The End

Well my attempt at getting back to regular blogging didn't work and I know why. It's because this show just sweeps you up and carries you along without you realising it. Time passed by in a whirlwind of shows, each one rewarding in its own way. Before you know it another week has gone and all those things that were on the to do list have still not been ticked off.

Today is the very end of this Bogus Woman journey and what a journey it has been.

If you had told me when we first discussed doing the tour again in August last year that is would have been this successful I would never have believed it! 

I knew it was an amazing play and I knew how powerful it was but I don't think anyone could have predicted quite how timely it would be.

The amount of refugees in the world right now is so huge and ever growing and I hope this play has opened up some eyes and humanised this crisis. These are people, individuals who all have a story. Something has to be done to help them. Locking people up because they are seeking shelter and safety is not the answer. 

I don't know how I will get through his last play today. Even thinking about it makes me want to cry.

I have loved every single second of this process (well almost!!) and I feel like a huge chunk of my life will be missing.

Of course none of this would have been possible without the amazing producer Sophie Curtis (Curtis Productions) who I am lucky enough to call my friend. Her dedication to this project has been absolute. No corner cut and no detail missed. She has been utterly outstanding in her first outing as a producer and I hope that one day in the future she will produce again (Bogus tour 2 anyone?!!).

Also my lovely director lady Zoë Waterman! People often ask me "how do you do it" one of the answers is with a good director... 

No matter how skilled I am, there is absolutely no way in hell I would have be able to have done this myself. With Zoë's vision and skill she has managed to get a performance from me which far outweighs anything I have ever done before. We have such a special relationship that only comes from working on a piece like this! In some ways we are so very different but in other ways we are hilariously the same. In rehearsals my favourite parts would be where our brains would need a little break so we would talk about anything and everything. I know so much more about Zoë than any other director I've worked with! She is super special and I have no doubt the she will be going on to great things in the future. I'm just honoured that The Bogus Woman 2008 was her first proffessional production. What a way to kick off a career eh?!

Here a pic of Sophie me and Zoë being especially proffessional after opening night! 

Then there is the lovely Kate my stage manager extraordinaire. I say stage manager but whilst on tour she is also the technical manager, sound and lighting controller, van driver, general sorting out of any problemer, actor calmer, note taker etc. She basically has to do everything! Being on the road with just one person for so long could have been a horrific experience but luckily me and Kate get on like a house on fire. With just the right mix of seriousness and silliness and two Welsh Ben's between us we have had an amazing time touring up and down the country. She's taught me about light and sound and I've taught her... Not very much. It's been perfect! 

Bingo night in Jersey!! 

And then of course there is Theatre by the Lake. Where would we be without  them?! It is only because of the play being programmed in the 2008 Summer season that any of this has happened and for that I am forever grateful.

Then there is the support the have given us by co producing the tour with Curtis Productions. Because of this we have had the lovely Matt (TBTL's head of production) as our production manager/sound designer as well as Maura "fuzz" Guthrie doing her bit sound wise! There's also the help from the TBTL press and marketing team which has helped make this the success it has been.

We also managed to get the original designer (Sophia Lovell Smith) and lighting designer (Jo Dawson) which made for a pretty tight team! 

I am sure I've missed of lots of people who have been part of this journey and I'm sorry!! There are just so many people who have helped in different ways. 

When I am on stage people only see me. They don't see all the people behind me and it's them that truly need the praise...

So from me to them - thank you all for giving me the best experience of my life. I am so pleased to have been given this chance and I will never ever forget it!! 

I love you all.

Now I had better go because I need to get ready for one last show! 

Xx

Seeing the audience!

So tonight I will be performing the show for the last time in London and the audience will include around 30 people I know.

The theatre only holds 92 people so pretty much every third face I look at will be familiar to me! 

It's funny, people always ask me, what is it like when you have to talk to the audience? Well I'll be honest, it's strange. So much theatre is played with the audience being the "4th Wall" meaning the actors don't acknowledge they are there. I quite enjoy that. The stage is your own little world and the audience are there to watch.

The minute you break this 4th wall the audience become part of the story. I feel for the Bogus Woman this is particularly effective. By including them and sharing the story - they are drawn in and in someway even more shocked by what happens in the 80 mins of being on stage.

