New theatre opens

It's half-term, and the fiinal preparations are well underway for the MGS theatre opening next month.  As you can see below, most of the action at the moment is on and above the stage, particularly involving the installation of the stage curtain system.  If you know the theatre, you may think from this image that little has changed.  However, the thrust stage is now a permanent, but flexible structure, and the front panels can be removed to reveal a full-height orchestra pit, ideal for our modern tradition of musical theatre.  Most radically, we now have a fly-tower above the stage which will allow scenery to be lifted in and out at speed, hopefully signalling the end of tedious scene changes.

'And what of the seats?' I hear the sufferers of old cry. Well, as promised in the fundraising literature, they are now all individually upholstered seats, erasing the memory of the wooden benches we used to have.

And you will notice that the rake of the seating is much steeper.  As well as improving sightlines within the theatre, this has allowed us to build a new foyer at the back of the theatre, further enhancing the audience experience.

Just below the ceiling you can see one of the walkways installed to make the technical servicing of the theatre comprehensive and safe.  From here, light and sound can be controlled by a pupil TechCrew to the full satisfaction of H&S regulators.

We have private shows taking place on November 4 and November 9, and we have tickets available for 'The Silver Screen' on November 27, when Old Mancunian Robert Powell will bring Liza Goddard and musicians to entertain us in the space where he first learned his craft.  Tickets from the Development Office at school.

Ten Ten Ten

Dinner at The Wizard at Alderley Edge on Saturday to celebrate an amazing event and some amazing people.  Old Mancunian writer Alan Garner published his first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, 50 years ago on 10 October 1960, making 10/10/10 its 50th birthday. Remarkably, it has never been out of print.  Assisted by the wonderful voices of his fellow OM friend, Robert Powell, Alan explained the genesis of the novel, let us in on the secret of the excrutiating first-version opening, and revealed that he is currently working on a (very unusual, naturally) novel to complete the trilogy started back in the 1950s.

For more details, see http://www.weirdstone.org.uk/ and http://www.theblackdentrust.org.uk/

An elephant balancing on its trunk

One of the great advantages of working part-time now is the flexibility to arrange a few days away.  So this week my wife and I have managed to escape the rain at home and visit friends living in southern France.  There is a work link, because he is an Old Mancunian, but this wasn't work.  We enjoyed a drive through the Camargue to the coast, seeing lots of horses, few flamingoes and even fewer tourists.  The sky was reliably blue and the beaches were empty.

We admired the house our friends have had built and talked a lot about the work that remains, most of it outside in the sloping garden.  We drank the odd bottle of very good, very local wine and enjoyed the absence of emails and phone calls.  We ambled round Arles, admiring the architecture and sampling some delicious cooking from the kitchen of an internationally renowned chef.

And, yes, we spotted an elephant balancing on its trunk as we emerged from one of the most spectacularly sited underground carparks in the world, immediately outside the Palais des Papes in Avignon.  Our tour round the Palais was excellent, the rooms full of atmosphere and well, not over, explained by commentary and signs.

So, three great days and, no, it wasn't raining when we got back to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport ('Above us only sky') but it was before we got home.

Time to celebrate

After a 4-year fundraising campaign and an 18-month build, we are excitedly awaiting the official handover of our new Drama Centre at the end of this month.

Alongside the rebuilt theatre, two studios have been converted from the previous Masters’ and Prefects’ Common Rooms, and each is ideal for drama teaching within the curriculum and for rehearsals.  Studio 1 (on the site of the former PCR) is equipped with technical gantries which will allow pupils safely to learn the art of theatre lighting and sound, and the studio will be the venue for in-the-round small-scale shows.  The theatre itself also now has technical gantries, but more spectacularly still it has a high fly-tower above the re-worked stage, allowing scenery (and even actors?) to be flown in and out.  We have a full-sized orchestra pit for musicals, the rake of the theatre seating is steeper, and of course the new seats are upholstered and comfortable.  We have made changing rooms out of nearby offices, and the old Tuck Shop has been transformed into a refreshments bar.

We are having a series of opening events, starting with a ‘Thank You’ evening for our donors on 9 November, when a star-studded Old Mancunian panel will feature in an ‘Any Questions’-style evening. Invitations have gone to all who donated to the project.

