Hi Tim,   Claire Wilson here, the vice-president of Stock Drama Group in Essex.   We are performing Calendar Girls from 21st-24th November 2012 in our local Village Hall.  We have mentioned it as our next production in our programmes for our last play, and have had so much excited feedback from our audiences already, I have a feeling we won't have much trouble selling tickets!    The whole group is really looking forward to this one - even though Peter, our director, hasn't chosen the cast yet.   Roll on rehearsals - I think they're going to be a barrel of laughs!

Hi  Tim - I am the chair of Port William Pantomime Company - The Panto Co. and we are delighted to be performing 2 shows of Calendar Girls on 16th and 17th November in the Maxwell Hall, Port William.  We've just started rehearsals and had no problem filling roles we do however have great difficulty in finishing a scene because we cant stop laughing.  Hope we can do it justice.  Many thanks for the opportunity.  Helen Oxley

Hi All  I directed Neville's Island with Abingdon's Old Gaol Theatre Company last summer 2011 - what a fantastic play, for actors, audience and everyone involved.  The Unicorn Theatre is tiny and yet it lent itself so well to the set, with a balcony for the look-out tree.  I'd be happy to feedback my experience to anyone considering doing this hilarious yet moving play.  Julie Kemp-Harper richardkh@hotmail.com   Thanks Tim. Julie

Hi Tim. I am directing Calendar Girls for Henfield Theatre Company in West Sussex next March.   We were thrilled to get a licence to perform Calendar Girls and it has already promoted a tremendous amount of interest from our members so I am hoping for a great turn out for auditions in October.   We really hope to do your play justice.   I have got tickets for the professional production in Norwich in April and very much hope to be able to go backstage after the performance to get some tips on the directing side of it.   Thank you for giving amateur theatre the opportunity to perform Calendar Girls.     Anne Stern

Hello Tim. I’m Tim French, Chairman of Stourbridge Theatre Company, we’re based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands and absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to perform Calendar Girls at The Stourbridge Town Hall Theatre from Thursday 22nd ~ Saturday 24th November at 7.30pm plus a matinee on the Saturday afternoon, starting at 2.30pm. We applied for the license within days of hearing that it was available for amateurs and, as far as we know, will be one of the first groups to perform the play in the West Midlands. The play has already been cast and, as you will see from our poster, our lady members are particularly excited about the production. Further details are on our website www.stourbridgetheatrecompany.org.uk. We have decided to donate all the profits to Leukemia and Lymphoma Research, who have been very supportive and keen to be associated with the production. We feel sure that Calendar Girls will attract a large audience. Thank you for the opportunity.

Hello Tim.  It's Richard Bond here, director for The Kingswood Player's October production of your Calendar Girls. When I put this play forward for consideration, there was an overwhelming 'Yes' to it being included in our 2012/2013 Season.
So thanks for allowing it to be released and giving us the opportunity of the challenge, whilst supporting the 'Leukaemia &Lymphoma Research' charity. The photo below was part of our press launch as the first Bristol group to receive permission and announce they would perform Calendar Girls on Friday 19th & Saturday 20th October 2012 at 7.30pm with a Saturday Matinee at 3.00pm
Further details on our website: www.kingswoodplayers.org

Hello Tim.  What a wonderful idea to include an amateur forum section on the site.  Cheltenham Operatic & Dramatic Society, the oldest Am Dram society in Gloucestershire - established 1890 - is delighted to be bringing Calendar Girls to Cheltenham for the week 22nd - 29th September 2012.  We held a WI style tea party read through evening and were overwhelmed by the interest from the Am Dram community from Cheltenham and beyond.  We will be linking our production to supporting a local Cheltenham based Charity, Linc - The Leukaemia & Intensive Chemotherapy Fund. Our theatre of choice is The Playhouse Cheltenham - a hidden gem on Bath Road, GL53 7HG. We are already open for 24 hour text - or call - bookings on our CODS hotline 0779 448 7822 until 27th August.  Thereafter the Playhouse Box Office will take over on 28th August on 01242 522852. Tickets are £12 with £10 concessions. Thank you for giving us such a jewel to perform. Warm Regards, Karen

Hi I am the Director and Producer for Ice Productions who are planning to perform Calendar Girls on the Amateur release in September 2012. We are very excited about this oppotunity and have a lot of interest from the local am dram groups in and around South Yorkshire. Thankyou for giving us the chance to perform this great piece of entertainment. Cheers Ian Coley

Good day Allow me to introduce us, we are Théàtre St. Bruno Players (www.theatresbp.ca).   We are the only bilingual amateur theater company in Canada. For the past 35 years, our 80-some members perform 4 major productions per year, 2 in English and 2 in French at Le Centre Marcel-Dulude in St. Bruno de Montarville, Quebec along with other productions for fund raising, etc. We heard about the opportunity to apply for the rights to  “Calendar Girls”.  We would like to perform 3 productions of “Calendar Girls”, for our fall 2012 production, as a fund raiser for the Montreal Jewish General Hospital Segal Center’s fight against women’s cancer. The Town of St. Bruno de Montarville, along with the Quilting Guild of St. Bruno de Montarville have joined us in support of this fund raiser. We will raffle a quilt, commemorating those who have suffered from this decease,  made by the women of the guild. We will also like to have a calendar of the  women who will be cast in the production, as in the play, and invite the Segal Center to come and sell them at the productions.  The grand finale of the event will be members of the cast and members of Theatre St. Bruno Players walking in the 2012 Jewish General Hospital Segal Center’s “Weekend to End Women’s Cancers” held in August 2012.   We are all very passionate about this project and are only missing the ability to get the rights. It would be wonderful to produce “Calendar Girls” in French and in English, if there is a translation. We were informed by Samuel French that the rights are only being released to amateur groups in the UK. We have tried to contact your agent but the email keeps bouncing back.  Is there any way that we could make this great community project happen? Getting the rights to “Calendar Girls” would launch our fund raiser for the fight against women’s cancer. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Tina Fedele Keating President Théàtre St. Bruno Players

