Day One…ish
It’s the most anxious tiiiiime…of the year
Hey — it’s me again!
Having had a look at back at recent blogs, the last few seem to always start with an apology for having not written for a while. It seems I’ve made a habit of avoiding blogging when the very opposite should be happening. Well, it’s time I make a pledge - from this moment, I will blog weekly and at the start of every week!
Not the best start of that pledge, seeing as it’s Wednesday the 5th. It’s not even the start of the year! To be fair, we all get that weird haze of the year’s beginning, when you’re not really sure what day of the week it is. All you know in that time frame is Christmas Eve & Day, Boxing Day and NYE/NYD. You could tell me the days of the week are null and void and in fact are entirely renamed after obscure Red Dwarf characters in that in between faze and I’d believe you.
I am aware of the fact that this pledge basically sounds like a Resolution, which is something I tend to avoid. New Year’s Resolutions tend, for me, to fall apart before even half the year is done. This pledge however is something I intend to stick with. That and my partner and I’s promise to not casually put ourselves down.
I thought I’d start the blogging season with a look back at my personal accomplishments over the last year. It’s very easy for me at this time of year to dismiss what I had done and make it seem like not much happened, but I am trying to be more positive on that front. For the first few months, not a lot happened. I don't think I need to tell you why. March comes along and I start training for a new online theatre company called Morpheus. It was a new experience for me, as it involved handling computer technology and software to guide people over Zoom through a virtual world that they could not see with their eyes, only through their imagination while I described the surroundings using my voice and audio effects. Although I unable to get as much work through it as I’d have liked (mostly through increasing busyness), it was still a fun experience to be able to get reactions from guests throigh such a unique medium.
From March through to May, the country starts to become a bit more free, so science party bookings start trickling in. My love for performing for kids at their birthday will never get dull. These parties at this point were of course outdoors, so I was truly at the mercy of the weather gods. One particular favourite for all the wrong reasons was trying to perform the party whilst huge gusts of winds tried to take the equipment with them. I truly earned that day’s £30 tip!
Around the same time, I joined the ranks of Tring Radio. Despite not being from Tring or the surrounding area, I broadcast during random daytime cover slots for a few months from my home in Essex trying to keep listeners’ minds ticking working out my random song title challenges and playing some fun (and sometimes truly dreadful) music. I decided to leave after a few months as the style of broadcasting just didn’t suit me, but it was still a nice and appreciated experience.
Despite the ever changing restrictions and social distancing rules, I was able to perform live again thanks to Comedy Dinner Shows. Travelling the country became a regular thing again and we performed for some unique audiences, including a vintage car tour group and a Harley Davidson appreciation society! Even though the travelling and being away from my loved ones is even harder now, I’ll always appreciate the fun nature of the shows and having some made some great friends through it.
Improv has been more present in my life this last year too. I still perform and practice regularly with the Laughter Academy, being one of a few members in charge of regular jams, both online and in person. We managed to perform a few in-person showcases, where I really. felt more comfortable in my own skin performing this style than I had done for some time. I also managed to practice online with other groups, such as Hoopla and Shakespeare’s my Jam, while also playing in person with Acaprov (the experience of which you can read about here).
I felt like I’d hit the big time when I got to perform alongside improv legends Lee Tearrell, Tai Campbell and Sukie Webster. At the end of my last blog promoting this show, I was highly dubious that I could keep up with these comic minds, but I really felt I did myself proud. Of course there were points where I felt way behind, but that is the beauty of improv - it can always be improved upon.
As has been the norm for me, I’ve spent a lot of time this year with Extreme Improv. A great highlight was finally transfering from the online variation of the shows to the live experience itself. Surrounded by performers I knew for a while but hadn’t actually met in real life, it felt like performing with old friends. Although it was in front of small audiences, to be expected being that the shows were at London’s Cockpit Theatre at a time where, once again, restrictions were in place, it was a fantastic feeling to perform improv in London and especially exciting to have actually won one of the shows!
After a funny chat with my partner about the state of customer reviews on online shopping sites, I created a series of videos on YouTube performing various reviews in famous voices. I only did ten videos in the end, but I’m happy with them and will create more in the near future. I will expand upon these videos in a future blog, but I was happy to have created something of my own, despite heavy confidence issues bringing about their hiatus.
Later in the year, I came back to Shooting Star Entertainments in the capacity of a cover actor. I rehearsed a couple of the shows, which we recorded for the benefit of those schools that may have had to cancel, and from there it was a routine of taking a lateral flow test and standing by to head off to either cover the role I’d rehearsed or operate lighting and sound for another show. I ended up teching a few shows, which was another enjoyable experience reminding me that I am good at adapting to the situation. Around the same time, I performed in lead role for a local theatre group in a farce. It’s a style that may be dated, but one I had always wanted to do and I was happy that Don’t Dress for Dinner did so well being the first play back at the Dixon Studio for the first since we had originally planned to perform it back in February 2020.
So as far as 2021 goes, I did do more than the start of the year seemed to indicate. On a personal level, officially moving in with my partner and being on the mortgage was a huge deal for me and far more important than any career achievement. Professionally, I can only hope to advance further. How will I get there? No idea right now, but hopefully I can blog along the way and keep you in the loop as it happens.