On Saturday 27 November OM Robert Powell will be bringing some friends to perform a light-hearted history of cinema, Silver Screen. We shall be providing a gala supper to follow the show. Tickets will be on sale from early October via www.mgs.org or the Development Office. Very generously, Robert and his colleagues are donating the proceeds of the evening to our final fundraising push.

MGS has produced great drama over many years, with a host of old boys going on to professional fame as actors, producers and directors.  Countless more have maintained a lifetime interest in the theatre.  I think that we can confidently expect our new Drama Centre to inspire new generations to equal, if not greater, achievements.

Are you the retiring type?

Well this really is an odd day - my last as a full-time employee. Seven years as a pupil at MGS in the 60s, followed by 33 years here as English teacher, Head of Lower School, Surmaster and Development Director end today. Simon Jones takes over as Development Director and I stay on as a part-time Adviser.

My father retired from his semi-skilled manual job as soon as he was able, and hasn't regretted it. I am thinking that semi-retirement will suit me well - I still have MGS things that I am really interested in (and I have almost 10,000 emails in my Inbox, all read but not all acted upon), but a little more 'me' time will not come amiss. There are many things to sort out at home (that's how it is when you are lucky enough to live in a house built in 1620), and there's an extended family to create more time for.

So - are you retired? and how is it? or how do you feel about the prospect if you haven't reached the appropriate age yet?

Do you still get nervous?

One of the great advantages of getting older, it seems to me, is that it's more difficult than it used to be to find situations which are embarrassing. You reach a certain stage in life and people can either take you or leave you. A couple of years ago I travelled to Exeter for a cathedral service taking (as I thought) my suit in a carrier along with my overnight bag. Come the Sunday morning, the carrier revealed a suit jacket but no trousers, and there was no opportunity to do a quick bit of shopping. So I attended that service, and the lunch afterwards, wearing my suit jacket with my travelling jeans. Most people there whom I knew were far too polite to comment. Those who stared got the true story. Not a problem.

This may not be a week for embarrassment, but it is one for nerves, thankfully not mine. Today we are appointing an MGS Archivist, and while I'm not an official interviewer, I am meeting the candidates, and admiring how they control their nerves. They really want this job, and only one can get it. It will be a really important role, shaping a new department to present the school's collection of historical material to pupils and the outside world in an interesting and exciting way. The person appointed will also work with all those who will be looking at the history of the school, and Manchester, in the light of our 500th birthday in 5 years' time.

On Thursday, our senior 6th formers get their A level results (if they haven't already got their IB scores), so they are entitled to be feeling pretty nervous, too. There'll be lots of joy as the results envelopes are opened, but some sadness, too, no doubt. All the indications from the university world are that this is not going to be an easy year if you fall short of your expected grades. So good luck, lads - glad I'm not 18 again.

A taste of summer

It's August and traditionally the silly season in the press. So, let's have an equivalent here on the DevOff blog.

Many weeks ago, Julie sowed some giant sunflower seeds and presented all the DevOff staff with little plants to take away to grow as a bit of a competition. Not that we're a competitive lot - oh no!

Jane, Julie and Simon went for the pot cultivation method. I'm not sure they realised what intensive care they were dedicating themselves to - regular watering and feeding would be essential, even if they had chosen a big enough pot. Being a coarse gardener, I chose a spot in the middle of our field, dug a big hole, filled it with well-rotteded horse manure and planted the little beauty on top. Then I more or less forgot it for weeks.

The first bad news came from Simon, whose darling daughter loved his plant so much that she hugged it, breaking the stem. I don't think sunflowers benefit from having their growing point removed - exit Simon from the competition. I showed him a photograph of my plant around this time and he accused me, on the basis of the background flora, of having sent it to my friends Brian and Joy in Provence for cultivation. But no, it's been in Flintshire all the time.

Next a violent rainstorm took out Julie's pride and joy. It seemed harsh that she who had propagated all the plants should exit the competition, so I gave her a 50% share of mine. Then Jane reported that her plant had 5 flowers on it, although it was only about 3 feet high. She didn't seem impressed when I told her that plants are programmed to flower and produce seed when they realise they are soon going to die.

I didn't bother to water my sunflower, but the heavens did, copiously, throughout July. Now the weather is rather better, and as you can see below, it is capped by one splendid flower at a height exceeding my 8 feet reach. I claim victory for Julie and me!