Our am dram star of the week is Cannock director and actor is David Gethin
Direction is often another string to the bow of many amateur actors. And this week, our am dram star is retired teacher and lay minister at St Luke’s Church in Cannock, David Gethin, who joined an amateur theatre company back in 1984 when he filled in for an actor who suddenly had to pull out of a play.
David is currently directing The Happy Apple by Jack Pulman, a comedy about the antics of Freddie, Arthur and Murray who’ve started up their own advertising firm but things are not going too well.
I ask David how he became a director. “In a small society, directing is something that most members progress to do and it is quite usual for experienced members to take turns, so that everyone gets the chance to perform on stage,” he says.
I wonder how David creates a concept for a play when he directs?
“The key to any play is in the writing,” he says. “A well written play does not need a lot of direction. My aim as a director is to ensure that the actors develop personalities that reflect what I perceive to be in the writer’s mind, but still bearing in mind the actors bring their own personalities and interpretation to the part too.
“A director must read and then re-read the play to become familiar with all of the characters and the plot.”
He adds: “There are two golden rules in choosing a play. ‘Do we like it? And, can we cast it?’ The Happy Apple is a beautifully written play which we all enjoyed reading. We are still enjoying it well into rehearsals.”
Which playwrights does David admire?
“Amateur dramatics will forever be in debt to Alan Ayckbourn because his plays are so well written,” says David. “He knows just how to blend comedy and tragedy and all his characters have well-rounded personalities.
“Ray Cooney is another great comedy writer. His genre is farce and his plays require great timing of entrances and exits to make the most of the confusion and misunderstandings.”
And which is David’s favourite role? “I have two. Philip in Relatively Speaking and Oscar in The Odd Couple,” he says. “Both plays have sparkling scripts. Also, a few years ago, I co-directed and also had a part in Lord Arthur Saville’s Crime. A very witty play and well received.”
And his dream role? “The part of C.S. Lewis in a one-man show, where the famous writer reminisces on his life.”
In the meantime David is ‘happy’ to continue with The Happy Apple.
l Catch the play from November 15-17 at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cannock. For tickets, call 01543 578762 or visit the group’s Facebook page.
