First update in like ages
OK I thought I might as well make an attempt at updating this thing as I think it's been about 2 months since I last did it. haha this sounds like Catholic Confession!!
Probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me recently has been having our show week last week. Our technical rehearsal (when I finally got there) was, I was told, shite at best, and then as soon as I got into the chorus for the second run through bizarrely it was considerably better!
On the Monday, I picked up my elaborate bear costume and collected my other array of exciting costumes and trundled down for the dress rehearsal. It went about 100 times better than the Sunday ones did, and we actually started to feel a bit optimistic about it.
Tuesday was our opening night, and I think it was easily the best opening night I've been in with that company. Everything was sharp and precise, the only downside being that my co-duetist suddenly contracted tonsilitis, and I instead had to sing it with another girl. We then went to the Indian restaurant down the road. The service there was probably the worst service I've ever experienced in an indian restaurant, who are usually pretty courteous. For example, we were asked if we wanted to order drinks, and we didn't...we only wanted water, so asked for jugs of water instead. 10 minutes later. No water. So we ask again. The waiter blatantly ignores us completely and continues with what he's doing. We ask again, and he walks off. This continues, and it wasn't until an hour later that we get our water. Meanwhile all the surrounding tables had ordered alcholic drinks and soft drinks, and had got them immediately. They were rather cynically prolonging us to see if we would buy drinks off them instead.
The food was also shit.
Wednesday night was also a pretty decent night, and I had my sister and her boyfriend in to see it. They enjoyed it, allegedly, so that's good innit! We didn't do anything else in the evening though, and went home.
Thursday was pretty much our poorest night. We had some of the kids doing some dialogue between the numbers and they'd just started ad libbing all the time to an extent where they even admitted to me that they'd forgotten how the actual script went. That's fine in a panto, but it made the show look really sloppy, so I told them that evening after the show finished that they were bringing the show down and making it look ridiculous. Oddly Friday night the ad lib was drastically cut down. THE POOWEEERRRR. Thursday night we went to Flares, which is a 70s/Disco Night club. If you read my entry in Feb that described us going to Flares after the panto, I was extremely embarrasing and ridiculously affectionate to everyone. I was under control that night, I'm glad to say, and treated them all to a bit of dickhead-dancing (see Kate's Isle of Wight submission for explanation of this new fad :D).
Friday I met everyone for lunch after staying at a cast member's house the night before, in which the usual bitchiness and talking about people who weren't there ensued, and then went back home for a shower and to pick up the car so I could drive to and from the theatre. Friday's performance was a lot tighter, and I was pretty pleased. Part of our show is the Time warp number, in which I was cross dressed in a corset, stockings, heels, wig and the like. I also wore a microphone, and the microphone box itself I wore in my pants as I literally had nowhere else to put it. The following conversation apparently commenced between my friend and cast member Zinia (Z) and her boyfriend Alan (A) who came to see it on the Friday.
A: Man, that dude has got some bollocks
Z: That was his microphone battery pack
A: No I meant that he has some bollocks to be up on stage in that get up. I wasn't looking.
Z: Yeah right.
A: I wasn't!!
After the show, we went to a chinese buffet place called Modern China, where the food is tremendous, and a bargain £12 considering I had like 5 or 6 courses. Company was really good too, as I had all my favourite people from the company on my table and it was a decent laugh. Best bit was our MD, Natalie, convincing my castmember Stephen that she was watching the show on the Saturday and getting another bloke in to MD. CLASSIC.
Nat then asked if I could give her a lift home, but it would be a fair bit out my way, so I instead offered her to stay at my house and then I would drop her off in the morning just before I went to meet Kate and Ian who were coming to see the show on the Saturday. She agreed, and I drove us back to my house, and was entertained at her complete wonder at the size of my house. We drank tea and talked for a few hours, and then went off to bed.
