Popping Up

Well, here's the thing.  When I said "see you in 6 months" in my last post, I didn't actually mean it.  So here we are five months later!


Zachary is now almost 10 months old (in two days time) which really accounts for my lack of activity here.


When I sum up what's happened since I last posted, it's very simple:

• Zachary.
• Work.
• Acting.
• Watching telly.

I'm currently rehearsing for RAODS' production of Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus, a play I directed a few years ago for Ottershaw Players.  If I hadn't been an idiot, I could have linked to my Habeas Corpus blog, but I stupidly deleted it a couple of years ago.

I'm playing Canon Throbbing, the randy, but ineffectual vicar, a part which Tim Matthews made his own and into whose Jesus sandals I am now stepping.

Do come along to see it.  It'll be great fun and our shows are usually sell-outs so you need to get your tickets soon.

That seems to be all there has been time for (although I'm conveniently forgetting a couple of lovely evenings out with friends Kirsten & Craig to see Jon Richardson and Dave Gorman at The Lights in Andover.  Not all at the same time.)

New Year, New Template

I've just been reminded that I haven't posted here since the end of August.  Somehow, with a new baby, and a job that's been taking up loads of time, I haven't got around to it.  But it's a new year, so here's an attempt at a fresh start.

Zachary is now 5 months old.  So, to celebrate, here's a picture.

Work has been insanely busy.  I've been technical lead on a project to move our company's middleware infrastructure from OC4J to Weblogic.  If you know what that means, well done!  If you know how to tune Weblogic for scalability, give me a ring!

I've also been doing stuff with RAODS (www.plazatheatre.com).  I've got a small part in their upcoming production of Ladies Day and I'm doing sound design for Frozen (which is coming up much sooner than I'd anticipated. Yikes).

And, of course, I've been blogging far too little.  Hopefully that will change this year.

See you in 6 months!

Where Have YOU Been?

Yes, I know that's what you're asking.  On 31st December I resolved to post here every day.  The next post was on 2nd January (d'oh!) and since then... nothing!  What a dolt!

Well, four months ago I was worrying about learning my lines - no change there then.  I'm now worrying about learning my lines for a different play.  This time I'm performing in Damages by Steve Thompson, with RAODS at the Plaza Theatre, Romsey.  It's a cracking play, but with tons of lines, definitely the most I've had to do, so I've really got to get cracking and learn the part.

Anyway - that's just a quick update so that my millions of loyal readers (ha!) don't wonder whether I've dropped off the planet.

In other news...  Actually, no.  You can wait until Monday for the other news!

Gotta Dance!

So much for my "blogging every day of 2011" resolution.  Broken on day One.

Yesterday was spent moving a bookshelf into our dining room and filling it with three boxes of plays and theatre-related books.  I find it amazing that boxed things take up much more room than the same items on a shelf.  I have a very loose grasp of spatial dynamics!

Last night we drove up to Surrey to have dinner with my family in honour of Mum's birthday.  It's a birthday with a big, round number in it, but I'm not allowed to reveal the number.  We're not yet up to the number of trombones in the big parade though.

A huge curry was consumed, presents were opened (birthday and Christmas) and a good time was had by all.  Then we drove back, even though I was, by then, too fat to reach the gear stick.

Today, after some minor domestic chores, I had a rehearsal for Cinderella.  I'm getting there with my lines (just about) but I find that I can't remember lyrics and dance steps simultaneously.  I can do one or the other, but when I try both, I forget both.  Which isn't very helpful for anyone.  Extra rehearsals this Friday - I know that I need it!

I want to dig out my script for Outside Edge.  I think that was the last time I had to learn as many lines as I have in this show, and that was 7 years ago.  Small parts only for me from now on!

Cinderella, produced by Colbury and Ashurst Theatrical Society, on at Hanger Farm Arts Centre (West Totton, near Southampton) 21st to 29th January, 2011.  For times, ticket prices and booking information follow this link.

