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June 27th, 2009

08:27 pm - the ten-day itch.  Yeah, yeah. I'm addicted. I couldn't even stay away for two weeks. So, in a brief update -  19 July, did Theatre Studies final exam. The bastards gave us realism in the unseen text question which was a bugger for all of ten minutes until I realised it was very similar to A Doll's House. Cue relief. 21 July, rehearsals for AYLI. Ran the play over the whole day. Tiring. Began rehearsals proper for Edinburgh - am now officially trained on the college lighting board, and have found out it is quite addictive in a weird way. More on that anon. Yesterday, major fundraising gig for Edinburgh, including car-washing (I now ache like a bitch), cake selling and intermittent browbeating of the general public until they gave us Lots of Cash. It worked. And then, today - AYLI rehearsals again, the first of many. Today was the official beginning of intensive week - heaven or hell? The jury is still out. I would write more but I'm quite tired right now. Don't wait up. Current Mood: tired Tags: car wash, edinburgh, fund raising, shakespeare, tech, theatre

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June 18th, 2009

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06:58 pm - Back from the wilderness First post for several days. I feel as though I'm neglecting a pet. So, a breakdown of the events of the past two days - Tues: did nothing all day, then assisted mother with a Jamie Oliver dinner party thing in the evening, at which I managed to drink an entire bottle of vino. Did not realise no-one else was drinking red. Moving swiftly on... Weds: went to rehearsals for Cigs&Choc. My role as SM was not too vital this time around, pressing buttons on a machine to make music play etc. I'm so technically adept. Also, headshots done and pasted all around college. They look somewhat like mugshots, especially when accompanied by posters in block capitals. Regeneration DVD arrived, very exciting, so I watched it and, yes, sobbed. Wilfred Owen will do that to you. Thurs: Today I woke up with no voice. Cue TOTAL PANIC. It persisted throughout the morning, so that I was croaking at the cashier when buying Artaud-Cokes and Soothers for the throat. Got to college, witnessed another torture Artaud session with Gems. Craig N also watching - we dissected it afterwards which was most exciting and somewhat academic, albeit incorporating League of Gentlemen jokes. Also chatted to my prospective Stanhope about doing JE which brings me to... I'M DIRECTING A PLAY NEXT YEAR. SO EXCITED. And yes, I know I've still got AYLI and Cigs&Choc to get through, but directing this bugger will mean that I am officially a theatrical triple threat - acting, technical and directing. Hurrah! I have so many ideas. Soooo many ideas. Preliminary casting for Journey's End (world war one! I can't stop myself) includes LW as Raleigh, which he will do beautifull, and Charlie S as Osborne, ditto. Hoping that my prospective Stanhope will agree, and then it's a matter of auditioning and bribery until I have a good cast. Let's be honest - as long as those three roles are filled with three good and competent actors (which LW, Charlie and prospective-Stanhope MORE than are!) the rest of the cast just needs commitment, and a bit of elbow grease to make it a Bloody Good Play. I have designed a set, which is wider than originally planned but necessary. Sound will be fairly simple, as will lights - up'n'down affair, I think - and as soon as I get a cast together it's chocks away!  Am rather miffed by the fact that Arcadia at the Duke of York's is all sold out except for extortionately expensive stalls seats. Hmph. Current Mood: energetic Current Music: Gerry Mulligan - Sweet and Lovely

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June 15th, 2009

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June 14th, 2009

09:52 pm - excitement! Have just managed to buy a copy of Wilfred Owen's poetry (yes, all of it) for 10p, and a copy of the novel Regeneration for 1p. ONE PENNY. Madness. MADNESS I TELLS YOU. Current Mood: jubilant Tags: amazon, poetry, regeneration, success, wilfred owen

