what a year!

Gosh readers,
I can't begin to tell you what an extraordinary year its been musically!

From directing 2 festivals and an annual community concert.....3 tours.....writing/directing/producing my first musical.....organising local music initiatives.....supporting various fundraisers ...writing new songs.....and various commercial gigs locally.....forming a new comedy duo and writing material for it ......no wonder I'm feeling exhausted!

There's been a couple of low points but mostly some great memories made this year. I've just come back from the Folk in Broke Music Festival and am, once again, blown away by the enormous wealth of talent this country has .....largely undiscovered. And its so sad that so many of our creative souls have to go overseas to get the recognition that they so richly deserve.

My last initiative is this coming Saturday night - its Comedy Night at the RX Theatre in Newcastle - and then I'll be ready to kick back and catch up on all the social that I've missed out on this year. [can't fit it all in, can you? or can you??]

I hope you've managed to get out there and support some live music/performance a few times this year - remember that if it's not supported it will not survive...and what sort of a legacy is THAT to leave the next generation?

On Tour and Live

Just when you think you've got it all nailed in place...along comes a quirky event and all the nails pop out! And I guess that's the not-so-good, the bad, and the ugly about planning a tour. Today I learned the REAL reason why I haven't been able to secure a gig at a venue I've been wanting to play during a southern tour for some years. For years, they've fobbed me off with one reason or another instead of just coming clean and giving the real reason - which is actually a very valid rationale that I fully understand. If they'd been upfront at the start, I could simply have wiped them off my list and saved myself a lot of effort over a long time.

Many of the musicians I play with on and off will say "I don't know why you do it ..." or "I couldn't be bothered". But the reality IS when you are an independent muso with no agent or corporate support, the world doesn't beat a path to your door to hear your music! You've got to get out of the loungeroom and take the music to new audiences.

The internet certainly opens up new scope for getting your music out there - but my typical audience do not spend their lives online trawling for new music. And online listeners might listen to bits of songs but they're not likely to pay attention for the length of a live set - too many other distractions. For a lyricist like myself, you want your listener to hear the words, you want the words to make a difference to your listener.

There's nothing like bringing new music to a live audience - it's the best way for a songwriter to give a new song the taste test. A live performance allows you to actually see what sort of response the song is getting and enables you to identify how/where the lyrics or melody need tweaking. And of course, if your material isn't engaging enough to hold an audience for a full set, then you're not getting it right!

I wish there was a better way than the tremendous effort that goes into putting a tour together.....but so far, I haven't found it.

ah well, the joys of a creative life! [and I wouldn't have it any different]

Project Complete

I'm just coming up for air and have spent the last couple of weeks recouping energies!

For readers who want to know what happened.....Between the Lines....played to good houses on both nights. Audience feedback was fantastic with so many people stopping on the night to express their pleasure and appreciation - followed by many emails the following week. The city's leading theatre critic was in attendance on the Saturday night and the paper displayed a great half-page review on the Wednesday after the show.

The cast did a great job on the Saturday night although - typical of amateur theatre - made numerous errors on the Sunday night including missed cues and lines. However, they recovered admirably and the audience was for the most part none the wiser.

So where to from here?
Well there has been some discussion about taking the show to other areas however my feelings are;

• [a] there's too much work involved! and the current cast is so busy that the same problem of not being able to commit to a regular rehearsal schedule will limit the ability to bring it up to a higher standard
  
• [b] performing in front of a home crowd is very different to performing in front of an unknown audience who are likely to be less forgiving
  
• [c] I'd want to do some re-writing which I just don't have time to do yet ... and
  
• [d]because the music is an important part of the project, I'd really like to have more singers in the cast to do it justice

so all in all......it's been an amazing and wonderful experience to see the characters I've created on paper be given a life of their own through these gorgeous, enthusiastic women. But from a writers perspective, not as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. And also, having to write it, edit it, produce it, direct it, and stage manage it....was just too big a job for this little black duck!

I'm gonna stick to writing for people to read!

Hmm, might turn Between the Lines into a book next year.

thanks for travelling this journey with me! My next post will focus on the new project -

stay tuned!
cheers
maureen

"BETWEEN THE LINES"

Well its been a busy enough week as I'm now working on the songs/music for the show. It's a different process writing songs to fit a story than it is writing from inspiration which is given free rein. I'ts hard to say which one is my favourite - I'm really happy with all of them. [mind you, I haven't finished the finale number yet!]

We'll be blocking at the theatre tomorrow night and the cast will meet the newest member - the young lass who is playing Gemma. [nope, still not letting you know who the cast is yet ....its under wraps until the end of this week when the promotional stuff starts] I'm delighted with the lineup tho'! There's a rich mixture of skills, talents, energy, enthusiasm.....I feel very blessed.

With just @ 5 weeks left to go, it's going to be a race against the clock but we're going to get there, I'm confident.

A very talent artist friend is coming on Friday to help me get the backdrop started and hopefully I'll have the musicians lineup completed by the end of the week. Do you like the illustration above?

The drawing was created by my very artistic and musically gifted buddy - David Baker. He took the 'between the lines' a step further and shows the woman behind the mask.

Between the Lines opens Sat 12th and Sun 13th at the Royal Exchange Theatre, 34-36 Bolton Street, Newcastle. Tickets are just $14pp and you can book on 4929 4969