Previously ‘Acting Up’ based at the Pyramid Theatre in Warrington, now named ‘WamDram’ based at Cinnamon Brow Farm Club we performed Flint Street Nativity December 2010. We thoroughly enjoyed performing the play but admit to leaving out some of the songs. We’re not the best singers and found some of the songs difficult to produce well, especially Mary and Joseph’s duet, but did have help from the father of one of the cast playing piano which added to the primary school feel. Trying to figure out how to stage the various areas – playground, teacher’s special cupboard etc. we found lighting separate areas of the stage the only way to do this. The search for a donkey was a difficult one but we disguised a small rocking horse kindly donated by a neighbour and one of the cast did the voice of the donkey from off stage to avoid timing problems. Costumes were easy to make using old curtains and sheets. Keep everything low budget to give the illusion of a school nativity, remember what you were like in yours many years ago and enjoy every minute. It’s a real challenge but worth every minute. Jan aka Gabriel from WamDram, Warrington.

Power to your elbow for persevering. Always happy to hear about of my stuff
being performed in my home town. When I was growing up there it was hugely apathetic towards the arts, no-one could get anything going. Now it has a cultural quarter. I could really have done with that when I was a kid. TIM FIRTH

Hi Tim,  I played Daniel in The Safari Party a few years ago and had an absolute blast! Such a fun show and we played to full houses. I am also currently directing The Flint Street Nativity for production in November/December this year, which is going to be a lot of fun. I hope you know how popular you are down here in New Zealand. Both Calendar Girls and Kinky Boots have huge followings here.  Thanks,  Liam Hagan - Tauranga Repertory Society

You are welcome to come and see our show 7th 8th 9th July 7.30pm. Definately not a Christmastime production but oh boy, we are Christmasing it up big time. Chantelle - Argent Theatre (Upton Village near Southwell, 10 miles from Newark in Nottinghamshire). Chantelle Thornley - Tom Everitt Lane End Players

NZ amateur - there are currently four separate productions in NZ towns over the next couple of years so we will have to take stock after those have played out - but it's safe to say rights will become available at some point. Hang in there. TIM FIRTH

I am a member of the Lane End Players (www.laneendplayers.com) and we perform 4 plays a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter). In our recent history we have produced both Neville's Island and Safari Party, both of which received fantastic feedback from the audiences and everyone involved really enjoyed themselves. I am now very interested in directing the Flint Street Nativity which I think our audience will love and we will enjoy rehearsing and performing. The only problem is that during the winter months (around Christmas) we always perform a Pantomime and due to our Panto success this won't change and if we were to perform the Flint Street Nativity, performances wouldn't be until April. Even the theme of the play is not necessarily about Christmas. I just wonder if will still be well received by an audience at a different time of the year. Any thoughts? Kind regards, Tom Everitt - Lane End Players

Since opening at Chichester Festival Theatre in September 2008 CALENDAR GIRLS has been an unprecedented success playing over one hundred sell out weeks across the country as well as a year’s run in London’s glittering West End. It has become the most successful play to ever tour the UK, grossing more at the box office than the original film.

Now the show’s producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers want to break into the Guinness book of records and establish the record for the most productions of one play in one year and so it’s your turn…for the very first time, the amateur rights for CALENDAR GIRLS will be released for just 12 months from 1 September 2012 – 31 August 2013. We invite ladies everywhere to follow in the footsteps of the many actresses who have already appeared in the show to disrobe and become their very own Calendar Girl!

Applications to perform CALENDAR GIRLS to:
Samuel French
52 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5JR
020 7255 4302
www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk
More info from the SEECALENDARGIRLS.com

Hi there, I'm directing a production of Neville's island, which is on 2-4 June in Charlton London, SE7. We're doing it on a shoestring, but are managing most elements. I'm just stumped on the gyrfalcon for the end of the play. I was going to try to make something, but I'm concerned it will look rubbish. I'd love to know how anyone else has managed that prop with an amateur group. Please let me know on alexandraplayers@gmail.com. Thanks! Antonia at Alexandra Players

'Acting Up’ Amateur Dramatics Group recently performed ‘The Flint Street Nativity’ at the Pyramid Theatre in Warrington. We rehearse every Wednesday at the Pyramid and perform two shows a year. We are a community theatre group where everyone has the opportunity to perform. We have been waiting, not very patiently, for Flint Street to be available for amateur groups and were thrilled it was released in time for this Christmas. Not sure it will be up to the standard of shows performed at the Playhouse in Liverpool but, if rehearsals so far have been anything to go on, we will have lots of fun trying. Acting Up - Warrington

Dear Tim.  Great website. This is just a quick note to let you know that Grove Park Theatre in Wrexham staged The Flint Street Nativity. The cast and crew had a fantastic time putting together the show - rehearsals have never been such fun! Regards and best wishes for the future. Grove Park Theatre - Wrexham