Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Monday, 20 February 2012
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Keeping the plates spinning....
There's nothing like having a lot to do, but it can get a bit scary as to how to keep all things moving forward. I've heard , if things aren't moving forward, then there ain't no neutral, things will move backwards. So I take this to heart and am looking at ways to improve or expand what I am doing, so as to keep things moving forward.
These days, I'm learning big time, how to delegate and let go. I know I can't do everything, so I'm slowly learning to ask for help where ever and whenever I can. This then means I don't have to do the same amount, but get more done by letting others help me do the things I don't have time to learn or do. It' great, but it does need me to keep an eye that things are followed up on. I really do work in show BUSINESS - heavy emphasis on the BUSINESS part. Right now, I'm doing a course to help market me better to the industry and help me improve my audition skills. So it's revamping the CV, cover letter, etc. It's getting the show reels out- both the singing and acting ones. It's talking to the agents to get their help and keep them informed.
My managing of the NAAA is proving to be very valuable, if not time consuming work. Overall, I'm gaining a lot of learning on how to work with others, encourage them and let those go that need to do other things. The best bit is after all the 'sturm and dram' it all works out and often in ways I hadn't realised and better than can be imagined.
Oh, forgot to mention, the performing as well, but you can always look at my website for that!
Keep those plates spinning, but always remember, we only have 2 hands, so ya may need a few more hands to help keep them all going!
Till next month...Happy Valentine's Day!
These days, I'm learning big time, how to delegate and let go. I know I can't do everything, so I'm slowly learning to ask for help where ever and whenever I can. This then means I don't have to do the same amount, but get more done by letting others help me do the things I don't have time to learn or do. It' great, but it does need me to keep an eye that things are followed up on. I really do work in show BUSINESS - heavy emphasis on the BUSINESS part. Right now, I'm doing a course to help market me better to the industry and help me improve my audition skills. So it's revamping the CV, cover letter, etc. It's getting the show reels out- both the singing and acting ones. It's talking to the agents to get their help and keep them informed.
My managing of the NAAA is proving to be very valuable, if not time consuming work. Overall, I'm gaining a lot of learning on how to work with others, encourage them and let those go that need to do other things. The best bit is after all the 'sturm and dram' it all works out and often in ways I hadn't realised and better than can be imagined.
Oh, forgot to mention, the performing as well, but you can always look at my website for that!
Keep those plates spinning, but always remember, we only have 2 hands, so ya may need a few more hands to help keep them all going!
Till next month...Happy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
When the work is all done...
This is one of the hardest things for me, when I have completed all the work and think about what is next. It normally happens around this time of year, but it can happen, like this year, where a lot of work started to complete earlier than I had planned and six months into this year, I had to look at revising my goals for the year.
So I've been through this twice, but find this easier in the summer months, than now. Still, it's a great time to curl up with a good book and just let what comes....come. I know that a lot of actors/singers/performers go through this all the time, but I still find it hard to just sit and wait... I have the tendency to get up and think up new ideas and plans, which, of course, I am doing again this year.
I do have some ideas, they are all not that new, as I've been working on some of them for years and am revising them and looking at new ways to make them work. But there are, at least, 2 new projects - one is for events and the other is to record some children's songs I wrote last year on holiday - see what I mean, can't seem to turn off the desire to do things, so I wrote 3 songs while I was away travelling through New Zealand and Australia!
Still, it's always exciting to see how these projects grow and then come to fruition, but it's also tough to see the others end, like this year's: At Night in Praha piece, this link is the final phrase of this project this year, which was just completed in December. I have 2 new show reels, 2 new CD's
, new head shoots and photos, and I did 2 productions of Much Ado About Nothing, so I am feeling a bit of withdrawal from all the work and not sure which is the best way to go and will these new projects really be as satisfying or successful as this years? Ah, the impossible question, best not go there.
So here's to the New Year and what it may hold, if nothing else, I may be able to ride the wave of the exiting years accomplishments a little longer.
Happy New Year to all in 2012!
So I've been through this twice, but find this easier in the summer months, than now. Still, it's a great time to curl up with a good book and just let what comes....come. I know that a lot of actors/singers/performers go through this all the time, but I still find it hard to just sit and wait... I have the tendency to get up and think up new ideas and plans, which, of course, I am doing again this year.
I do have some ideas, they are all not that new, as I've been working on some of them for years and am revising them and looking at new ways to make them work. But there are, at least, 2 new projects - one is for events and the other is to record some children's songs I wrote last year on holiday - see what I mean, can't seem to turn off the desire to do things, so I wrote 3 songs while I was away travelling through New Zealand and Australia!