Saturday, I dropped my sister into work, and then came back for some breakfast with Nat and then took her home. I then drove into Birmingham city centre, which was a complete nightmare. That fucking sport relief thing was on, and I was sent everywhere around the city trying to get to New Street, and got stuck in ridiculous traffic. When I eventually got the guys, I couldn't get out again, and got considerably lost (to which much swearing was done) but eventually got us back to find my brother awaiting us, as he had also come down
We then went to the pub for a bevvie, and Kate and Ian got some food, then we drove down to the theatre. I went in the stage door before giving them their tickets, which was a bit silly, so they had to come backstage again to get them!
Saturday's show went tremendously well, and sadly it was my last ever show with this theatre company. They do presentations at the end of Saturday night, giving the producer and MD and such their pay, and then the Chairman announced I was leaving and almost burst into tears herself haha. She then gave me a card and a wrapped present (which turned out to be a clock, suitable as the acronym for the theatre company is CLOC) and I got applause and stuff from everyone. I was completely touched and beside myself and burst into tears myself. That's the first time I've properly cried since I've been a kid, so it was odd a bit.
We then went to the bar, where I was suitably congratulated and such, and then went to help clean everything away.
After that was the aftershow party. Kate and Ian kindly allowed me to go considering the whole last ever show thing, so I introduced them to everyone (actually getting some names wrong in the process haha!!) and enjoyed the party, moving between them, and my former cast members. I was overwhelmed with affection...and as I drank more gave considerable more...it went on for ever and we didn't leave until about 4!! I fell asleep in the car on the way back (wasn't driving) and the buggers all took pics of me sleeping!
We got back at around 5 and all went straight to bed, but my sleep was broken at best, and I slept about 3 hours of the 5 I was in bed. Woke up to be really knackered, especially as I hadn't slept well the night before either. We spent the morning in the garden chatting and playing basketball, then I dropped Kate and Ian off. The afternoon was spent pretty much the same until my parents came back from their holiday in Tunisia.
Today I don't plan on doing anything. Have to take some costume back, and go down to CLOC and pay my ticket money, but apart from that, it's going to be a chill out.
Sorry about the length :P
Probably the most interesting thing that's happened to me recently has been having our show week last week. Our technical rehearsal (when I finally got there) was, I was told, shite at best, and then as soon as I got into the chorus for the second run through bizarrely it was considerably better!
On the Monday, I picked up my elaborate bear costume and collected my other array of exciting costumes and trundled down for the dress rehearsal. It went about 100 times better than the Sunday ones did, and we actually started to feel a bit optimistic about it.
Tuesday was our opening night, and I think it was easily the best opening night I've been in with that company. Everything was sharp and precise, the only downside being that my co-duetist suddenly contracted tonsilitis, and I instead had to sing it with another girl. We then went to the Indian restaurant down the road. The service there was probably the worst service I've ever experienced in an indian restaurant, who are usually pretty courteous. For example, we were asked if we wanted to order drinks, and we didn't...we only wanted water, so asked for jugs of water instead. 10 minutes later. No water. So we ask again. The waiter blatantly ignores us completely and continues with what he's doing. We ask again, and he walks off. This continues, and it wasn't until an hour later that we get our water. Meanwhile all the surrounding tables had ordered alcholic drinks and soft drinks, and had got them immediately. They were rather cynically prolonging us to see if we would buy drinks off them instead.
The food was also shit.
Wednesday night was also a pretty decent night, and I had my sister and her boyfriend in to see it. They enjoyed it, allegedly, so that's good innit! We didn't do anything else in the evening though, and went home.
Thursday was pretty much our poorest night. We had some of the kids doing some dialogue between the numbers and they'd just started ad libbing all the time to an extent where they even admitted to me that they'd forgotten how the actual script went. That's fine in a panto, but it made the show look really sloppy, so I told them that evening after the show finished that they were bringing the show down and making it look ridiculous. Oddly Friday night the ad lib was drastically cut down. THE POOWEEERRRR. Thursday night we went to Flares, which is a 70s/Disco Night club. If you read my entry in Feb that described us going to Flares after the panto, I was extremely embarrasing and ridiculously affectionate to everyone. I was under control that night, I'm glad to say, and treated them all to a bit of dickhead-dancing (see Kate's Isle of Wight submission for explanation of this new fad :D).
