Sunday, January 25, 2009
Another production finished. It seems to have been a great success, with every performance a sell out! This is the best we've ever had in ticket sales, and I can honestly say we've had the best audience response as well. Each year we seem to get better and it's all because have a really good group of people who not only get along well, but who among them have a large and varied choice of skills to call upon and who are 100% cooperative.
Hubby took hundreds (literally) of photos and so here are a few of them. I'm the evil old hag, in case you're wondering. Not that I've been typecast or anything! ;-/
The whole project has been hugely rewarding and if I had any reservations before, I now have no doubt in mind that I intend to continue contributing to the group for a long time to come.
We'll be having the show Post Mortem this Thursday so we'll see what everyone else thinks.
Now I can hardly wait for the mid-year show! Although, having been cast in the last three productions, I feel it only fair that I decline from auditioning for the next show and learn some more backstage skills.
Bring it on!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
They're not fantastic as I had ro rely on other people to take the pictures (for obvious reasons) but next weekend I will make sure I get some decent ones.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Well, it's almost a week since the very first performance of Snow White and the Magic Mirror, or Schneeweiss und die Zauber Spiegel, as my dad has decided to call it. I've got my costume washed and all nice and fresh smelling, ready for another three performances of being hot, sweaty and worried for two hours. Must remember to pack the lovely crispy red apple we used last week in my costume/props bag before leaving the house tomorrow. It's kept very nicely in the fridge, and is so perfectly red and flawless we decided to use it again this weekend. Forgot to go and get some more eyelash glue today. Must do that tomorrow as my dad won't remember to or have a clue. I seem to have lost it between the last performance and coming home. I need it to stick on my dad's false eyelashes - he's the pantomime dame - but we won't go there. Seeing him in lipstick wearing false boobs and chatting up some random bloke in the audience has got me traumatised. I'll need therapy for weeks after this! LOL Only joking, but it does take a bit of getting used to!
Tonight would normally have been a Theatre Group night, but as we're on stage tomorrow night we're having a night off. :-) This probably means I will have to pull my finger out and do some paperwork instead, which has nothing to do with the panto but is important, nevertheless. I also need to go through my lines at least once tonight as I forgot them on Saturday and it was only a bit of quick thinking that got me back on track.
I plan on taking some photos of the absolutely fabulous cast and crew over the weekend, so watch this space.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I haven't really blogged about this, so it may come as a bit of a surprise to some. I am currently in a pantomime at Washington Arts Centre, called Snow White and the Magic Mirror.
However, this is not an advertisement. Although, if you do want to come along and see it, the tickets cost £3 and there are six more performances to go, Friday 16th at 7:30pm, Saturday 17th at 1pm and 7:30pm, and the following weekend, 23rd and 24th at the same times!
Right, now that the uncomfortable bit is out of the way ...
I get very, VERY nervous before the first show. I'm sure you've all felt it at some point ... you know when your mouth goes dry and your heart is racing and you feel like you can't breath? I felt so bad that seconds before I was due to make my first appearance, as I was standing behind the curtain waiting for my cue, I actually started considering leaving the Theatre Group after the last show. I felt nauseous and my legs were wobbly.
So, my cue came and on I went. I play the evil old hag (typecasting perhaps?) so the moment the wicked queen casts a spell and turns herself into the hag, there is an explosion, a puff of smoke and she runs off as I run on quickly, cackling loudly. I then rush off the front of stage and up the auditorium steps, scaring the bairns, shrieking and cackling as I go. Well, I made one of them cry, didn't I? As if I wasn't feeling bad enough already! I thought, "I just can't do this."
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I survived the first show, although I felt mentally drained and wanted to cry. My foot was throbbing (I'd broken my toe a couple of days before Christmas and running around on stage in beaten up old DMs was a bad idea) and I really needed a drink. So I went home and had seven whiskys. Not good. I feel guilty now. I just want to make it perfectly clear here and now that I do not have a drink problem. But turning up at the theatre the next day for the matinee performance with a slightly woolly head and a dry mouth was A Bad Thing.
But, you know what? I can't wait till next Friday! All that anguish and nervousness, all that physical and mental discomfort was worth every second. I can honestly say I am proud to be part of a wonderful group of caring, supportive and talented people. I feel we put on a great show and when people come up to you afterwards to tell you so, then I think we must be doing something right.
Roll on Friday!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
I'm taking a few minutes out from work (well, a lunch break) because I really really need a rest for my brain. You know when you try to explain something clearly to someone and they only half listen to what you say, then they speak to you as if it's your fault for not making yourself clear, or they completely misinterpret what you're saying? Well, imagine all of that over email, and the other person isn't very literate. Then you might understand why I'm feeling wound up, and it isn't even me that's having the conversation in the first place! Ian is doing that and being very patient about it. If I was answering emails I'd have told every fecker to get lost by now. I am not a people person. I have no patience.
Of course, none of this would have happened if said person hadn't bought two separate items from Ebay, paid for them both, THEN asked for us to combine the postage for him!
Gah!
And these noodles I'm having for lunch are so hot I can't feel my lips any more!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
It's late. I'm tired. I have work tomorrow. New Year celebrations in Whitby were wonderful, as usual. I am expecting to be suffering the Whitby Blues from now on.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
From the BBC:
Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, has died aged 76.
She died of leukaemia on Thursday at her home in Los Angeles, her family said in a statement.
The actress, who featured in nearly every Star Trek TV show and film, nurtured the legacy of the sci-fi series after her husband died in 1991.
She recently finished her role as the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in the new Star Trek film, due out in May.
Barrett Roddenberry was involved in the Star Trek universe for more than four decades.
She played the dark-haired Number One in the TV show's original pilot, The Cage, but was recast as the blonde, mini-skirted Nurse Christine Chapel for the series, which launched in 1966.
During this time, she was romantically involved with creator Gene Roddenberry, and the couple married in Japan after the show was cancelled in 1969.
'Vital role'
She went on to play smaller roles in all five Star Trek TV spin-offs and many of the Star Trek movie incarnations. She is perhaps best known, however, as the voice of the ship's computer.
Barrett Roddenberry helped keep the franchise alive by inspiring fans and attending a major Star Trek convention each year.
"My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years," her son Eugene Roddenberry Jr said in a statement on the official Roddenberry Web site.
"It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away."
The website added that in lieu of flowers, the family have asked for donations be made to two animal rescue charities.
The actress is survived by her only son, Eugene.
A public memorial is expected to be scheduled for sometime after Christmas.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
see more pwn and owned pictures
Monday, December 15, 2008
Well, much to my dismay, my lovely Christmassy template appears to be broken (thanks to Pinksy for bringing this to my attention). The comment box didn't work. Despite everything I do to try to fix it, I obviously don't understand xml well enough to debug the problem, so I have gone for the minimialist look until I can be arsed to figure it out.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
DJ, please begin with some Trance, to set the mood.
0 comments Posted by Unknown at Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
You simply have to go over and have a look! Chortle!
