Helen came round tonight and we have managed, against our expectations to finish the 2nd Act of The FatCat And The Grafter. There's lots of tidying up to do, and lots of things that we need to revisit in Act I that perhaps now don't go so well with how the script ended up. Still as the evolution of the show goes, this is good stuff.
We're meeting again on Saturday to work on those points, and then, room being available, we're meeting Monday to read through the completed play to the whole cast. Yay ! We will still have a couple of roles left to cast, which we don't have people for, and there's a couple that we need to let some of the people coming along try out to get a feel for who would be best at what. I could tell you who's got what, but... Shhh !! Spoilers !
This under wire performance, is actually ahead of our usual 'ah lets start rehearsing the first act before we've written the second' which is kind of what happened last time. It left us with a rather bloated 2nd act when we came panic write it, a month into the rehearsal schedule. What On Earth (is Happening) was a long play as a result, and that was with us taking a knife to large parts of the script in Act II, about a week before the show went up as we recall. Ooops. Thankfully the great bunch of people that we had in the cast were able to take that in their stride, but it's an unnecessary hassle and stress for all those concerned that we want to make sure we avoid this time.
It does also leave me in the situation where I won't be able to devote a weekend to attacking Script Frenzy, my script 'Netbook' with vengeance until probably the 2nd week of Frenzy. Then, although I have a week off work I do have Chloe for 4 days, which I am really looking forward to also. I am sure there is a way round it all. It's funny how I feel better when I am tasking myself with doing more, and then achieving it.
There are plenty of empty evenings, even once I exclude the ones where I will be involved with rehearsals for The FatCat And The Grafter. I remember last year, it was only some point into the month that I decided to abandon the joint project that Helen and I had started, and write something on my own. Hard work, focus, vision, determination. I can do this. I'm like a coiled zebra, ready to pounce, and stripy.
Showing posts with label what on earth is happening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label what on earth is happening. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
First (working) day of 2011
Back to reality today. A long old day, went in early to make some progress with the end of month admin that somehow, despite no matter how much I aim for otherwise, always ends up being a last minute affair.
It was the same with my homework when I was at school. 'Simon could do better, if only he applied himself'. Hmm. Thing is I've always had the ability to be fantastically well applied when the mood takes me, but the sad story is that there are so many things that I didn't feel the desire to 'apply' myself to.
Maybe it's sulking, maybe it's laziness, I'd like to think otherwise. Okay maybe a bit of it was sulking.
The new (lack of) hair style has been well received, well at least at work. I am sure my Mother will proclaim that I look terrible, where as my daughter will probably hurt herself laughing so much. (She may even 'ROFL').
The week has barely started, and I am hoping that Helen will be coming up tomorrow night so that we can make some progress with 'The Fat Cat & The Grafter'. Not really liking the title so much now, I think that will have to change. I'm getting bored with it. I have had time to get bored with it, I think that's part of the problem. In the past, Helen and I have written the script in more of a crash of 'has to be done, shit the show is on in three months' kind of way. 'What On Earth Is Happening' wasn't complete when we started rehearsing, in fact I think the second act wasn't done until about two months before curtain up.
To be fair, it showed in the writing, there was too much dross and crap in the second act. We can do, and will do better at reigning in the meandering aimless, and equally plot less. There's something about the need for the looming deadline, the fear of failure, of letting other people, and yourself down. But it's funny how, no matter how hard we've tried, we just can't 'ease' ourselves into that, we can't 'plan' through that, and tell ourselves to spread the load a little. Like masochists for the stress. Strange how that 'fight or flight' mentality is the thing that forces the creativity. That's why I really like the burn of 'Script Frenzy', and 'Nanowrimo'.
Need to come up with a plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail, that will give me time to work on 'Red Herring'. Now all the chaos of the move has died down, I now feel the urge to at least finish the story.
It was the same with my homework when I was at school. 'Simon could do better, if only he applied himself'. Hmm. Thing is I've always had the ability to be fantastically well applied when the mood takes me, but the sad story is that there are so many things that I didn't feel the desire to 'apply' myself to.
Maybe it's sulking, maybe it's laziness, I'd like to think otherwise. Okay maybe a bit of it was sulking.
The new (lack of) hair style has been well received, well at least at work. I am sure my Mother will proclaim that I look terrible, where as my daughter will probably hurt herself laughing so much. (She may even 'ROFL').
The week has barely started, and I am hoping that Helen will be coming up tomorrow night so that we can make some progress with 'The Fat Cat & The Grafter'. Not really liking the title so much now, I think that will have to change. I'm getting bored with it. I have had time to get bored with it, I think that's part of the problem. In the past, Helen and I have written the script in more of a crash of 'has to be done, shit the show is on in three months' kind of way. 'What On Earth Is Happening' wasn't complete when we started rehearsing, in fact I think the second act wasn't done until about two months before curtain up.
To be fair, it showed in the writing, there was too much dross and crap in the second act. We can do, and will do better at reigning in the meandering aimless, and equally plot less. There's something about the need for the looming deadline, the fear of failure, of letting other people, and yourself down. But it's funny how, no matter how hard we've tried, we just can't 'ease' ourselves into that, we can't 'plan' through that, and tell ourselves to spread the load a little. Like masochists for the stress. Strange how that 'fight or flight' mentality is the thing that forces the creativity. That's why I really like the burn of 'Script Frenzy', and 'Nanowrimo'.
Need to come up with a plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail, that will give me time to work on 'Red Herring'. Now all the chaos of the move has died down, I now feel the urge to at least finish the story.
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