The Extreme Staycation

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The advert below came out this week and sent the internet into meltdown. At a time when us artistic folk are feeling a bit taken advantage of and undervalued, this was the cherry on top. The advert was ostensibly to encourage young people to think about applying for jobs in cyber but all it did was to underline the idea that jobs in the arts are frivolous and not "proper" jobs.  This came the week after we were advised by the government to consider re-training. Without the arts, we would all be poorer - culturally, emotionally and as a country, financially.  The arts are what has kept us all going during this unending pandemic and anyone who claims otherwise is a liar.  If you have watched TV, a film, listened to music, read a book, looked at any art - you've enjoyed the fruits of someone's labour, often many years of study and hard work. The arts should never be seen as "not a viable job". I w...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak So I kind of lost steam with the blog. I'm not sure how but suddenly a day, a month had passed since I'd written anything. The end of August came and went.   Some highlights for me:  Attending a socially distanced vegan supper club (great food, great wine, great company).   I took part in an unrehearsed reading of The Effect by Lucy Prebble which was really fun, very interesting play and one I missed seeing a few years ago, so I was pleased to have the chance to perform it. Decided to "Eat Out to Help Out" and went on a 33,400 step vegan food journey across London which was great fun! Mildred's for breakfast, Eat Chay for lunch, sweet treat cookies from Humbledough and Neat Burger for dinner - good thing we walked as far as we did! Visited Eltham Palace in South East London - one of the English Heritage properties which has re-opened the house and not just the gardens.  Fascinating house...

  Location: London, UK  COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The temperature is still way above average and in London we are praying for some weather - be that wind, rain, something, some relief from the still, hot air. Last year on a day as similarly hot as today I did an improv gig with my group, The Trophy Room. It was in a room which they had tried to air-condition as much as was possible, but still involved everyone getting there by tube so the whole experience was...sticky. Amazingly, there was still a small, but dedicated audience! They weren't going to let a little heat get in the way of some comedy genius...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Love & Information - Part 3 The day after the night before. I had a good sleep which I haven't for the last few nights - all anxiety induced sleeplessness I'm sure. My performance anxieties were less to do with acting or line learning but all tech related - technology allowed us to rehearse together and then perform to friends and family all over the country (who may never have been able to see the show otherwise) but what if it failed?  Luckily, other than WhatsApp going down briefly, we made it. There are always post-show blues.  It's a bit like grief - you mourn for the friends and relationships you have created and for the work itself, the performance or the performing of something you've enjoyed. Reflecting on the experience, I'm so pleased we pursued the production and didn't abandon it and let Covid win.  THE SHOW MUST GO ON. Developing and then playing 11 characters over 2 hours was a grea...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Love & Information - Part 2 Performance Day! At 6:30pm the countdown timer started - we'd be going live to the world in 30 minutes!  And yes it really was the world, we had viewers all over the country and abroad. After a minor technical difficulty which was dealt with by producer and tech guru James with utter calm and professionalism, we were live, looking into our cameras and performing our socks off. I was in 11 scenes which meant 11 costume/hair/earring changes for me.  And although I changed my top half 11 times, my bottom half remained in my trackies and slippers which was quite a joy. In between scenes, I could use my own bathroom for make-up and hair alterations and bedroom for wardrobe.  I'd pop down to the kitchen to get my "champagne" for Wedding Video or to feed the cat. So there are definitely some advantages to performing from home. I've performed in lots of places - outdoors on grass...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Love & Information - part 1 Dress Rehearsal Day! Tonight was our final dress rehearsal for the one and only Zoom performance of Love & Information by Caryl Churchill. Had we not had the Covid-19 outbreak, it would have been the dress rehearsal as well, but in a theatre and with a cast who had all met each other in real life and stood within a 2 meter distance of one another. However, we didn't want to let a little thing like a global pandemic stop us, so we rehearsed weekly between 1-3 times, depending on the scenes and all learnt our lines as we would have done normally. The beauty of this particular play (50 short scenes) is that it really lends itself to being broadcast.  If you don't know the play, it's a bit like eavesdropping in on conversations between people - like you've just dropped into their bathroom, joined them while they are out for a walk or at a dinner party or in the playground.  Mos...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown In a week, I will be taking part in a play, performed via Zoom, live across the world! (potentially) It's been quite an experience rehearsing for a play, sitting at my computer, in my house, with the cat occassionally for company (I think she wants to be in it, she is a bit of a drama queen). I am looking forward to it and everyone has been working so hard - all the actors and our tech team - to make it the best we can. My biggest concern is anyone having tech difficulties as for example, my WiFi occassionally decides it just doesn't want to connect to the computer, so fingers crossed that won't happen!

