Me On Stage!

I meant to post photos of me in my last play sooner but have only got around to it now:

And the following is a nice candid, colour photo of me offstage but in costume and make up:

This time next week I will be halfway through my next play and hopefully not having a nervous breakdown. My sister will be visiting me at the same time, not to see me in my play but to go see Take That in concert. She will attend the Friday night show but will leave at the interval to get to the venue on time. I'll join as soon as the second act of my play ends. Somehow, over this weekend I've got to clean and tidy my flat for her stay. What makes it difficult is that I still have loads of bags & boxes sittign around from the move and my bedroom looks like a storeroom, so I have a lot of sorting out to do too. I also need to fix my sofabed, it's not broke, just not assembled properly and sis has to sleep on it (or in the bed in the"storeroom").

I've also got to spend this weekend attending rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday, meeting up with a friend who I haven't seen in a year, finding a salon to get my hair dyed professionally, shopping in Primark for simple back shoes to wear with my costume on stage and a yoga class or two before my membership ends. I might just not sleep this weekend so I can fit this all in.

At the moment, the Christmas break is looking very appealling. Sure, it means having to share a house with my loud and unpredicatable siblings and father, and my on-the-edge, stressed out mother but hopefully I'll get the change to sleep, read, meet up with friends and sleep a lot more.

The Christmas Listy Blog

My mother's doing her annual Christmas Shopping Trip Away this wekend and has asked for my Christmas present list so she can get all her children's presents in one day. I always find it hard doing this because as I don't live at home I find myself wishing the gas/electicity bill was paid for me or I had a month off paying my credit card repayments/countil tax. Nice practical things that can't really be wrapped up and put under the Christmas tree.

I do need some running trainers, sport bras, winter coat etc. but those things I need to be there in person when she buys them so I can make sure they fit properly. Also, Christmas present or not, I NEED these things so is there any point in putting it down on a big list of present ideas for my mum to pick and choose from (to still keep an element of surprise) and her possibly NOT picking them at all? I can also rule out anything very expensive like a laptop or digital camera because we just don't have the fund for that and gone are the days when Santa would bring us bikes or games consoles.

Also, as I have to fly/bus it back to London, I can't have anything too big and heavy as it will be a pain in the ass to transport.

So that only leaves the usual books, cds and toiletries. I'm having a look through my Amazon wishlist to fnd some items that I didn't rush out to buy the second thei were officially released, and that I wouldn't mind unwrapping on Christmas. I've got one book and 2 cds. just need to think of a couple more things so my mum can have more of a choice and I end up semi-surprised.
Anyone, any suggestions of what I need in my life are welcome.

(PS: Yes, this is a very spoilt entry and I know many go without in this unfair world so I should be grateful for an apple and and orange in my Xmas stocking... but this is my blog and... so there!)

The Listy Blog

I've been in low spirits recently and have been finding it hard to write anything of worth, both on and offline. I have decided to fill some time and space by stealing a list blog from BlueMaskLover and complete some random Top Ten lists. If you're scratching your head at the Top Ten subjects chosen then blame her.

Things people do that are guaranteed to really, really fuck me off:

1. Play music out loud through their rubbish mobile phones in a public place
2. Then complain/hurl some abuse back/have an "attitude" when asked to turn it down/off
3. Bringing cuntish, cocky, rude children into the world who then verbally abuse, sneer at me and proposition me sexually when they're only 9 years old
4. Stupid men who call us sluts because we won't stop to talk to strange men (them) when it's midnight and they're hanging around street corners. Grow a brain and think about what you just said you morons!
5. People who can't/won't use grammar properly because "it's the internet, no one bothers with it on the internet". And messageboards that censor "shit" and change it to "ish" instead. WTF?
6. Mess up the transport system taking away precious minutes of my life.
7. Relocate their helpdesks to India making it IMPOSSIBLE to understand what I'm being told and my problem still nowhere near solved after spending all afternoon on the phone to them
8. Push their way onto the tube when I'm still trying to get off it.
9. Walk slow in front of me.
10. Claim to be "protecting" Michael Jackson from all his fans when they're the ones he needs protecting from.

