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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Bill Ross of the ‘Action Desk — Sheffield’ Team on behalf of Peggy Fell, and has been added to the site with the her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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BEHIND THE SCENES
No society can function without a strong back-
up team and D.E.P. over the fifty years has been
fortunate to have had the support of people with skills
and talents to enable the production of plays to attain
a high standard of presentation.
What made D.E.P. different is summed up by a
former member in the words, Attention to detail.

Playing a part he had also played with D.E.P. as a
butler, the sherry was served in brandy glasses, the
sherry was an unconvincing colour and the audience
was aware that a poisonous powder didn't dissolve in
another drink. All these points were picked up by the
SADATA critic. As he points out, it wouldn't have
happened in D.E.P.
Over the years, furniture, china, clocks
pictures, linen, knick-knacks, light fittings and many
other oddments have been collected and stored away.
Some may rarely see the light of day, but they are
there "just in case". The wardrobe too has a good
range of clothes from Victorian, Edwardian, the 20's,
30's and 40's to the present day. Articles like top
hats and bowlers, antique accessories such as evening
bags and shawls, are things to be cherished and cared
for in this world of disposables. We have a first class
workshop and are able to build our sets with the
expertise of the people who work on them.
By the end of 1995, we will have presented
212 three-act plays, and apart from five at Croft
House, eight at the Merlin Theatre and one at
Frecheville, all have been staged at the Library
Theatre. The February performance in 1979 was
cancelled owing to a strike at the theatre and another
show which hit difficulties was during a Big Snow.
Members of the cast and backstage slowly drifted in,
having walked most of the way from the suburbs. An
audience of six turned up and joined the cast for a
coffee backstage. A quick conference decided to call
it a night and all set off back home. "We had a good
laugh and shut up shop," to quote one member.
D.E.P. have also toured with One Act Plays to
enter drama festivals. Sets had to be portable and
recruiting a second team when Three Act Plays were
on the go at the same time, often presented
difficulties. Setting up a portable set capable of
being erected and struck within a given time limit,
presented a challenge and the ingenuity of all who
took part in these presentations deserves a whole-
hearted Thankyou for their efforts.
A list compiled by Terry Mounsey can be
summarised as follows:

Producers

Chairmen
Secretaries

Treasurers

Ticket sales

Publicity

Front of house

Prompt

Stage directors

Lights/effects

Scenic artists

Stage managers

Wardrobe

Properties

11

13

27

6

14

19

12

It would be impossible to mention everyone
who has helped over the years, but the following have
worked for many years, up to 25 and over in some
cases, and in more than one of the above
disciplines:

Keith Allchin

Doreen Bell

Anthony Brookes

Bernard Brailsford*

Roger Bingham

Mary Bradley

Frank Cooke*

Maggie Collins

Charles Coltey

Joyce Colley

Connie Coldwell

Janet Coldwell

John Eaton

Hazel Eaton

Ronald Fell

Peggy Fell

Don Garlick

W. Jenkins Gibson*

Freda Gray

Vera Gregory*

Joseph Hampton*

Roy Jeffrey

Bess Jeffrey

Edward Kain

Mannie Levy*

Laurie Ungard*

James Marsland

Terry Mounsey

Bernard Neild

Mary Newey

Bill Peacock*

James Price*

David Shaw

Judith Shaw

John Shelton

Joyce Tomlinson

Michael Trott

Colin Windle*

Charles Wright

Linda Wright

Those members marked* are unfortunately no longer
with us.

When we moved to our present home at Norton
Lees, funds were required to be raised to pay off the
bank loan. A sub-committee to promote fund-raising
was formed and their sterling endeavours, bright ideas
and hard work involved in promoting efforts to clear
our debt, deserve the heart-felt thanks of all present
and past members of the society.
D.E.P. ON TOUR - ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVALS
Festivals were always a mixed blessing. On
the plus side, they were a way of "blooding" an
aspiring new producer and of showing the D.E.P. flag.
On the other side, there were several difficulties to be
faced!
Firstly, there would usually be a mainstream
play in rehearsal at the same time. This meant not
only a problem finding a suitable cast but, even more
difficult, that of finding a second backstage team and
building a second set in the same workshop. To add
to the challenge, the set had to be easily portable and
capable of being erected, and struck, on a strange
stage within a given time limit.

A suitable play was difficult to find.
Adjudicators seemed to favour plays which many of us
considered to be rather weird. I remember at one
festival, laughing long and loud at a play about a
compost heap in the middle of a living room carpet.
(The play was, I think, 'We'll be in Eastbourne in Ten
Minutes' by N.F. Simpson).
Having found a cast, a backstage team and a
play, rehearsals could commence. These were often
rather dismal affairs because the cast was usually
small and we were the only people in the studio.

We
were very much low priority and few came to see us
rehearse. This did have one very desirable effect,
however - the cast became a very close team. I
remember Graham Anthony, with that hilarious play
'Love All', determinedly setting out to encourage team
spirit by booking a pub for our rehearsals. It worked.

Pr-BR

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