Some Exciting Achievements!

I'd like to share a couple of things from earlier this year that are exciting achievements for me...

The Hidden Stream

I mentioned in an earlier blog post, how as well as performing in this years UK edition of the Gi60 Theatre Festival, I submitted a script for the first time, which was chosen for the US event. As with the UK performances, The plays there  were filmed. They have now been uploaded, and are available to view on the Gi60 YouTube channel. So if you like you can view all of the plays, including the one I wrote, which I have inserted below here:

If you would be interested in submitting a play for the next Gi60 festival (each play is just one minute long!) then follow the Gi60 blog, for updates of when they are next accepting submissions. You can also read there about how the festival extended to New Zealand this year!

New Roads

One thing I have been working on, which I mentioned in a blog post back in February, is that I have been learning to drive. Well I am so excited to say that I have now passed my theory and practical tests and I am officially a driver!! I was so so happy when I was told I had passed, and I really enjoy driving and the freedom and flexibility it brings. Since passing I have been driving all over the country, for work and other things! It has allowed me to squeeze in a lot more into my time, and been really helpful for certain projects I'm working on. The instructor I learnt with was Andy Kerr, if you are interested you can find his website here.

Nice Moves

Task Attention Movement

Whilst I was working on the IOU project I mentioned in my last post, I got to meet some really great creative people, and one of those was Emily Brown who was also assisting. At the time Emily was working towards an MA in Psychophysical Training Methodologies for Ensemble Based Performance. I got to see a performance she created which used some of her research and techniques. It was an ensemble movement based performance called 'Task Attention Movement' and it was amazing! It was very inspiring and captivating. Full of really interesting interactions and balances between performers. Every performer was focused and seemed very in control of their body, but it wasn't predictable or contrived. I found it quite addictive to watch and has provided some movement inspiration for a subsequent project I've been involved with. The audience was seated all around the performance space on four sides, and as I got to see it twice I got to see it from two different perspectives which was very interesting.

Emily has now completed her MA and is currently working at the University of Huddersfield with Drama students.

Body Awareness

I was also involved in a research session with Deborah Middleton and Laura Haughey at the Huddersfield University about Body Awareness - Somatic Awareness / Embodied (Self) Awareness / Feeling Sense. This looked a little into the unreliability of 'feelings' - for example feelings about how you are holding your body etc. The session looked into how each person - each body - has a characteristic manner of organising the whole system, and how affecting and changing how the body is used/held is done better by paying attention to the system globally rather than micromanaging. The day involved having some measurements and pictures of our bodies taken, then looking at each others characteristic manner of body movement and posture. This was followed by body exercises and then measurements and pictures taken again to review any changes. It was an interesting day and I enjoy getting more in touch with my body and what it's doing - perhaps one reason I like yoga - I find it quite calming and centring.

Deborah and Laura will eventually be writing a paper about their research.

IOU

The first year drama students at Huddersfield University have the chance to work with a professional theatre company. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to work as an assistant for IOU Theatre Company and the first year students on their project together.

It was very interesting to see how IOU works, and gain inspiration from some of their unusual methods, and also to experience working with university students. I had experienced a performance of IOU's back when I was in college. It was a performance called Waylaid which was very different from anything I'd seen at the time. It therefore seemed strange to end up working alongside them and having a bit more insight into the company.

We got to have a snoop around at
 IOU Headquarters!

They have a lot of amazing creations there
 as they engineer a lot of their own stuff 

This giant dung beetle was in the performance
 I saw back when I was in college!

Working with first year university students was quite a challenge actually. I don't think I'd realised how much I'd grown up since that age (it doesn't seem that long ago to me!) and so without meaning to sound patronising they did seem much younger than I expected. The project manager Von was very helpful however and helped me quickly learn some ways to encourage the students to reach their full potential and not be too quick to get frustrated if their behaviour wasn't quite as adult as I'd expected. Primarily through not interfering too much and not underestimating them!

The students took part in a two week 'intensive' with the company where they created a performance from scratch. My role as an assistant was to help communication between the theatre company and the students, and oversee certain groups of students, helping them with any issues etc. The performance they created was called 8 x 5. You can read IOU's info on it here.

