Monday, September 29, 2014

A question for Neil Colquhoun.

I'm assembling a soundtrack for Festen.

I need the name of that song which has a very distinctive guitar intro / chorusy bit and goes "oh baby oh baby something something something, (repeat) something something something..." The last word in that sentence MIGHT be "apart" but more probably, isn't anything of the kind. And it might be by Moby....????

Any ideas, my friends..??!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Ten to seven this morning and the sun was peeking pink and orange through slits and slices in the grey clouded sky.

Six small figures rolled a row boat out of its enclosure by Portobello beach and scrunched it down to the sand.

They dragged the boat off its wheels into the sand at the edge of the sea and one of them retreated back up the beach with the wheels to retrieve the second boat. And another three small dark figures joined the first to accompany the boat down to water.

Then they stood, clustered around the craft, silhouetted against the brown grey sky. Discussing what? "They're trying to decide which one to launch first," speculated the people huddled impatient on the steps of the not yet open swimming baths. "Maybe they're discussing who should be in charge," snickered a cynic. "Democracy is time-consuming."

The boats were pushed out onto the water and the little people leapt in. Noses pointed out towards the open water. The clouds cracked apart over Fife and the sun shone sharp from above the power station opposite to light the sky with peach and amber and rose.

The tiny convoy sailed into the sun, guided by these - who? Self-satisfied No voters taking a very respectable salary from financial services companies who'd threatened to jump ship in the event of a Yes vote. Organic vegetable sellers worrying mildly about what will become of farming in an anti-EU United Kingdom.

Mothers or fathers hiding away momentarily on the wave-lapped sea before hauling their children out of snug sheets and sending them off to school to inherit a who knows what economy when the politicians have finished point scoring.

Unremarkable people pursuing a moment of uninterrupted freedom buffeted gently on a mild mannered golden sea in a vaguely anti-climactic what will happen next (as they've already forgotten about us - packed up and left their birds eye viewpoint stations on the top of Carlton Hill to return to comfortable caramel macchiato centre of the world complacency in London) Scotland.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

For about an hour last night, I had five freshly composed songs, one will he won't he cast member and (hoorah!) a costume designer.

A little later, I still had the songs, definitely the actor but the costume designer had turned into a maybe she will maybe she won't. I think probably she won't.

Still, the flyers look great, the songs sound great and I can always send the cast on bare...

Monday, September 22, 2014

So far, so good.

I have a black actor. (Thanks, Paul. And Shuwanna of EUACS, Brian and Siobhan.)

I have a replacement Lars as my original Lars was very disappointingly summoned to commit to the cause of wage slavery.

I have a set design, I gather. 

Gillian is working on props.

I appear to have volunteers to help with lighting almost pouring out of my ears.

I have some flyer design options (Emma, you're wonderful).

I have a programme in progress. (Again, thanks BS.)

I have corralled the cast into Exercises. Some. Not plenty. Marriage guidance counselling being my favourite to date. (To which Mette and Michael disconcertingly took like ducks to the proverbial water.)

I even have the play blocked (for some of the cast. Those who have managed for this reason or that to attend rehearsals. For those barred by selfish holidays or sun and shopping or whatever, not so neatly done. But we'll get there.)

So you might say I'm pretty much on track for where I ought to be given that we're a week away from the end of September.

Right now, I remain to be convinced. But I'm a pessimist at heart.


Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The search for a black actor goes on. And the endeavour has now sucked in others:
  • I've posted a casting call in a Facebook group that deals in opportunities on stage and screen for people in Edinburgh
  • Siobhan chatted up a prospect at Summerhall last Thursday
  • I've contacted a rather brilliant lady called Danielle Farrow, a professional with an extensive mailing list in the local area. She has very kindly circulated our request to her contacts
  • I responded to various emails from B S Neill with clever and ingenious suggestions about how we might find someone
  • I contacted the Edinburgh University Afro-Caribbean Society again who kindly said they'd let us put flyers on their stand at a Cultural Fair in Fresher's Week the weekend just gone
  • I created a rudimentary little flyer
  • Siobhan very kindly delivered these aforementioned flyers to the aforementioned cultural fair on Saturday
  • Siobhan approached another man at the Traverse on Saturday night. (He sweetly said thanks but not - but if you don't ask, you don't get)
  • I dredged from my memory a man I thought might suit and got in touch with a mutual friend to see if she thought he'd be interested. Turns out he's not black 
  • And then Thom Dibdin to the rescue, thanks to a smart suggestion from BS and Siobhan. And he has very kindly posted this 
Phil maintains that all of this effort would make for a great play script. But I'll try and cast this one first.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014




Festival Number 6 at Portmeirion.

Beautifully mind blowing.























Friday, September 05, 2014

If you find yourself with a spare ten minutes this weekend, you could do worse than spend it with Salmon and Bear.

The latest instalment is here, now.
Two rehearsals down. 

An "Exercise" (how they all shuddered) and a read through. And then a talking about the homework session last night. 

Homework session attendees all seemed to have done a lot of thinking / searching in preparation. I wasn't wholly sure how discussions would go as chatting about child abuse clearly isn't everyone's cup of tea. But the cast conjured up all sorts of interesting thoughts that left me wondering whether my version of the script is far too black and white. I love a cast who question. Long may it last.

The discussions were such that all my planned Exercises must be shelved for another day. Something to look forward to. 

Mwahahahahahah.