Friends
of Theatr Colwyn
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Friends
of Theatr Colwyn |
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| Theatr
Colwyn Click
here for all the Click
here to email
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IT'S JUST A THOUGHT...
"Comedy just pokes at problems, rarely confronts them squarely. Drama is like a plate of meat and potatoes, comedy is rather the dessert, a bit like meringue." "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying." "If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative." "80% of success is showing up." "In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision-maker." "I tended to place my wife under a pedestal." "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." "Interestingly, according to modern astronomers, space is finite. This is a very comforting thought - particularly for people who can never remember where they have left things." "I had a terrible education. I attended a school for emotionally disturbed teachers." "The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."
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Theatr Colwyn is one of the liveliest entertainment venues in the county, offering a wide repertoire of events including: Cinema, Classical Drama, Musicals, Classic & Contemporary Dance, Children’s Shows, Variety, Spectacular Christmas Panto, Live Music, and Local Amateur Productions. |
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| Dates
for Your Diary *
Coffee Mornings are held in the bar upstairs *
Quiz Night - Thursday 22 April @ 7.30pm Contact this website for more information. |
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COMMUNITIES FIRST TRUST FUND APPLICATION We are thrilled to announce that the Friends application to the Communities First Trust Fund has been 100% successful. After liaising with Phil Batty Jnr, Theatre Manager, the Friends requested £4612.77 for amplification equipment and a haze machine (which is already at the theatre, ready for use). The plan is for the Friends/Theatre to be able to hire out a powerful amplification system for community events, at a much lower cost than is currently being charged by private businesses. It is felt that this will enable the Theatre to serve the local community and help local groups, especially in the Rhiw and Glyn wards, to put on events which would otherwise have been too expensive for them to consider. Well done to all those involved in the successful application! Communities First is a scheme funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and administered by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).
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| THE OLDEST OPERATING CINEMA IN THE UK?? Staff at Theatr Colwyn have discovered that the theatre was granted its first cinema licence 101 years ago, in January 1909, and therefore believe that Theatr Colwyn could claim the crown of the oldest operating cinema in the UK. Back at the start of the 20th century, Harry Reynolds, a well known face on the West End stage, took over The Public Hall - as the venue was then known - and immediately had the auditorium revamped, which included the installation of electric light. The first films he screened included Hunting Crocodiles on The Nile and The Naughty Little Princess. The cinema side was revived in 2000, after receipt of grants from Colwyn Bay Town Council and Conwy County Borough Council to purchase a projector and screen. Films can now be watched in a traditional setting and ticket prices are well below the cost of visiting a multiplex - a family of four can see a film for as little as £12. |
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| TERRY JONES AT THEATR COLWYN
During his visit Terry called in to Theatr Colwyn and was given a tour around by Phil Batty, Theatre Manager. You will have seen the wonderful Fire Safety Curtain which has a number of adverts dating back decades and the rich colour of our auditorium, in red and gold. |
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| CERYS MATTHEWS AND OUR STARCLOTH
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September 2009 THEATRE
APPLICATION FOR FUNDING As well as letters of support delivered to the theatre for passing on, there have been * newspaper articles about the application and about Terry Jones’ (our patron) support, * contact from councillors and local assembly members and * also a group on Facebook (a social networking site) has been started and currently boasts 227 members. Suffice to say that support has been fantastic and very encouraging. The application was submitted in June and it is understood that it has to go through a few board meetings before it is finally presented to the Welsh Assembly Government for approval. We will let you know of any developments as soon as we hear them. So
a massive thankyou to everyone and we would also like to thank the Bay
Life Initiative and its Coordinator, Shane Whetton, who have been very
helpful to the theatre and the Friends with this very important application. |
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| September 2009 STARCLOTH
AND THE FRIENDS “Following Successful Bid, Theatr Colwyn Unveils Star Cloth Following a successful application to the Communities First Trust Fund the Friends of Theatr Colwyn invested in a ‘star cloth’. The star cloth will provide productions with a backdrop of fibre optic lights, creating an incredible visual effect. As part of the same application booster seats were also purchased so children can sit more comfortably. The Friends of Theatr Colwyn unveiled the star cloth at a recent coffee morning. The well supported event was attended by Darren Millar AM, Cllr Abdul Khan, Mayor of Colwyn Bay, and Cllrs Alice Robinson, Janet Griffiths, Laurette Danson MBE, and Mary Doyle. Barbara Hawley, Chairperson of the Friends of Theatr Colwyn said ‘The star cloth will be a real asset to the theatre. Seeing the children’s faces as they performed the winter scenes from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, with the star cloth in the background, was magical. This year the theatre celebrates its 125th year. The theatre is in the process of applying for SRA funding which is vital to keep it at the heart of the community’. Darren Millar AM, said,It’s fantastic to see so many people coming together to support such a worthy cause. I look forward to seeing the theatre benefit from the regeneration which is happening in the town’. Abdul Khan added ‘It is so important that Theatr Colwyn is supported because it keeps the community united. Through the work of volunteers it has lasted 125 years. It’s high time that financial backing is given to this worthy venue.’ The Communities First Trust Fund is a Welsh Assembly scheme which aims to support small, community-led organisations in Communities First areas. £20,000 is available this year to groups who benefit the community in the Colwyn Bay Communities First area. To
find out more contact Communities First on 531996.” |
