On the 10th of September members of TADLOP past and present came together to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the society. It was a beautiful evening at the Park House Hotel arranged by our current Chair Sian Everett, with decorations provided by local business Opulent Occasions.
Throughout the evening we had performances from TADLOP On Tour, who serenaded us with a selection of songs including highlights from some of our favourite past productions. There was even a rousing sing-along of Oom Pah Pah that had the whole room of theatre-lovers involved!
We enjoyed a delicious three-course meal which offered mains of slow-cooked beef blade, chicken supreme, roasted salmon, or gnocchi, that were highly enjoyed by all.
There were two awards presented on the night. Firstly we invited our local NODA Representative Robin Cooper to present a very special long-service award to Sheila Hood for her lifetime of involvement in amateur theatre. Sheila has been involved in dozens of TADLOP productions over the years, whether as a director, performer, or backstage crew. We are incredibly proud of her commitment to TADLOP, and are thrilled this has been recognised with the NODA Award.
We also awarded our prestigious Eve Cooper Award on the night, listening to a lovely pre-recorded speech from our President Helen Madden who sadly couldn't be with us in person. Then the award was announced by Vice Chair Sam Lampitt. This year's winner was Stevie Venezia for his longstanding support behind the scenes at TADLOP and his dedication to the society and its productions. The other nominees this year were Nate Osborne, Rich Kee, Sammi McSporran, and Sian Everett, and we would like to commend and recognise them for their hard work and contributions.
A particular highlight of the evening was a wonderful speech given by Glennis Mansell; one of the founding members of TADLOP back in 1972. She spoke about how the society was formed and the journey to putting on the first show "Calamity Jane", including some funny and heart-warming anecdotes that made us all appreciate TADLOP's humble beginnings. She recalls the founding members' concerns at the expense; £500 spent on the first show was a huge gamble in those days that thankfully paid off! She also gave a thanks to NODA for their help all those years ago, coming to the rescue when an actor dropped out of the show last-minute. NODA assisted in finding a replacement performer from another society who knew the role and nobody was any the wiser; even some of the performers didn't notice the casting change!
With the formal part of the evening over we finished off the night with a disco and karaoke. It was lovely to see so many of our members old and new let their hair down and celebrate together, singing and dancing and making memories.
Following the success of the ball the committee are considering hosting an annual formal event where we can all come together and celebrate TADLOP and its members. The best way to stay up to date with social events like this is to join our "Friends of TADLOP" Facebook group, or subscribe to our mailing list.