It was a big learning curve for the students as they worked out of their comfort zone and I felt really proud of the two groups I was assisting. They really pushed to their full potential and though they struggled with some things they generally over came them and produced performances they could be proud of. I think likewise it was a learning curve for me and other people who were delivering the project! As I've mentioned I think it made me more tolerant but also inspired me creatively, and gave me an insight into a different side of the creative world - which the last time I experienced, I experienced as a student!

The Drama course at Huddersfield University has a great reputation and I have a few friends who studied on that course so I felt quite honoured to be a part of what they do there. I also met some great, creative, lovely people which is always nice.

You can learn more about IOU Theatre here, and Huddersfield University here.

Some Singing Snapshots

Here are a few snapshots from earlier this year:

I performed at Gareth's mum's wedding celebration with Ben Erridge, Gareth Price-Baghurst, Hall Crossland and Joshua Patel. We had a fantastic time. Gareth and I also performed music at the ceremony, and my dad took the ceremony. It was an honour to be involved with their important day.

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Have been out and about with the Holmfirth based band I am part of Steve Ansell & The Truth recently:

We were interviewed on BCB radio and played some songs live. This was a very interesting experience for me as I've never been on the radio before!

We performed at the fantastic Holmfirth Festival of Folk  this year.

Band member Jan is also a part of
 the Banjoladies who performed at the festival too.

Holmfirth festival is a great quirky festival. You can see more photos of it here.

Steve and Jan organised a little music festival called MooBoo, which we performed at. It had a great friendly atmosphere and some brilliant acts including Hedley Brown.

Anarchy in the Ukulele performing.

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I mentioned I've been working with Postculture, and I've been having a few studio sessions with them. In fact my first collaboration with them 'Sunsound' has been released this month. I will do a full post on this at some point but in the mean time you can check the track out here if you're interested.

My Script in New York!

For the last few years I have been involved with the Gone In 60 Seconds Theatre Festival. A festival that consists of 100s of tiny plays (yes, each just a minute long!). You can read more about this here. The festival takes place in the UK, America, and later on this year possibly some new exciting countries! ;) Writers from all over the world submit plays for consideration (each country performs a different selection of plays).

This year I performed in the UK version for the 4th year running, but for the first time I also  submitted a play - and I'm very pleased to say it has been chosen for the American setting which is in New York! I am very excited to see it come to life. Not, I should add, that I am going to New York to see it (unfortunately!!), but rather because the plays are also recorded and uploaded on the internet, so that the writers from all over the world can see their plays performed  - along with anyone else who wants to watch it! I can't wait to see how they interpret my script!

The UK leg was performed earlier this month, this time at Stage@Leeds. You can already watch the recording of the plays. Grab a cuppa and enjoy an hour of original entertainment:



You can read about my past experiences of Gi60 here.

The Predators Challenge

The Fabularium has been out in the wild again ;-) This time with a new little show 'The Predator's Challenge', which we performed as part of an event called Priory Tales at Birkenhead Priory.

In rehearsal for 'The Predator's Challenge' 

In costume, ready to perform.

Lady Lupin the she-wolf, Pertolotta the chicken,
and King Noble Lion

The festival mostly had performances from youth theatre members inspired by the priory and it's history. We were an added medieval extra! :)

It was great to see the young people's work, it was very inspiring - singing, dancing and acting performances. The youth theatre are very inclusive, involving disabled performers, and the performances they had created together were just amazing.

Some youth theatre members getting ready to perform

The event started each night with a procession involving choral singing and huge lanterns in various shapes related to the history of the priory.

Giant monk and owl lanterns
created by The Lantern Company

A quick snap with the local mayor,
holding Pertolotta the cheeky chicken puppet.

Midway through taking the set down at the end
 of the night, in the beautiful setting of the priory.

I really enjoyed this project a lot. I always have a lot of fun working with The Fabularium and feel proud to be part of the work they produce as it's quite unique and special I think. We had some great audiences responses which is always encouraging. It was also an honour to be part of the project the young people there had created, because their work was truly inspiring.

You can read a bit more about my work with The Fabularium here. To keep an eye on what The Fabularium is up to, check out their Facebook page here.