Back on the Boards

Since my last post (a ridiculously long month ago) I've had a frustrating few weeks.

The house move is at the mercy of solicitors.  We thought we were going to exchange contracts two weeks ago.  Now it seems like it might be tomorrow.  The sooner it happens, the better, as we need to find somewhere to rent, and the letting agencies won't take a deposit until the exchange has happened.  A very frustrating fortnight!  But we hope it will be sorted out very soon...

But there's also good news.  On a night out at the theatre with our friends Kevin and Ness last week, Kevin asked me if I'd consider playing one of the ugly sisters in the production of Cinderella which he is directing. 

So, this afternoon sees me joining CATS and the prospect is both exciting and nerve-wracking.  This will be the first production I've done since reluctantly stopping work with Ottershaw Players.  Initially it will be hard work; the new group are based in Ashurst, between Southampton and the New Forest, which is around an hour's drive away from home.  But the commute down there will be half as long once we've moved.

It's the first time I've been asked to join a production without having to audition, so it's a huge compliment and I hope I can do him, and the rest of the group, proud.

Tom's Midnight Garden

I've been spending the last couple of weeks putting together the sound design for Ottershaw Players' latest show, Tom's Midnight Garden.

I've done Sound for a show a couple of times, but usually either in our village hall, or a sound plot that's not too complicated.

So I volunteered to do the sound design for this show, thinking "how hard could it be". And then I read the script. And saw the list of over 60 cues in the back of the book. And then realised that there were a load of music cues and pre-recorded voices which weren't listed. Ouch!

Well, I chose some music (Penguin Café Orchestra, if you insist on asking) and gathered all the sound effects. Then I recorded myself doing the pre-recorded voices and treated them with various bits of magical trickery to make it seem like there were 5 versions of me with different voices.

Popped along to Sunday's double run-through with a laptop full of cues and hoped for the best. And, miraculously, though I say it myself, it didn't sound too bad at all! I'm going to have to spend a looong time at the theatre balancing all the volume levels of each individual effect - and I'm still struggling to figure out how I make the sounds of the grandfather clock come from the clock itself - but I think the sound plot I've come up with does complement the play and (I hope) will help it to flow along nicely.

And there are some lovely performances from our young (and much older) cast which will undoubtedly spring to life in the theatre.

And as I'm not actually on stage, it'll be even better!

All of which is just one long advert for our play, which I hope people will come along to see. It's on next week, 9th - 12th December at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking. For full details, see our website (or click the link at the top of this article) or call our Box Office at 07714 264010.

West Country Accent

How do!

I've been cast as 'John' in Ottershaw Players' production of Blue Remembered Hills, by the fabulous (but sadly dead) Dennis Potter.

That is all.

Sorry to be so brief!

All Done and Dusted

Well, not quite done and dusted, but, it was the dress rehearsal of On The Razzle tonight. The show looked great. I'm very proud of everyone involved and I'm sure that all who come to see it will enjoy it - hopefully on many levels.

The last couple of weeks (and the past 3 days in particular) have been very hard work, but it's all come together and when I look back I'm certain that I will think that it was all worth it.

Now though, I'm looking forward to getting my life back and spending some time with MLAIPYW [My Lovely And Incredibly Patient Young Wife].

Get On With It!

A recent post by Andrew reminds me that I haven't blogged here for some considerable time. 5 or 6 weeks I think.

So now, when I'm supposed to be tucked-up in bed dreaming about whatever it is that I can admit to MLYW that I dream about (cheese, Wynona Rider and scary clowns), I find myself composing a post to keep you all informed.

So, my 2 weeks work turned out to be exactly that. Not a thrilling job, unfortunately. I was sub-contracting for a colleague at a large supermarket, installing some database software onto around 350 of their servers. Trouble was, the incumbent permanent personnel seemed to make it pretty clear that they resented a contractor being brought in to do the work when they could have done it themselves - which only begged the question, why didn't they do it themselves? Anyway, I got the job 95% finished and was only unable to complete the task because each time I asked for the resources or input from people to complete the job, it wasn't forthcoming. Hey ho. So my contract finished after 2 weeks.

