Like every other theatre company up and down the land we spent most of 2020 making and changing plans, and unfortunately that has continued in to 2021.
Live theatre is a special thing, nothing can beat being in ‘that’ moment, the moment that can only ever exist at that exact time under those exact circumstances, and will change with every performance and audience. But the build-up and preparation to create those unforgettable and unrepeatable moments happens way in advance of performers getting on stage in front of an audience, and with no clear indication yet of when that can safely happen, we once again find ourselves changing plans.
Our plan for 2021 had been to get our choir back rehearsing as soon as possible at the start of the year, to run a trial holiday school for children and young people, and to perform Legally Blonde at Stratford Play House in November. We now realise that these things will not be possible. Our number one priority is the safety of our members and until we are sure that we can safely be in a room together singing, dancing and rehearsing we don’t feel confident in making plans for this year, so have decided to postpone Legally Blonde and our holiday school with new potential dates to be confirmed. We believe it will be easier to get choir running again at shorter notice and so will continue to monitor the guidance around rehearsing and performing with the hope that we will be able to do that later in the year – watch this space.
There is also a financial element to our decision making. As a voluntary organisation we rely on putting on performances to generate income (although as many of you will know that has also become increasingly difficult in recent years), and without the guarantee of knowing we’d be able to perform to a full capacity audience we can’t afford to take the financial risk of planning and rehearsing a show.
We do have very exciting plans and updates to share though, but you’ll need to hold on just a little longer to find out what they are. Make a note in your diary for Thursday 25 February as we’ll be making some very exciting announcements to kick off the build-up to our centenary year!
Thank you for all of your patience and for always sticking by us, we’ll be together again very soon.
Your SMTC Committee,
Phil, Chris, Katie, Jonny, Anya, Louise S, Louise T and Richard
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