James Bond and the art of Radio

It's been a terrific, action-packed week of creative expression. I've been editing some previous stories for submission to various publications which I've enjoyed far more than I anticipated. There is a reason why they've been sitting in a box for so long! If there were only more hours in the day, but alas, we've recently lost another one - DRAT!

I had a dinner meeting with some of my comedy colleagues on Friday night to plot and plan our weekend of mahem. On Saturday, I was recording radio sketches as a supporting act for my friends Sam and Dave - a brilliant comedy duo who have recently acquired a second slot for their radio comedy sketch show called The Sam and Dave Show. Writers from all over the UK have been submitting their sketches to them for inclusion in the show and we read them all with rapt attention! There are so many talented writers out there! It was a great day - lots of hard work, but even more laughter. That's the beauty of comedy - it's tough, but when you get it right you're floating. We managed to record about twelve sketches which is a great accomplishment considering we didn't stop laughing for the first two hours. James Bond will never be the same to me again!

I've got one Barefaced Cheek show to get ready for - 18th April (Barnfield Theatre, Exeter) and then we'll be wrapping up for the time being. Hopefully we will be able to work remotely on a new programme for Barefaced Cheek which will see me fly back from Canada for future performances.

My new obsession is with comedy songs, so I've been spending time trying to destroy the most influential songs of my youth with my own warped version of life around me. It's enough to make you cry...with pity!

That's all I have to report for now. I've just spotted an interesting show coming up at the Exeter Phoenix in May - The Wondermentalists present Taking the Mic. I'm thinking that this might be a good opportunity for me to perform one of the poems I wrote for the Vibaraphonic Poetry Slam (but was in Hospital with my daughter so had to pull out :(). I may get in touch with them very soon....

Always look for opportunities, sometimes they do just appear right out of nowhere!

Back on Track...

Sorry, it's been a while. I have more upheaval to report, but everything else seems to be moving along steadily now. The Temple of Nothing has postponed it's premiere of Women are Revolting (WAR). It was previously scheduled for 25th April, but will now be taking place sometime in July. This decision was made to coincide with the funding application the Temple is making to the Arts Council in conjunction with the amount of rehearsals needed to put out a cracking show. I'm in total agreement, even though it means I won't be able to 'physically' participate in the July production as I will have replanted myself in Canada by then. I will however continue to be a member of the group (mainly to have the option of participating in the forthcoming tour - Berlin, Bulgaria...etc. etc.) and will also be submitting multi-media material for use during the productions. Mensa and the Devil Tree will probably have to wait for a Canadian release, but I have put together a series of poetic slideshows called The Book of You which will be included in the show.

Barefaced Cheek are getting ready for their one and only performance of This Show Shall Remain Nameless... on 18th April at the Barnfield Theatre, Exeter. Cancelling the Cheltenham shows this month was a terrifically painful blow to all of us and it has taken a few weeks to stop feeling so very bad about it all. In a way, it's very poignant that my last Barefaced Cheek show will be in Exeter, where we started out. It will be exciting and also very sad indeed.

I've also been writing and submitting new material for publication. My new short story LIV has just been submitted to the Genomics Short Story Competition (UK). I've also been working on some previously written children's work, reediting with more 'seasoned' eyes and hopefully giving them the life they deserve.

I have written my first fan letter since I was about 12 (to Duran Duran-the sex gods of my youth) recently. The letter is to James Corden, comedy writer and performer. I'm a huge fan of his work (Gavin & Stacey and now the Horne & Corden sketch show) and think he's a great inspiration, being a passionate writer/performer of comedy myself. I felt a bit silly writing it, but since I haven't thought of doing something like that for a long time, thought 'What the hell!'. If I made a difference to someone else's life in the work I was doing, I would love to hear about it, truly I would! So why wouldn't he?

I'm completely overwhelmed at the moment with job searching in Halifax (Nova Scotia) where I'll be taking up residence in June. It's a nutty process no matter where you live and I'm anxious that this is a detail which MUST be settled before we arrive!

Anyway, that's all I have to report at the moment. Enjoy the English sunshine - while it lasts!!

When it Rains it Pours...

Well, I wish I had lots of positive news to report right now, but there has been a huge amount of unexpected upheaval lately on the homefront. My daughter was rushed to hospital last week with stomach problems. We spent 5 days there and she seems to be more or less alright now, but it has meant I've had to make some tough decisions about recent plans. I didn't perform in the Vibraphonic Poetry Slam. I have 4 fantastic slam poems just waiting to be unleashed on the world and I certainly hope I'll have an opportunity to perform them in the future. Most distressing of all was the decision to cancel the Barefaced Cheek shows playing in Cheltenham this week. With my daughter still at home recovering, I had to put my Mommy hat on and everything has just had to take a backseat. This is terribly unfair to the rest of the company and to the people who purchased tickets, but everyone has been very understanding about my need to put her first.

So, as today would have been our first Cheltenham show, I am sitting here licking my wounds and feeling rather sorry for myself which may be slightly selfish, but can't be helped I'm afraid. Better I'm a tad self-indulgent to all of you than crying my eyes out in front of her. That's my logic, anyway!

I'm feeling a bit stir crazy, wishing I could be on a stage somewhere, somehow, but all of that will have to wait for a little while. I've decided to concentrate on editing some former writing which has been stuffed away in a box, see if there's anything worth salvaging and reworking. I need a project right now, and that seems like a good use of any spare time I have at the moment. I'm also still heavily involved in the Temple of Nothing and am thrilled with the shape Mensa and the Devil Tree has taken. The show has been renamed Women are Revolting and it is certain to be a fantastic evening of daring and intelligent women's performance.

I hope to have some more positive updates soon and may even record my slam poems to post here in the near future, so keep checking back!

Making the Most of March!

Wow! It's been a flurry of activity on the homefront. In the end, I didn't put in an entry for the 7on7 Sketch competition. Something had to give last week and I'm afraid it was that. This Saturday, I'm performing in the Vibraphonic Poetry Slam. I have four new, original pieces prepared. I've been practising and I'm 'in it to win it', so wish me luck!! I thought I'd have a fresh course of panic pulsing through my veins by now, but...nope, just feeling exciting and ready to get my groove on.

Temple of Nothing is forging ahead with lots of ladies at the helm. I think there are 15 of us now, all working on different pieces, some collective, some individual, all amazing. We have another collective gathering this weekend and hopefully will decide on the show name for the premiere (25th April)which has now shifted as the pieces have developed, from Transparent Masks to possibly Women are Revolting. We will see!!

Barefaced Cheek are starting the first leg of the new tour of This Show Shall Remain Nameless... next week. We are performing on 12, 13 and 14 March in the Studio Theatre of the Everyman in Cheltenham. Friday (13th) is Red Nose Day, and we will be visiting a playwrighting class at the University of Gloucestershire to run a sketch writing workshop with the students and hopefully devise (along with them) a new sketch specifically for the Red Nose Day performance that evening.

Yesterday, I was interviewed by the Gloucestershire News regarding the new show and there will be a feature article in this Friday's edition promoting our tour. It's all terrific, everything's moving right along and if we fill the place, even better!

A lot of work has gone into this show and I can assure you that there isn't anything quite like this happening anywhere else in the UK right now. We love the turn our writing has taken with the development of This Show Shall Remain Nameless... and I think we've achieved a new level of wackiness I didn't even know was possible!

This will probably be my last post until after the Cheltenham gigs - unless I win the Poetry Slam in which case I'll plaster my news on Sunday!

Catchya on the flip side, my thespian sibs!