The latest in my exciting line of cultural outings was a trip to see Shadowlands at the Wyndham's theatre last night, courtesy of the beautiful Alessia and her press tickets :) Not only did I get to see Catherine who happened to be down from Cambridge to see it on the same night, but it was an absolutely riveting and extremely moving play. Charles Dance was particularly extraordinary, the story is all the more heartbreaking because it's closely based on real events, and there is a stunning (yet simple, isn't it always the way) set which is as worth seeing as the action. Thoroughly recommended!!
Other than that I've generally been beetling away at work - my tour with the BBC cameras went very well and the people seemed very interested in the venue, although worried about dates. I'm not allowed to reveal any information about the programme (not that I really know any) as I signed a form, but when/if it gets on the telly I'll let you know!! I think it very much depends on whether they want to hire the theatre - we haven't heard back from them yet. Xander and I went to our course as usual on Friday evening which was very interesting but it was all about money last week, so my brain started to get a bit overloaded with new information.
On Saturday (after a 4 hour shift in the box office) I met up with my flatmate from last year, Olly, for coffee and a good old catch-up and natter, which was lovely - he's living in London now and working for a Local Authority which seems very up his street and going well, so that was good to hear, and we're going to meet up again soon. I spent the evening enjoying some wine and the new series of Strictly Come Dancing - complete with Bruce Forsyth being toe-curlingly embarassing, hurrah!
Tim (Connor) came round for a really enjoyable dinner on Sunday, including more wine, after mum had taken me shopping and we got some VERY exciting high-waisted trousers and a beautiful grey dress - I love them and want to live in them. Don't be surprised if I wear nothing else for several months! All in all, a relaxed and successful weekend :)
Xander is off work on some well-deserved holiday this week, so I'm quite busy, but trying to chill out as much as possible in the evenings so that I don't feel run off my feet, and Geoff is coming to visit this weekend and we're going to Chris and Steph's housewarming party on Saturday (before Heather goes back to Preston - boooo!) so hopefully that'll be lots of fun :)
Has anyone seen my brother? He seems to have disappeared from Facebook...
Lxx
Tuesday 9 October 2007
Saturday 6 October 2007
Wednesday 3 October 2007
Unbelievable concert!...and some other stuff happened
So on the day I left Edinburgh after the Fringe Festival, I got a text from my lovely friend Tim (ex-Warwick, now a Londoner and working in Marketing, but a big musical theatre fan), saying he had got 2 tickets to the Jason Robert-Brown concert on the 30th of September, in the second row, and would I like to go with him. Obviously I said YES PLEASE!!! and hence, on Sunday, I went to said concert, after a very tasty meal with Tim at Wagamama.
Jason Robert-Brown, for those of you who don't know his work, is a singer-songwriter and composer of several musicals which have become sort of cult hits - it's not terribly hummable stuff; quite complex, thoughtful and devilishly difficult to play. Plus it's often intensely emotional. However, this means it is loved by singing and non-singing musicians alike - it's challenging, unusual and impressive when you get it right! The musicals, in case you want to look them up (and I recommend that you do!) are 'The Last Five Years', 'Songs for a New World' and 'Parade' (currently on at the Donmar Warehouse in London), plus one that is in the progress of being put together entitled 'Thirteen' (which JRB assures us is a comedy, unlike the others...)
This concert was a one-off evening that he does every so often when he's in the UK, usually in a smaller more intimate venue (so Tim tells me) - this one was in the Purcell Room of the South Bank Centre, however, so still not a huge auditorium. We bumped into various people we knew, excitingly, since it was a small audience, mostly from Warwick - Joe Davison and Nikki, and Russ Hope - which was very pleasant :)
The concert itself was Unbelievably good. I was sitting with Tim, as promised, in the second row, and he had cleverly positioned us stage right so that we could see the keyboard of the grand piano (and therefore JRB's hands while he was playing). This turned out to make the experience even more amazing - the music itself is fantastic enough, but to watch JRB playing, and singing, and not even looking at his hands which were doing immensely complicated and accurate things, was incredible. He also had some great singers as guests - Joanna Riding, Jenna Russell and Lara Pulver - all of whom sang beautifully and impressively.
