Saturday 22 March 2014

SPRING OVER THOSE FENCES

Introduction           
                                   

Hello and welcome back again, thanks for looking in after a long wait........We are well into the year and still enjoying some warmer weather, but are wondering if and when the snows are coming.
Spring Flower by Helen
Galloping towards Easter and a surfit of chocolate eggs for number one son as always...perhaps I should moot an idea for families with surplus eggs post-Easter to donate them to their local hospitals instead of wastefully throwing them away.....maybe a large tea-chest could be in their reception and one could place them in there and bring some chocolatty cheer to those forced to stay in over Easter-just a thought from Dark Horse......
Back to my blog, sorry it's been a while.......no excuses.....mea culpa ! Usual format i.e. anything goes but mostly an artistic slant to things and I have some news to broadcast re a small breakthrough in the dramatic department.........
Read on dear peruser of bloggish sweetmeats.......

Actors' Stories Continued.........


Now I used to think that I was very good at not giggling or breaking down during a performance as it's very 'unprofessional', childish etc. Also each audience member has paid good money in most cases to come and watch and deserve a standard of respect and performance level.
Well, I have disgraced myself very few times so they are worth noting......
Okay, during a performance of a comedy version of 'the Scottish Play' Wot we can't mention, myself and another lady were clad in long cloaks and it was a very intense scene. We entered Stage Left in close conspiratorial mode. My colleague began to talk very seriously to me and as she did so the bottom part of her hood which was tucked under her chin suddenly flapped up and went straight into her mouth muffling her speech.......that would have been alright but she just calmly removed it and carried on speaking as if it hadn't happened and I'm afraid I burst out laughing but did turn upstage to face away from the audience, then my colleague caught the moment and began to splutter and shake along with me....we managed to get through the scene, but luckily the audience understood and it was a comedy.............

'Prompter'........definition........'a thankless task which is very difficult to get right......if you give them a prompt they didn't need it......if you don't give them one they were screaming for it........also the actors sometimes jump along several pages of dialogue and it's extremely hard to find where they are, causing frantic shuffling of pages....AND it's the Prompter who gets it in the neck for not knowing where the actors have strayed to........so fair play to all those seasoned Prompters out there, I salute you.......personally you won't find me doing it again....!!! 'Death On The Nile' was quite enough for me.....!!


In the same play as above, I had an interesting experience. I was prompter and I was milling around the dressing room with the actors and chatting. I sat down on what I thought was a comfy sofa with a pile of rags on it.........I sprang up suddenly as I was sitting on an actor, who was blacked up and dressed in long strips of rags and long cloak..........Sorry Peter !!! (He was totally camoflaged by his get-up... and I had a shock. He didn't seem to mind.......!!!)What a mistake to make !!



I was in a short play at drama school where a party was meant to be taking place. This was performed in front of staff and other students. My character had to be physically sick at the end so I had a small trick up my sleeve, or rather elsewhere. Beforehand I'd purloined a can of chicken and mushroom soup and prior to going on I took a large amount of this, cold, into my mouth and kept it there throughout the whole scene waiting for my big moment. I went through the gagging motions and pretended throw up...splat !!!! Worked like a charm and got a major laugh as people weren't sure how this had happened.......I thought David my colleague was going to require medical assistance he was laughing so much. Next time I'll just pretend........


Still at drama school, I was cast as Caliban in 'The Tempest'.....I know not ideal for a woman with a large frontage but I had to make the best of it and there were more girls than men in my year.......
Well Caliban is a creature of many different parts, so my creation I decided was a mixture of tights, feathered-wings, a ring attached to my nose like a Bull, I also had a tail......my character I determined but since regretted as my knees suffered thereafter.....walked on all fours but upside down, like an upturned crab.......now this would all have been all right. However, one day, there were workmen outside our country studio barn conversions who were tasked with erecting a Marquee for our Summer Ball. They were rough and tough and I noticed that one of them, fag in mouth, was wearing stubble and a Tee-Shirt which bore the legend....'Bollocks to the Poll Tax.....' Now, I was in studio One and I realised to my horror that I had to walk past these men in full Caliban garb to get to the other Barn across the grass. I'm sooo going to get cat-calls etc I thought........but I braved it.........I walked with as much dignity as I could muster under pressure and tried not to look at them.....
Sure enough...
"Whhooarrr, alright darlin' ? Would ye look at that.......Cor look at them legs.........going my way love? Get 'em off.."  Etc etc, much whistling and whooping........get it over with I thought-get it out of your systems. I reached the other Barn without further incident I'm happy to report....






My first effort at doing Cross-Stitch

 

Mother's Day



As it's Mother's Day soon, why not try something new to surprise your Mums with. Hope that the day goes very well.
Last year I did the sewn card on the left and enjoyed trying a different picture instead of painting and drawing.








News





Well, I am the newest addition to 'Liars League Leicester' and did my first performance last week.
Do have a look at their website to discover when the next event is going to be. At present the team is in 'hiatus' whilst the future reads are decided.




That's all for this edition-the next post will have more variety.
Bye for now, stay tuned.......

Dark Horse x