About Cissbury Players

The Cissbury Players Today

Hopefully - if you've been looking at the rest of the site - you'll already have picked up a fair idea of what we are like as a group. But if you've just skipped straight to this for the summary version, here goes:

We are a small (but perfectly formed) amateur dramatics group operating in the village of Findon in West Sussex. We schedule three productions a year - in April, July and November - staged for three nights apiece at Findon Village Hall. Rehearsals for these run all year round, apart from December and August when everybody gets a rest. Aside from productions, we have a group social calendar that looks to organise some sort of activity each month, some of which are also open to patrons of the group.

There are advantages to being a small group: the most notable being that there are always opportunities to be involved in a production. Members can - and often do - pretty much have their pick of acting, producing, backstage or supporting roles. There is seldom any need to worry about things like auditions, or spending ages "on the bench" waiting to be given a part! It also keeps us close, as a group, and those who join us tend to stay part of that for many years.

Of course, there are disadvantages, too: it can be difficult to get enough people to perform a large-cast play, or - if cast - have enough bodies left over to do everything else that is needed. On balance, though, we don't have any particular ambition to become vast in number, but a few more dedicated members would certainly be welcome!

As far as the stage side of things is concerned, we like to turn our collective hand to as wide a variety of plays as possible (although singing and dancing is only done under duress). We have an awful lot of experience within the group and set - and, we think, achieve - high standards for all aspects of a production. Acting, stage set, props and costumes, effects and everything else are taken seriously. That's not to say it isn't treated as fun - it most certainly is - but at the end of the day, in front of a paying audience, we have every intention of delivering something worthwhile. If we had a motto, it would probably have to be: "Amateur does not mean amateurish"!

So, that's us. If you haven't seen the rest of the site yet, please feel free to tour it at your leisure. And if you would like to get involved in any way, we would be very happy to hear from you. Don't be put off by any doubts: we aren't necessarily looking for experience, or talent of Shakespearian magnitude, just people who are willing to pitch in and be part of an enthusiastic team. Simply making the effort to get in touch is a pretty good start for that.

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