When it comes to looking someone in the eye and sharing a line to them - it takes a bit of getting used to. When you look at that someone and it's someone you know it adds a whole new dimension to it. It is difficult to describe but as I share parts of the play with the audience I start noticing who is there. "oh look there's X I forgot they were coming! oh they've brought Y with them, how lovely"  

I'm looking forward to tonight not just because of all the people I know in the audience but also because for me it kind of marks the end of the touring element of this journey. Yes I still have 10 shows in Keswick but it almost feels like the end! No more travelling in a van day in day out. No more one night in each theatre. We take The Bogus Woman back to where we originally found her and in exactly two weeks we finish.

I feel like crying just writing that.

Wow. 

Can't blog wont blog!

Well hello there,

It's been so long since my last blog I've forgotten how to do it.  What to write, what to say!

I am currently sat in my dressing room in Berwick on Tweed - the furthest north you can get whilst remaining in England.  I am hoping to go to Scotland tomorrow morning before we journey down to Newcastle.  It's only 6 min drive away from our Travelodge according to our trusty friend the sat nav!!

This is the last Travelodge of the tour and I have to admit I will miss them. There is something so simple about a Travelodge (or premier Inn).  Its that familiarity. The layout is the same, the light switches are always in the same place and you know exactly what you are getting.  Although I will never stop being infuriated that there is not a plug by the bed so I can charge my phone.  Why oh WHY must they always be on the other side of the room! Who decided this?

With only 4 more venues left after this one we are really on the last leg of the tour now.  Newcastle tomorrow, South Shields on Monday, London from Wednesday - Sat and then it will be time to take The Bogus Woman and me back to our spiritual home of Keswick.  I honestly can't believe it is all finishing so soon.  If I could do another month on the tour I would.  I don't want it to finish....

That being said, I honestly feel like I will be doing the play again.  It might not be straight away, it might even be another 7 years but I am convinced this is not the end.  I love it too much and sadly I think it will be relevant for a very long time.

Its been 10 days since I last did the play so I am going over my lines (although I have taken a quick break to write this blog!).  There are the occasional times where I have to think about what I say next but usually if I just stop thinking about it the words will just come out!  I wonder how long it will take for them to fade away when we finish the play?

I don't want to think about "the end" but its hard not to.  When its over I will be officially "resting" again, which is fine but the last time I was "resting" I knew I had this coming up!  I find resting is a completely different experience when you have something "in the pipeline" as they say.

What ever happens I know I'll be fine.  For now, I am going to keep living in the moment and enjoying every second of this amazing experience,  That includes actually writing a blog more than once a month!!

So, I will write again soon my lovelies - probably something a bit more put together than this one but I had to get back into somehow!!

Until then

xxx


 

Doctor Theatre

Hello!

Long time no blog. My apologies, I've had some time off and I used it to do...NOTHING!

I had all these ideas about how I'd spend my days, places I'd go, people I'd see but I spent most of them reclining on the sofa watching rubbish TV!

Now many actors will tell you that as soon as their body gets a break they get ill, and I am no exception. I thought I'd dodged this thespian phenomenon but no... On Tuesday I started to feel a bit under the weather. Now the optimist in me thought - it's fine, I just didn't sleep well. The pessimist thought - uh oh. 

Come Thursday my voice was sounding a bit hoarse (even more manly that my natural "earthy" tones) and breathing felt ever so slightly like an effort! 

I managed to get a doctors appointment (which is a small miracle in itself) and when I got there the very lovely doctor said the words every working actor finds absolutely hilarious. "Get some rest" - ha! REST?! ME?! Don't be ridiculous!!  

I explained that I was off to Liverpool the next day to do a play hence why I couldn't just get some rest and take a day off work, so he said, "well I hope you don't have too many lines". We had a bit of a chuckle about the fact it was a one woman show and that I couldnt take any of his advice then he sent me on my way with some antibiotics (incase it went to my chest) and words of good luck.

For those of you who aren't aware in a lot  of theatre there are NO understudies. The show simply must go on. Save for a bereavement, being in hospital or unable to actually get out of bed you WILL be going on stage. I've been in shows with buckets for people to throw up in backstage (once was for me - Sinbad in Keswick 2005). Basically If you can go on you will. 

So come friday morning it was full steam ahead! When I say full steam I mean I rather pathetically moped around feeling sorry for myself... 

The hardest thing about it all was that I simply had no energy. I kept trying to go over my lines but it was nicer to just lay my head on the desk in my dressing room and close my eyes!  