If you happen to know of any Oracle DBA jobs going - do give me a nudge, won't you?

Now I'm signing-on again and looking for another contract - this time, hopefully, something to take me up to the summer.

In the meantime, I've cast the play which I will be directing for production at the end of May and we are rehearsing the Ottershaw Players Farrago which is on in only, gulp, two weeks. And I really need to learn my lines!

Tongue Stoppard

So, I can't leave well alone and have started a new blog to document progress on our production of On The Razzle by Tom Stoppard. Nothing much will happen until Oliver Twist finishes in a couple of weeks, mind.

Twist? Stick

I'm appearing in a play shortly. We spent a fortune building the set, so I need to sell loads of tickets! If you fancy coming along, bring your friends!

Ottershaw Players present
Charles Dickens'
OLIVER TWIST
By Jeremy Brock

Living at the work house Oliver does not see much of bright future especially living on nothing more than gruel and in a brutal regime. However, he never gives up hope and finds the courage to rebel and ask for more. Oliver is sold into virtual slavery but escapes and finds his way to the great city of London. Here he meets the Artful Dodger and is drawn into Fagin’s gang and a murky criminal underworld. The brutal Sikes and the loving Nancy lead Oliver into some thrilling adventures and dangerous situations that see him meet the ominous Monks. Whatever circumstances he may face, somewhere, tangled up with the perils and menace, are links to his unknown and mysterious past. Suitable for adults and older children.

You can book tickets on 01932 702091 or securely online at www.ottershawplayers.co.uk/productions/2000s/oliver-twist/

I'm playing Mr Bumble. He's a loud, arrogant, overweight bully, so it takes all my acting skills to bring the part to life!

Here's the poster (designed by moi!):

Flantastico!

So, tonight was our second, and final, performance of All In The Timing, at the Spelthorne and Runnymede Drama Festival - no web-link because, sadly, they seem to have no internet presence and little in the way of advertising. Sadly, this meant that the audience was fairly small, though we did have quite a few folks from Ottershaw Players come along to support us.

The show went exceptionally well. I probably shouldn't mention that it wasn't word perfect, but neither of the slips was noticeable by the audience. After 10 days off, with only a sketchy rehearsal or two to work on a couple of things that Rex Walford pointed out at Woking, I was worried that the show would lack energy, or would be otherwise adversely affected. But I shouldn't have worried. In fact, the (much) smaller stage, and the relaxed schedule seemed to have the opposite effect. All the performances were more focussed and energetic and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show. And it was nice to get confirmation from those that saw the previous performance (MLYW and my parents) that this one was a notch above the first.

Mike Kaiser, GODA, the adjudicator, was full of praise for the production, with a couple of small reservations. One was whether the third segment should have been performed at all (a valid question - one which Rex had raised and something that I was also pondering at the end of the rehearsal period). The other criticism was about the pacing of the play's opening. Rex thought that we had started off in a way which was too subtle and under-played, leaving the audience unsure as to what the play was about, so we re-jigged the opening to make it 'bigger' and more 'obvious'. Unfortunately, Mike didn't like that approach. Hey ho! Next time I think I'll incorporate changes where I think they really make a material difference to the production, but where it's a case of personal preference, I'll just let it lie.

Luckily, I didn't change any of the music or sound cues, which Rex really didn't like, but which Mike loved (I hope I'm not over-stating his enthusiasm here!).

Well, that's it over. There's no recall night at the Spelthorne Festival, so we'll just go along on Saturday to watch the last-night plays and see if we manage to scoop any trophies. To be honest, I think we deserve something, but this year's competition is very tight, so I won't be surprised if we come away empty-handed, but I know that we've done ourselves, and The Players, proud with our efforts this year.

I'm dead chuffed. Can you tell?

