A World of Music

Gosh there's lots happening in my world of music of late - and once again the Great Juggling Challenge is underway.
I'm loving working with the - now - 4 Community Chorus groups/choirs I'm coaching.  They're small groups but so enthusiastic....and I just love to hear their comments as they're leaving a session - like "gee, I couldn't have done THAT 12 months ago!"   and "this is the sanest hour of my week, I LOVE coming here"  or "I'm always learning something new here".   It really makes me feel that I'm making a contribution - on an individual level as well as to my community.

My own personal challenges lay in building 2 different repertoire/s of material for the 2 duo's I'm working in :-  RUBY BLUE   and   2PIECE SWEET .    The sounds are so very different, the material is poles apart, and with varying skills levels, each duo is progressing at different rates.   It does my head in sometimes! 

On the Theatre front..........
Currently, I'm directing a small cast for a new season of "Between the Lines" - you may have seen it when it first opened {@ 3 years ago now - doesn't time fly?!}.  The season opens on 25 October at my favourite venue The Royal Exchange Salon Theatre.  I'm fortunate in having a combination of  very experienced performers and raw recruits - more about the cast next month - bringing a new perspective and new dimension to the production.
Also under wraps is a new musical I'm writing - again for a small cast - which I hope to put into production in November for a Feb/Mar opening.  

Life in The Arts is never boring!.......and provides a never-ending fount of exciting new beginnings.

After Show Glow

Still coming down from the extraordinary experience of Money Honey - a 3-week Season, sold out before it opened, oversubscribed, wonderful review, sensational audience feedback - a WINNER!!  And it had a winning formula from the beginning - a good script, creative Direction, productive rehearsals, an excellent music director, a talented cast, and dedicated, committed teamwork.

All up, 9 months work for me 4 months of solid rehearsals for the cast ....and it was worth every moment.   This troupe - The Novocastrian Players - are truly unique in the world of theatre.   They're a tight-knit group that supports each other, they work hard, they honour their commitments and their audience/s,  and oh my oh my do they know how to play and party!!  Mostly tho', they are all simply passionate about amateur theatre.
Every show is different - it has it's own characteristics...it's own dynamic.  I can't imagine ever doing another show that would have the same buzz that this one has had. It's been such an enjoyable - albeit challenging - project. Can't wait for the next one with this troupe!   Here's some pics you might enjoy.

 

Curtain UP!

6 months of solid work comes to fruition tomorrow night when "Money Honey" opens at the Theatre on Brunker.  From the first meeting with the committee, conceptual design, vetting the troupe, Scripting, Casting, music selection, choreography plans, then into a heavy rehearsal schedule, costuming, technical planning, and juggling the demands of such a large cast, it's been one hell of a journey.  "Hell" in parts, but mostly loads of fun and absolutely joyful.

This will be my first production where I haven't been on stage in one form or another so it's quite a unique experience for me!  As has been the realisation and acceptance that with such a large cast,  compromise is not only demanded, but inevitable. 

Some of the highlights and lowlights include:

• the fascination of watching an experienced troupe - with diverse yet complimentary skills - work together as a team and create a 'smoothing' effect of the various strengths and weaknesses.
• the joy of watching some of our "first-timers" discover and develop their abilities - and feeling blessed to have been able to contribute to that process
• the hard job of having to critique others work in an endeavour to improve the performance standard - it's not easy for an artist to step outside the creative process and rein in others creativity
• the frustration of having to juggle artistic ego's - it requires the wisdom of bloody Solomon!
• for a Writer, the thrill of seeing your written words bought to life on stage by an experienced troupe
• the pleasure of working with experienced musicians who understand that it's NOT all about the music!

All in all, it's been a project I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of, with a brilliant group of people - although  I won't be too sorry to get back to my own life at the end of the Season.    Oh, and a Sold Out 3 week Season at that!!  How good's that?!?!

Stepping in to the new Season

Gosh I feel so blessed to be living this life in this city of Newcastle - surrounded by such talented musicians and artistic friends.  And this sense of gratitude is currently inspired by a couple of things -

• Like....here we are into Autumn and I have friends who swim at the beach regularly, still enjoying 20degrees in the water.   
•  Like.....in the middle of a crazy day, deciding to catch up with a friend at Merewether beach where the sun shone brightly, the water was the most amazing aquamarine, the kite surfers and paragliders were floating on the crisp offshore breeze, and people everywhere lingering in this paradise - on a mid-week working day!!! yeah!
• Like .... extending that catch up to a 2 hour coffee while we chatted music music and more music!.   
• Like....the excitement of forming a new duo with my friend the oh-so-talented Anousha Victoire  {keep your eyes and ears peeled for RUBY BLUE coming somewhere near you}who keeps introducing me to a raft of wonderful new songs and talented songwriters that I'd never heard of before!

So for those readers doing it tough at the moment, may your season pass soon.  And may I encourage you this way; 

 as I look back over a lifetime of tough seasons, where sometimes the going was so hard that I wanted to throw in the towel, where sometimes the future looked hopeless, and where in my WILDEST DREAMS I could not envisage the path I would take to bring me to this current season .... have courage and faith in your higher power to lead you to new directions.  Take the dolly steps you need to take, when you need to take them - but just TAKE them and don't give up.  Because the tough seasons don't last forever.

Here's a little vid clip I wanted to share with you - so you could enjoy Autumn in Newcastle too!