2007 in one entry

Before I start, I just found this saved draft which I never posted: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Finished Cafe Capella. It was good. The review summed it up well: "Too much of a very good thing Cafe Cappella Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, UWA Parry-Williams Building Studio 1, UWA January 26, 2007 Joan Mills, the director of ‘Café Capella’ – a play devised by her and her company of third year drama students at Aberystwyth University – is a past mistress of ultra-naturalistic devised theatre, and usually comes up trumps with a good, engaging show. There is no doubt that there was a good, engaging, professional-standard show in Café Capella: the problem was finding it. The play tells the stories of the regulars at a small Stafford café, and how their lives have changed, are changing and will continue to change, especially after Giorgi, an expat of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, comes to work there. There is an overworked, unfulfilled estate agent, attempting to sell the café for the owner, Brian Swanson. There is Brian himself, lovelorn and eager for a change. There is Florence, the regular assistant as well as Brian’s cousin, and Jess, a schoolgirl who helps out for extra money. There is an elderly couple – Giles and Grace Davenport, who hark back to earlier, happier days, as Grace’s physical and mental health decline. There are schoolchildren, a writer, a decorator, a teenage mum. There is Janice, the vegetable farmer who supplies the café who harbours secret desires, and of course, there is Giorgi and his son Dato, who have left quite a past behind them. In short, all the components of a regular, busy café are there, with a few additions. But it is all just a bit too much of a very good thing. That said, the play looks and sounds beautiful. A highly impressive set, recreating very faithfully the look and feel of a slightly run-down café, right down to the fully operational kitchen fitted for the show. This set made best use of the integral features of the studio space it was in to create multiple levels and maximise the space available for many different uses. This ultra-realism spilled into very effective costume also. Lighting was extremely well-employed for the realistic setting of the play. Cues were pretty much spot-on, for the many instances of having to match the sounds of on-set switches to instant lighting-box controlled effects. The only qualm was the sheer number of blackouts that occurred, though this had a lot to do with the vast number of extremely short, often seemingly needless scenes that peppered the production. A Joan Mills play means a good play for sound, and this did not disappoint. The recorded sound was well-chosen and highly appropriate, and the live sound was excellent. Mills always puts together a good live, a capella score of songs (in this case almost always Georgian folk songs, in keeping with the story and the general sectioning off of the play in line with a growing menu of Georgian dishes and toasts for a feast) and this show was no different. The singing was beautiful – gentle and tender when it needed to be, powerful and poignant when that was called for. Performances were of varying levels of interest, but there again, no matter how hard this play tried to give everyone a fair portion of action, it was never going to work with such a large cast. Stand-out performances, however, came from Hugh Edwards whose Giorgi was tender and watchable as well as entertaining, Christine O’Donovan as Florence, who was laugh-out-loud funny and always extremely natural and in control and Lauren Hodgkins as the hapless Janice, whose portrayal was both heartbreaking and extremely witty. Add to this Tom McCarron, whose performance was likable and top-quality, but whose scenes, alas, did not allow his character quite the level development that could have been hoped for, Kris Darby’s tender portrayal of acoustic scientist Andrew and Amy Ross’s hysterically funny estate agent, Margaret, and you have a lot of fodder for a wickedly funny, deeply moving play, which can include a lot of the other characters and actors that we do not have room to mention. The problem lay in the fact that, in an attempt to capitalise on the great talent of all involved, Mills has created a piece of work that does very few of her cast any favours. Janice’s story goes unfinished; the Davenports – very interestingly and engagingly created by Dewi Evans and Helen Cockill – remain at that awkward point of having said too much to be mysterious and not enough to be understood. Some characters’ stories, such as Jess’s, virtually do not get a hearing at all, which, had judicious cutting occurred with certain very short, or very unnecessary scenes, such as a nightmare sequence that gets mentioned once and never again, or a rhythmic section, involving percussion created by spoons on cups, bouncing footballs and a panoply of other items. That was the most frustrating thing about this show – the obvious talent of the company shone through, but, in its creation, it felt as though sentiment overcame pragmatism in the retention of some