One cannot deny Jason Crouch's talent with words. Even when I first saw his play "Remember Me" in the 24:7 Theatre Festival in 2009, I was overwhelmed by the poeticism in his script. Curious as to what changes he had made since then, I went to see a new and extended version of the play at Contact Theatre in Manchester on Thursday.
Stunning. That's what it was. "Remember Me" is the only play I have since which manages to convey, accurately and honestly, what it feels like to be completely in love with someone you know isn't right for you. Crouch's characters describe perfectly what the reality of falling in love is like and how, all though the time they spend together might appear mundane to people outside of the relationship, they are anything but to those who are involved.
The direction was equally praiseworthy, with choreography and movement that even a dancer would be envious of.
Fantastic to see another 24:7 writer going from strength to strength.
Much love.
CC.
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Once Upon a Time...
...There was a story. Your story to be precise. At least, that's a key idea in the make-up of my company, Broken Rose Performing Arts. I'm here to remind you of a fabulous YouTube series which began not so long ago on the Broken Rose channel - "Your Story" allows performing arts pracitioners, fans, groups and artists to tell the world their story with regards to the arts, through the Broken Rose YouTube channel.
Tell us about how you got into the arts, what inspires you and what your hopes are for creating your art in the future. A short while ago I made an example video (or rather videos, as I always have too much to say!) which you can view below:
And... see how an organisation has taken advantage of this opportunity, with Warwick Street Vibe's video:
To submit your video, email upload it to rapidshare or megaupload and send the link to brokenroseperformance@googlemail.com or check out www.brokenrose.eu
If you're not a big fan of the arts, but still have a story to tell, email me at celticcalifornianblogger@gmail.com and we'll talk... I might make it at Celtic Californian Blog thing :)
Much Love, and thanks for all the support - now over 1, 000 blog views in just a few months!
CC.
Tell us about how you got into the arts, what inspires you and what your hopes are for creating your art in the future. A short while ago I made an example video (or rather videos, as I always have too much to say!) which you can view below:
And... see how an organisation has taken advantage of this opportunity, with Warwick Street Vibe's video:
To submit your video, email upload it to rapidshare or megaupload and send the link to brokenroseperformance@googlemail.com or check out www.brokenrose.eu
If you're not a big fan of the arts, but still have a story to tell, email me at celticcalifornianblogger@gmail.com and we'll talk... I might make it at Celtic Californian Blog thing :)
Much Love, and thanks for all the support - now over 1, 000 blog views in just a few months!
CC.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Back on the horse...
I finally got around to returning to two of the loves of my life this week.
Firstly - gigs. Less than Jake played on Tuesday at Manchester Academy and they were awesome. Everytime I go to a ska gig I realise how much I've missed it - there's something about that happy kind of moshing which makes you feel so alive... or maybe it's just dizzyness! Anyway, despite not playing my fave song "Overrated", Less than Jake stormed the stage with an uber impressive show, complete with a drinking competition between an Aussie and a British guy who looked like Jesus. Jesus won.
Supporting my ska heroes were Zebrahead, a fab band who remind me on Sonic Boom Six in some ways. However, the talking point of their set was around the random guy who stood at the front corner of the stage with a supply of beer, looking like he wanted to kill everyone in the audience. His job seemed to be that of occasionally feeding the band members with said beer. Add to that a pizza sign which rested on the marshal cab behind him, and you have the makings of a rather unique stage set up. Very weird. But fun, I might add.
My second return to form was seen in my first ballet class in just over a year. I'm so glad I'm back doing it, and strangely the pain in my thighs I felt as we were doing our warm up reminded of just how glad I was to be back at dance class. It's a good pain that.
But now that I'm back on these horses, I need to find the time to simulatneously jump onto another new one, and delve into the research and work that my mentor has asked me to do... I think I might have a spare 5 minutes sometime next week!
Much love.
CC.
Firstly - gigs. Less than Jake played on Tuesday at Manchester Academy and they were awesome. Everytime I go to a ska gig I realise how much I've missed it - there's something about that happy kind of moshing which makes you feel so alive... or maybe it's just dizzyness! Anyway, despite not playing my fave song "Overrated", Less than Jake stormed the stage with an uber impressive show, complete with a drinking competition between an Aussie and a British guy who looked like Jesus. Jesus won.
