So, highlights of 2011, in no particular order....
1, Sitting on the a bench on the South Bank at 7am with 3 friends post Romeo and Juliet after show party. I was filming Charlie and Sacha's attempts to dance the Gay Gordon's while Gareth was trying to stay conscious after imbibing too many alcoholic beverages. And then we went to look for coffee....
2, Seeing a seal swimming in St Ives, Cornwall.
3, Arranging for K9 and the Tardis to be exhibited at TechWorld.
4, Visiting the Dr Who Experience, standing near the Peter Davison console room and being photographed in the Pandorica.
5, Being told that I'm going to be an Auntie.
6, Visiting the Statue of Liberty and walking over Brooklyn Bridge with TJ.
7, Bumping into Simon Pegg at Film Four Fright Fest in August.
8, Taking part in improvisation shows with the Short and Girlies down in Brighton.
9, Watching Sian Williams do coverage for the Royal Wedding outside Westminster Abbey on my way to work.
10, Boogying on down to loads of great indie tunes at Being Gloomy.
That is it for 2011. Its been an interesting and educational year on many levels. There have been some very enjoyable moments and moments of deep fustration and anger.
Here's to 2012. Olympics, the filming of Knock Knock, more decent acting roles and the arrival of my niece/nephew, here I come!
In the meantime, I wish whoever is reading this a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
A festive Bunyip
Friday 23 December 2011
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Mega busy
I know, I know... Its been another long gap. Apologies. Here is what I've been up to over the past 4 months....
1, Major news. My sister is pregnant. I'm going to be an Auntie!!! Am very happy and excited for her. She reckons that her due date is May. Wouldn't it be cool if the baby arrived on my birthday:)
2, Played Masha in a Westminster players production of The Seagull. Twas great fun playing an alcoholic depressive. (Oh the irony!) The cast bonded really well together and we had a lovely, patient director, Katrina. Had to pretend to smoke. Bleargh. We had reasonable sized audiences with good feedback. I had strangers coming up to me in the green room congratulating me on my performance. Very nice:)
3, I've had to put Knock Knock on hold for the moment. The only time I had available to film in my chosen location for free was directly after the Seagull performances and on the day of the technical rehearsal for a Network theatre production. Er no. I want to do this properly eg find a producer to do all the logistic stuff. I'll resume this project in the new year.
4, I've got an audition for another London am dram group in a couple of weeks time. I went and saw my friends in 5/11 which is a play about the Gunpowder Plot. Was very impressed, so decided to join up. I've got to perform 2 contrasting monologues. I've picked a sneaky maid from The Rivals by Sheridan as the comedy and a really unpleasant therapist who tells it as she sees it for the modern piece. Just have to learn and rehearse them now.
5, Am in the throes of unrequited love (again.) I will protect the innocent and not name names. Have been here many times before and am waiting to get over it. Needless to say, it hurts for various reasons.:( Ho hum.
Take care,
A slightly unhappy Bunyip
1, Major news. My sister is pregnant. I'm going to be an Auntie!!! Am very happy and excited for her. She reckons that her due date is May. Wouldn't it be cool if the baby arrived on my birthday:)
2, Played Masha in a Westminster players production of The Seagull. Twas great fun playing an alcoholic depressive. (Oh the irony!) The cast bonded really well together and we had a lovely, patient director, Katrina. Had to pretend to smoke. Bleargh. We had reasonable sized audiences with good feedback. I had strangers coming up to me in the green room congratulating me on my performance. Very nice:)
3, I've had to put Knock Knock on hold for the moment. The only time I had available to film in my chosen location for free was directly after the Seagull performances and on the day of the technical rehearsal for a Network theatre production. Er no. I want to do this properly eg find a producer to do all the logistic stuff. I'll resume this project in the new year.
4, I've got an audition for another London am dram group in a couple of weeks time. I went and saw my friends in 5/11 which is a play about the Gunpowder Plot. Was very impressed, so decided to join up. I've got to perform 2 contrasting monologues. I've picked a sneaky maid from The Rivals by Sheridan as the comedy and a really unpleasant therapist who tells it as she sees it for the modern piece. Just have to learn and rehearse them now.
5, Am in the throes of unrequited love (again.) I will protect the innocent and not name names. Have been here many times before and am waiting to get over it. Needless to say, it hurts for various reasons.:( Ho hum.
Take care,
A slightly unhappy Bunyip
Friday 19 August 2011
Its been a while...
I know, I haven't written anything since June. Apologies. July was a very busy month.
To summarise....
