Fandangle rehearsals underway
The first rehearsal for the 2024 edition of the Ft. Griffin Fandangle started this week at the Aztec Theater, and cast members are being urged to sign up for the new Remind App to be notified or reminded about practices and any changes.
The first rehearsal on Tuesday at the Aztec Theater went well,according to the show’s artistic director Lorna Ayers.
“I was impressed with the turnout for the first practice,” Ayers said, “and I am looking forward to a really good sampler.”
The first performance is a preview of the summer show, which serves as a sampling of the script and songs that will be included.
The annual Membership Sampler is set for Saturday, April 20 at Collins Creek Ranch adjacent to Fort Griffin.
The second rehearsal is set for today (Thursday) at the Aztec, with the cast working on music.
“All practices this year will start at 6:30 p.m., both for the sampler and the summer show, which is new this year,” she said. “There have been requests to start earlier from moms with younger children, so we are going to try it.”
Members of the castand crew need to sign up or rejoin the cell phone Remind notification system.
“Everyone needs to sign again for our reminder account,” Ayers said. “We had to change to a new account, so everyone will need to sign up again even if they were on it in the past.”
Ayers said there are just 64 numbers on the Remind system so far.
“We had about 150 accounts last year,so we know some are missing,”she said.
Anyone wanting to join in order to receive information and reminders about rehearsals can text 81010 withthemessage@fandang included. If successfully sent, the new member will receive a confirmation text.
Practices are expected to move to the Prairie Theatre.on Tuesday, March 26, and they will continue each Tuesday and Thursday going forward.
Ayers said that she has had the script completed for this year’s show for a couple of months, but she decided to wait until after the school’s spring break to start rehearsals.
The director asked that anyone planning to be a young rider in the show contact her and also plan to be at rehearsals.
“We really need the young street rider i know early this year if they want to be in the show,” she said.
The sampler will return to the Collins Creek location that includes the original townsite of Fort Griffin. The sampler will be held on Main Street, which includes three or four restored buildings.
“We are looking forward to the sampler being at the townsite again this year,” Ayers said. “It is such an authentic location, and the restored buildings make such a great backdrop.”
The director added that the Fandangles see kingan electrical technician to put up lighting at the Prairie Theater for rehearsals and the summer shows.
The show is also in need of wagon drivers.
Anyone interested in either of those positions should contact the Fandangle office at 325-762-3838 and leave a message with contact information.
Information for the cast can be found on the Fandangle’s new web site www.fortgriffinfandangle.com. Cast members need to scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on the word “cast,” which is in green type.
Memberships, Tickets Tickets are on sale to the public for the summer performances of the Fandangle set for June21-22 and June 28-29.
The annual Fandangle parade is set for June 22.
Letters were mailed in January to previous members of the association, and invitations to the Sampler are being mailed daily as new or renewal member ships are received.
Membership is open at the following donation levels: Pioneer $25, Longhorn $75, Patron $175, Bronze $250 Silver $500, Gold $1,000, Platinum $2,500, and Diamond $5,000.
Anyone interested in joining or renewing memberships for the 86th anniversary season can do so by going online at www. fandangle.org or by calling the Fandangle office at 325762-3838.
Tickets for the summer performances are also available on the website or can be purchased by calling the office.