What I particularly liked were the little touches that made the evening feel personal and intimate, and showed that it had been thought through carefully - most noticeably the slight changes in the song lyrics, where appropriate, to make them British; "A wife and kids in Portland" became "A wife and kids in Portsmouth" in Joanna Riding's 'Stars and the Moon' (from Songs for a New World) and "every girl would look like Mr. Ed" became "every girl would look like Mr. Bean" in JRB's own 'A Miracle Would Happen (from The Last Five Years) - which led into the whole second half of that show being performed!! Lara Pulver took on Cathy's role again, having played it at the Menier Chocolate Factory last year, and JRB was Jamie at the piano - visibly involved in the emotional story that so closely reflects his own marriage and divorce from his first wife.
So, all in all, an amazing experience; just the right balance of songs I did and didn't know, performed by insanely talented people, and I got the best vantage point in the house. Thanks Tim!!!!!! :)
Apart from that, I had a really good but busy weekend - I went over to Chris and Steph's after work on Saturday for a gay night, which entailed a bottle of wine, home-made chilli, chocolate fudge cake, the X factor on TV and Rent on dvd! I stayed there, and on Sunday morning we went to PC world and Asda to do a bit of shopping, then I came home before the concert. After all that excitement, I was pretty knackered on Monday, and yesterday I just had a nice meal at home with Amy and David from next door, Heather who's still staying at my house, and Nick from work who gave me a lift home and got roped into dinner! It was good fun, actually, and we watched the Steven Fry documentary about HIV/AIDS (not ideal viewing for an impromptu dinner party, I know, but it was very well done an extremely interesting.)
The latest excitement is that I'm guiding my first tour of the building at work tomorrow, for a potential hirer of the theatre, and he's bringing a BBC camera crew who are filming him for a BBC1 documentary! I suppose if he decides to hire the theatre there'll be more filming, and if he doesn't then I'll never be on telly - but you never know! I might get a few more of my 15 minutes of fame, hehe!
This evening I'm being very lazy and not going to ballet, because I've been feeling really sick since yesterday afternoon and I really don't fancy jumping around, so I'll go on Saturday instead, and spend this evening in the bath and curled up in my pyjamas, I think! Mmm, toasty.
More soon,
Lia x :)
Jason Robert-Brown, for those of you who don't know his work, is a singer-songwriter and composer of several musicals which have become sort of cult hits - it's not terribly hummable stuff; quite complex, thoughtful and devilishly difficult to play. Plus it's often intensely emotional. However, this means it is loved by singing and non-singing musicians alike - it's challenging, unusual and impressive when you get it right! The musicals, in case you want to look them up (and I recommend that you do!) are 'The Last Five Years', 'Songs for a New World' and 'Parade' (currently on at the Donmar Warehouse in London), plus one that is in the progress of being put together entitled 'Thirteen' (which JRB assures us is a comedy, unlike the others...)
This concert was a one-off evening that he does every so often when he's in the UK, usually in a smaller more intimate venue (so Tim tells me) - this one was in the Purcell Room of the South Bank Centre, however, so still not a huge auditorium. We bumped into various people we knew, excitingly, since it was a small audience, mostly from Warwick - Joe Davison and Nikki, and Russ Hope - which was very pleasant :)
The concert itself was Unbelievably good. I was sitting with Tim, as promised, in the second row, and he had cleverly positioned us stage right so that we could see the keyboard of the grand piano (and therefore JRB's hands while he was playing). This turned out to make the experience even more amazing - the music itself is fantastic enough, but to watch JRB playing, and singing, and not even looking at his hands which were doing immensely complicated and accurate things, was incredible. He also had some great singers as guests - Joanna Riding, Jenna Russell and Lara Pulver - all of whom sang beautifully and impressively.
What I particularly liked were the little touches that made the evening feel personal and intimate, and showed that it had been thought through carefully - most noticeably the slight changes in the song lyrics, where appropriate, to make them British; "A wife and kids in Portland" became "A wife and kids in Portsmouth" in Joanna Riding's 'Stars and the Moon' (from Songs for a New World) and "every girl would look like Mr. Ed" became "every girl would look like Mr. Bean" in JRB's own 'A Miracle Would Happen (from The Last Five Years) - which led into the whole second half of that show being performed!! Lara Pulver took on Cathy's role again, having played it at the Menier Chocolate Factory last year, and JRB was Jamie at the piano - visibly involved in the emotional story that so closely reflects his own marriage and divorce from his first wife.
