The Village Players were formed in 1981 and one of the founders Julie Tyzack is the current Chairman of the group.

I always think of Julie as our ‘mainstay’.

Julie designs all our scenery and also builds it (with the help of members) and it is really astonishing what she comes up with on our very small stage.

Our Christmas shows are very popular and we are often complimented on the ambiance we create when people come to the performances, which we stage at the village hall in Pilning.

Pat Woodward has been with the Village Players since 1995

Membership is not large, in total 55.

'Excellent productions'

We have about 14 ‘working members’ who take part in each and every production in some way be it on-stage or backstage.

In December many local children come along to take part, in our last panto we had an ‘overspill’ when we had 30 youngsters in the cast, plus 10 adults. Phew!

I committed myself to this group in 1995 and since that time have been privileged to play some really super parts in some excellent productions.

Having been a professional dancer in my youth my first encounter with the players was when I did some choreography for a Christmas show.

Hooked

From then on I was ‘hooked’ by this warm, friendly group and in 1998 joined their committee and offered to start writing a monthly newsletter.

I became their Publicity Officer, a job which has also enabled me to indulge in my other hobby of desktop publishing where I am able to produce posters, programmes etc.

Our next performance is The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz.

It is the story of the journey from innocence to experience of Catherine Sloper (played by Rebecca Plumley) who for years has endured the thinly-veiled contempt of her father Dr Sloper (Ian Stevens).

Rebecca has has blossomed into a very good little actress during her time with the Players and is now studying drama at Bristol College.

I am playing Lavinia Penniman, her aunt, with Nick Page as the fortune-hunter Morris Townsend.

Supporting parts are played by Carol Woodhouse, Julie Padbury, Andy Macgillivray, Hilda Dunn and Michelle Bray-Warner.

Quite a few of our older youth members are supporting on lighting, backstage and FOH etc.

Performance dates are: Wednesday May 7 to Saturday May 10th at 7-30pm nightly.

Tickets, £4 adult and £2-50 concession can be booked by phoning PAT now on:- 01454 633008 or 01454 632448.

You can keep up with the happenings in the amateur theatre world, by listening to the Morning show on BBC Radio Bristol on the second Monday of each month.

Richard Jones, editor of the Avon Association of Drama's magazine, Prompt, joins Susan Osman to discuss the forthcoming highlights.

If you belong to a drama group and want your play to feature on these pages, email a short profile to: bristol@bbc.co.uk