Village Day - the auditions

by Isobel Smith

Apart from my membership of Six of One, one of my other interests is amateur dramatics and luckily for me, those two interests have combined with me regularly taking part and organising re-enactments at the conventions that I have attended.

I had only been a member for a short while when the society created the film ‘By Public Demand’ and at that point in my membership I did not feel confident enough to take part. By the time the idea for a new film project was discussed for the first time, however, I was most definitely interested and wanted to take part and/or be involved in one way or another.

At first, discussions of this new project were made between Davids Barrie and Stimpson and Roger Langley.  Messrs Langley and Barrie had to drop out of being involved, leaving David Stimpson to be in charge and free to develop the film idea alone.  I continued to offer all the support I could and even presented a script for selection.  Sadly, it was not chosen but I was told the rough summary of the successful script and I formed a rough idea of the role I would be interested in portraying should I be lucky at the audition.

The auditions were held in a room at David’s local public house in Rothley.  I had to prepare a speech from a play or read an extract from a novel.  I decided to reuse a speech that I had learnt from my days at college for one of my acting exams.  It showed that I could undertake a role that was completely different from my usual reenactments roles that people were used to seeing me in. So, on a hot sunny Sunday afternoon I did my audition and it was received in silence - the effect that I wanted - and then like all who auditioned that afternoon, I received a round of applause.  A week later I received a letter from David who thanked me for attending the audition and asked if I would be interested in playing the role of Number Ten, the Village Doctor, a rather meaty role of a villainess.  I decided to accept straight away.

Roll on to PortmeiriCon ‘98 and the first chance to do some filming. Before arriving in the Village, I had developed a background to the character and how I thought she should look.  My first scenes were down on the promenade in front of the stone boat.  David as director made me feel, at all times, relaxed and I did not seem to have stage fright (although, my tummy was rumbling!).  Later on in that week I had to film a scene on the foreshore where I had to supervise the film’s two ‘heavies’ (Simon Stimpson and Simon Morley). The filming was going really well until, from the hotel’s lawn we could hear the voices of Jan Davies and Glenis McCairns telling us that the tide was coming in!  Then came one of the most frightening moments of my life.  The water had come in so fast that it was well over my knees (it was alright for the others, they were much taller than me, therefore the water was lower).  So, holding very tightly on to David’s hands, I struggled back to terra firma.  I was so pleased to be back on dry land I felt like kissing the ground! Even now, when I watch that scene in the finished film the memories come flooding (if you will excuse the pun) back!

I then had to wait patiently to hear from David again to learn when my interior scenes would be shot.  March 1999, after my short break in the Village, he rang to tell me that this shoot was about to start and was it possible if I could make my way to Pam Buckle’s home in Wallasey.  Pam and her brother, Steve, had built the interior sets in a sound stage at a local school and one of these sets was my character’s laboratory for my scenes, with Max Hora as Number Two (by the way, he plays this role as if born to it).  I had also wanted to film some other parts of the movie which was set in a hospital ward. This was recreated in Pam’s dining room.  The entire shoot looks very real and extremely impressive, in particular, the set that Pam made for the Number Two office.  It is so like the ‘real’ set that is shown on television - one also thought at one point you would expect to see one of the numerous actors and actresses who played the role of Number Two to come through the sliding doors.  As some of the lucky readers of this magazine who have visited Pam’s recreation of Number Six’s cottage in her attic will know, she is a stickler for authenticity and this new set is just as brilliant.  A very BIG ‘Well Done’ from me, Pam. It was just a pity that my character did not appear in this set as it would have been the icing on the cake. Oh well, maybe next time.  Finally, on our last night at Pam’s, we were able to watch the ‘rushes’ of the Porthmeirion shoot and the ones we had filmed that week.  It also gave me a chance to hear a rough copy of the music.  I was very impressed and I am sure that, now the film is completed, its audiences will be staggered by everyone’s efforts.

From its concept to the première of the film and beyond, the film, for me and I am sure for others, has been a pleasure and privilege to be part of this very exciting project for Six of One.  Now that it has been warmly received by its première audience, I hope it will also be so for those that buy it on video.

So, thank you very much, David, for letting me be a small part of this film. 

It is hoped that we can provide some more insight into this important Six of One project in the next issue. Comments on the final film ‘Village Day’ would be appreciated from both impartial sources and also the ‘main protagonists’. If you would like to send a review or just a brief comment on the movie, please 'Feel Free’. And yes, Isobel and David, your comments on the end result would be valued too. (Am I blatant or what?) - Ed