So, all in all, an amazing experience; just the right balance of songs I did and didn't know, performed by insanely talented people, and I got the best vantage point in the house. Thanks Tim!!!!!! :)
Apart from that, I had a really good but busy weekend - I went over to Chris and Steph's after work on Saturday for a gay night, which entailed a bottle of wine, home-made chilli, chocolate fudge cake, the X factor on TV and Rent on dvd! I stayed there, and on Sunday morning we went to PC world and Asda to do a bit of shopping, then I came home before the concert. After all that excitement, I was pretty knackered on Monday, and yesterday I just had a nice meal at home with Amy and David from next door, Heather who's still staying at my house, and Nick from work who gave me a lift home and got roped into dinner! It was good fun, actually, and we watched the Steven Fry documentary about HIV/AIDS (not ideal viewing for an impromptu dinner party, I know, but it was very well done an extremely interesting.)
The latest excitement is that I'm guiding my first tour of the building at work tomorrow, for a potential hirer of the theatre, and he's bringing a BBC camera crew who are filming him for a BBC1 documentary! I suppose if he decides to hire the theatre there'll be more filming, and if he doesn't then I'll never be on telly - but you never know! I might get a few more of my 15 minutes of fame, hehe!
This evening I'm being very lazy and not going to ballet, because I've been feeling really sick since yesterday afternoon and I really don't fancy jumping around, so I'll go on Saturday instead, and spend this evening in the bath and curled up in my pyjamas, I think! Mmm, toasty.
More soon,
Lia x :)
Saturday 29 September 2007
Not sure how I managed to lose my old blog...
I seem to have forgotten my password and such for my old blog, so please disregard it! If I can keep up, I'll write on this one from now on.
I'm having quite an exciting day at work for a Saturday - there's the launch party for a big festival in Barking called the Molten festival, and there's all sorts of music and dancing going on, plus we've just got a variety of free cakes! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've moved back home to Leytonstone (London), having finished my degree and spent the summer working for C venues at the Edinburgh Fringe - long hours, busy work and not much money...so pretty much like being a student! Except that I got to see lots of free shows, too. I then started my job here in Barking at the BROADWAY theatre, as an administration assistant, having decided during my final year at uni (whilst producing many shows and performing in a few) that organising things was what I was best at. So I decided to go into Arts organisation and/or Administration - this was the first job I applied for, and the first interview I did, and they gave me the job!
The theatre is part of the regeneration of Barking and Dagenham, built around the existing municipal hall that was designed in the 1930s, and which played host to all sorts of events from ballet to boxing. After it had fallen into disuse for some years, it was redesigned and added to, so that the front of the building now forms the inside of the foyer and entrance to the theatre, and the foyer is all new.
Our programme is designed to appeal to local residents (live music, stand-up comedy, family shows) and also to encourage audience development (getting people who wouldn't normally come to the theatre to come, and to get people who do attend regularly to see shows they might not necessarily have seen otherwise) - dance, kids' shows, drama - for which we are funded by the Arts Council England. And, of course, there's our annual Panto, the only thing the theatre produces (everything else is received - touring companies or one-off shows by external promoters.)
We've also got Barking College School of Performing Arts who have their premises in the basement, and they use the theatre for lessons and all their curriculum performances, and the spaces are hired out for various performances and meetings by local groups and dance schools.
Sterling work, I'm sure you'll agree. My job is to help the lovely Xander, the administration manager, with the running of the office, looking after the paperwork for the professional programme and the hires, dealing with potential hire clients and giving them tours of the building, looking after the Human Resources for the company, and various other bits and pieces (including being Xander's PA and reminding him to do things!) I've also been taken on as casual Box Office staff (which is what I'm doing here on a saturday!) to earn me a bit of extra cash, and to help fill gaps on the rota.
I'm having a great time - after my first month I'm getting the hang of where everything is, where things go, who people are etc. and I've been doing a big variety of different things, so I'm never bored. Plus, the people I work with are awesome! Everyone's very friendly and helpful and good company :) I'm also doing a course that work have paid for - an Introduction to Arts Administration at CityLit (adult education college in London) - which is teaching me lots of useful stuff, and is run by Jon Harris who mum used to work with at Shared Experience!