Result!

Our play was placed in 6th place overall at the Woking Drama Festival. That's out of 20 teams, so I'm very pleased indeed. On top of that we won an award - Best Supporting Actor for Graham Collier's excellent portrayal of Don in The Universal Language - and were nominated for 4 further awards: another Best Supporting Actor (Bill Jackson), Best Supporting Actress (Julia Stevens), Technical Excellence and, best of all from my personal perspective, Best Director.

I'm so happy with everything we achieved this past week. Now it's time for the Spelthorne Drama Festival, so we can take what we've learned, polish up what we've already done and try to improve on that.

Velcro!

So, it's the "premiere" of our 2008 Festival entry tonight: 3 extracts from All In The Timing, a suite of short plays by David Ives. We're playing at the Woking Drama Festival, curtain-up at 7.30pm. Tickets £8, available on the door

Rehearsals have been great fun and, of late, more than a little nerve-wracking, as the first and last plays have proved very difficult to learn for the actors. That said, we had a very successful dress rehearsal on Sunday and a smooth technical later on the same day, so we're as prepared as we possibly can be.

Update:

Woohoo! What an excellent night! While our performance was not trouble free (a couple of fluffs, including a long speech missed out) the problems were expertly covered by the actors, so the only person in the audience who knew was the adjudicator (which is a damn shame!). But the audience, in general, thought that we were excellent. Which is what really counts. Some good construnctive comments by Rex Walford, the adjudicator, about the timing of the mini-scenes in the first play, which we will try and get together and work on before next week's Spelthorne & Runnymede Festival.

I'm very excited about how well it went. Hoorah!

Lizzy

Oy! Does it ever stop? Things are the same as they were last time I posted, 10 days ago (for shame!). I managed to get the posters and flyers done, in the nick of time. Only I now have to get the Festival souvenir programme produced. By the end of this week. I've managed to put together pages 1-17; only 23 more to go, with tonight and tomorrow night to do it in... Argh!

I think I will have to talk to the Woking Drama Association about whether I will be able to carry on in this role of publicity officer. It's taking up a lot more time than I'd anticipated and when I'm rehearsing a play I need all the spare time I can get - when I walk through the front door I have to show MLYW some identification so she knows that it's me.

Of course, if there was a way to do all this and get paid for it, so that I didn't have to go to the office...

Bizzy

Life is insanely busy at the moment; to the point where I come to work for a nice rest, even though it's far from relaxing in the office. I'm 2 or 3 weeks behind in my TV viewing habits - and I need my fix from McNulty, Omar, Bubbles and the rest of The Wire gang to get through my week.

So what's been going on, I hear you murmer, disinterestedly.

Well, I've been directing a play (All In The Timing by David Ives) as the Ottershaw Players' entry for the Woking Drama Festival. Our performance night is set for Tues Oct 7th, so it would be great if people would come along to watch and support us.

Additionally, I've been designing posters and flyers for the drama festival, in my capacity as the publicity officer for Woking Drama Association. And I've got the festival souvenir programme to put together in the next week or so... Now, how did I get talked into doing this?

Also, in the past week we've had auditions for OP's production of Oliver Twist, which will be performed in early December. I'd have loved to have got the part of Fagin, and was apparently a whisker away from it, but in the end I landed the part of Mr Bumble. Ah, comic relief again! Never mind, it's a decent part, and I won't have to learn as many lines...

Just Stand There

Last Saturday I got back from my week at the NODA Summer School, held each year at Loughborough University.

That's six years in a row and I'm yet to get bored of it. On the contrary - I seem to learn more (about acting, directing and myself) every time I go. This year was certainly no exception.

While this year's course (Directing A Play) wasn't the rollercoaster mind-fuck that I remember from last year, it was definitely worth attending. Here are some of the things I learned, in no particular order:

• Neil Simon wrote a female version of The Odd Couple in the 1980s. It's just as funny as the original.
• Contrary to my expectations, I can find emotional truth in my acting. Though it may have helped to be immersed in the special atmosphere of a NODA summer school class!
  