Still, it's always exciting to see how these projects grow and then come to fruition, but it's also tough to see the others end, like this year's: At Night in Praha piece, this link is the final phrase of this project this year, which was just completed in December. I have 2 new show reels, 2 new CD's
, new head shoots and photos, and I did 2 productions of Much Ado About Nothing, so I am feeling a bit of withdrawal from all the work and not sure which is the best way to go and will these new projects really be as satisfying or successful as this years? Ah, the impossible question, best not go there.
So here's to the New Year and what it may hold, if nothing else, I may be able to ride the wave of the exiting years accomplishments a little longer.
Happy New Year to all in 2012!
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Debbie Bridge's - A Singer's Thoughts: Reeling them in ....
Debbie Bridge's - A Singer's Thoughts: Reeling them in ....: Well I'm in the midst of finalising a singing and acting show reels, both I hope will be further tools to help show my abilities as a singe...
Reeling them in ....
Well I'm in the midst of finalising a singing and acting show reels, both I hope will be further tools to help show my abilities as a singer and as an actress in a better and easier light.
I can't tell you how long it's taken me to find the courage to troll through all those filmed versions of my singing. I've never found this to be a pleasurable experience, as I have a tendency to see and hear every imperfection of a performance.
So I can honestly say, I'm quite pleased with the final edit we've managed to come up with which ranges from TV, live productions, events and pre-edited material. To say I'm amazed at how in a few hours’ time, Alex from the Actors One Stop Shop http://www.actorsone-stopshop.com/, was able to edit things down to something that makes some sense, is nothing short of a miracle to me.
At the moment, I've just got the pieces memorised for the acting show reel and next week, I go in for filming. The only debate, at this point, is to decide as to whether to add any bits from previously filmed acting DVD's?
I'll just have to wait and see, but I'm looking forward to next week and having them both completed by the end of the month.
Who knows....maybe by the next blog, I can say how I really will be 'reeling them in...' with my new show reels?
Much love over this holiday season and looking forward to what January 2012 holds!
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Opera Façade vs. the Opera Wisdom
Well, as many of you know, my explanation of the plots of opera at my events is strictly my own ‘reduced opera version’. To be honest, I just love the plots of operas and it really helps me understand why people today still love story lines the likes you can find in ‘Coronation Street’ and the ‘Young and the Restless’ (for those State/Canada side). Let me give you an example: the Marriage of Figaro well, let’s just look at the first Act – Figaro starts off measuring a room, that his master has given to him and his, fiancée, Susannah, and during this interchange he’s going on about how wonderful the room is and she is trying to tell him that it’s not so great as – ‘everything comes at a price.’ In other words, the Count, who is ‘giving’ them this special room in the estate, next to the Count’s bedroom; isn’t because the Count is so generous and thoughtful nor wanting Figaro at his side, but so Susannah, being the clever little creature she is, can be close, so that the Count can have easy access to Susannah for those times that he sends Figaro on an ‘errand’. By the end of this scene, she finally gets through to Figaro, but ladies, you know what it’s like to get through to them sometimes, especially in the early days of a relationship, when it seems to matter more that you don’t argue too much, but keep it all bliss and happiness.
What I have described above is a bit of the façade of what happens with Opera, it’s busy, it’s full of all these little plots. For the tale above I have only introduced 3 of the 11 characters which are involved in this plot, so that will give you an idea of what is to follow of the many plot lines which can come up in an opera of anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Where I want to encourage you to look is not at this façade of complication, but let’s just dig out the ‘wisdom’ that Mozart is really pointing to; at this time in history, servants where seen, but not heard – like that old Victorian ideal of children. Mozart was the first to show what really happens when you scratch the surface a little to see what was really going on behind closed doors and rub it in the noses of the wealthy. Plus, and because she is a woman in the 17th century who has fallen in love with a flawed, but delightful man, who can’t see the reality of his employers desire to gain access to his soon to be wife. In the end, Susannah has sussed this out, manages to break the news to Figaro, but as the story goes on, she then manages to save her reputation, as the Count tries to renew an old write of gaining access to the Bride on her wedding night before the groom – not going to go too much into this plot line, but suffice it to say, it’s a nice little twist, she then manages to outwit the rest of the characters, the other 10, to make an ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ ending.
So here we are in the 18th century, a man is writing, what today would be the equivalent of a TV soap, as that is how popular opera was at the time, and he is telling everyone that a young female servant is smarter than all the wealthy people around her, the men and even the older characters, which should have so much more wisdom than her. So what would be the equivalent? A modern story in a soap might be, the council estate waitress, who is about to marry her, council estate boyfriend, but the owner of the chippie they work at has offered them free accommodation in the flat and/or house which is attached to said owner’s home/restaurant and only because he thinks he has a right to black mailing the young lady into having sex with him, as otherwise he’ll kick them both out and they will not find another job in their town. Oh, almost forgot, she can’t tell her husband as the results will still be the same. I suppose in today’s world she may even be pregnant, but by the end of the TV soap story line, not only has she kept her job, but she has outwitted the evil owner and managed to keep her job, get the wife of said employer to help her to catch her owner husband out and keep the nasty older couple from marrying the younger couple themselves – can’t tell all about the older couples plot line as it would take too long. Anyway, as you can see, in TV soaps this would happen over weeks, but Mozart manages this feat in a matter of hours and the audience actually understands and has a great laugh along the way.