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09:50 pm - retrospective As I predicted, the Hardcastle (henceforth to be known as AH) and IJ today reached critical mass and minor panic ensued as we attempted to block the final scene - again. Have now reverted back to original exit blocking (roundy-roundy in our couples and out through the arch, it says a lot about my panic that I'm actually writing this here rather than trusting myself), easier said that done in the event. Poor darling JW has had an accident of some kind and actually gashed his arm quite badly, had to be very careful when dancing. In morning, recorded V-Os with OTHER JW (henceforth to be known as Music Man) which was rather tedious as it basically consisted of saying the same two phrases over and over again in time to music. Ho-hum. Cooper learnt a Dire Straits song and played it to me which was cute and funny. Joe No.1 displayed hitherto unseen musical talents and had knocked up the Apothecary Song (for the home-grown musical 'Eric the Gallant Horse' - soon to be at a theatre near you!) which was wonderful. Leslie put Joe No.2 in a full suit and fedora (which he then had to remain in while rehearsing Jaques having nearly missed his cue) - cue weakening at the knees and fluttering hearts all around. Then there was singing. It really is true that As You Like It is the most song-heavy of all the Bard's plays. No-one is complaining - Music Man has written gorgeous tunes for us to desecrate, and we are happy. Have finished the biography of Siegfried Sassoon. Quite tragic and heart-rending especially when reading about Wilfred Owen. Can hardly wait for HIS bio to arrive so I can read it again. There are a few tricksy dates coming up this week where I may have to be in several places at once, so they will need to be dealt with. But apart from that, all is well, though it ain't ended yet. That remains to be seen. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: John Whelan's arrangement of 'Blow, Blow (Thou Winter Wind)'

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June 13th, 2009

10:49 pm - sunny side up Yum, new paolo nutini album. Especially approve of the rag-time style songs. Free makeup with trashy magazine today which excites the starving student in me. Also managed to acquire a cheap film poster (Le Chat Noir) and, most excitingly, a DVD of Regeneration which I admit I have been longing for. TG and I are planning an adventure to Ikea (!) For furniture, and coffee cups. Stage management continues to present new and interesting challenges. Finally, finally put up the Dali poster (having motivated myself with le Chat Noir) which is a small triumph after owning it for four years, and also means the war on sickly green wallpaper has officially begun. Hurrah! Rehearsals tomorrow- it's getting to 'panic stations' though only for us actors, because we are all neurotic. The Hardcastle and IJ will join us soon enough I'm sure. Current Mood: tired Current Music: paolo nutini- pencil full of lead

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June 12th, 2009

10:44 pm - The Winslow Boy I have now had a couple of weeks to digest the latest installment of theatre (obsession feeding? Who me?) and will now write a brief review because it so deserved it and I am bored. I saw Stephen Unwin's latest offering at the Rose Theatre on (I think) the 27th of May. It was a very elegant production of Terence Rattigan's 'The Winslow Boy', a social and political drawing-room drama that I only really wanted to see because Adrian Lukis was in it. There were in fact many other reasons to go and see it which undoubtedly were the impetus for me to go and see it again.   One reason was the superior quality of the writing. Terence Rattigan is great - we know this. But, the lightness of touch that he gave to this play which, in the hands of lesser or even different playwright, could have let the central issues become heavy-handed, was really rather nice, and very nice to listen to. Some wonderful one-liners (mostly delivered by Timothy West who growled and snarked his way through the role of the patriarch with skill and ease, and was really quite touching in the later stages of the play when the old Mr Winslow begins to accept his failing health) and a simply BRILLIANT closing line for Act I appealed greatly. Another reason was the gorgeous set and costume design, complemented by lovely warm lighting and a really eerie soundtrack. The warm, sandy colours of the set worked nicely with the costumes, whether they were the sombre black of Lukis' really rather terrifying advocate, giving just the right balance of laconic Englishness and hidden passion, or the vibrant red of Ronnie Winslow's suffragette sister. The soundtrack was a mournful blend of a boys' choir singing 'Jerusalem' (beginning with a treble solo which was gooooooorgeous, the music geek in me came out to play!) and what we at first took to be the thunder of the opening storm and then realised, in the play's closing stages, was a foreshadowing of the "thudding of the guns" (to quote Sassoon) in anticipation of WWI. Ouch. Mention must be made of Hugh Wyld, who played Ronnie Winslow charmingly and held his own very very well against Adrian Lukis in an alternately suspenseful and hilarious mock-courtroom scene. Also a really lovely boy. Overall - I loved it, and I want to steal Stephen Unwin's job and potentially his directing skills too. Mmm, theatre. Have also embarked on the second stage of my war poet fascination by reading a long and involving and EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL biography of Wilfred Owen which basically made me SOB, and have now begun a less emotional but still lovely and interesting biography of Sassoon. Am now on the hunt for a copy of the film of Regeneration! The music was wicked cool and quite creepy, which is always appealing, and also James Wilby and Jonathan Pryce were in it. That's what I'm talking about. (Definitely not the also EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL readings of 'The Parable of the Old Man and the Young' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'  by the wonderful Stuart Bunce. Nope, definitely not. *SOBS*) Current Mood: pleased Current Music: Bach (Matthew Passion) - Aus Liebe Tags: choir boys, sassoon, stephen unwin, terence rattigan, theatre, timothy west, wilfred owen, winslow boy

