Oh, the glamour
Yes, a long silence but a thick one. The readings in Reading went well. I remembered how to do acting. It's like falling off a bike or getting on a horse or something. I worked with really talented people and the writer Dawn Garrigan was only too willing to revise and re-write on the job and had a huge learning experience.
As is the way of these things the director of the reading Debbie Seymour got me in for half a days work as a guinea-pig for a directors course that she runs. This was fascinating as the brief was to be directed by applicants for this course and give some feedback to go towards their appraisal. There may be more of this work and it keeps me off the streets with a jangle of change in the purse.
The glamour of all this is obviously dulled by London's recent experiences and the reaction. Are we seeing the first signs of a nation's insanity when under deliberate attack. We look for hairs on the palms of our collective hands and sure enough....! Are we not right to worry and debate about the erosion of liberties without being called The Human Rights Brigade as a term of abuse?
Stiffness of any sort is not going to help, in the upper lip or elsewhere. Flexibility and argument and examination of every action is called for. I remember in the aftermath of the Birmingham IRA bombings the thoughtless backlash against the Irish.
Londoners are wary, there is a watchfulness and even a courtesy which is different from before. There is good to come from this if we keep engaged with reality and don't barricade our minds.
Meanwhile back in the Larkland pipeline Dynorod are working - of which, more later.
As is the way of these things the director of the reading Debbie Seymour got me in for half a days work as a guinea-pig for a directors course that she runs. This was fascinating as the brief was to be directed by applicants for this course and give some feedback to go towards their appraisal. There may be more of this work and it keeps me off the streets with a jangle of change in the purse.
The glamour of all this is obviously dulled by London's recent experiences and the reaction. Are we seeing the first signs of a nation's insanity when under deliberate attack. We look for hairs on the palms of our collective hands and sure enough....! Are we not right to worry and debate about the erosion of liberties without being called The Human Rights Brigade as a term of abuse?
Stiffness of any sort is not going to help, in the upper lip or elsewhere. Flexibility and argument and examination of every action is called for. I remember in the aftermath of the Birmingham IRA bombings the thoughtless backlash against the Irish.
Londoners are wary, there is a watchfulness and even a courtesy which is different from before. There is good to come from this if we keep engaged with reality and don't barricade our minds.
Meanwhile back in the Larkland pipeline Dynorod are working - of which, more later.
posted by Rod at 2:04 pm
2 Comments:
Hi Rob,
What were the the plays in the readings like?
best wishes,
Ben
Dear Ben,
Thanks for your interest. The material was generally good quality and some very bold indeed. I was gratified that there are people actually wanting to write for theatre. Unfortunately I feel that many of the lessons learnt in the C.20 have been unlearnt and have unravelled and the full extent of what one can achieve on a stage and in the mind of the audience is not ongoing but having to play catchup so some of the writing was a bit old-fashioned for my taste.
I see I have attracted some tossers. See other comments but do not visit their sites.
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