Dear Friends......

As I write this, I have just come to the end of a week performing in Funny Girl  with ESPA at the Chequer Mead theatre in East Grinstead with a very talented cast.   When a show ends, it can leave a void which is difficult to fill.  The all-consuming work to learn your part – music, words, stage moves and choreography - is over.  The close connections you make during rehearsals, the support shared among cast members and production team, all comes to an end (although friendships made can last a lifetime) and suddenly you are no longer spending every spare moment thinking about the show.

Sometimes it is a pleasure to get to the end of a run because it can be very tiring to be working full time and also performing in the evenings.  This time around, show week fell during the school holidays, which meant the process was less physically tiring for me (and I was in only one of the five dance numbers, which also helped).

The future of the Harlequin – our local theatre – still hangs in the balance and it saddens me that the performance opportunities I have had over the years may not be available so readily for those growing up in Redhill and Reigate today.

When I consider the blessings in my life, the enjoyment, camaraderie, music and experiences that being part of ESPA (formerly ESOS and Opera Club) have brought me, and the chance to work with many talented people over the years, are all on the list.  When I was a young teenager and a dancer friend moved out of the area I can remember my mother encouraging me to continue attending classes telling me, “You’ll enjoy it once you get there”.  Without that encouragement, I wonder what I would be doing with my time today?!

As it is, I am going straight from Funny Girl to a play with BODS – a new group for me to be part of, although I’m joining friends with whom I’ve performed before.  So, thank you, Mum, for encouraging me to stick with the dance classes.  And thank you, also, to the many, many people I have performed with or been directed or taught by over the years who have helped me pursue my love of performing or supported in any way the productions I have been part of – of which there have been many!

Jill Day

Taken from the May Edition of The Record