Something you often hear talked about in this industry is Dr Theatre. He'll fix it! When you've lost your voice Dr Theatre will bring it back, just long enough for the show! If you've twisted your ankle, Dr Theatre will help you not feel the pain until the curtain call.

Dr Theatre is really just the mix of nerves, adrenalin and smidgen of magic you get from performing live.

I missed a few little bits out and ad lib'd a little bit too but I with a little help from the Dr I got there in the end but damn I've never felt so relieved to take a bow.  

So this is a long winded way of saying it's all been a bit woe is me in the last few days but hopefully I'm on the mend now. Next week is a busy week with 4 shows at 4 venues in 4 days! 

On that note I'd better go. The show at the Unity in Liverpool is on in just over 2 hours. It's time to have a redbull, find the echinacea and take some ibuprofen. Even Doctor theatre needs a little help! 

Another week down!

So here we are.  Another week done and another 250 who have seen the play. 

After my first show on Tuesday at Theatre Mwldan (on the raised stage) we then moved on to the slightly smaller Wyeside in Builth Wells in Mid Wales.  This theatre is actually the closest theatre to my in-laws and I think I probably knew half of the audience thanks to my mother in law Lynne badgering all the residents of Knighton, her hometown to come.

There is always something special about performing in front of people who know you but have never seen you act before. People who know that you are an “actor” but only ever hear you talk about it.  I suppose this isn’t technically true for me as most people I know have at least caught a glimpse of me on Coronation Street but that is so different from watching someone up close and personal.  Some people have said to me that It’s like I am not there on the stage, Krissi dissapears.  This is one of the highest compliments you can receive as an actor and is especially wonderful to hear from someone who knows you.  

After Builth we moved on to The Everyman in Cheltenham.  We had 3 nights here so we actually got a chance to relax instead of being constantly on the go which was lovely.  Cheltenham is our smallest venue so far.  The studio only seats 50 and the audiences feet were on the flooring that marks out my playing area. Talk about close!!

  My mum came to visit and watched the show on the Thursday and Friday (my mum and Ben are currently tied on 3 shows each – who will win overall?!).  We had various old family friends watching on both nights and for them not only was it the first time seeing me on stage but also the first time seeing me in 15ish years!  Little Krissi had grown up!

We sold out 2 out of 3 shows in Cheltenham which was really great.  I also got my first 5* review from stagetalk magazine.  I’ve never had 5 stars before and I must admit it feels quite nice!  I would love it if someone actually came in person and gave you your stars.  Could you imagine?!! You’d wait for a knock on your door and it would be someone with a box wrapped in gold with a bow, asking you to sign for your stars!  Oh maybe I’ll start a business – companies can arrange star delivery through me!

Oooops – Gone off on a tangent!

This week we have performances at The North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford (sold out!!!), Bolton Octagon and Square Chapel Halifax.  All different theatres and all with their own challenges! I can’t wait!

Whilst I am on stage on Wednesday night my lovely friends over at Coronation Street will be working flat out on their  LIVE episode going out at 7.30pm.  I’m sure it will be amazing and I look forward to catching up with it at the weekend.   Special shout out to my pal Laura McAteer who will be herding a ridiculous amount of background artist around and doing her job so well you will have no idea she’s done anything at all!

One day I’d love to do a live episode of something on TV, but right now I’m having the best time performing live every night (well not quite every night but you get the gist!!)

Tara for now. 

A stage!!!!

So here we are at our first venue of the week.  Theatre Mwldan, a lovely venue in Cardigan, West Wales.  I always knew this was a big theatre (I think it holds about 250?) so I was prepared for that but what I wasn't prepared for was a stage.

A STAGE?!  You are probably thinking, you're an actor, what is wrong with a stage?  The answer is nothing, but so far in the tour I have never been on a traditional raised stage!  I've always been on the same level as the front row.

During the play there are bits where I share the story with the audience, talking directly to them and it feels bizarre that I will be looking down at some of them.  It almost feels like I am a bit separate from them rather than being with them...

The audience have allocated seating in this venue though so I can see by looking at the seating plan that people aren't even all grouped together. Although the majority are in the front/middle of the auditorium there are still a good number scattered around in other places.

I asked one of the guys helping us whether they would all move and sit in the middle and he quite rightly said that some people want to sit in specific seats no matter what. So I will have a few people at the back and some at the sides as well as the main group.  It will be interesting to say the least!!