Other than that, I've gone back to some ballet classes at Redbridge Classical Dance Studios (where I used to go to dancing before I went to uni!), and have been generally going to the theatre a LOT, taking advantage of being in London, and catching up with all my friends, which has been fairly hectic! I still haven't managed to get hold of everyone! I'm also trying to dream up some theatre projects in my spare time...
So I thought I should start blogging again for all those of you who I haven't caught up with yet, and for everyone who's been asking what my new job's like! Varied and challenging in equal measure, and a good starting-point for a career (hopefully) in theatre...hurrah!
More soon - sorry for the long ramble - will try to keep things short and more amusing from now on ;)
Lia xx
PS - work's website is www.thebroadwaybarking.com and you can email me there at lia.buddle@thebroadwaybarking.com
I'm having quite an exciting day at work for a Saturday - there's the launch party for a big festival in Barking called the Molten festival, and there's all sorts of music and dancing going on, plus we've just got a variety of free cakes! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I've moved back home to Leytonstone (London), having finished my degree and spent the summer working for C venues at the Edinburgh Fringe - long hours, busy work and not much money...so pretty much like being a student! Except that I got to see lots of free shows, too. I then started my job here in Barking at the BROADWAY theatre, as an administration assistant, having decided during my final year at uni (whilst producing many shows and performing in a few) that organising things was what I was best at. So I decided to go into Arts organisation and/or Administration - this was the first job I applied for, and the first interview I did, and they gave me the job!
The theatre is part of the regeneration of Barking and Dagenham, built around the existing municipal hall that was designed in the 1930s, and which played host to all sorts of events from ballet to boxing. After it had fallen into disuse for some years, it was redesigned and added to, so that the front of the building now forms the inside of the foyer and entrance to the theatre, and the foyer is all new.
Our programme is designed to appeal to local residents (live music, stand-up comedy, family shows) and also to encourage audience development (getting people who wouldn't normally come to the theatre to come, and to get people who do attend regularly to see shows they might not necessarily have seen otherwise) - dance, kids' shows, drama - for which we are funded by the Arts Council England. And, of course, there's our annual Panto, the only thing the theatre produces (everything else is received - touring companies or one-off shows by external promoters.)
We've also got Barking College School of Performing Arts who have their premises in the basement, and they use the theatre for lessons and all their curriculum performances, and the spaces are hired out for various performances and meetings by local groups and dance schools.
Sterling work, I'm sure you'll agree. My job is to help the lovely Xander, the administration manager, with the running of the office, looking after the paperwork for the professional programme and the hires, dealing with potential hire clients and giving them tours of the building, looking after the Human Resources for the company, and various other bits and pieces (including being Xander's PA and reminding him to do things!) I've also been taken on as casual Box Office staff (which is what I'm doing here on a saturday!) to earn me a bit of extra cash, and to help fill gaps on the rota.
I'm having a great time - after my first month I'm getting the hang of where everything is, where things go, who people are etc. and I've been doing a big variety of different things, so I'm never bored. Plus, the people I work with are awesome! Everyone's very friendly and helpful and good company :) I'm also doing a course that work have paid for - an Introduction to Arts Administration at CityLit (adult education college in London) - which is teaching me lots of useful stuff, and is run by Jon Harris who mum used to work with at Shared Experience!
Other than that, I've gone back to some ballet classes at Redbridge Classical Dance Studios (where I used to go to dancing before I went to uni!), and have been generally going to the theatre a LOT, taking advantage of being in London, and catching up with all my friends, which has been fairly hectic! I still haven't managed to get hold of everyone! I'm also trying to dream up some theatre projects in my spare time...
So I thought I should start blogging again for all those of you who I haven't caught up with yet, and for everyone who's been asking what my new job's like! Varied and challenging in equal measure, and a good starting-point for a career (hopefully) in theatre...hurrah!
More soon - sorry for the long ramble - will try to keep things short and more amusing from now on ;)
Lia xx
PS - work's website is www.thebroadwaybarking.com and you can email me there at lia.buddle@thebroadwaybarking.com
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