Supporting my ska heroes were Zebrahead, a fab band who remind me on Sonic Boom Six in some ways. However, the talking point of their set was around the random guy who stood at the front corner of the stage with a supply of beer, looking like he wanted to kill everyone in the audience. His job seemed to be that of occasionally feeding the band members with said beer. Add to that a pizza sign which rested on the marshal cab behind him, and you have the makings of a rather unique stage set up. Very weird. But fun, I might add.
My second return to form was seen in my first ballet class in just over a year. I'm so glad I'm back doing it, and strangely the pain in my thighs I felt as we were doing our warm up reminded of just how glad I was to be back at dance class. It's a good pain that.
But now that I'm back on these horses, I need to find the time to simulatneously jump onto another new one, and delve into the research and work that my mentor has asked me to do... I think I might have a spare 5 minutes sometime next week!
Much love.
CC.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Vegan Freak
"All vegans have been there - if you're vegan, you know the situation well. Perhaps it's at work. Maybe it's with friends or even family. You sit down to eat, quietly ordering a salad or the ubiquitous (and so very tired) grilled vegetable entree, and some observant dinner companion notices that you're not chowing down on the chicken smothered in cream sauce and butter topped with bacon, or whatever the heart attack Atkins-approved special du jour is. You are keeping to youself, completely quiet and proper, and suddenly, in that moment of omnivorous realization, without any work on your part, you're turned into the militant animal rights activist, earthy weirdo, and transcender of all that is good and righteous in the world.
In short, you've become The Vegan Freak."
... The opening lines of a book which has been sat on my bookshelf for a while now. I can tell you every word is true. All vegan's will testify to having gone through this moment, which is usually promptly followed by a chorus of "What do you actually eat?" Yet, when you reply with a list of foodstuff as long as your arm, no one quite seems to believe you. I've taken to directing those non-believers to the famous book "Diet for a New America" which not only demonstrates how easy it is to become vegan, and how sustainable the diet is, but also spells out many harsh truths which today's society is inclined to shy away from.
The truth of the matter is, a lot of people seem to acknowledge that humans shouldn't consume animal products, but no one wants to talk about it. Now, I'm not one for preaching, but I prefer it when people practice what they believe to be right and wrong. I'd much prefer you to think it right to consume animal products (and explain your reasons for it) than continue to needlessly kill them because you like the taste but can't bear the thought of what you are actually eating. Be honest with yourself, that is all I ask.
I'm well aware that the world isn't going to simply turn completely vegan. However, if you become vegan at the age of around 20 (I did at 18) and you stick with it, you personally save 2000-3000 animals from the slaughterhouse in your lifetime.
I feel quite good about that.
Much cruelty-free love.
CC.
In short, you've become The Vegan Freak."
... The opening lines of a book which has been sat on my bookshelf for a while now. I can tell you every word is true. All vegan's will testify to having gone through this moment, which is usually promptly followed by a chorus of "What do you actually eat?" Yet, when you reply with a list of foodstuff as long as your arm, no one quite seems to believe you. I've taken to directing those non-believers to the famous book "Diet for a New America" which not only demonstrates how easy it is to become vegan, and how sustainable the diet is, but also spells out many harsh truths which today's society is inclined to shy away from.
The truth of the matter is, a lot of people seem to acknowledge that humans shouldn't consume animal products, but no one wants to talk about it. Now, I'm not one for preaching, but I prefer it when people practice what they believe to be right and wrong. I'd much prefer you to think it right to consume animal products (and explain your reasons for it) than continue to needlessly kill them because you like the taste but can't bear the thought of what you are actually eating. Be honest with yourself, that is all I ask.
I'm well aware that the world isn't going to simply turn completely vegan. However, if you become vegan at the age of around 20 (I did at 18) and you stick with it, you personally save 2000-3000 animals from the slaughterhouse in your lifetime.
I feel quite good about that.
Much cruelty-free love.
