Honour recognises dedication
Her theatrical personae are admirable, dramatic actress, on- stage comedienne, director and makeup artist, and now she has been recognised for her efforts.
Tokoroa thespian Pamela Etheridge has been one of Tokoroa Little Theatre’s shining lights for more than three decades and was honoured with a life membership last week.
‘‘It is such an honour. I am not usually at a loss for words but I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea . . . My mother would be so proud,’’ she said.
Mrs Etheridge received the accolade last Monday during the committee’s annual general meeting.
‘‘I snivelled all of the way home, it was just great.’’
The life membership comes after 32 years of involvement with the theatre; Mrs Etheridge’s burning passion for amateur dramatics is still fierce.
‘‘Oh yes, it is one of my passions and you need to have that passion. Anyone can give their all for something but you really need to have a passion so that you can keep going and to not rust out,’’ she said.
Mrs Etheridge, who hails from Blenheim, said it was there that she performed one of her most memorable roles. ‘‘I played Anne Sullivan in Miracle Worker, it was the story of Helen Keller. In the play I have to fight a child, so in the script there were five pages of this fight scene. In the scene the child slaps me and I have to slap the child back. The child’s role was played by two children, by the end of it was covered in bruises from falling and being slapped. That was a demanding role.’’