
We had some great reactions from a few 'strangers' in the audience (i.e. NOT friends or relatives!) who took our brochure away with them and enthusiastically said they would tell their friends to come and see it. Can't be unhappy with that!
We stayed and had a glass of wine and a beautiful meal downstairs in the Swiss Club with a few friends and 'fans'. A great wind-down. Our very genial host, Roger Moullet and hostess, Corinne made us feel very welcome and we're all looking forward to tomorrow night.
Tomorrow is Prime Time for Grown Ups at the Melbourne Town Hall - 3pm start. With our early showtime of 6pm, we're very grateful to be the first show on after the intro. It's just a short sample of about 12 or 15 shows in the festival and runs for about one and a half hours.
No photos or video of the show yet to put up here yet - I'll probably take some on Saturday night, when the show is a little more 'run-in'.

Back to: www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au to read all about the show and the cast, etc.
or: www.gillianmwadds.com.au - to learn a bit about who I am.

Prime Time Comedy

As we're part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, we've arranged to be part of the showcase of comedy: Prime Time Comedy - A well mannered afternoon for grown-ups.
This is taking place in the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday, 15th April (the day after we open) and consists of 5-minute spots from 14 comedy shows playing in the Festival. It runs fom 3pm to about 4.30pm and you can read all about it here: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/season/2009/show/prime-time-comedy-a-well-mannered-afternoon-for-grown-ups/
This is a great opportunity for potential audiences to see what's on offer and should be very valuable in getting more of those bums on our seats.
We've almost run out of brochures so I'll be getting some more printed when I get to Melbourne and we'll have them for the Prime Time Comedy show.
Time's running out and it's all getting closer and closer...... Tomorrow night is our FIRST PREVIEW!

Return to: www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au

Countdown to opening night.....

Everything is ready to go - well, almost!
Cast, Director and Musical Director are all working very hard rehearsing, Production Manager is getting all technical and stage stuff ready, and Producer/Marketing/Publicity Department (me!) is trying to pull all threads together and make sure the whole crew is supported and we get those bums on those seats!
It's now only TWO days to our first preview - Tuesday, 14th April at 6pm.
Setting up this blog is my latest activity so I can upload the VERY latest news and information about how the show is developing and how it's being received. I'll be able to add pictures, video and reviews. With a bit of luck, they'll be good reviews and will help sell the show to future audiences.
The cast have been wonderful in making themselves available for interviews in the past couple of weeks and have sung and laughed their way through radio chats with Julie Houghton at 3MBS, Julie Howard at ABC-FM and John Gunn on 3CR. I may see if I can add audio to this blog so we can use bits of those interviews - not sure about that yet.
IT expert Conrad has given me the instructions about setting this all up and he will handle the technical detail of linking it to the Silly Old Buggers website. www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au

I won't have anything much that's new until we open but WATCH THIS SPACE!

If you want to know a bit more about me and what I do, you can visit my website: www.gillianmwadds.com.au