I am just waiting for stage manager extraordinaire Kate to finish focusing the lights before I go in and we run through the play with me on stage to see how it all looks and feels. I'm sure it will all be fine but it made my heart beat a little faster for a few seconds!! 

Who'd have thought - an actor who gets scared when they see a stage!!

First Week down!

Well what a crazy week it has been. Since my last blog I have performed the show 4 times in 3 different venues which in themselves have all been very different! 

First we had Lancaster.  We performed in The Round, their smaller space which yes you've guessed it - is in the round! Normally the audience sits all the way around the stage. Now for our show we took away one end of the audience which effectively left us with a horseshoe shaped seating area. This meant for certain parts of the show I would stand in different places and have different lights on me. Another lot of things for me to think about!! Hoorah!!

We had our lighting designer with us again for this venue so she could have a look at how her design worked in this layout of theatre so later on in the tour we can replicate it in other venues that our similar.

Once all the lighting and sound was sorted (which takes most of the afternoon) we did the show.  I found I had severe second night syndrome.  After the buzz of the opening night (and 4 days off) I found it really hard!! It felt like I was forgetting my lines and was flying by the seat of my pants the whole time. But actually it was fine. The audience were with me every step of the way and the response we got from the show was just amazing.

We had a reviewer there too:

http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/the-bogus-woman-the-dukes-lanc-12020

After the show there was a brief post show discussion and then we packed up the van and went on our way!

After a night in the nearest travelodge we headed back to my hometown of Manchester!! 

The main house at Z-Arts is completely different to the first two venues. It was huuuuuge! It felt like a cave! 

Once the set was in and the lights focussed it was fine though and both shows were very well received.  It was lovely having my friends in to watch me and of course the fact I got to sleep in my own bed was just amazing!

Or last show of this week was Derby - this was our smallest venue so far. The stage are was about 1.5m smaller that what we had had before so I lost the top part of my set and I still had the audiences feet on the front of the playing area. I think I almost squashed someone's toes during one part of it! 

Because the spaces are so different there are always various bits that can be changed depending on where the audience is. I think this versatility makes the show extra special. We could pretty much perform it in any theatre size or layout now (although I'm not sure it would work on a 1000 seater theatre!!) 

The week ahead is another fairly busy one with 5 shows in 3 different venues, Theatre Mwldan in Cardigan (West Wales), The Wyeside, Builth Wells (mid Wales) and Cheltenham Everyman. 

I'm excited and looking forward to the next lot of challenges whatever they may be! 

We're doing it!! Yaay! 

Real Life problems!

Yesterday, my one and only full evening in Manchester before the tour gets underway didn’t quite go to plan.

Our lovely car (which we have only had for 2 months) decided it didn’t want to work anymore so instead of going to peruse the aisles of aldi (god I’ve missed Aldi) and spending the evening watching rubbish telly with Ben,  we spent it sitting in the car park of my gym, waiting for a tow truck to arrive. (Which when it did was a recovery vehicle, a huge thing that would not fit down the road of where we normally park are car anyway)

Having never had a car before and knowing very little we had no idea what was wrong with it and the recovery vehicle man said it was probably the gear box, or the clutch or something that he could not fix so we decided to leave the car there (crossing our fingers that she would be there in the morning)and get the bus home. 

Aside from all the obvious thoughts going through my head like where do you find a mechanic, how much will this cost etc I was also thinking – I HAVE A BLOODY SHOW TO THINK ABOUT!!

It was all very well saying I needed to get it picked up by a mechanic but I was getting picked up myself at 2pm the next day to be taken to Lancaster where I need to do a show.  How dare the universe send me real life problems!!  The main things I wanted to be thinking about were,  do I know my lines, do I have my props,  have I remembered which way I’m facing.  Easy actor problems.  Not my sodding car!!

We managed to call a mechanic who agreed to meet me at the car at 9.30am (the start of what was supposed to be my relaxing morning, going over my script and packing up my stuff for a couple of nights away).  He was great but needed to go away and get some stuff to try and fix it where it was.  Long story short, the gear box is broken.  It needs a new one. Apparently you might as well change the clutch too if this happens…

A few quick phone calls to people who know stuff about cars and the decision was made – take the car. Fix her. Send me the bill and be done with it – I have a show to do!!

So here I am, sat in a Travelodge in Lancaster, wondering if my lovely car has successfully been towed to the nice mechanics garage, wondering how long it will take and of course what the final price will be.    BUT I have to put all of this out of my mind.  After 3 days off, tomorrow we are at The Dukes Lancaster and the audience will be sat in a horseshoe shape.  This means not only do I have to remember my lines, I also have to remember the different places I stand during the version of the show for this theatre layout.  Just when I thought I'd cracked it, it's changing!

