Boys will be boys

I got to work with just the boys today.  I kind of wanted them to bond in play the way guys do - you know, that Peter Pan thing. It didn't really happen though.  I guess you can't force these things.  On the other hand, when we rehearsed the drunk scene and once they got the hang of what we were doing, they seemed to take to it like a duck to water.  I don't know whether to be relieved or worried.  Maybe both is appropriate.  Anyway, I think the script analysis stage is over, and now it is time to get down to the meat and potatoes.

I have had to make a huge sacrifice.  To facilitate the drunk scene, I will be required to consume six stubbies of Boag's.  It is a hardship, but someone has to do it.  I began this long, arduous task this evening.  The things I do for art!  It was particularly difficult sitting in a bubble bath, reading a book and sucking on a beer.  I, however, am a hardy soul and shall struggle on for the good of the many.

Man and beast in time and space

Today I met with El to discuss the possible restaging of Self Contained Spaces.  We talked a bit about funding and further development, but then the conversation shifted to how we live in spaces.  When El first concieved this project, she came at it from the perspective of design led performance.  It is an interesting concept, and one I probably don't really have my head around, but within in my limited understanding, it started me thinking about our relationships to space as human beings in general.

In theatre, the general approach is to develop a concept, start rehearsals, refine the ideas and then come up with an integrated performance whole (or that is the aim, at least).  Is that really what the human experience is though?  Except for the privileged few, do we really get to create and/or adapt the spaces in which we live our lives in any significant way?  I am thinking about school, work, the places we live and play and visit.  Or is it more true to say that we arrive in those spaces and adapt to them, and possibly just manage some small inroads into making them a bit more comfortable - stick up some pictures, hang curtains, paint a wall for example?

Self Contained Spaces was inspired by a story which came out of the USA.  A woman chose to live in her bathroom for two years, and eventually her skin moulded around the toilet seat.  We explored what the experience of choosing to do that is, and what it is to grow into your environment - and somehow OUT of being human.  This is a level of commitment that we generally don't choose to make.  Or do we have the choice?  Our lives are more like a determined negotiation between life tasks, personal aesthetics, and spatial practicalities - all overwritten by fiscal potential.  Perhaps that is the line we draw in the sand?  We will go so far to fit into the finite potential of the space, but to do this we must adapt the environment to comfort ourselves into thinking this is good enough, or close enough for now.

In some ways I find this quite an inspiring idea.  We are evidently a practical species with an unstoppable urge to express an aesthetic.  People often ponder what distinguishes man from beast and the arguments are long and tedious.  Perhaps the answer is as simple as that we need aesthetics to get through life?

Wings of a dove

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!  I just discovered that my hair is going white at the temples - just like all those distinguished gentlemen in old movies.  I showed my housemates and they started talking about going grey gracefully.  Huh.  That is the kind of thing people who never think they will go grey say.  I blame the accident.  It is kind of handy having one to blame.  It has obviously been so stressful dealing with life since then, that my hair has been drained of it's life force.  No - I am NOT getting old.  I am no older than I was 20 years ago.  I am Dorian Gray.  Wait, no, that ended badly...

In an attempt to make myself feel young again, I shall talk about rehearsals.  Quite a brilliant rehearsal.  I looooove butchers' paper.  Stick it up on a wall, give actors coloured textas and then just stand back and see what happens.  It is always fascinating and you never end up where you thought you would.  We discovered today, that when you date a friend's ex, that friend is always with you.  They actually become the most important person in the relationship.  This is why it is ALWAYS a bad idea.  On a more practical note, I also discovered that actors don't like getting homework.  My evil brain is excited with this discovery and is plotting mischief as I 'speak'.

Till next time.

In the beginning, there was...

So, here I am.  I don't know what I am doing, or why I am doing it, but then again, why not?  I think I am interesting and fascinating and only need the rest of the world to catch up and figure it out too ;)

Today has been a day of exploration.  For some reason I was in a bit of a cooking frame of mind, so I made peach danishes, which I am really hoping my housemates will eat most of.  I then got very excited and made chicken and vegetable soup right from the chicken on the bone stage.  It might have gone better if I had remembered to use a stock cube.  Oh well, live and learn.  I felt very Martha Stewart though.  Mmmmm, is that a good thing?

I have also been exploring the interverse and checking out the online music produced by my housemates and their partners.  There is a distinct 'Townsville sound' I think, but check their sites anyway:

Elle Graham
Kate Martin
Mind Tree (Mitch Nordine)

They are all rising stars, so get on the bandwagon before everyone else does!

I am a bit too lazy to do any work on the show I am currently directing (The Gentlemand and The Thief at the Guild Theatre).  To salve my pathetic conscience, however, I did email the draft production schedule to the venue.  That way my brain thinks I did some work, even though sending an email is less effort than even making a cup of coffee....speaking of which, I think I need one now.

Have fun.  I shall blog again soon :)