1, Romeo and Juliet went really well. Great audiences and Mum said it was the best play she had seen at Network Theatre.
2, The Shakespeare play is on hold for a moment, while I write a short horror film instead. I'm currently on draft three. Its about a haunted theatre and its called Knock Knock. I'm hoping to get it screened at next year's Fright Fest. I do admit, I've gone the wrong way about getting support for my little project by approaching random people, requesting help and feedback and then not hearing back from them. Ho hum. However, I managed to corner one of them and he has made a couple of very useful suggestions which I am carrying forward.
3, I had a nice few days down in Cornwall with some fellow Dr Who fans. I really liked the arty vibe of St Ives. The Eden Project was enjoyable despite the rain. We also met up last weekend in Northampton and had a bit of a DVD fest. We watched Battlefield, the first episode of Revenge of the Cybermen and about half of Talons of Weng Chiang amongst others. The great thing about Northampton is that most of Talons was filmed there! We spent about an hour trying to identify Litefoot's house!
4, I helped my friend, James, celebrate his 30th birthday. Twas epic with seabreezes, dancing to apres-ski songs and (unwillingly) watching the England v Wales rugby praying for some fellow thespians to turn up!
5, And now for the bad news.... My depression is back:( Am seeing the doctor about it on Monday. Have been feeling on and off awful for about a week. Tired, tearful and not much of an appetite. Bugger.
Anyway, am off to another friend's birthday celebrations this evening. Hopefully, they will cheer me up a bit.
Take care,
An optimistic Bunyip
To summarise....
1, Romeo and Juliet went really well. Great audiences and Mum said it was the best play she had seen at Network Theatre.
2, The Shakespeare play is on hold for a moment, while I write a short horror film instead. I'm currently on draft three. Its about a haunted theatre and its called Knock Knock. I'm hoping to get it screened at next year's Fright Fest. I do admit, I've gone the wrong way about getting support for my little project by approaching random people, requesting help and feedback and then not hearing back from them. Ho hum. However, I managed to corner one of them and he has made a couple of very useful suggestions which I am carrying forward.
3, I had a nice few days down in Cornwall with some fellow Dr Who fans. I really liked the arty vibe of St Ives. The Eden Project was enjoyable despite the rain. We also met up last weekend in Northampton and had a bit of a DVD fest. We watched Battlefield, the first episode of Revenge of the Cybermen and about half of Talons of Weng Chiang amongst others. The great thing about Northampton is that most of Talons was filmed there! We spent about an hour trying to identify Litefoot's house!
4, I helped my friend, James, celebrate his 30th birthday. Twas epic with seabreezes, dancing to apres-ski songs and (unwillingly) watching the England v Wales rugby praying for some fellow thespians to turn up!
5, And now for the bad news.... My depression is back:( Am seeing the doctor about it on Monday. Have been feeling on and off awful for about a week. Tired, tearful and not much of an appetite. Bugger.
Anyway, am off to another friend's birthday celebrations this evening. Hopefully, they will cheer me up a bit.
Take care,
An optimistic Bunyip
Monday 13 June 2011
Deadly Reunion
About nine years ago, I went on a Dr Who acting holiday in the French Alps with five other Dr Who fans who wanted to learn more about acting. Since then, we've created a production company called Megropolis One, recorded numerous sci and fantasy audio plays and done a few films. Our film locations have included my flat, Tintagle, Berkhamstead Castle, the Albert Embankment and a certain police box outside Earls Court.
We hadn't seen each other in about five years so we had a reunion over this past weekend. Five out of six of us made it and we had a great time on Friday evening reminiscing about the past. On Saturday, four of us went to a Big Finish Day in Barking. (Big Finish are a production company who do Dr Who related audio plays with past Doctors and companions.) Fun was had. I've finally managed to get Sarah Sutton's autograph. She plays Nyssa, one of my favourite companions because she's intelligent and caring. Then I accidently bamboozled her with a question during a panel session about an audio play she recorded five years ago. No-one (myself included) could remember the character I was talking about. Ho hum.
I also met with two of my past directors. John Gillet directed me in a duologue showcase way back in 1997 and Miles Richardson directed our first Megropolis One film. I met Caroline Munroe. We talked about Dracula 1972 AD. I also met Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor himself and we talked about Twitter. It was very easy to spend lots of money on filling gaps in my Big Finish collection. Finally, I said hello to Sophie Aldred, (Ace). She was one of the tutors on the French Alps acting holiday. Nick Briggs was a witty MC for the panel sessions and I got his autograph as well. I had a really good time, despite the rain. Happy days.
