As Fife-based amateur dramatic group, The Guizards, prepare for their 45th show, Off the Hook, Gayle Ritchie meets the group’s founder and director
When Sylvia Guy was nine years old, she was given a theatre set for Christmas.
It fired her imagination and she would spend days devising plays, making scenery and directing stick figures on the tiny stage.
She joined a drama group at her local church in Glasgow and knew, even then, that one day, she wanted to turn her hobby into a career.
“Drama has been in my bones and brain all these years,” she says. “Even then, I knew I’d like to do it professionally.”
What Sylvia loves about acting is that it gives the chance to be “someone else”.
“You come to drama groups to not be you!” she says. “You can be any character you like. You could be a gangster or a superhero. You think about how you’d look, how you’d play the role and suddenly you’ve created a whole new life.”
Sylvia studied speech and drama in Glasgow and during training, she especially loved watching many directors at work.
“Never mind acting – I realised I fancied the idea of being a director. I wanted to be in charge!” she smiles.
Moving to Anstruther in the mid-60s, Sylvia took on various drama group and operatic directorships – in Kirkcaldy, Cupar, Anstruther and St Andrews, and was on the Byre Theatre’s board for 20 years.
Along with a local family, she formed The Guizards (an old Scottish name for performers) in Anstruther in 1972.
Directing the group up to three evenings a week – often for three hours at a time – is a huge commitment, but Sylvia says she has as much energy now as she did in her 30s.
“I love everything about it. I love the buzz of pulling a show together and the opportunity to be creative.
“I’ve had the greatest pleasure of working with many different people over the years. And seeing raw amateurs go on to becoming great actors gives me a fantastic boost.
“It’s wonderful when I see someone start off shy and quiet, maybe just helping to shift scenery, and then a year on, they’re in the lead role.”
During sessions, Sylvia gives new members exercises, such as how to master stance, and speech and movement tips.
And a few weeks before a show, she hands out notes to the cast with wee “tics” they need to correct.
Even on holiday, Sylvia beavers away with scripts, adding what she calls “blocking notes” – stage directions and prompts.
Staging a performance involves not only directing actors but also sourcing props, furniture, clothing and venues.
Scenery has to be painted, and checks need to be made to see that props function, doors close and the like.
The Guizards normally perform farces like Fawlty Towers or ‘Allo ‘Allo but their next play, Off the Hook (running at The Byre in St Andrews from March 21 to 25) is a little different.
The intriguing farce sees an “unsavoury” character arriving at a country hotel seeking not one, but three rooms.
As the play unfolds, complications develop involving an eccentric hotel manager, his man-mad wife, a disgruntled maid and some “extremely colourful” guests.
“People come to watch us for a good laugh but this play is full of intrigue and will keep you guessing right to the end,” says Sylvia.
“It’s a big commitment putting on a show so I really need to be sure that people will love it.”
Case study: Group member Dan Scottow
Dan says: “I first became involved with The Guizards a few years ago.
“My partner was a member of the group, and I started out helping out backstage for while, but soon enough, Sylvia had me in the cast.
“It’s a great thing to do, and having moved to Cellardyke from London, has helped me get to know many of the locals, and make new friends.
“It gives you something to do and gets you through the winter, and by the time the show finishes in March, the days are getting longer and spring is in the air.
“It’s a big commitment, but it’s very worthwhile. It has helped me with all sorts of confidence issues.
“I’m quite shy and nervous, and a lot of my friends can’t believe I can get up on stage in front of an audience, but when I’m up there, I’m not me… I’m whoever Sylvia tells me to be.
“She’s a great person, and a wonderful director who certainly knows how to get the best out of her cast, and the fact that people keep coming back after all these years certainly demonstrates that she knows what she’s doing!”
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Off the Hook, by The Guizards, runs at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews from March 21 to 25. For tickets, see www.byretheatre.com
It’s free to join The Guizards and new members are always welcome. For more information, see theguizards.com
