Ack, it's all too much!

Just when I thought there would be nothing , there's too much!

Radio show, Edit Video, Do show reel, edit show reel, busk, cruising follow up work, restaurant follow up work, talk on American music, emails, phone calls, apply for auditions, prep for auditions, do auditions, keep events up t to date, blog, newsletter, learn new rep., learn more monologues, find a new agent, network, re-edit voice reel, concert, sing in artist house, follow up on concert/cd for NMB, excetra, excetra...

So how am I suppose to do all this on low or no pay?! That doesn't include any of my own personal interests or goals, which would be a list equally as long.

I thought when I finished my acting course I would be twiddling my thumbs, but the reality is quite different. I'm, now, under a mountain of admin. and wondering does it ever get less or easier?

I've done the time management courses and I'm doing my 'mind mapping' to try and keep on course, but I'm the worlds worst for giving myself a complete day off. I just think... I'll just check my emails and then I'm off sorting some sort of problem or moving some project further a long.

Things I'd like to change:

- check email once a day!
- phone people back within a week, doesn't have to always be the next day
- book days off in the diary and really do them
- tea/lunch/tea/dinner breaks
- stop after so many hours of work
- do 1 thing for an hour, then walk around the room or something, so I stop doing once thing for hours
- delegate whenever possible
- lunch with a friend - once a week
- slim things down, get rid of deadwood faster

I'm hoping that now I've written it out, it'll start to happen in reality. No human being can do everything I ask myself to do. If you have any good pointers, please point them at me!

Just read this:

Acting methods can help with presentation and leadership skills. No surprise there! What surprised us was that they teach you not only to communicate TO others - but to be responsive to communications FROM others. The skill lies in being able to be acutely aware of all that is going on around you and respond immediately, appropriately and authentically. The techniques to develop these skills are NOT about delivering a speech - much more about developing your sense of awareness and ability to respond.

So, how can we apply these skills to everyday life? Here is one example. A recent client had been particularly busy. He was looking for ways to help him keep his eye on everything that was going on in his team. He was thinking about practical techniques like keeping lists (which work for some but not others). Instead, we looked at an acting technique (which is also useful when presenting to groups). Imagine you are in a room with many people. Imagine one of those people is going to throw a ball to you - and you want to be ready to catch it. One way of doing that is to keep looking at each person in turn. That is unlikely to be successful - you will probably be looking at someone on your left when a person on the right throws the ball. Another approach is to soften your gaze - allow your awareness to expand outwards. With practice you will become sensitive to slight movements and changes of energy in any part of your gaze - which increases your ability to respond. Try it.

So, back to our client - what he had been trying to do was to focus on each of the myriad things which needed attention - exhausting! Instead, he tried sitting up, softening his gaze and allowing his awareness to expand outwards to cover all the things which needed to be done. Not only did it help keep awareness on the whole range of things to be done - holding a soft gaze helps the body relax. Try it and you will notice that your shoulders naturally drop and your breathing slows down. It stops that frenzied feeling of having too much to do.

I'm softening right now.... See ya later!

Sign Language - short film

This is a great short! Enjoy. Dx

Agents - What makes a good Agent?

Just recently I decided to let go of my agent. I can honestly say that this process is one of the tougher choices I've made in my career, as I know how easy it is to 'blame' someone else for a lack of something in my life. Also, performers are notorious for 'not liking' their agents, so I've spent a great deal of time thinking about do I stay or go and why? Plus, it's not always that easy to find a replacement, but this will be my first time, so we'll see how it goes.

Well, I've been fortunate that I've managed to have some really good conversations lately. All have come to the same conclusion - let my agent go. At the end of the day, for me, it's an instinct thing. I'm not naive, I don't believe another agent will necessarily get me more work, but I would like a better working relationship. So I've learnt what I don't want and what I'm looking for.

Not wants:

- someone who gives me the brush off when I ring them
- someone who doesn't get all the information or rushes through it to make it difficult to get it all down
- someone I'm afraid to speak to or drags up mistakes from the past like a broken record
- someone who doesn't listen to the changes I'm making in my career and puts possible jobs I know I don't want or feel are not my type in front of me, even though I've told them they aren't the jobs I want
- someone who talks down to me
- someone who says, "You'd better get this one....", I think this was meant to be encouraging, but really?!