A smiling Bunyip.
We hadn't seen each other in about five years so we had a reunion over this past weekend. Five out of six of us made it and we had a great time on Friday evening reminiscing about the past. On Saturday, four of us went to a Big Finish Day in Barking. (Big Finish are a production company who do Dr Who related audio plays with past Doctors and companions.) Fun was had. I've finally managed to get Sarah Sutton's autograph. She plays Nyssa, one of my favourite companions because she's intelligent and caring. Then I accidently bamboozled her with a question during a panel session about an audio play she recorded five years ago. No-one (myself included) could remember the character I was talking about. Ho hum.
I also met with two of my past directors. John Gillet directed me in a duologue showcase way back in 1997 and Miles Richardson directed our first Megropolis One film. I met Caroline Munroe. We talked about Dracula 1972 AD. I also met Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor himself and we talked about Twitter. It was very easy to spend lots of money on filling gaps in my Big Finish collection. Finally, I said hello to Sophie Aldred, (Ace). She was one of the tutors on the French Alps acting holiday. Nick Briggs was a witty MC for the panel sessions and I got his autograph as well. I had a really good time, despite the rain. Happy days.
A smiling Bunyip.
Monday 9 May 2011
Buffalo milk and treacle tart
I celebrated my 36th birthday this weekend by going to the Real Food Exhibition at Earl's Court. (36? How did that happen? I don't feel 36!)
I'm a little bit of a foodie. Any event that hands out free samples of cheese, chorizo, ham, honey, apple brandy, fudge, ice cream, proper olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chocolate and many other delicious goodies and I am there. I also patted a buffalo, saw what the inside of an egg looks like when the chick is still growing in there, burned my fingers on an asparugus yorkshire pudding cooked by a top chef and had a major coughing fit after trying some so-called "mild" Jamaican sauce. Needed emergancy ice cream after that.
I have some parts in Romeo and Juliet. YAY! I play Romeo's page, Balthazar, a Capulet servant who can't read and a nun! Only took three weeks of gently pestering the director who I hadn't heard back from! We did the dance for the ball scene last week. Lots of genteel bowing and curtseying and trying to walk backwards gracefully.
Right, I'm off home to consume the slice of treacle tart I bought at Earl's Court.
Take care,
A greedy Bunyip
I'm a little bit of a foodie. Any event that hands out free samples of cheese, chorizo, ham, honey, apple brandy, fudge, ice cream, proper olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chocolate and many other delicious goodies and I am there. I also patted a buffalo, saw what the inside of an egg looks like when the chick is still growing in there, burned my fingers on an asparugus yorkshire pudding cooked by a top chef and had a major coughing fit after trying some so-called "mild" Jamaican sauce. Needed emergancy ice cream after that.
I have some parts in Romeo and Juliet. YAY! I play Romeo's page, Balthazar, a Capulet servant who can't read and a nun! Only took three weeks of gently pestering the director who I hadn't heard back from! We did the dance for the ball scene last week. Lots of genteel bowing and curtseying and trying to walk backwards gracefully.
Right, I'm off home to consume the slice of treacle tart I bought at Earl's Court.
Take care,
A greedy Bunyip
Tuesday 5 April 2011
Eating Knish
I had a great time in New York. Although there was a very cold wind throughout the week, there was also sunshine. I did lots of lounging watching the US cookery channel. (Well, I was on holiday!) I also did loads of wandering around Manhatten and plonking myself on park benches and posh hotel lobbies whenever I got tired. My wanderings included... 1, The Statue of Liberty - Well worth the long queue for security at the Ferry. Tall, green and beautiful. 2, The Ramble and Turtle Lake in Central Park - Didn't expect to see turtles! 3, Brooklyn Bridge - Long walk, but great views. Had to take pix of my friend, TJ, doing his Spiderman impression! 4, The "I'll have what she's having" deli from When Harry met Sally. You know the clip I mean:) 5, Didn't make it inside the Russian Tea Room this time, but took a picture of the banner. 6, The inside of St Patrick's Cathedral. Wow! 7, The knish deli from "Whatever Works". (A knish is a kind of potato dumpling. Whatever Works is a Woody Allen film.) 8, The holding area of a film set. (TJ is a background artist and he took me along. Lots of people waiting round, waving suits at the wardrobe team.) 9, The bar at the Carlyle Hotel. $7 for a Coca Cola! 10, The biggest toy story in the US! It has the piano from Big, huge cuddly toys, muppets and Chewbacca made from Lego. I was in heaven! Oh I love New York. I wish I had had a little more money on me to go shopping. Had to restrain myself in Barnes and Noble! Now I'm back in the office, waiting to hear if I've been cast in the Network production of Romeo and Juliet. A jet-lagged Bunyip.
