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!