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June 11th, 2009

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10:16 pm - becky-boxing.   weird title for a wonderful concept. It's the bestie's birthday on Monday, and C and J and me are all pulling together to make a Becky-Box of little things she might like. For someone who is practically perfect in every way she's infuriatingly hard to buy for.  In other news, ye olde Classics exam went surprisingly well, nice questions on the nature of Greek tragedy and pros and cons of using traditional myth, and even the Aeneid question was quite nice (though for the life of me I can't recall what it was - gulp!), and then came the English Exams of Doom. WWI exam was quite emotional really, we got a Wilfred Owen poem to play around with as well as an average play and a bit of a memoir, so that was lovely. Lots of ranting about Sassoon, and because I easily forget what I write in exams I'm a bit nervous that my essay deteriorated into I F***CKING LOVE WIFLRED OWEN. Also, a lovely Dunsany sonnet written (I think) about the Battle of Jutland which I will now share with you... A DIRGE OF VICTORY Lift not thy trumpet, Victory, to the sky,   Nor through battalions nor by batteries blow,   But over hollows full of old wire go, Where among dregs of war the long-dead lie With wasted iron that the guns passed by.   When they went eastwards like a tide at flow;   There blow thy trumpet that the dead may know, Who waited for thy coming, Victory. It is not we that have deserved thy wreath,   They waited there among the towering weeds. The deep mud burned under the thermite's breath,   And winter cracked the bones that no man heeds: Hundreds of nights flamed by: the seasons passed. And thou last come to them at last, at last! It was, of course, the SECOND English exam that I was dreading - Lyrical Ballads and Ben Jonson's 'The Alchemist', a maddeningly era-specific play, and ofc a poetry collection (the Ballads) by Wordsworth and Coleridge. I believe Wordsworth's 15 verses about a herd of sheep will remain with me for many years. Also went surprisingly well. I hope. In total, complete and utter contrast to BOTH the original plans for life &c, I have decided (only half-seriously) to apply for Cambridge University as well as drama school. We'll see how that one turns out... (Also, note to self - buy Bomber Boys when next out. Its companion Fighter Boys was fabby.) Current Location: Tiffin Boys Choir - Jerusalem Current Mood: cheerful Tags: aeneid, ben jonson, birthday, cambridge, classics, coleridge, drama, exams, lord dunsany, raf, wilfred owen, wordsworth

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June 3rd, 2009

11:01 pm - Classics exam   so this is me, procrastinating and freaking out when i REALLY SHOULD be studying.  in more interesting news, went out for dinner and drinkies with the drama crowd last night and it all got a bit emotional (as we do), since it was probably the last time so many of our class would be in the same room together, barring the actual exam. it was a good night - pizza (or in my case an absolutely gorgeous salad) followed by drinks and reminiscing. it's just occurred to me that i'm quite terse when i write in this thing, and i have also just remembered that part of the point of using it is to make myself write better about everyday things. well, such is life. Current Mood: melancholy Current Music: Madeleine Peyroux - J'ai deux amours Tags: classics, dinner, drama, drinks, emotional, nostalgia