Friday I met everyone for lunch after staying at a cast member's house the night before, in which the usual bitchiness and talking about people who weren't there ensued, and then went back home for a shower and to pick up the car so I could drive to and from the theatre. Friday's performance was a lot tighter, and I was pretty pleased. Part of our show is the Time warp number, in which I was cross dressed in a corset, stockings, heels, wig and the like. I also wore a microphone, and the microphone box itself I wore in my pants as I literally had nowhere else to put it. The following conversation apparently commenced between my friend and cast member Zinia (Z) and her boyfriend Alan (A) who came to see it on the Friday.
A: Man, that dude has got some bollocks
Z: That was his microphone battery pack
A: No I meant that he has some bollocks to be up on stage in that get up. I wasn't looking.
Z: Yeah right.
A: I wasn't!!
After the show, we went to a chinese buffet place called Modern China, where the food is tremendous, and a bargain £12 considering I had like 5 or 6 courses. Company was really good too, as I had all my favourite people from the company on my table and it was a decent laugh. Best bit was our MD, Natalie, convincing my castmember Stephen that she was watching the show on the Saturday and getting another bloke in to MD. CLASSIC.
Nat then asked if I could give her a lift home, but it would be a fair bit out my way, so I instead offered her to stay at my house and then I would drop her off in the morning just before I went to meet Kate and Ian who were coming to see the show on the Saturday. She agreed, and I drove us back to my house, and was entertained at her complete wonder at the size of my house. We drank tea and talked for a few hours, and then went off to bed.
Saturday, I dropped my sister into work, and then came back for some breakfast with Nat and then took her home. I then drove into Birmingham city centre, which was a complete nightmare. That fucking sport relief thing was on, and I was sent everywhere around the city trying to get to New Street, and got stuck in ridiculous traffic. When I eventually got the guys, I couldn't get out again, and got considerably lost (to which much swearing was done) but eventually got us back to find my brother awaiting us, as he had also come down
We then went to the pub for a bevvie, and Kate and Ian got some food, then we drove down to the theatre. I went in the stage door before giving them their tickets, which was a bit silly, so they had to come backstage again to get them!
Saturday's show went tremendously well, and sadly it was my last ever show with this theatre company. They do presentations at the end of Saturday night, giving the producer and MD and such their pay, and then the Chairman announced I was leaving and almost burst into tears herself haha. She then gave me a card and a wrapped present (which turned out to be a clock, suitable as the acronym for the theatre company is CLOC) and I got applause and stuff from everyone. I was completely touched and beside myself and burst into tears myself. That's the first time I've properly cried since I've been a kid, so it was odd a bit.
We then went to the bar, where I was suitably congratulated and such, and then went to help clean everything away.
After that was the aftershow party. Kate and Ian kindly allowed me to go considering the whole last ever show thing, so I introduced them to everyone (actually getting some names wrong in the process haha!!) and enjoyed the party, moving between them, and my former cast members. I was overwhelmed with affection...and as I drank more gave considerable more...it went on for ever and we didn't leave until about 4!! I fell asleep in the car on the way back (wasn't driving) and the buggers all took pics of me sleeping!
We got back at around 5 and all went straight to bed, but my sleep was broken at best, and I slept about 3 hours of the 5 I was in bed. Woke up to be really knackered, especially as I hadn't slept well the night before either. We spent the morning in the garden chatting and playing basketball, then I dropped Kate and Ian off. The afternoon was spent pretty much the same until my parents came back from their holiday in Tunisia.
Today I don't plan on doing anything. Have to take some costume back, and go down to CLOC and pay my ticket money, but apart from that, it's going to be a chill out.
Sorry about the length :P