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August 2009 SUPPORT THEATR COLWYN - WRITE IN NOW Theatr Colwyn is in the process of trying to secure funding for re-development of the building - to see how Terry Jones is supporting the theatre, click here. Whilst we intend to keep the character of the venue the same, we are looking to make better use of space available by bringing the bar area downstairs to create a much nicer, more user friendly foyer area. Upstairs would then have space for a community meeting area. For the stage we are looking to install a scene dock, which would help with all live show productions, as we currently have no stage storage or easy access. Part of the scheme would include ramps or a lift to all floors and better toilet/baby change facilities. Over the years we have looked at how we could change the venue for the better, both for the customer and companies/groups that use Theatr Colwyn. We know that it is the relevant local community that support and visit the Theatre both for live shows, films and the band room. We hope that as the Strategic Regeneration Fund applies to this area we are able to be granted money from the fund to accomplish our aims. This year the Theatre celebrates its 125th year and with investment it will continue to serve the local community for the foreseeable future. As a member of this community or as a patron I ask you to help us by writing in a letter of support. We will then forward this to the SRA team to show and demonstrate that Theatr Colwyn is at the heart of the community and worthy of investment. Due to the 50% funding
needed for the fund we would never be in a position to raise such an
amount. Therefore we need you all to be as vocal as you can or to put
pen to paper. Emails would also do! Phil Batty Letters
should be addressed to: |
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| July
2009 www.theatrcolwyn.co.uk |
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| July 2009 Communities First Funding Update
What will
take your breath away is the starcloth which has already been used on
a number of occasions to enhance shows. When you see it, you will be
really impressed ... of that we are sure. |
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| June 2009 Well Done to the Theatre Staff
Although they did not win the top spot, it was great to have the nomination and were given a small glass trophy as a memento of the event. |
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Saturday
30 and Sunday 31 May 2009 Business was brisk at the pubs as people followed the bands around the different venues. A massive thankyou goes to Cindy (pictured left with Vera) who worked extremely hard throughout the Festival to promote the evening event and sell the Festival teeshirts. Thank you to all our Volunteer Stewards who gave a warm welcome to the audience on both evenings. Barry is now in talks with the theatre management to discuss the future of the Festival. And thank
you to the Bay of Colwyn Town Council and Conwy County Borough Council
(Welsh Church Acts Fund) for their support for the event. |
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Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May 2009 Colwyn Blues Festival
Peter Gibson, the Friends Secretary, has made 2 successful applications for funding for this event and £1500 has been received - £1000 from Colwyn Bay Town Council and £500 from the Welsh Church Acts Fund (administered by Conwy County Borough Council). We are hoping to use the funds to make a big advertising impact. Visit the Festival website for more information: www.colwynbluesfestival.com |
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| March 2009 Communites First Funding Success
After liaison with the theatre mangement, a list of items which we wish to purchase was drawn up - 1) a starcloth costing over £2,000, 2) some catering urns, 3) a baby changing platform, and 4) booster seats to raise children up for better viewing. With the funding we can now go on to buy all the items. The fund was set up to help deprived areas of Wales and two are in Colwyn Bay, Rhiw and Glyn wards - deemed areas of special deprivation. The theatre is in Glyn ward and it is encouraging to noe that the fund administrators seem to have recognised the theatre's central role in the town's regeneration. Joann Rae, Marketing Officer, has helped us prepare a press release so look out for the photo above in the local papers. |
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February 2009 Friends Annual Dinner
Thank you to everyone who came (2 from near Chester and 1 lady all the way from Lancashire!). Thank you also to everyone who brought raffle prizes and helped with the raffle, and we hope that the few who were poorly and had to send their apologies are now on the mend. |
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Terry
Jones, of Monty Python fame, and patron of Theatr Colwyn featured in
programme called Coming Home on Monday 14 December on BBC1
Wales. Terry spent his early childhood in Colwyn Bay and was returning
to check out his ancestral connections to the area.
In
October 2009 Cerys Matthews performed to a sell-out crowd at Theatr
Colwyn. Extracts from her performance were shown on the S4C programme
Nodyn on Friday 11 December during an interview with Elin
Fflur, the show presenter. Cerys said that the starcloth at Theatr Colwyn
provided the best backdrop to her tour. Diolch i ti, Cerys.
Thanks
again are in order to everyone who came along to our last Coffee Morning
for the photoshoot. The picture was kindly taken by our very own Barry
Boyle and then submitted by Helen Jackson from Communities First, along
with the following article, to the press. The news was published in
the local Pioneer and also in the Daily Post at the beginning of September.
All
the items listed in our application to the Communities First Trust Fund
have been purchased and there is now an abundant supply of mugs in the
bar for Friends and Theatre events, as well as pump pots, baby changing
facilities, and booster seats.
Conwy
County Borough Council hold a ceremony entitled "Celebrating Excellent
Achievement Awards". Theatre staff were nominated for all 9 Awards
but were shortlisted in 1 - the Customer and Community Category.
Barry
and the theatre management worked extremely hard to put on the Blues
Festival over the weekend of the 30 and 31 May at the theatre and in
a number of local pubs.
Barry
Townsend, one of the Friends committee, has been busy working with the
theatre management to put on the 2nd Colwyn Blues Festival. It is hoped
that this Festival will develop over the years and bring in much needed
revenue to the town.
It
is with the greatest of pleasure that we can report that our funding
application to the Communites First Trust Fund for £3,270 has
been 100% successful.
On
6 February 69 brave souls ventured out on a bitterly cold night for
the Friends Annual Dinner. The buffet was delicious and we were entertained
nobly, not just by Charlie and Mel (pictured) but by our honourable
Chairman Barbara.