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May 20th, 2009

09:27 pm - War Poetry   Watching this programme on BBC-something called 'Why Poetry Matters' or similar. And. Aside from being presented by the adorable Griff Rhys Jones, it has opened up a whole can o' worms in my brain which had to be evacuated here... Poetry. What does it mean to me? Well, in recent days - much more than it has done for a while. In the course of reading up for Englist Lit synoptic unit on WWI, I have managed to fall deeply and irrevocably in love with the poetry of one Wilfred Owen. And from Wilfred Owen's poetry, I have been reading about Wilfred Owen's life - and from there, I have managed to slide down a slippery slope into the life and works of Siegfried Sassoon, and then Robert Graves, making detours into Isaac Rosenberg, Marion Allen, Edward Thomas, Nora Bomford et al. And one thing that has struck me time and time again is the sheer beauty and passion that the subject of war has managed to inspire in these poets. For example... What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall. Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. Famously from Wilfred Owen's 'Anthem for Doomed Youth,' and, in my opinion, structural perfection. He invented pararhyme, apparently, but that's not very interesting. What is interesting is the way he uses words - neatly, simply, sublimely. I mean - "the holy glimmers of goodbyes"? It's beautiful. You cannot deny it. And of course, when read, it seems effortless - something that is undermined by the manuscripts that survive showing hundreds of revisions until every single word is perfect. Which they are. But it's not even precision and effortlessness that makes me weep when I read the stuff this man wrote. (The horrible irony of his death in France is of course a factor.) It's the emotion. This, from Owen's 'Wild With All Regrets' -  ...I'd find another body. Which I shan't manage now. Unless it's yours. You'll feel my heavy spirit chill your chest, And climb your throat on sobs, until it's chased  On sighs, and wiped from off your lips by wind. Not just the way he's given us the picture of a man sobbing, but the language. The intimacy, the sense of love and despair and desperation that these four lines give us - it's desolate and beautiful. This poem was an alternative version of another, called 'A Terre', which was more public and political, and excludes these four lines from its ending.  I'm barely coherent right now, which is a common side effect this stuff has on me, but one more thing that (as an actor) I find irresistible and well-nigh addictive about these poems is how easy they are to read aloud, and just how beautiful they sound. Only when read aloud can the intricacies of sound be fully appreciated. Poetry does not belong on the page, especially not poetry as incredible as this. It needs to be shouted aloud to the world! Emotionally yours. Current Mood: enthralled Tags: poetry, wilfred owen, words, world war one

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May 6th, 2009

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May 4th, 2009

06:23 pm - Edinburgh, and other things.  So, I'm off to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year! I'll be the Press & Publicity Manager for the cast of 'Cigarettes and Chocolate', performed by Braindead Theatre, and even though I'm not acting I am a very excited person. Liaising with the press is something I've never done before, and sounds like a lot of fun - also useful to scout out what the press are really like! - and it will be a helluva job, tramping around a beautiful city at the height of summer accompanied by a man dressed as a seven-foot-high cigarette. (Although, height of summer? Might be a bit hopeful...) In other news, rehearsals for 'As You Like It' are really on the uppers, and I am acting in this one, which makes it even slightly more exciting. The part of Rosalind - biggest female Shakespearean role, yadda yadda yadda - is a gift for any actress, so to play it this young is more than a little terrifying, along with the enjoyment. (I have decided not to mention the turquoise dress, as it makes my head hurt a bit.) Someone asked me today, what have I been reading? I spluttered a bit and then muttered something about Shakespeare (standard answer) but I've decided to answer them properly, here. For some reason that's the only question that I have a mind blank for, which is rubbish because I read far too much to really have an excuse for that. - As You Like It. I have to, I need to learn my lines. - Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer. WOW. - Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain. Likewise, and even though it's for Eng Lit, I still love it. - Philip Larkin's back catalogue. He does things with words that make me wibble. - Sonnets, which leads me onto.... WHY DID I NOT KNOW THERE WAS A CD OF SONNETS BEING READ BY BASICALLY ALL MY FAVOURITE ACTORS. WHY. WHY. Anyway, bandwagon has been caught up with and I've now got it. Alan Rickman reading Sonnet 130 ("My mistress' eyes...") now soothes me to sleep at night. Hah.  Also, Joseph Fiennes? Supremely sexy voice there, mister. Over 'n' out. Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Doctor Who - Soundtrack Tags: alan rickman, chocolate, cigarettes, edinburgh, larkin, poetry, reading, shakespeare

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