Friday 4 March 2011
C'mon Spring! Where are you?
Just as things were getting warmer last week in London, an arctic wind in London pushed the temperatures back down again to a couple of degrees above freezing during the day.
I love Spring with all the new greenary and snowdrops peeking up. Its the season of cute animals as well. Lambs, chicks and of course, bunnies:)
I'm off to New York in just under three weeks. Will probably go for a stroll in Central park at some point. Although it has more paths and rocks then London's parks, it also has its fair share of great statues. The best place is near the boating lake on the South East side of the park. If you want. you can sit on Hans Christian Anderson's knee as he reads a story or you can clamber over the Mad Hatter's Tea Party statue around the corner. I managed to get a picture of it between swampings of school kids and their parents.
I quite like statues. Not the military ones of stern Victorian generals as much. I studied A Level Classical Civilisations, so saw loads of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. I love the dramatic poses eg Herecles throttling snakes as a baby ect... The more movement and drama the better. I also like Anthony Gormley's still figures and the Angel of the North is one of my favourites. Thanks to Dr Who and the Weeping Angels, statues have been given an extra frisson. Did it move? Did it? I'm sure it moved! DON'T BLINK!
A wide-eyed Bunyip.
I love Spring with all the new greenary and snowdrops peeking up. Its the season of cute animals as well. Lambs, chicks and of course, bunnies:)
I'm off to New York in just under three weeks. Will probably go for a stroll in Central park at some point. Although it has more paths and rocks then London's parks, it also has its fair share of great statues. The best place is near the boating lake on the South East side of the park. If you want. you can sit on Hans Christian Anderson's knee as he reads a story or you can clamber over the Mad Hatter's Tea Party statue around the corner. I managed to get a picture of it between swampings of school kids and their parents.
I quite like statues. Not the military ones of stern Victorian generals as much. I studied A Level Classical Civilisations, so saw loads of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. I love the dramatic poses eg Herecles throttling snakes as a baby ect... The more movement and drama the better. I also like Anthony Gormley's still figures and the Angel of the North is one of my favourites. Thanks to Dr Who and the Weeping Angels, statues have been given an extra frisson. Did it move? Did it? I'm sure it moved! DON'T BLINK!
A wide-eyed Bunyip.
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Saving Money
Hi,
At the start of each month, I take a look at my bank balance and try to work out how much "spending" money I'll have for the month. So, I subtract payments like rent, phone bill, therapy payments (not cheap) ect. Then I take what is left and divide it by the number of days in the month and that's how much I have to spend per day. If I feel I'm going over this figure midway through the month, I do it again.
Yesterday, I worked out I've only got £6 per day spending money until I get paid on 28th February. (Sigh.) Bye bye lunches from Pret and Eat. Bye bye second latte after lunch. Must walk past book shops and the Virgin Megastore. Hello lots of pasta, veggies and other cheap things to cook in bulk, then reheat the next day. Hello making my own lunch. At least I'll be a little healthier. I do have savings, but I don't want to dip into them too much.
I wouldn't mind, but its not as if I've been spending my money left, right and centre! I've talked myself out of trips to the cinema to see Black Swan, Kings Speech and all the other films that are talked about every five minutes at the moment. I've saved some money not being in a show at the moment. (Don't like to miss after rehearsal drinkies. This is my version of a social life!) Yet I keep being invited to other acting group drinkies and drinkies for the short film Network theatre did last autumn which I really want to see.
I still need to buy this month's copy of Dr Who Monthly! Ho hum. Roll on pay day.
A broke Bunyip
At the start of each month, I take a look at my bank balance and try to work out how much "spending" money I'll have for the month. So, I subtract payments like rent, phone bill, therapy payments (not cheap) ect. Then I take what is left and divide it by the number of days in the month and that's how much I have to spend per day. If I feel I'm going over this figure midway through the month, I do it again.
Yesterday, I worked out I've only got £6 per day spending money until I get paid on 28th February. (Sigh.) Bye bye lunches from Pret and Eat. Bye bye second latte after lunch. Must walk past book shops and the Virgin Megastore. Hello lots of pasta, veggies and other cheap things to cook in bulk, then reheat the next day. Hello making my own lunch. At least I'll be a little healthier. I do have savings, but I don't want to dip into them too much.
