Minster Playhouse and Me by Terry Wood
June 2010

About 20 years ago a friend of mine asked me to help him run the lights for a musical show being presented at the village hall in Woodnesborough. However, one of the cast dropped out and I ended up on stage, dressed as a cowboy, singing extracts from Oklahoma. The bug had bitten.

I moved on from singing – just as well as I cannot hold a tune in a bucket – and discovered what a buzz I got from acting. It is such an escape from the hassles of life, strutting about a stage and pretending to be someone else. I discovered something else – I could make people laugh, but most importantly I realised what team work was all about, and how a very different bunch of individuals can be bought together to deliver a total package.

I continued with the Woodnesborough group, did pantos and musicals with my local church, and presented some well received shows with the drama group where I work. Then, about 10 years ago, I was invited to a meeting of the Minster Playhouse (MPH) committee, as they were stuck for a play, and a Director, and wondered if I could help. Together, we staged a Victorian melodrama called “Virtue Triumphant”, with a cast of 20, songs, a really nasty baddy called Sir Septimus Grope, and Rose, a lovely, innocent maiden. I had previously played the Sir Septimus character, and it was really interesting seeing how another group could present a play I had been in, but in quite a different way.

MPH are such a great crowd to be with and very supportive of each other. OK, as with any large family, the odd rattle does get thrown out of the pram, but on the whole play rehearsals are fun, and I look upon them as several weeks spent getting together, and having a really good time with a bunch of friends.

The parts I like playing most are those that require me to be a character actor. I have been cast as loads of different types of person over the years, from a cantankerous colonel, to a robot farmer. Perhaps my favourite was being cast an East European surgeon, with all my lines being in a made up foreign language, and I died dramatically on stage having been loved to death by my nurse !!!

Minster Playhouse pantos are famous throughout the area, and we get stunning feedback. I have been in most of them over the last decade, and enjoy being the villain. As the lead in ‘Dracula – The Panto’, it was a hoot singing White Wedding, in a Transylvanian accent, and using an inflatable guitar as a prop.

I have been a Director, the prompter and worked backstage, but personally, my biggest love is the acting part. However, what you see on stage is just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots of off-stage roles associated with MPH, and we win awards for the technical quality of our presentations. So, if you fancy being part of a great team, visit us at www.minsterplayhouse.co.uk and either join through the website, or come along to an audition.
We would love to see you.