I need to focus! Back to Bogus it is. No more real life problems for a while please.  

We did it!!

Wow!

What a day Friday was.  I can't honestly believe we did it!!

I performed the play to a sell out crown of 120 and it went splendidly!  The audience were absolutely wonderful and it was just so nice to feel so much love and support from one room.

I had had a terrible dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon where I kept getting lines wrong and constantly felt terrified because I seemed like I never quite knew what was coming next.  It was an awful experience, I was flying by the seat of my pants and making up lines.  It was happening in places where I have never made mistakes before too which I guess was an indication of it just being nerves but to me it felt like everything was falling apart. I couldn't get myself to focus.

Of course everyone was very kind about it and said that if an audience had come to see the dress they would still have thought it was good etc but I just felt awful.  The moto is "bad dress good show", which I kept trying to remind myself but it was hard to shake off the feeling of dread about the evenings performance.

After the dress rehearsal we had some notes and worked on a few bits where the light and sound needed changing and then we stopped for our dinner break.  I used this time to start running through the lines of the play as quickly as possible whilst walking it through on the set.  Doing this reminded me that I do know the lines and my brain was still working fine!! 

After having some fresh air and going to collect my lovely husband Ben from the station I got back to my dressing room to discover some flowers from Mr Pennington - one of the characters in the play (sounds crazy I know) which instantly brought me close to tears. Running out to say thank you to the director and producer (who I think may have possibly been asked by Mr P to get me the flowers) I was then greeted with another bunch of flowers from my Mum and Brother.  I rang my mum to find out where she was and discovered they had dropped the flowers off themselves and she was in the toilets outside the theatre!  Some serious crying followed as I ran into the toilet to get a special "mum hug".

The crying was great as it let me get out all the emotions of the hideous dress rehearsal and then I finally felt like I was ready to get into the "zone".

With everyone gone I started doing a vocal warm up (which I absolutely HATE) and finished going over the play.  I stood on stage and said the very last line and tried to picture myself getting to the end!  I still couldn't quite believe that we were actually doing it!!

Then suddenly it was nearly time to go.  With a few quick hugs from the Kate (the stage manager), Sophie (producer) and Zoe (director) I was left on my own in the dressing room.  No more human contact until I was on stage.  

With 5 mins to go I put on my "getting ready song" (currently I am Telling You - a duet by Sam Bailey and Nicole Scherzinger in the X factor final) and mimed my little heart out.  I love that song and it makes me forget about everything as I focus on pretending I'm a proper diva singing infront of 80,000 people!!

Then I got my text from Kate, the stage manager to say it was time to go! I said goodbye to my collection of owls and things on my dressing room table, had a stretch, said the first lines of the play a few times and then texted back to say - I'm gone!

Standing backstage I peaked through the curtain (naughty me!!) to see people going to there seats.  It was lovely to see so many friends and family coming to watch the show (although slightly terrifying!)

Finally the lights went down and I hear my cue to go on stage.  

Nothing can describe that 2 seconds in the semi darkness waiting for the lights to go up, knowing that the next time you leave the stage it will be over!!

I got going into the play and found that I was actually enjoying it.  Somehow my nerves had transformed themselves into energy.  I found that I was actually focused on the play (although I am still aware of everything going on in the audience - man creeping in and out across the front row, take note!!) and somehow it was going right!!

A few things went wrong but honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better show.  Kate was bloody great on sound and lighting and the audience were with me for the whole show (apart from the man and woman who went to the toilet...)

When I said the last line of the play and the lights went down I was so happy for it to be over.  I took my bows, then an extra 2 then ran off stage and burst into tears (again!).  Off course there was no one there so I had to wait for the audience to leave and then got some good hugs from the creative team.

It was amazing!  I still can't believe we really did it!  All the hard work from everyone paid off. Just got to keep on doing it for the next 40 something performances! 

I had a great night celebrating and now I am packing up my stuff in London to go back to Manchester ready for Tuesday when we start the tour off at The Dukes, Lancaster.  The theatre is in a horseshoe shape there so I will have to try and remember all the changes we make when it is in that format!!  But that will be fine because I know now I can do it!  

YES!!

Sophie, myself and Zoë post show!! 