scenes, and the audience’s comfort and possible reaction to unfinished stories was only very occasionally a concern for whoever edited the final working script. At three and a half hours, including one interval, this is a long old show, particularly given the deeply uncomfortable seating arrangements. Our problems with this production should not, however, take away from what is, for all its flaws, a very nice, heartwarming show which allows a glimpse of some very impressive, developed and developing talents, and for that showcase, Joan Mills and her team deserve congratulation and potential audience members should be encouraged to attend. There is real beauty in the show. The run continues until Saturday, January 27th. Ticketholders are advised to bring a cushion, and expect some lovely soup at the interval. Reviewed by: Paddy Cooper and James Ellington" Nice to get mention once again. It was really an extraordinary show. I was incredibly skeptical to start off with, but I found myself learning so much from the process of creating a play. THis was the first devised piece I had worked on since 24 in the union years ago. I think I'm nearly ready to leave uni now. I'm about half way through an application for Royal Welsh College. What will confirm my views will be Macbeth. Which hopefully all being well; I will get on to (the auditions are today but nobody knows a time). I just need to find time to do what needs to be done: A Reflection on Pactice Essay thing A Shakespeare play (hopefully) An essay for Shakespeare Learn 2 monologues for Drama Schools It was weird going back to lectures and seminars. On Monday Ihad a 9.00 in the Old Collge for Ancient Sun. Me, Kev and Pete then went to FGs for a coffee. Kev met a girl he knows there and we helped her carry a load of milk from 24 hr spar. She then kindly gave us a lift up the hill with me in the back playing with a bob the builder version of satnav. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s nearly been a year since I updated this. It’s strange really cause I could never understand why anyone would do these sort of things. It’s really for me because I have adventures and episodes which I don’t want to forget so I type them up so that I may read them later. I’m not fussed whether people read this journal or not, as I’m not trying to be narcissistic or anything. It’s just a chronicling of the places I’ve been and the amazing people I’ve met. As it’s been a year I should really give a brief summary of what has happened to me since Christmas 2006. January Café Cappella was performed as part of my 3rd year exam piece. Hmm. An interesting albeit long play. I learnt a lot from the process of devising but kind of dislike the play due to it’s length. Paddy’s review sums it up well. "Too much of a very good thing" Cafe Cappella Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, UWA Parry-Williams Building Studio 1, UWA January 26, 2007 Joan Mills, the director of ‘Café Capella’ – a play devised by her and her company of third year drama students at Aberystwyth University – is a past mistress of ultra-naturalistic devised theatre, and usually comes up trumps with a good, engaging show. There is no doubt that there was a good, engaging, professional-standard show in Café Capella: the problem was finding it. The play tells the stories of the regulars at a small Stafford café, and how their lives have changed, are changing and will continue to change, especially after Giorgi, an expat of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, comes to work there. There is an overworked, unfulfilled estate agent, attempting to sell the café for the owner, Brian Swanson. There is Brian himself, lovelorn and eager for a change. There is Florence, the regular assistant as well as Brian’s cousin, and Jess, a schoolgirl who helps out for extra money. There is an elderly couple – Giles and Grace Davenport, who hark back to earlier, happier days, as Grace’s physical and mental health decline. There are schoolchildren, a writer, a decorator, a teenage mum. There is Janice, the vegetable farmer who supplies the café who harbours secret desires, and of course, there is Giorgi and his son Dato, who have left quite a past behind them. In short, all the components of a regular, busy café are there, with a few additions. But it is all just a bit too much of a very good thing. That said, the play looks and sounds beautiful. A highly impressive set, recreating very faithfully the look and feel of a slightly run-down café, right down to the fully operational kitchen fitted for the show. This set made best use of the integral features of the studio space it was in to create multiple levels and maximise the space available for many different uses. This ultra-realism spilled into very effective costume also. Lighting was extremely well-employed for the realistic setting of the play. Cues were pretty much spot-on, for the many instances of having to match the sounds of on-set switches to instant lighting-box controlled effects. The only qualm was the sheer number of blackouts that occurred, though this had a lot to do with the vast number of extremely short, often seemingly