Greetings from President Lesley Carthew Well it’s that time again isn’t it, and I love it! Christmas is just the best time of the year, I love the excitement, and everything that makes Christmas so special. So the tree and the decorations have been up since last weekend, and it’s now time to start the shopping and the cooking. “I stopped believing in Father Christmas when I was about six, Mother took me to visit him, and he asked me for my autograph!” Thus said the wonderful Shirley Temple! December for me theatre wise has been a little bit quieter, from memory the only production I have seen was Napier Operatic’s Children’s Theatre Production of “Joseph”. What an outstanding production and Sonya Aifai and the NOS Executive should be immensely proud that they have so many talented youngsters in their ranks. I just loved seeing all these gorgeous children, the sons and daughters of my children’s friends, the grandsons and granddaughters of my friends, who are all now following in the steps of the NOS family. And I guess this is one of the reasons why MTNZ is placing so much emphasis on youth in the theatre and our Next Gen initiative. So if you are a society who has someone or more than one person in your ranks who is a great communicator and loves social media, then we need to hear from you. And if you’re an individual reading this, and think you would be interested in being seconded to the MTNZ Executive for two years, please either contact me or GM Kate. I was absolutely thrilled to hear through social media that David Sidwell has been awarded by the Hamilton City Council the Freedom Holder of the City Civic Award . From HCC website The civic award of Freedom Holder of the City is the highest civic honour. Freedom holders are rare awards given to people who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the city. So David, from Musical Theatre New Zealand and especially from me who has had the pleasure of working with you, our congratulations on a well-deserved honour, Hamilton Operatic and musical theatre in general are truly blessed to have you. Have you completed your society production surveys for the year? Please, please, if you want us to help you with seminars, directors’ courses, health and safety et al, then please complete the surveys. We do not expect you to submit figures down to the last person, number and age, but just do your best, the surveys do not take very long, all you need is your ticketing agent’s information, your programme, and someone with a little knowledge of the production, and you’ll be laughing! MTNZ needs funding, so we need you! The Strategic Plan is ready for final submission to the Annual General Meeting in March, and again my grateful thanks to everyone involved with this great milestone in our history. So, as we head towards the Festive Season, I found this beautiful quote: My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” ~ Bob Hope, American film actor and comedian. How true is that? And so to all of you my friends, I wish each and every one of you, your families and friends, a very Special and Merry Christmas, and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. I look forward to meeting up with you all in 2015, hopefully in Christchurch. Lesley Carthew- President
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 09:14:46 +0000