This Is Guernsey

By Shaun Shackleton

Class Act drama group Laura McKenzie and Lee Le Maitre. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0555507)

IF ENTHUSIASM and a love of your chosen art form were marketable commodities, then Laura McKenzie and Lee Le Maitre would be rich.

Laura, 25, and Lee, 30, are respectively head of advertising and recruitment and producer for Class Act Productions, which formed from Les Amballes Players in 2001.

‘We have 18 children and around 20 to 25 adults,’ said Laura.

‘We rehearse at Les Beaucamps Secondary School drama hut every Thursday and we put on our shows at the school.’

The acting group has staged many high quality productions and is particularly well known for its pantomimes.

At Christmas it staged Jack and the Beanstalk and the year before it was Bluebeard.

In a letter to the Guernsey Press, one satisfied audience member said that Class Act ‘certainly lived up to their name’.

But the group would like to expand its repertoire.

‘We’ve had problems,’ said Laura.

‘When you say drama group, people think of Gadoc. We don’t make a profit. We’re trying to find a way to get recognised.’

‘We used to do the One Act Play festival and summer plays,’ said Lee.

‘We’ve got a solid base [of members] and they are all loyal and good, but we could always do with more people.’

‘It’s not always easy,’ added Laura. ‘We all work and have to be somewhere else but we’re all a bunch of ostentatious actors.’

Although the group is never short of onstage personnel, it’s the behind-the-scenes crew they want for.

‘Our biggest problem is backstage – the scenery, props and lighting people,’ said Lee.

Sponsorship is also hard won.

‘Each production is self-financed and each costs around £1,800 to put on,’ explained Laura.

All this is accumulated from sponsored car washes, quiz nights, karaoke evenings, horseracing and Christmas fairs.

For its next pantomime, Class Act is putting on Once Upon A Time.

‘I found it trawling the internet,’ said Lee. ‘It’s about Cinderella’s daughter wanting to marry Snow White’s son.’

And new members are welcome.

‘We’re having a read-through on Thursday 29 May and we’re auditioning on 12, 19 and 26 June at the St John training services, Les Gigands – opposite Oatlands. We meet at 7.30pm.’

So all budding actors, dancers, singers – and especially backstage crew – whatever your level of experience, email classactgsy@hotmail.co.uk for further details. You too could be a class act.