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Learning Lines part 3 The people I am often most impressed with are actors in soap operas.  Soaps are filmed incredibly fast - probably only 2 takes and then they move on.  With a film, you might only finish a few minutes worth a week but soaps produce around 4-5 x 30 minute episodes a week! The actors have to know their lines and give an excellent performance - they have to be game ready all the time. In terms of learning lines then, their short term memory is probably very good.  They will be able to learn a few pages of script very fast which they then forget equally quickly. It's a completely different thing to learning, say Hamlet, which for the title role has 1569 lines (the most lines any single character has in a play) and has to be replicated night after night.  Actors who have played big roles like this will likely be able to recall huge swathes of text years later. There are lots of different me...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Learning Lines part 2 The way in which the industry works is that there is often a very tight turn around between being asked in for an audition and the audition itself. I've had commercials castings take place hours after a call from my agent! This can be tricky then when it comes to learning lines.  There are varying opinions about whether you should be off book for an audition - some casting directors and directors want it and some don't. The troubles arise when you have to learn something really fast.  If you go into an audition having tried to learn it, there is a chance that all you'll be thinking about are the lines rather than the performance.  Thorough preparation is of course key "Fail to prepare and prepare to fail" so goes the saying. I've lost count of the number times I've been running lines to myself on the tube and realise from some curious glances that I have clearly been making...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Learning Lines part 1 This is an occupational hazard for actors and one that people not in "the biz" often ask about - "How did you learn all those lines?" they marvel. And honestly sometimes I don't know. If something is well written, it is definitely easier to learn.  Believe it or not, Shakespeare is relatively easy to commit to memory for this very reason - it flows. The biggest thing I've ever had to learn was something I wrote myself.  In 2017 I took my solo show "Awake" to the Edinburgh and Sydney Fringe festivals.  It was 45 solid minutes of me talking.  That's a lot of lines.  And it was particuarly irritating when I got any lines wrong because I'd written them! If you'd like to read about my adventures, I wrote a couple of blogs about them:  Awake: Part 1 - The Road to Edinburgh   Awake: Part 2 - The North and the South

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Lots of casting directors have been extremely open and generous with their time during the lockdown and have been doing Q&A's live on Instagram. There is general optimism that work in the world of commercials, film and television will be getting back in production fairly soon, with social distancing measures in place. This is great news and hopefully will happen. My query is this: the dramas or adverts being made, are they going to reflect our current world or the one we left on the 23rd March 2020? I can slightly answer my own question - any drama that was mid-filming and set pre-Covid will likely not change, that would be madness. But the on-going dramas and soaps will be able to have adapted their stories to encompass our new situation. Commercials - this is where I am most interested.  Just prior to lockdown I auditioned for a commercial which involved hugging.  That commer...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown The Streets - a poem The streets The streets they are different. Where once people jostled Now they avoid. Discarded coffee cups replaced by surgical masks Rainbows in chalk, Chairs at ends of paths, A shouted conversation. On Thursdays at 8 people emerge with a roar A moment of union before isolation again. Families walk together New exercises are run Courtesies extended where once they were absent Selfishness ignited in defiance or ignorance. The streets, the streets are still busy But the hubbub is ordered and queued The streets mill with the people still working, Once maligned, now key. The streets will be the same again. We will bump, shove and excuse a touch once more. But for now the streets are quiet As people listen and stay indoors.

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown In acting news, I was going to be in a show in July which has been postponed for obvious reasons.  We are now in the process of beginning rehearsals online. This is not something that I have previously contemplated as an option - I've taken part in scripts readings this way but not full on rehearsals. The unique nature of the play means that this is actually possible, it probably wouldn't work for many other pieces. I'm excited to get started and I'll update soon!