Easter Concerts

I've been invited by Yorkshire based band Postculture to be a guest vocalist on one of their tracks. In March I performed with them as part of Blue Rooms Easter Gig at at music venue bar 1:22. It was a great night, we got to experience the other acts too including Felka an amazing acoustic duo. Postculture also performed a track with guest vocals from the excellent Leo Transit. Hoping to work more with Postculture in the future... To check out their music you can find links on their website music www.postculturemusic.com. Awesome sounds.

On Easter Sunday I was involved in a gospel concert/meeting in Sheffield which featured lots of different gospel artists and was amazing. I loved performing there as it was so lively and full of love, and I always really enjoy getting to experience different gospel artists.

There is more music in the pipeline which I'm very excited about! Watch this space :)

Decades of Mystery

I have been back to the 40's and 50's recently with a couple of Murder Mysteries!

The first one, set in the 40's, was my first performance with Murder Incorporated and was in Harrogate. As I used to live in Harrogate I used the opportunity to revisit Nidd Hall where I used to work and live and catch up with a friend in Harrogate centre. I'm really fond of Harrogate though I've not been back properly since living there.

We actually performed in the hotel where crime writer Agatha Christie famously revealed herself after going missing in 1926.

In costume

This was an interesting experience. Although I'd been part of a murder mystery play many times at Nidd Hall, this was what I imagine as the more usual format for a murder mystery - constantly interacting with guests, a meal happening alongside the performance and heavily improvisation based. It was a good learning experience for me and good fun.

The second was a fundraising event for Brekenbrough School, directed by Graham Easterlow of Bordello Theatre and Sharon Lancaster of Wooden Spoons Theatre. Brekenborough is a school for boys with a range of learning and behavioural difficulties, you can read more about it here. We went back to the 50's for a hilarious evening of murder and shenaninigans!

This one included more scripted scenes, but interaction with the guests too. As I had worked with some of the cast before it was really fun, we had a great audience response and I enjoyed it immensley.

For Christmas my brother and sister-in-law gave me this book for Christmas and it's proved very useful in ideas for my costume, hair and make-up for these two performances and hopefully it will come into more use in the future too!

Vintage Beauty Parlour
by Hannah Wing

A make-up and hair look
inspired by
The Vintage Beauty Parlour book

A Week of Music and New Life!

This last week was a mixture of exciting and varied things!

Monday

Monday was a full day; kicked off the week with a driving lesson, then worked in the market for a few hours, followed by Yoga Lab with Deborah Templeton yoga.

Postculture

Then on Tuesday I did some recording with Postculture, for one of their tracks. I am hopefully going to be performing with them at Bar 1:22 in Huddersfield on the 26th of March. So if you are in Huddersfield it would be great to have some support. ;)

Nottingham

Then I headed off to Nottingham. There I had the privilege of spending a few days helping out my sister who has just had a beautiful baby girl! I felt so honoured to be there at this special and challenging time, and being able help out in any way I could. It also meant I got to have lots of baby cuddles and time with both my lovely nieces, my gorgeous big sis and my brother-in-law.

Sick Room Studios

Then on Friday I headed over to Sick Room Studios in Narborough in Norfolk to record some tracks with Steve Ansell and The Truth. The studios were so cool and we worked with the amazing producer Owen Turner. Looking forward to hearing the final product!

The producer Owen hard at work

Gareth in the spotlight

The first day we recorded some live tracks and then Steve laid down the guitar and vocals, and Gareth was recorded playing his instruments. Then the next day was the harmony vocals - Jan, Gareth and myself. It was a really interesting experience! Whilst I've done little bits of recording before, never with a full band, and I didn't know how much waiting around was involved! It was so fun though.

The band

A game of pool whiles away waiting time

The studio cat Ginger

Gareth and myself mid-recording day

We also have a new Twitter account if you want to follow (I don't even have Twitter yet but the band does :-p).

All in all it was a great week, this current week includes my birthday so here's hoping it's a good one!

Making Music

Choir

Earlier this year I was honored to go with Huddersfield Community Gospel Choir to Settle in North Yorkshire to sing with the choir at a Methodist Church. The choir led the service and it was a really interesting experience. I am loving singing with the choir and getting to know people there.