I guess sometimes I fear that opera is seen as this thing for only the educated, but I think they are wrong, it’s just an earlier form of TV soap operas, so if you love the later, you will love the former. I just find that understanding a bit more of the history just helps bring out the wisdom and genius of Mozart, but you don’t need that to enjoy this very fun piece, with some tunes I am sure you have heard in a commercial or movie at some point in your life. You see this classical stuff is being played all around us all the time, we just don’t realise it. The people who do know how timeless this art form is do know and use it to their advantage, in my case, it’s to sing at restaurants and do my best to bring it back to the people and pull it down off the top shelf of stuffiness. Really, the best thing to get to know Mozart’s characters today, would be to dig out that old film, Amadeus, which I’m sure the history buffs will pull their noses up at, but while it may not always be historically correct, it does capture the personality of Mozart and he was anything, but a stuffy shirt – he really was a fun loving guy, with an extraordinary talent.
So, my only thing against Mozart when it comes to naming this piece is he wasn’t able to go the full distance and actually call it, for me, what it needed to be called, which is the Marriage of Susannah, as this piece really does show how women, as the clever creatures we truly are!
What I have described above is a bit of the façade of what happens with Opera, it’s busy, it’s full of all these little plots. For the tale above I have only introduced 3 of the 11 characters which are involved in this plot, so that will give you an idea of what is to follow of the many plot lines which can come up in an opera of anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Where I want to encourage you to look is not at this façade of complication, but let’s just dig out the ‘wisdom’ that Mozart is really pointing to; at this time in history, servants where seen, but not heard – like that old Victorian ideal of children. Mozart was the first to show what really happens when you scratch the surface a little to see what was really going on behind closed doors and rub it in the noses of the wealthy. Plus, and because she is a woman in the 17th century who has fallen in love with a flawed, but delightful man, who can’t see the reality of his employers desire to gain access to his soon to be wife. In the end, Susannah has sussed this out, manages to break the news to Figaro, but as the story goes on, she then manages to save her reputation, as the Count tries to renew an old write of gaining access to the Bride on her wedding night before the groom – not going to go too much into this plot line, but suffice it to say, it’s a nice little twist, she then manages to outwit the rest of the characters, the other 10, to make an ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ ending.
So here we are in the 18th century, a man is writing, what today would be the equivalent of a TV soap, as that is how popular opera was at the time, and he is telling everyone that a young female servant is smarter than all the wealthy people around her, the men and even the older characters, which should have so much more wisdom than her. So what would be the equivalent? A modern story in a soap might be, the council estate waitress, who is about to marry her, council estate boyfriend, but the owner of the chippie they work at has offered them free accommodation in the flat and/or house which is attached to said owner’s home/restaurant and only because he thinks he has a right to black mailing the young lady into having sex with him, as otherwise he’ll kick them both out and they will not find another job in their town. Oh, almost forgot, she can’t tell her husband as the results will still be the same. I suppose in today’s world she may even be pregnant, but by the end of the TV soap story line, not only has she kept her job, but she has outwitted the evil owner and managed to keep her job, get the wife of said employer to help her to catch her owner husband out and keep the nasty older couple from marrying the younger couple themselves – can’t tell all about the older couples plot line as it would take too long. Anyway, as you can see, in TV soaps this would happen over weeks, but Mozart manages this feat in a matter of hours and the audience actually understands and has a great laugh along the way.
I guess sometimes I fear that opera is seen as this thing for only the educated, but I think they are wrong, it’s just an earlier form of TV soap operas, so if you love the later, you will love the former. I just find that understanding a bit more of the history just helps bring out the wisdom and genius of Mozart, but you don’t need that to enjoy this very fun piece, with some tunes I am sure you have heard in a commercial or movie at some point in your life. You see this classical stuff is being played all around us all the time, we just don’t realise it. The people who do know how timeless this art form is do know and use it to their advantage, in my case, it’s to sing at restaurants and do my best to bring it back to the people and pull it down off the top shelf of stuffiness. Really, the best thing to get to know Mozart’s characters today, would be to dig out that old film, Amadeus, which I’m sure the history buffs will pull their noses up at, but while it may not always be historically correct, it does capture the personality of Mozart and he was anything, but a stuffy shirt – he really was a fun loving guy, with an extraordinary talent.
So, my only thing against Mozart when it comes to naming this piece is he wasn’t able to go the full distance and actually call it, for me, what it needed to be called, which is the Marriage of Susannah, as this piece really does show how women, as the clever creatures we truly are!
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