Foods I want to be buried in:

1. Chicken Katsu curry
2. Thai Red Penang curry
3. Curry Chips
4. Pizza
5. Galaxy chocolate
6. Kinder eggs
7. Cream of Corn soup
8. Nachos
9. Sushi
10. Coca Cola

Ideal jobs:

1. Singer/Songwriter, recording and touring artist
2. Actor
3. Writer
4. Musican
5. Yoga/Dance/Singing Teacher
6. English (as a Foreign Language) teacher
7. Blood Donation Centre person
8. Personal Trainer
9. Life Coach
10. Events Organiser

Songs that are guaranteed to make me cry like a bitch:

1. 1000 Oceans - Tori Amos
2. Playboy Mommy - Tori Amos
3. Cooling - Tori Amos
4. Will You Be There - Michael Jackson
5. Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do - Prince

Celebrities who deserve to die:

1. Akon
2. 50 Cent
3. Maria Friedman
4. Paul McCartney
5. Kerry Katona
6. Jodie Marsh
7. Lorraine Kelly
8. Kelly Holmes
9. Lulu
10. McFly
11. Westlife
12. Paris Hilton
13. Colin & Edith

Things to do before I die:

1. Run a marathon
2. Write & record an album and tour with it
3. Write a musical
4. Become fluent in Portuguese and Spanish
5. Skydive
6. Do the Inca Trail
7. Do the Jungle Marathon/Marathon de Sables
8. See many many countries
9. Swim the the Carribean sea, drive across Panama and swim in the Pacific Ocean, in the same day
10. Make somone happy

I left out Children's cartoons from the 1980s which need reinstated NOW as I agreed with pretty much all that was said. I also have "Thing To Do Before I Die" list stored as a draft on here which I will publish when I've added a few more things to it. For this particular entry I just picked out 10 random/interesting sounding things from the list. I put "Run a marathon" at the top as this one I know I can strike off the list in 4 months and 22 days.

Inspiration.

Just back from seeing a rehearsed reading of my friend's play and I may sound biased but I'm not - it was wonderful. Initally, I was worried about seeing a performace of a play with a strong political theme at the very end of a tiring week and if I'd be able to give it the attention it deserves. However I needn't have worried, the play was extremely well written and I enjoyed every minute of it. There was also a talk with the writter, director and cast afterwards which I also found interesting from a performer's point of view.

Such a simple, entertaining and educational night, good for inspiring the creative juices!

I'd write more but I'm really sleepy. It's been a long week and I need to lie down. More tomorrow.

The Last Eight Weeks

Despite one play being over, my head is still spinning from what I need to do in the short-term, so I've made a list of all I can think of at the moment. Whoever says that I take on too much is LYING!

• Rehearse and perform play, (performance dates 5th-8th December)
• Begin training for the marathon (buy running trainers first)
• Begin collecting sponsorship for marathon
• Go to the reading and audition for new musical play
• See Hairspray, Swimming With Sharks, Rent and maybe Wicked musicals/play
• See my friends rehearsed reading of her play
• Dinner with friend who got married recently
• Attend Take That concerts
• Continue with Bikram yoga classes
• Have 4 piano lessons
• Decorate flat
• Christmas

Pass me the Berocca!

Underwhelming.

I had been waiting for my mum's Sunday night telephone call so I could tell her all about signing up to do the marathon and her reaction disappointed and surprised me.

I should be used to it by now. Any time I call her with news of my lastest show I'm involved in or a course I'm doing, she's always less than impressed. The only time I get an excited response from her is when I've been offered yet another temp job for a reasonable payrate. I used to keep quiet about all my singing/acting projects in the past as I didn't want to be discouraged by her reaction but as I got older and more secure in myself I began to open up and fill her in more on what was happening in my life. I even allowed myself to sound excited when giving her the details.She usually responds by asking a couple of questions about it (ALWAYS "What are they paying you?") but then she quickly moves onto some random thing happening in my brother/sister's lives and never brings up my news again. I give her the details but she never asks how rehearsals are going, do I feel nervous, how the show went etc. Tonight after sounding less than interested in the news that her daughter (the one that was a fat teenager and looked like a zombie!) will run 26 miles for a charity and responding with silence, she quickly moved onto a HILARIOUS story about how her and my elder sister were trying to buy Mamma Mia tickets for Christmas without the other knowing. Fun!