We sold out!!

How exciting (and massively terrifying!) is that!!

With one day to go we sold all 100 tickets for our opening night at Rich Mix.  We have actually added an extra row now taking the grand total of seats to 120!!

I've just got home from the theatre after spending the afternoon in tech (technical rehearsal) for the show. This where all the lighting and sound is put in and although it involves lots of stopping and starting its actually is quite nice because for once the focus is not on me!!!

I get to do a bit of acting on the stage whilst various lights are turned up and down, faded in and out and other more technical terms that I have no idea of!

It is an exciting time when you finally get into a theatre with any play.  Normally you finally get to see and use your props (although I only get a set of keys and a 20p piece) try on all your costumes (I only have 1), see the scene changes (there are none) and laugh at your fellow actors (oh...)!

Even though it is only me on stage it is so exciting having the lighting and sound added in. I had to get Zoe, the director to go and stand on the stage for me so I could at least have a little look at what I might look like up there!  Its so hard to imagine what the audience will be seeing.

The best thing that I discovered in this tech is that I can't immediately see the audience when I walk on stage.  I do see them later on in the play but for once I won't walk on and immediately see my mum (which usually happens!!)

We've still got quite a lot of the play to work through tomorrow and then we will have time (hopefully) for a dress rehearsal before our first show!!

In 24 hours and 26 mins I will be on stage. Alone.

Bloody hell.

Inside my head

I write this sitting on a train speeding towards London after a lovely weekend back in Manchester with Ben!

It was Ben's birthday on Friday so I decided to give myself the weekend off and just enjoy being at home.  We hosted a barbecue yesterday afternoon/evening and a rather lovely time was had by all (I hope) although my attempt at having a break was not quite as successful!

It was nice not to be looking at my script for a couple of days but this play isn't something you can really have a day off from. The lines are constantly swirling round in my head!  I can't shut it off!  I kept trying to not think about it at the BBQ but people would be talking and I'd hear one word that would remind me of something in the play, or a sentence that one of the characters say or I'd find myself making a facial expression that I connect to a certain line.  Honestly it sometimes feels (and looks) like I'm going mad!  

What is good is that I am now in a place for all this to happen. For a word/sound/movement to connect me to something in the play means that I am getting to grips with the script. It goes deeper than my memory. It is getting "into me". That may sound like theatrical nonsense (which it kind of is!) but I don't really know a better way of describing it.  I'm not having to constantly try and think of the lines - I can just open my mouth as different characters and they know what to say. (Not all of them mind you - some still need to work a bit harder!)

So this is basically a very long winded way of saying I can't switch off but that its kind of good!

Now we have the blocking of the play (in all 3 different formats!!) and I am off book  we can start looking at scenes in more and more detail.  Basically we've wrapped the present in some plain wrapping paper but now it is time to start to add the glitter and bows!  Its the little extras that make the difference!

We have 5 days until our opening night (Eeeeergh!) so its going to be a pretty crazy week but we are on the right track.

Brain fog

So we are about to start day 5 of rehearsals and I thought I'd talk about the dreaded brain fog. 

I'm sure there is a scientific paper somewhere saying the human brain can only concentrate fully for about 40 mins before you starting to become less focussed. This is defintely true for me, infact I think I can probably only manage about 20 mins before I need a quick time out! 

Because it is just me in the rehearsal room I don't get any of the usual down time when other actors are rehearsing scenes (or have other people to share the answering of questions with) so we have had to find a way of working which allows my lapses of concentration.

Through out the day our brains naturally make us take a break when we need it, it may just be a brief chat about something vaguely script related or a longer off topic chat about the state of the world/what we had for dinner/the weather, anything really. Zoë is great at allowing this to happen and also bringing us back to the play (otherwise I could talk about my dinner all day!)

By having these mini breaks (as well as tea breaks and lunch break obviously) I am actually able to work a lot harder and longer than I would if we just pushed on through and I tried to force my brain to focus.

However we know that once we hit 5pm we are in dangerous territory.  This is when I start to feel the brain fog taking hold! 

It feels like your brain is full and no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to process any more information. You are trying to listen but actually you are just staring at someone's lips and seeing the words coming out their mouth.  I feel like I'm floating around in a bubble trying to control my arms and limbs and mouth to make them work like "actor Krissi" should but actually I'm only managing to act like a child who is not old enough to be able to follow instructions and wants to misbehave! 