CC.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Flirting with London...
I'd forgotten how much I love that city. Even spending just an evening there, as I did on Thursday of last week, you can feel the London vibe creeping through your veins...
My collegue and I had a wonderful train journey down there - meetings on the train are always best, I find - you have more of an opportunity to talk things through. Of course, an extra bit of entertainment was provided by the Virgin Pendolino, with it's fantastic tilt mode on full whack as we steamed around the corners.
We arrived in London a little early for the launch party we were attending, and so our new mission was to find a cafe to sit in for a while and kill time. It was the cafe which we found that really reminded me of my love for this fantastic city.
The Union Theatre and Cafe - housed in what seems to be a garage just off one of the streets that leads from Southwark Underground, this quaint little cafe with it's theatre at the back is the perfect example of what London has to offer - the arts, lit up by fairy lights in a determination to show everybody that they are there, and that they deserve to be. The chairs and tables didn't match, and the doors were left open so that you could hear boy racers pass in their cars on the street, blasting hip hop as they went, but that was the beauty of it - you could watch all of London go by from this cafe, and perhaps watch some of their stories in the theatre behind you. Perfect. I'd love to return to that establishment one day, and take in a play while I'm there.
I'll "flirt with London" as Devina puts it :)
Much Love.
CC.
My collegue and I had a wonderful train journey down there - meetings on the train are always best, I find - you have more of an opportunity to talk things through. Of course, an extra bit of entertainment was provided by the Virgin Pendolino, with it's fantastic tilt mode on full whack as we steamed around the corners.
We arrived in London a little early for the launch party we were attending, and so our new mission was to find a cafe to sit in for a while and kill time. It was the cafe which we found that really reminded me of my love for this fantastic city.
The Union Theatre and Cafe - housed in what seems to be a garage just off one of the streets that leads from Southwark Underground, this quaint little cafe with it's theatre at the back is the perfect example of what London has to offer - the arts, lit up by fairy lights in a determination to show everybody that they are there, and that they deserve to be. The chairs and tables didn't match, and the doors were left open so that you could hear boy racers pass in their cars on the street, blasting hip hop as they went, but that was the beauty of it - you could watch all of London go by from this cafe, and perhaps watch some of their stories in the theatre behind you. Perfect. I'd love to return to that establishment one day, and take in a play while I'm there.
I'll "flirt with London" as Devina puts it :)
Much Love.
CC.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Inspirations...
...not as abundant as you'd like are they? And I'm not talking about a beautiful summer's day that inspires you to write a poem, I'm talking about people. These days, you get sick of hearing young girls claiming that Miss Katie Price, aka Jordan, is their hero. Hardly an inspiring woman if you ask me.
Having said that, the lack of inspirations in everyday life make it all the more noticable when you finally come across one. This is exactly what happened to me yesterday. I met a woman who commands every room she walks into. The kind of person who you have a conversation with an instantly want to be like her, you wangt to have the same power that she has over people.
This woman offered to help me. And she will be doing so for a year. That's what is truly inspiring about her. She's got where she wanted to be, yes, but she's going to make sure others do the same as well. Now that, especially in such a competitive industry like the arts, is extremely rare, and I've made a pact with myself to make sure I follow her philosophy on teaching others for the rest of my career.
And to top it all off, this woman was absolutely fabulous and a true rock chick.
That's me in 30 years, I promise you.
Much love.
CC.
Having said that, the lack of inspirations in everyday life make it all the more noticable when you finally come across one. This is exactly what happened to me yesterday. I met a woman who commands every room she walks into. The kind of person who you have a conversation with an instantly want to be like her, you wangt to have the same power that she has over people.
This woman offered to help me. And she will be doing so for a year. That's what is truly inspiring about her. She's got where she wanted to be, yes, but she's going to make sure others do the same as well. Now that, especially in such a competitive industry like the arts, is extremely rare, and I've made a pact with myself to make sure I follow her philosophy on teaching others for the rest of my career.
And to top it all off, this woman was absolutely fabulous and a true rock chick.
That's me in 30 years, I promise you.
Much love.
CC.
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