Vocals

I would love it if you would check out this fairly new venture of an old friend of mine - Postculture. We have been playing around with some vocals recently and hopefully I'll be appearing on one of their tracks. Lots of exciting things in the pipeline for them so keep an eye on what they're up to. Check out the Facebook page.

Recording

I'm currently in the middle of recording this weekend with Steve Ansell & The Truth at the amazing Sick Room Studios! So far it's going really well, just recorded the live set and about to lay down the main tracks!

Get Writing

Can you write?

I have talked many times about the Gone in 60 Seconds Theatre Festival, which features lots of one minute long plays! (If you haven't read my previous posts on this you can find a list of them here). Gi60 selects scripts from writers all over the world, and the festival is now open for script submissions.

For more info check out the Gi60 blog.

Watch Gi60 Online

There's so much scope for writing even just one minutes worth of material - past scripts have ranged from hilarious, to poignant, to down right bizarre. If you'd like to see some examples of what other writers have done with their one minute of theatre, the recordings from last years Gi60 festival are now online! Check them out on the Gi60 YouTube channel.  Here's one example...

A Weekend On The Wrong Side Of The Pennines...

With the bearded ladies outside The Blackpool Tower Dungeon,
where I have worked in the past.

Last weekend I was in Lancashire. I had the opportunity to see a performance by Unit, a new youth theatre company in Preston. The performance was directed by Graham Easterlow and Katy Mitchell of Bordello Theatre. It was an excellent performance with a political theme that was very thought provoking and quite original I thought. They are hoping to take the performance further if funding allows. I think it will be an exciting project to see continue to develop. Huge amount of potential there. I have worked with Graham and Katy as part of Easterland which you can read about here. The play was developed within in just one week and was devised by the cast as a whole, you could see the great amount of work put in. It was accompanied by a mixture of live and recorded music and had elements of physical theatre, all of which I love so I very much enjoyed it.

Also whilst in Lancashire I got to see a very different kind of performance - this time in Blackpool; an excellent Michael Jackson impersonator at the birthday party of actress and singer Helen O'Neill. Navi the 'number 1 Michael Jackson tribute' has been hired by Michael Jackson himself, and has a unique reputation which you can read about here. His performance was amazing and full of energy.

Navi and a Britney Spears impersonator
 who also performed on the night, though just a couple of songs.

With the birthday girl Helen

On our return from Lancashire Gareth and I headed to Holmfirth for a rehearsal with Steve Ansell & The Truth. We are preparing for a recording this weekend at Sick Room Studios which I am looking forward to. Watch this space! In the mean time don't forget to follow our Facebook page: Steve Ansell & The Truth.

Rounding Up 2014

So this is my final post about 2014! As you can see I've been on a bit of a push to write more at the moment. This last fortnight I've been sharing a post a day on Facebook about the last year, and I hope from now on I'll continue to write more often - then again you never know ;) It has been a great exercise for me anyway as the new year has got into full swing, to look back at what I have experienced and achieved in the last year in terms of 'work', and think about what I want to work towards. It has been a more challenging year than normal in terms of my health and so I haven't worked as much as I would normally aim to, but it has a lot of good points and getting through the health problems has been a huge achievement for me in itself.

There's just a few more things from last year I'd like to tell you about:

This Christmas I got an exciting surprise in the form of a Ukulele from Gareth. 

So that's something I'll be enjoying learning this year. Last year I saw Anarchy in the Ukulele as part of a music festival in Holmfirth. As a Christmas present Steve and Jan took me along to an Anarchy in the Ukulele practice, which was good fun. 

At the end of last year, I began learning how to drive! This is something I am still working hard towards and cannot wait until I get my license! I am hoping this will help me reach future targets and dreams. It is difficult at times but generally I am enjoying it, and I am trying to stay in the Huddersfield area whilst I do this. Wish me luck! 

I am looking forward to seeing what this year brings. The kind of work that I do makes for a challenging career life. It's not the easiest lifestyle choice and it definitely has cons as well as pros, but for now it is still what I want to be doing - and this year has confirmed that for me even though it has been very difficult at times.

One of my new headshots taken by Andrew Cullimore