Wants:

- someone who'll get back to me, if they can't speak to me when I call
- someone who'll give me constructive feedback on my work and promotion material
- someone who is friendly and listens to the direction I want to take with my career and gives useful feedback
- someone I like
- someone who'll work with me to get the best out of the working relationship eg: suggest getting a show reel or new photos, etc.
- someone encouraging

So folks, I'm not sure I'll find, this utopia, but I'll shoot for the stars and look forward to hitting the moon - at least! If I don't ask, I'll never get it. Re-reading this through, it doesn't seem too much to ask!

Acting Singer vs. Singing Actor

For the last two years I have had the great experience of working with Scott Williams and the Impulse Theatre Company in London, learning Meisner acting technique. I think I'm one of a very small operatically trained singers who have chosen to learn this acting technique.

I'm now coming to the end of my two years and am about to play Isabella Bird, Joyce and Mrs Kidd in Carol Churchill's, Top Girls, and wondering how do I all myself? Am I the acting signer or the singing actor? To be honest, I fell I'm both, but does this mean I have to market my work in two different ways to two different arenas of the performing arts or just choose one and run with that for awhile?

Recently, I had some advice to do the later; say I'm actress with singing as a skill. I wonder, if there are others out there who have faced the same dilemma or who are going through the same thing? I'd love to hear your experiences. Dx

African Sanctus

African Sanctus

Performed by Boundstone Community Chorus. Concert includes African Sanctus and a new composition for percussion called Monsoon by festival director Chris Gander. Soloist is Debbie Bridge with Adam Bushell and Tom Norrell on percussion

BUSKING – COVENT GARDEN STYLE THE ELUSIVE PART-TIME JOB

‘Busking!’, the title above alone may make most an opera singer turn their noses up and straight out of the room (for those of you who do not know what busking means - To play music or perform entertainment in a public place, usually while soliciting money. I believe they are missing out. I don’t know about the rest of you, but definitely, if you are female, soprano and classical in your singing orientation, consistent work which is within the genre, flexible and has the potential to pay well and is not teaching, well …. It’s hard to come by, but this suits me down to a tee. What better place to do it, than in Covent Garden, London – the heart of the West End.

In one of my earlier blogs, I was looking just for this and what great ways to keep my skills up if not improve them. There is nothing like working with the public and believe me I’ve done it, in various guises; tour guide, restaurant manager, popcorn seller, voice coach, Denny’s hostess – when they still had the polyester uniforms, toilet cleaner, etc…. Here I have found a real appreciation from the public, plus a few hecklers along the way. Still what better way to face any performing fears than in front of the general public? What a great opportunity to really see whether what is being done, as a performer is being communicated well.

I will say, it’s not for the faint hearted or, if you are faint hearted; be very willing to roll with the good and bad, know that what you may get in your basket isn’t always a reflection of how good or bad you are; as some crowds may be very attentive, but not so willing to part with their spare change.

You know, this blogg’n thing may actually work, putting it down on paper and out to the world, makes the mind work towards the goals which a person may wish to achieve – it works, if ya work it!

Muscle Memory

Recently I did an acting class at the Actors Centre in London and the teacher, Nikki Flacks, said memorising lines is just a muscular activity. In other words, everyone can do it, but the muscles need to be worked to get better. As most of my work has been memorising songs, which I find quite easy, as the tune seems to help me get it in my memory faster, plus often there is the added advantage of repeats, but the monologue is a bit more elusive for me. It could have something to do with the fact that at a very young age I was suppose to memorise the poem, 'Flanders Fields'. I remember I was very nervous and scared about doing it, as I was having great difficulties remembering it. One by one we were called to the front to say the poem, I was one of the first to be called - curses for having a last name which starts with a 'B'.

There I was, in front of the whole class, knees knocking, brain freezing and the kid before me made it look soooo easy! I think I remember saying something, but it came out all backwards and wrong. I was mortified and demoralised. I managed to shuffle back to my seat with my heart in my stomach. Only to find the next kid reciting it well, but then stumbled and do you know I knew what the line was - this didn't help console me, I still felt....stupid. It created a dislike and avoidance of poetry throughout my childhood and teens.

It was not until I went to college that I found the joy and beauty of poetry.

I am digressing, the point is from this one little incident as a child grew a life long fear of saying lines in front of a group of people. I have since learnt I am dyslexic, something which was not so understood when I was a kid, as it is today. Somehow I managed to get a degree and not be aware of my dyslexia.

Still I am left to face those childhood fears and I am ever so grateful to be reassured that it is a muscle like any other and I can just start to give it a good work out, so that it becomes like a song. Now I just need to find the old poetry book and dig out .....'In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row,...'