I wouldn't mind, but its not as if I've been spending my money left, right and centre! I've talked myself out of trips to the cinema to see Black Swan, Kings Speech and all the other films that are talked about every five minutes at the moment. I've saved some money not being in a show at the moment. (Don't like to miss after rehearsal drinkies. This is my version of a social life!) Yet I keep being invited to other acting group drinkies and drinkies for the short film Network theatre did last autumn which I really want to see.
I still need to buy this month's copy of Dr Who Monthly! Ho hum. Roll on pay day.
A broke Bunyip
Tuesday 1 February 2011
Year of the Rabbit
Its soon going to be the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. As I was born in a "rabbit" year, according the Chinese, this means that good fortune will come my way:) Lets hope that it does because I've just applied for a new job! Fingers are being crossed as I type. (Actually, its hard to type with crossed fingers. I'll recross them when I've finished.)
So, here is what I would like to do in New York when I visit there in seven weeks:
1, Visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
2, Reacquaint myself with the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park.
3, Gaze at amazing artwork in the Met.
4, Walk over the Brooklyn bridge.
5, Visit the Russian Tea Rooms.
6, Find an independent book shop.
7, Have a wander around the East Side.
8, Go inside St Patrick's Cathedral
9, Learn more about New York's history eg Tenement Museum
10, Just wander around and see what I can find!
Looking forward to it:)
Take care all.
A Happy Bunyip
So, here is what I would like to do in New York when I visit there in seven weeks:
1, Visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
2, Reacquaint myself with the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park.
3, Gaze at amazing artwork in the Met.
4, Walk over the Brooklyn bridge.
5, Visit the Russian Tea Rooms.
6, Find an independent book shop.
7, Have a wander around the East Side.
8, Go inside St Patrick's Cathedral
9, Learn more about New York's history eg Tenement Museum
10, Just wander around and see what I can find!
Looking forward to it:)
Take care all.
A Happy Bunyip
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Hello 2011!
We're already 18 days into 2011 and quite a lot has happened. Where to start?
First of all, I did get some of what I wanted for Christmas. I received half a day in a spa, loads of chocolate and Baileys, and a Next voucher. I've also bought a new winter coat from Monsoon amongst other things. (Managed to get Stephen King's latest book from the library and read it.)
The headline news is I'm going to write a play this year!! Working title is Will woz here. Shakespeare comes back from the grave and helps a girl sort out her love life with six of his leading ladies. I've been reading a massive biography by Peter Ackroyd and finding out loads of stuff about Will that I didn't know before eg he played the Ghost of Hamlet's father. I'm also getting lots of odd ideas at odd moments eg our heroine works in a call centre and is contacted by one of the leading ladies via the phone. I've got an idea for another encounter on the tube. Its showing how Shakespeare's characters are relevant today.
Went to the playreading for "Road". Hmmmm. Not sure whether to audition or not. I can do a Northern accent, just not consistently. Would like to get one of the monologues if I do audition, not a small part. There is nothing worse then spending most of a play sat in the dressing room. I don't mind not having not many lines, but stage time is important or else why bother?
Oh and I was off work with an awful stomach bug the week before last. I won't go into details....
Its about nine weeks to my New York trip. Need to save more money. I'll share my list of places I want to visit and experiences I want to have in my next blog.
Take care,
A creative Bunyip
First of all, I did get some of what I wanted for Christmas. I received half a day in a spa, loads of chocolate and Baileys, and a Next voucher. I've also bought a new winter coat from Monsoon amongst other things. (Managed to get Stephen King's latest book from the library and read it.)
The headline news is I'm going to write a play this year!! Working title is Will woz here. Shakespeare comes back from the grave and helps a girl sort out her love life with six of his leading ladies. I've been reading a massive biography by Peter Ackroyd and finding out loads of stuff about Will that I didn't know before eg he played the Ghost of Hamlet's father. I'm also getting lots of odd ideas at odd moments eg our heroine works in a call centre and is contacted by one of the leading ladies via the phone. I've got an idea for another encounter on the tube. Its showing how Shakespeare's characters are relevant today.
Went to the playreading for "Road". Hmmmm. Not sure whether to audition or not. I can do a Northern accent, just not consistently. Would like to get one of the monologues if I do audition, not a small part. There is nothing worse then spending most of a play sat in the dressing room. I don't mind not having not many lines, but stage time is important or else why bother?
Oh and I was off work with an awful stomach bug the week before last. I won't go into details....
Its about nine weeks to my New York trip. Need to save more money. I'll share my list of places I want to visit and experiences I want to have in my next blog.
Take care,
A creative Bunyip
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)