At this point it is GAME OVER! There is very little useful work I can do. We still occasionally use this time to do bits and bobs but usually Zoë (the ultimate brain fog detector) calls it a day. 

It pretty much takes a night sleep to reset my brain so I have found myself going to bed at 9pm and then getting up earlier the next day to look at my script in preparation for the day ahead.

My poor brain. I think it's had a bit of a shock. It hasn't had to hold this much information in it for a very long time!

I am sure once all my lines are firmly cemented in my head it will get easier. It's just at the moment there is an awful lot to think about... Gulp! 

p.s I am having fish fingers with pasta and salad for my dinner incase you were wondering! 

 

Feelings on the first day!

So yesterday was our first day. 

It's been over a year since the producer Sophie first contacted myself and the director Zoë (Just realised I can do the little dots above the "e"if I write on my phone!!) about potentially doing the play again. 

Normally as an actor your agent just tells you when the audition is, what the dates/venues of the play are and how long it's for.  You get the job, you go and do it and then you finish. 

Obviously Sophie needed to know that me and Zoë were on board before she went ahead with the idea so we have been a part of it since day one. I can honestly say I had absolutely no idea how much work goes into putting on a show and planning a tour!

To have seen every step of this process has been an eye opener and given me a HUGE amount of respect for producers - I have to admit I didn't really know what they did before but now I do. They basically do everything! 

So yesterday was not just the start of rehearsals. it was the end of a years worth of planning. A years worth of hard work from Sophie and others.

After being so emotionally invested in the play and the journey up to that point, to finally all be there in the rehearsal space felt surreal. We had some hugs and hello's before settling down for the read through.

This is just a chance for everyone to hear the play out loud before rehearsals get started.  It's a bit strange doing a read through when you're the only actor but I just tried to focus on the script and forget about the other 6 people in the room!

After saying the final lines of the play, I dropped the script on the floor, said a few obligatory swear words and that was it, we'd begun!

Now I can't do many things, but after all that everyone else has done to get this amazing tour together, the very least I can do is make sure the audience get the best show I can give them once they are in their seats!

Actor Krissi is back in the building. Let's do it! 

Confession: I ate 7 mini pastries during rehearsals. They were good.

The day before it all begins!

Hello!

Welcome to my "Bogus Blog".  A place where I can hopefully share the experience of rehearsing and touring The Bogus Woman 2015! (click the link to go to the official website for more info on the play) 

I have no idea how this blog will turn out or what exactly it will be. I'm hoping it will be an interesting insight into what it is like being a part of a highly topical one woman play, however it might just turn into the ramblings of a terrified actress (although this could be fairly interesting too!)

So - it's the day before rehearsals begin, a time where any actor would normally feel at least a bit nervous. Travelling down to your digs, wondering what the director and the cast members will be like, wondering if you'll know anyone or have any links with peoples former cast mates, looking forward to the read through and seeing the set etc.  

This time for me it is different as I did the play back in 2008 as part of the Summer season at Theatre by The Lake, Keswick.  
I know the show, I know the cast (just me!), the director (Zoe Waterman), producer (Sophie Curtis of Curtis Productions), designer (Sophia Lovell a Smith), production manager/sound designer (Matt Hall), associate sound designer (Maura "fuzz" Guthrie), Lighting Designer (Jo Dawson)  AND I have even met the new stage manager (Kate Aisling Jones) because we had a little pre rehearsals date back in Manchester last week.  I actually know EVERYONE!  None of the first day awkwardness awaits me... Hoorah!

But I will still be nervous and I'll still be excited to get started as soon as we can.  

We only have 2 weeks rehearsal this time round. I can already hear you saying "Oh you've done this before you'll be fine".  Yes I have.  But 7 years is a very long time.  What were you doing in 2008? Could you do it again?!  I am sure the answer is the same as the one I am giving - I can do it again but actually I will still have to put in a lot of work!  

Also this time we are touring and of course every theatre space is different in both layout and size. In Keswick the show was performed in traverse, with audience members on both sides.  It worked so well like this I can't even begin to imagine how we will work it for larger, end on spaces but luckily I'm not a director so I will leave that in the capable hands of Zoe (I cant figure out how to put the two little dots above the "e" in her name - but they should be there!)

Anyway.  I should probably stop writing now as this is just supposed to be a quick hello from me for now.  

Keep watching for more posts and updates as we get underway. 

I'm scared but I am sure it will be fine.  It has to be.