needless scenes that peppered the production. A Joan Mills play means a good play for sound, and this did not disappoint. The recorded sound was well-chosen and highly appropriate, and the live sound was excellent. Mills always puts together a good live, a capella score of songs (in this case almost always Georgian folk songs, in keeping with the story and the general sectioning off of the play in line with a growing menu of Georgian dishes and toasts for a feast) and this show was no different. The singing was beautiful – gentle and tender when it needed to be, powerful and poignant when that was called for. Performances were of varying levels of interest, but there again, no matter how hard this play tried to give everyone a fair portion of action, it was never going to work with such a large cast. Stand-out performances, however, came from Hugh Edwards whose Giorgi was tender and watchable as well as entertaining, Christine O’Donovan as Florence, who was laugh-out-loud funny and always extremely natural and in control and Lauren Hodgkins as the hapless Janice, whose portrayal was both heartbreaking and extremely witty. Add to this Tom McCarron, whose performance was likable and top-quality, but whose scenes, alas, did not allow his character quite the level development that could have been hoped for, Kris Darby’s tender portrayal of acoustic scientist Andrew and Amy Ross’s hysterically funny estate agent, Margaret, and you have a lot of fodder for a wickedly funny, deeply moving play, which can include a lot of the other characters and actors that we do not have room to mention. The problem lay in the fact that, in an attempt to capitalise on the great talent of all involved, Mills has created a piece of work that does very few of her cast any favours. Janice’s story goes unfinished; the Davenports – very interestingly and engagingly created by Dewi Evans and Helen Cockill – remain at that awkward point of having said too much to be mysterious and not enough to be understood. Some characters’ stories, such as Jess’s, virtually do not get a hearing at all, which, had judicious cutting occurred with certain very short, or very unnecessary scenes, such as a nightmare sequence that gets mentioned once and never again, or a rhythmic section, involving percussion created by spoons on cups, bouncing footballs and a panoply of other items. That was the most frustrating thing about this show – the obvious talent of the company shone through, but, in its creation, it felt as though sentiment overcame pragmatism in the retention of some scenes, and the audience’s comfort and possible reaction to unfinished stories was only very occasionally a concern for whoever edited the final working script. At three and a half hours, including one interval, this is a long old show, particularly given the deeply uncomfortable seating arrangements. Our problems with this production should not, however, take away from what is, for all its flaws, a very nice, heartwarming show which allows a glimpse of some very impressive, developed and developing talents, and for that showcase, Joan Mills and her team deserve congratulation and potential audience members should be encouraged to attend. There is real beauty in the show. The run continues until Saturday, January 27th. Ticketholders are advised to bring a cushion, and expect some lovely soup at the interval. Reviewed by: Paddy Cooper and James Ellington For any actor you have to do a play that you may not like. I myself am quite picky about what I do. I’m not a snob, I just like a meaty script with depth. The devising process was initially very difficult for me because I had no character or text. However, the more I wrote, the better my writing became, to the extent that lots of it was used in the final production which was nice. February The big one. Auditions for the School Shakespeare Project. This year it was to be Macbeth. A play I had not read since year 10 at school. One of the reasons I did not keep the journal up to date was because I kept a video diary which chronicled the rehearsal process. It’s quite interesting how you progress from decision to decision, thinking you know the character but then finding out you are wrong. It’s good to come back to Shakespeare every so often because it is I feel the ultimate challenge for an actor. It also capped off my final play of uni for Kev, Amy and myself, because we all acted in Twelfth Night our first play back in 2005. Full circle. I myself got the role of Malcolm, a fascinating young man who is thrown into the role of a fugitive king when his father is murdered. It was a challenge in some cases with him being devoutly religious and me not being so. I therefore had to make his faith relatable otherwise I could not have played the English scene with any conviction. It was a fun production but very nerve wracking for me because of the specificity of Shakespearian dialogue. Shakespeare is a big thing to take on. It taught me important things though; the two most important mistakes an actor can make are 1) thinking there no good enough for the character and 2) thinking they are too good for the character. I’m not a Prince