• As I learn more about acting and directing, I find it more and more useful to absorb the techniques which Stanislavski developed.
• Different teachers/actors/directors have different words for exactly the same concept.
  
• Although I already do huge amounts of prep work on a script, there's always more to do.
• Even lying on a hard floor, you can relax enough to make your arms and legs seem to drift away into space.
• Shakespeare wrote some cracking insults.
• I can do improv if I put my mind to it.
  
• After watching the Friday night showcase, I really wish I had done the Physical Theatre course...
• ...And the Acting Through Song course.
• If you have time and a good director, even amateurs can make a scene really come alive. But, alas, time is what is usually against us!
• If you trust your fellow actors, you can share anything with them.
• When your tutor (the marvellous Frankie Cosgrave) is willing to spend time with the class, outside of the classroom, you end up being able to trust each other much more.
  

There's so much more that can be said for the NODA Summer School. The superb tutors (I think this year's set must have been one of the best combinations). The cheap bar! The great food (too great - I couldn't fit into my disco trousers at the end of the week). The friendliness of everyone - even more so than in previous years.

Overall, I think my big lesson this year has been to discover that I CAN do all those things that I want to do, if I put my mind to it.

Tumbleweed

Welcome to another edition of "Where The Hell Have You Been?", with your host... Me!

I've been taking it easy recently and neglecting my blogging duties. But as my little sister has commented about her lack of recent posts, and as it's the first of a new month, I thought I would give myself a good kick up the backside and try to get back into the swing of things.

So, here's what I've been up to recently:

• Finished with Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. It went really well. You can see some pictures here.
• Went to Ireland to visit MLYW's sister and to watch the absolutely superb Radiohead at Malahide Castle, near Dublin.
  
• Organised a read-through of the play that I will be directing at this year's Woking Drama Festival.
• Took MLYW to Ely for a couple of days to visit the stained-glass museum and climbed to the very top of the cathedral.
• Had some good friends over for dinner.

I think that I need to write about some of that. There's definitely a whole post brewing about the rudeness of concert-goers!

First Night Nerves

I'm sitting here, just back from the pub, very pleased that the first night was exceedingly well received by a small, but select, audience (luckily many more are booked in for the last 3 nights...)

I hate this aspect of directing. I sit there watching all the tiny mistakes/missed cues/late sound cues, etc, etc, that the audience don't notice. Cringeing at the errors and wondering how that fantastic cast will get themselves out of the impossible position that they've put themselves in....

Our 'butler' has a scene where he asks the Dean of Paddington for his umbrella at a crucial stage of the action. Tonight he got confused and took the chap's brolly a page earlier than he should have done... What a to-do! Will he recover...? He did - and with a stroke of improvisational genius!

Watching them do it for an audience is both gut-wrenching and exhilarating. But overall, the fact that we held the audience, gripped, for 2.5 hours and made them laugh is everything that we could have wished for.

The audience's reaction is the reward for 3 months of hard work for the actors (plus another 2 months, or more, for the director and designers). This is the night that it all becomes "worth it".

Media Whore

In the pursuit of big box office (i.e. trying to get more than 300 people to come and see our play), I've turned into a media whore.

Yesterday I went along to Brooklands FM, with Mark who plays Lord Arthur. The DJ, Graham Laycock, threw questions at us, between records, which we tried to bat back as intelligently and cogently as possible. Then we read a short extract from the play. Matthew was at work, so I read the part of Baines. I think I sounded too much like Parker from Thunderbirds. Mum & Dad were listening in at home. They said we did alright, though apparently I said "um" too much!

Today I'm doing another interview. This time at Radio Wey, a local hospital and community radio station. If you see this before 3pm, you can listen live - I should be on around 4pm. I'm appearing on Nicci Brighten's show. She's an erstwhile member of Ottershaw Players, so it will be good to see her again.