Thursday 26 November 2009

Worried about Lorraine

I saw a top tip on Lorraine Kelly this morning.

Now to give you some background I adore Lorraine Kelly. I have her autobiography and her self help book. I like her because she is proper scottish, doesn't have any pretensions just cos she's 'off the telly' and once spent an entire live interview with Will Young planning a night out with him. I even tuned into River City to see her stealing half of a wedding buffet by slipping it into her handbag.

However I fear this love affair may be on shakey ground..

A viewer wrote in to say that they have trouble keeping slingback shoes on their feet. Mark Hayes fashion 'experts' tip was to use CLEAR BRA STRAPS to keep them on! I am outraged.

1, Clear bra straps are not invisible, everyone can see them and if they are a normal, fashion conscious person they'll be laughing at you for wearing them

and

2, as my friend Katie pointed out nobody should be wearing slingbacks anyway.

How he calls himself a fashion expert I'll never know But how can Lorraine smile and agree with him that this is infact the best solution to the problem? Lorraine I'm disapointed. Surely the sensible option would be to invite this poor, deluded slingback wearing woman onto the show and give her a makeover?

Please Lorraine, have a word. And tell Mark to get out of Primark, the polyester fumes are obviously effecting his brain.*

*I'd like to say that I normally quite like Mark and I'm not a snob I just really hate clear bra straps.

H x

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Blaaaaaa

Why do mens brains work so differently from ours?

FRUSTRATED!

And what makes it worse is he's gay so I don't even get sex as a consolation prize for his annoying male behaviour.

As my friend Gilly would say 'Selfish. Man. Dick. Need minstrels.'

H x

Monday 23 November 2009

Scared to create. Terrified not to.

I have in my mind a piece of theatre I want to create. I would like to work with a good friend of mine to explore his reactions to grief and his relationship with his lost one. He is a dancer and choreographer and I reckon that together we could create a beautiful piece of verbatim dance theatre.

He had a wonderful relationship with his Grandmother and when he talks of her his face lights up and theres something in him thats hard to describe. Its something old or ageless or... its not often I struggle to describe something but I am now. I guess you just have to see it and that is why I want to put it on the stage, or in a studio, or to bring an audience into her living room.

He's scared tho. I'm scared too.

He is scared of opening up and his feelings tumbling out and never stopping. He's scared of feeling too much. Of being too upset.

I'm scared of not doing his story justice. Of being judged. Of failing.

He's scared to express. I'm scared about what'll happen if he doesn't one day.

We really need to get over these fears, stop eating cake and book a studio.

I don't know how to broach it with him tho. I asked him before and he said he wasn't ready. I think if I don't push him he'll never be ready. I know I must respect him and wait. Its hard, I'm not a patient person.

Is it wrong to send him this blog?

Sunday 22 November 2009

Where are they now?

Today its all about jumpers and couches....

I was at my first masterclass for the NTS exchange project today. It was exploring techniques for devising theatre and was led by Vicky Featherstone, the artistic director of NTS. I got a lot out of it and as always was amazed at the Electric Kids and how they're not afraid to put themselves out there. They're also not afraid to dislike something and are quite vocal about it which quite often gets them in trouble. I encourage it though. I think its important to be honest.

At one point today we had to work in small groups to devise an exercise that devised theatre could be created from. We created an exercise where the participants were lost objects desperate to get down the back of the couch to the lost object institution. But first they had to be interviewed by the couches receptionists who decided whether they could enter or not. Participants could be objects, x factor rejects, thoughts, anything they wanted. It resulted in the most fabulously, ridiculously fun exercise. I loved it! I'll definitly be visiting the couch soon...

I've been lovin jumpers today. I had my stag one on, Chloe had a panda one, there was a girl with a really good one from the jewish market. Its a good word, the more you say it the funnier it gets. Or it did for us today. Jumper jumper jumper.... couch!

H x

Saturday 21 November 2009

One year on...

Oooh look I have a blog that I totally forgot about!

Its weird to think that I was writing this blog at a really difficult point in my life. Its a year since it all started and I like to think that I'm a very different girl from the one who first started this blog. I love that I knew I needed to find a way of making myself feel better so I prescribed myself a gay club! In all seriousness partying at difficult points in your life can be dangerous for some people but I guess for me it was the distraction I needed.

So a year on I'm definitly happier, confident, have a lot of new friends and a lot less potatoes. I'm beginning to think of myself as an artist again and when people ask me to describe my art I say I create theatre with real people. I feel so passionate about verbatim theatre and I am happy to take little steps into creating this work. I'm definitly not into making a big explosion with my work, its not to say that I'm not confident about what I do but I really dislike a lot of the arrogant theatre makers that are about just now. I get myself into trouble by not bowing down to the right people or not joining the right cliques but its really not what its about for me. Saying all that I do network, honest. I just don't do the holidays with the very incestuous group that I shouldn't really name here.

*I just read that last paragraph back and thinking about it they're not even necessary the 'right' people. They're certainly not right for me.

My friend Katie has been blogging which I guess is what reminded me of this wee effort. I was so proud when I read her blog, she has grown into a lovely, very witty writer. I don't pretend to be an expert on writing but I know what I like and I like Katie's blog. She's moved to London and I think reading her blog once in a while will give me the dose of her that I need every so often.
I've watched Katie grow up over the six years we've been friends, she's been through some of the most challenging life situations and is still always very positive. Its something I decided I needed to learn from her. I think to live like Katie Starlight is no bad thing...

I think a big influence on the carefree H was camp this summer. There were aspects that definitly stressed me and there were times I hated it but 3 months of no responsibilities was a first for me and I loved it! I liked that I lost the ability to make decisions. If you know me you'll know that this is a very strange thing for me to say. The biggest decision you ever had to make was icecream or cake? My room mate and I normally did both, you know just to be on the safe side. There was even the famous four cake day that caused a facebook outrage amongst my family.

So theatre, cake, camp and dancing... I'm happy.

H x