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!

Finding the right fit

Wow, the last couple of weeks have flown by in a flash! 

Loads of gigs, creative projects, and adventures have been immensely enjoyed - even the one where the gear and the muso's got soaked in a monsoonal downpour that lasted @ 3 minutes!  This year's St Pat's show/s worked a treat with some fabulous support musicians guesting in the spots.   Whilst the International Women's Day event was packed to the brim and very thoroughly celebrated in Newcastle this year.

In the middle of all the zing, an audience member who knew me from my corporate days said to me " .....I can't believe it - you've just bloomed since you left all the stuff you didn't need, behind.....".  And it's true....for too many years I lived a successful life that was a perfect fit - for someone else!

Now, as a fully fledged, paid-my-dues member of the Arts Community, I've found my perfect fit....and the joy comes not just from doing it, but from sharing it.   Sharing the joy of music;  sharing knowledge and skills with fellow artists that don't have the same skills set;  sharing the joint thrills and spills of performing, with others who are still learning their craft; sharing that incredible sense of being part of the inner-circle - performing artists whose natural environment is the stage and its behind-the-curtain sandpit.
 
Because when you finally figure out where you belong ....not where someone else, or society, thinks you belong ....the natural order and rhythm of YOUR life, beating to your own heartbeat, brings you to an incredible place of peace and contentment that sustains you no matter what is happening in the world around you.
My wish for you today is that YOU, too, can find the heart of your centre....the place where you find your own perfect fit.
{and to help you meditate over your belonging space, why don't you sip a little Peppermint Tea with me?   Here:   Peppermint Tea}