Pigs, Asses and the Bard

Hello, hello, hello. Here I am. This blog is going to be an insight into projects I'm working on and where I'm at.

Currently I'm getting ready to open up A Midsummer Night's Dream. Opening night is Wednesday and it'll be four shows, so I'm going to have to work hard. Usually with CADA (the Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art) we perform in our tiny black box studio, but not this time. We have a proper theatre with wings, dressing rooms and a bio box (I hope) we get in there tomorrow and it's gonna feel pretty darn grand. Projection is going to need a boost for sure, so I'll just have to give it my all. As Shakespeare is quite a challenge the cast is doing all they can for last minute line-runs and rehearsals. Through experience, I've realised that I can't brush up on my lines right before a performance, otherwise I psych myself out. I find that as long as I've done the work and trust it that I'll be fine. We started rehearsing with costumes last week which was when I realised I'm going to need some booty shorts, because my dress rides up and that's a completely different show that'll cost a lot more.

In other news, I had an opportunity come up to do some suit work, which is basically I dress up in a massive foam mascot costume of a character, and children are either overjoyed or terrified of this hulking figure. Previously I've featured as Lala from the teletubbies and Kooky Cookie from shopkins.This time though, I was Peppa Pig at Bunnings Warehouse and boy was I/she popular. Because of health and safety regulations I'm not allowed to stay in the suit for prolonged periods of time, because it gets hot in there and sometimes they can be quite heavy. Vision is always quite limited in them so you need a chaperone to guide you and save you if you feel like you're going to pass out. They also take pictures for people and do the talking as you're not allowed to speak once you're suited up. So for this day I was there from 11 am- 2 pm with a schedule of 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. I wasn't meant to be stationed anywhere, just roaming around. This did not happen. Kids came flocking and when I left for my first shift off, I went up to the break room, which had a wide window overlooking the floor where a queue had formed, and not a short one at that. I was in high demand and people were waiting to get a chance to say hi and get a photo. Although I know it's not me personally they want to see, I can't help but feel happy and the kids who get really excited make it worth it, even when I'm getting heated and sore. It's not bad work and it's awesome that my size is useful, because they need short-asses to fit inside; especially since being tiny isn't always a blessing, it's nice to find a niche. Miraculously, we managed to get through the entire line in our allotted time and I wrapped up my shift with a classic Bunnings sausage sizzle.

But my day was not over yet!

I headed on over to CADA to help paint the set for A Midsummer Night's Dream and played the role of DJ, jamming to ABBA while we painted away. It's looking pretty pristine now and I only hope it stays that way for our run.

And then finally I ushered for my peers Australian show featuring The Gallery by Judy Bierwirth and The Blood on Helmut Lange by Gerry Greenland. They were vastly different in form, style and themes. The Gallery was a fun absurdist piece bringing into question the existence of the fourth wall and the fabrication of theatre, it was a fun exploration of the destruction of the suspension of disbelief. Helmut on the other hand was based on a true story about the last man who was hanged here in Australia, hardly a cheery piece but effective and heartbreaking that they were in fact innocent and there was someone who had evidence but did not come forth in time,

There are the highlights, I'll post again soon when I can, maybe after the show since that will be taking up a lot of time and energy.

Ciao!