or a King but I had to be one. It also snowed in Aber this month, which meant that it was no mans land outside with people throwing snowballs. We built a snowman and later people picked it up and placed it on top of the postman’s van. March Performing Macbeth to the kids was interesting because you forget that most of them are not aware of the rituals of audience behaviour. When the play began kids were still talking and laughed at the entrance of Birnam forest. Mr Pickett who played the big M. was truly remarkable. One of his last speeches “and tomorrow” was mesmerising. Like Rape of the Fair Country, this was an exceptional cast that I felt lucky to be a part of. Before performances we visited Gregynog again, and all drove to Castl-y-bert to soak up the atmosphere. A helpful act but one which I found difficulty in remembering due to nerves when performing. One of the funniest things that happened to me was when I ran offstage into what I thought was an exit. It wasn’t. Just a alcove in the stage which obscured me from the view of the audience but invariably left me trapped. There was also the time when Pete turned up onstage without his Duncan costume which probably confused a lot of the kids. April Went home for Easter. Auditioned for a role in ‘The Duelists’, a film Pete was acting in. Got the part. May My free time. Although I think I had some exams. Me and Nicki went out on road trips whenever the weather was good. It was great. We went to Borth Animalarium again and visited Dolgoch falls again with Tom and April. This was also the month for the May Ball which saw me in my own suit! It was a fun night and a good laugh. Me and Pete did filming on the Duelists with me playing his dogsbody Stephen. That was great fun doing a film in period costume although I am yet to see the film yet (Its in Germany). June Exam results. I got a first which I was very happy about as I had slaved my guts off to get it. Began work at the Abbey College for the summer, which was probably one of the best jobs I ever had. The kids were great and the team I was working with are some of the best people in the world. Highlights for me are having to teach 50 Slovenian girls how to play volleyball when I don’t know the rules myself, catching kids outside of bed at 3 in the morning and the several hikes up the Malvern hills. July Got a phone call from James Palmer (Café Cappella, Macbeth) asking if I wanted to do some voice over work. I heartily agreed and went over to Milton Keynes for the day to do some which was great fun. Graduated from University. Felt an idiot in my gown, twas like the staff room of Hogwarts. A long ceremony though (it had an interlude). Went on holiday for 3 weeks. Very lucky. Visited Croatia, Italy, France, Austria and Germany. Went to Mozart’s birthplace. August Got back from holiday. Went to the caravan. September Rape Of The Fair Country the unofficial revival. Went and stayed with Chesh in Borth with Henry and Kate. Was a good laugh but I was frustrated towards the end of rehearsals and ended up hating the play at one point. To make matters worse my voice went during the production week so I couldn’t sing or do a welsh accent. Me and Sam visited Blaenavon again almost a year to the day since we last went. This time the weather was much better and we walked from the Big Pit to Gandyrus Forge. It was an amazing walk. October Stayed on in Aber, working for Chesh as his PA. It was interesting seeing the department from the other side. Processed module forms as well as helping him on 4 scripts. One of the scripts was for his new 3rd year production; Stage Beauty which I had to adapt from both the play itself and the film script. This made me interested in script adapting as a hobby. Managed to get work as an extra in a Advert for PG tips. Easy work and I got to meet monkey and a London DJ. Met my friend Lauren from College and Emily N in Exeter. November Managed to get some extra work on a new feature film; Faintheart being filmed in Worcester. Was interesting because as an extra you are essentially part of the background, and it was interesting to watch the process. My birthday. Got some Cds and Nicki made me a lovely gift with a theme attached to it. Got a part as a lead in a short film up in Carlisle. Was a great week and I met some great people. Look forward to the DVD. December. Owain put up the film Silence which I did last year. Am working odd shifts at the restaurant as well as applying for more drama work. Got a phone call from the Abbey college about work in January. Am halfway through applying for Exeter University. At the moment I want to lecture Drama. To do this I need: -An MA in Drama Research to help me for later -A PhD - Experience. This year will all be about experiences for me. I had lecturers that just read from books. I want to have experience to help me teach. So here I am, sat at the desk. My hair is shorter, my room has been decorated. My glasses are still buggered from when Mum sat on them. Hopefully the adventures will continue to happen and hopefully I will write them down. Oh and I think I’m gonna visit New Zealand next year. Oh and the Golden Compass movie is rubbish.