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown One of the freebies available at the moment is from the National Theatre.  This is a theatre I visit regularly and performing there is top of actor dream list. Watching theatre on screen is always a bit odd and as I settled down to watch the fantastic "One Man Two Guvnors" it did take a little while to adjust.  Stage and screen are very different mediums and nothing shows this as starkly as watching a recording of a play. However, all the actors in this production have pretty notable screen careers as well, so it's not like they can't do both - we know they can and after a short time, I stopped "being aware" that I was watching a play. I saw the show when it transferred to the West End with Rufus Hound taking over from James Cordon in the lead role.  I loved this production and watching the filmed version last night still elicited many, many laugh out loud moments, as it is, ...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Motivation I think everyone struggles to be motivated on occasion. During this weird time we now find ourselves in, I think that people will be experiencing conflicting feelings. Firstly, a feeling of abundance.  As a creative, you've almost been gifted time.  Time is the thing we all wish we had more of.  Time to write, time to work on those monologues, practice tap, perfect your guitar chords.  And now it's all we have. Secondly, pressure.  I've got time, I have to use it.  Why aren't I using this time better?  What else can I do? Thirdly, being overwhelmed.  There are almost too many options.  I have a calendar full of activities - calls, quizzes, writing and acting groups.  And what am I missing out on?  So many things to watch on tv, theatre being streamed, free books to read or listen to, free exercise classes... And then it becomes too much an...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown I am a Londoner born and raised.  As an actor, I have travelled to pretty much every corner of the city for auditions, rehearsals, performances etc so I feel I know this sprawling metropolis pretty well.   One of my favourite things to do, is to walk through London with no particular place to be.  It's the best way to explore any city.  I love all the sights and sounds and smells you get to experience when wandering along. And London is so immense that there is never going to be a shortage of places to explore, of new discoveries to be made, new views to be seen. One of my favourite quotes is this well known one:  'Sir,  when  a man is  tired  of  London , he is  tired  of  life ; for there is in  London  all that  life can  afford.' ... Samuel Johnson, to which I totally agree. And right now, I miss my city.  It's b...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Other jobs As an actor, I have had many other jobs which are not performing for money. I've... made cocktails (bar work) stacked shelves and beeped produce (supermarket) been very enthusiastic, very early in the morning about lunch while dressed as some kind of food (handed out flyers) welcomed people into places (fundraiser) controlled crowds of people into coaches (really patient) And higher education administration. Bit random that last one.  I fell into it many years ago, it kept me fed and in dance shoes and it is what is saving me at the moment!  I am hugely grateful for the work as it is something I can do from home and I realise it puts me in a more privileged position than many of my fellow performers as I am still able to earn. Finding a job that is both flexible and fulfilling is very hard and I’ve been lucky to find a couple over the years.   As a performer, yo...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Lockdown Friday 27th of March was World Theatre Day.  Probably one of the most ironic timings of a day to celebrate something that's ever occurred - when most theatres across the globe are closed. As we come towards the end of our first week of proper lockdown, things in the world of theatre, film and tv still seem positive however.  There is lots of talk of the future and for when production all starts up again in real life.  There are still casting breakdowns going out - mainly with the dates of auditions and/or production TBC and advise that self-tapes are going to be utilised. There are lots of constructive initiatives from casting directors, agents and theatres designed to keep everyone connected and creative.  The industry & it's participants are being wonderfully  resilient  and supportive. Brighton Fringe has been cancelled and Edinburgh is still hanging in the balance - news thi...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Self-Isolation Today I was supposed to be working for my dance teacher, operating the music for her kids taking their RAD (Royal Academy of Ballet) exams.  They have of course been post-poned but this is just one of a myriad of things, small disappointments, something so many have worked towards that now are up in the air, all that work, seemingly for nothing. Coming from an acting background, I have a lot of friends and associates who were in shows, opening show this week, in rehearsal, about to start filming something and it's all been paused.  It's quite difficult to get your head around actually - one moment it was all there or a clear goal and end in sight and then not. I was slightly concerned looking at the TV guide the other day as Miss World 1970 was about to be broadcast... have we run out of tv already?! Nice thing of the day: Gary Neville & Ryan Giggs donating hotel rooms to NHS staff who may wa...

Location: London, UK COVID-19 / Coronavirus Outbreak Work All forthcoming social or work engagements from my diary have been removed.  It's a blank slate apart from reminders to give the cat her flea and worm medicine which she will be most pleased about. As of Tuesday night, all my freelance work has been cancelled.  This isn't exactly surprising as all my work (acting or work in between) involves: 1. lots of other people 2. public buildings that hold lots of people 3. travelling with other people unnecessarily to places with lots of people I'm genuinely concerned for my many friends and colleagues who will have no income for the foreseeable future.  I don't have a solution except to suggest that if you have kids who might need child care as the schools are closing and can afford to pay someone, consider asking any of your friends who are potentially going to be struggling. The acting industry is, as ever, being creative and resilient - casting...