On Stage
Whether your ambitions are to play leading parts or sing with others in the ensemble, - we always need new faces.
Whether your ambitions are to play leading parts or sing with others in the ensemble, - we always need new faces.
We also really need people to help behind the scenes with costumes, props, set building and backstage for each show - these roles are equally as important as performing. It is great fun and you will be helping to ensure that our shows run seamlessly and professionally - no experience necessary, just reliability & enthusiasm!
On the 9th of September 2023 we partied the night away for our 70th Anniversary Celebration.
Our chairperson, David Adams, was honoured to accept the 70th Award for ELODS from NODA and we were grateful to Pam Armstrong and our newest NODA rep Thomas Lennon for attending the party and giving such an uplifting and positive speech in support of ELODS.
In 1953, a group of like-minded friends got together to
celebrate their love of theatre, music and performing. Initially
known as The Wheatsheaf Players, and sponsored by The
Co-Operative Society, the society’s first contribution to the
local theatre scene was Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury.
The name was soon changed to Enfield Light Operatic and
Dramatic Society. Throughout the 50s and 60s, there was a
varied programme of G & S and Light Opera classics until
the society took on the challenge of producing more
modern musicals, starting with The Gypsy Baron in 1961.
These days we tend to just call ourselves Elods, as we don't
currently put on plays or operas!
In the early days, Elods performed at the much-loved Intimate Theatre in Palmers Green, working in a theatre with an incredible history. Members recall the joys of cramped dressing rooms down steep stairs, applying make-up beneath the stage and, of course, braving the elements by running outside to make an entrance stage right!
1989 saw the company move to the Millfield Theatre - a brand new custom-built theatre, complete with portacabins in the car park for chorus dressing rooms - there only being three principal-sized dressing rooms within the theatre itself. Oh, how we miss those cold rainy nights in November running from the portacabins to the stage door! Thankfully further
dressing rooms were forthcoming - LUXURY! But still we had our “experiences” - not least the time that a runaway bed, complete with its three occupants, ended up with one corner in the orchestra pit! Thanks to the support of the member of the orchestra who valiantly shoved the bed back onto stage, the only injury sustained was a slightly crumpled trombone!
In 2005, ELODS moved to their current home at the Wyllyotts Theatre in Potters Bar, and today we are proud to be part of the thriving Amateur Theatre scene in the area. For 37 years (more than half of ELODS’ lifetime) we have been privileged to work under the baton of our resident MD, Mark Newport, whose prodigious skill and endless patience brings the very best from everyone involved. Thanks to his ministrations, and those of countless
other talented creatives we have worked with over the years, ELODS is much greater than the sum of its parts. Friendship has always been at the heart of ELODS – a group of friends who put on shows together. As we move into our eighth decade ELODS is going strong!
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