I shouldn't be surprised. She's never been interested in what's going on in my life if it doesn't involve a good job with a good payrate. I stupidly got my hopes up because this was different news as I'm doing something big for myself and for the benefit of others. She didn't even ask what the charity was but there was probably no point in telling her anyway as it doesn't involve me working in a bank and being paid lots, so it would have been uneccessary strain on my vocals cords telling her so.

Some things never change and I should be used to it now.

Final Night

Just leaving in a couple of minutes to make my way to the theatre. Our final show it tonight but we're running it this afternoon as it will be recorded, then spliced with the taping of tonight's show to make a showreel for us all. That will be umm... interesting.

I'm considering get up as early as I'll allow myself and go back to yoga classes. I feel bloated and barrel-like from all the comfort-eating this week and need a little detox. I've got my next play to prepare for so shouldn't let my Healthy Eating & Exercise kick lose steam. I also have a much bigger reason to stay in shape. I got confirmation yesterday that I have received a charity place in the 2008 London Marathon. This is huge. I can probably run half a mile if I push myself hard so I'll need to start a training programme straight away to prepare me for it in April. I also need to somehow raise the minimum sponsorship (£1000) for the charity too. I know someone who run it this year so she's been giving me advice on training and sponsorship and we'll talk more about it at out show's "after party".

Must leave now if I'm going to get to the theatre in time. Post-show musings and more marathon talk to come in due course.

Why I Will Like November

I'm going to be positive and declare November to be a Good Month.

A few financial things will be sorted for me (who knew setting up direct debits to take care of a few payments could be so practical!). I'm not going to have any extra money or any less money but now cetain things will be paid automatically leaving me to get on with my life.

Even though I will be busy with rehearsals for my play in December, I will have a little bit more free time now that my last comedy play performance will be this Saturday. This will give me more time to go to the theatre and plan for a couple of singing and piano classes.

This month the new Alicia Keys album will be released. And the Shakira tour DVD. I can't wait for both. I also got great AK concert tickets for her show in February earlier today.

I will renew my Bikram yoga membership for another month and continue to get slim, toned and healthy (despite having a wobbly week at the moment). I want to look and feel good for whatever parties, gatherings etc. come my way over the next couple of months.

This is pretty:

If anything goes wrong, or there are setbacks, I will try to remain positive. It's too dark and cold outside to be negative. Fingers crossed.

Showtime!

I'm almost half way through our 5 night run of our comedy play and I'm happy to report that everything is going well. The show seems to be running smoothly, there has been no big disasters on stage and the audience seem to be having a great time every night. A friend of the director's remarked on how professional it looked and my line I hate the most is getting the biggest laughs. It's been tough trying to stay commited but our hard work is paying off.

I'm now glad I took two days of at the start of the week even if it mean I'll get paid less next week. I have been so drained yesterday and on Monday especially I was extremely knackered and had no idea how I was going to gt through the week. I'm still more tired than usual but I'm compentsating the lack of rest and sleep with eatig everything in sight. My eating habits improved so much over the past month but the past couple of days I've turned into a gluttonous monster. I was happy when invited out by a colleague to her birthday lunch as it meant I could eat an entire pizza by myself. The same colleague bought in a tin of Quality Street which I then topped up with a box of the chocolates and proceeded to pratically inhale the contents. Even as I write my mind is wandering to the theatrepub we are performing in and the potato wedges I will have when I get there later. Yum.

I'm allowing myself to eat what I want this week as it is an exception circumstance and I need my energy so I don't faint on stage or something (excuses!) but next week, I'll get back o the porridge and healthy lunches and yoga classes. Once this play is over, rehearsals for my other play will increase and I'll need to stay healthy and in shape for that.