We are now getting into the habit of sitting about compiling lists of things we'll miss when this fantastic job is over. Terrible really, but we are all so aware of the speed with which the last few weeks are flying past us, as the time has shot past us since April the second, with barely a how do you do and things always speed up as the end draws near! Yet in an odd way, this job has become so massive in our lives, some folk speak of never having worked anywhere else- and I'm not talking about our baby debutante Jess, but old & almost middle-aged ( yes, you heard me ) folk like Mr Hannon who certainly had a full and busy career before heading to Keswick! I think he might even do rather well in future.. So to sum up, this job can do funny things to a person's brain and definitely messes up a person's grasp on time. Perhaps it's all the cheese consumed late at night, as Beth Barton so rightly points out in Dry Rot, "Shouldn't eat cheese last thing!" if you want to remain lucid. Then there's all that ale and fine wine, home made cakes and especially the addictive Hermans going round.
Hermans for the uninitiated are live culture sour-dough cakes that you share with others, passing the living gloop around in little tupperware boxes and feeding for days before dividing it up to pass on and baking one lot into a lovely cake. People have taken to customising their contributions with choc chips and goji berries ( healthy and bad for you at the same time), apples & cinnamon, blueberries & bananas. I tell you it's a good job we dash about like mad things on stage and up and down the odd mountain from time to time or we'd all be fat as a December turkey.
It turns out that there are some very talented people in this company when it comes to baking and all manner of cookery. How could we forget James Duke's breath-taking truffles and that lemon tart still warm from the oven? Then there are Jess's mighty chilli and baked sweet potato dinners, followed by Zoe's chocolate biscuit cake, also Chris' moreish fish pie, Jamie Oliver style and a cheeky lemon syllabub to follow? Ridiculous high living that conjures up an image of wildly overpaid thesps frolicking about mostly for their own delight.
I'm not about to be so vulgar as to mention our salaries here at TbtL but suffice to say it's better than many in the business. Nowhere near what someone might be paid to work in IT or retail, and we have to manage our own accounts and tax bills. That takes a bit of getting used to at the beginning of our careers, but you soon get the hang of filing away a chunk of your pay to give to the taxman after Christmas. Yes, nice seasonal timing that! Not only have you got to budget for Christmas but you have to put aside a big old chunk for HMRC. Boo. I can't believe I am talking about tax on this blog. I think the wet weather has started getting to my brain! If that's an Indian summer out there, it must mean Southern Indian style monsoon. Twelve hours of non-stop rain and counting. No flood warning in place yet, but my little spot by the river is looking closer to the churning brown waters than it did yesterday!
We've been diverted by the post-show discussions for all the shows, where the audience can talk with the cast and director about anything interesting about the production in question. It can also mean a few slightly cringe-worthy moments when an audience member plunges in with some clearly much thought out probing question, but without pausing to say that they enjoyed the show. For example, one man described a show as 'over the top' and wanted to know why everyone was 'o. t. t'.! This obviously sounds rather critical to an actor's ears. Some time later to clear up any confusion, one of the cast asked whether the man had enjoyed the performance and the poor chap fell over himself to express that he had. Honestly, we sometimes forget how nervous people can get when about to speak in front of strangers and how those nerves push good manners & propriety out of their minds!
An especially lively debate followed Roma & the Flanellettes, as the theatre's new play for the 2012 season; a good turn out of about 30 resulted in much discussion of the issues raised by the play and the writer was put through his paces to describe how he wrote the play. The response to this play has been incredible and houses nice and full. We've just got ourselves another great review to help sell what tickets remain. Will this show have a life beyond TbtL?
Things at least to keep us busy in the dry indoors include more new writing for some of us to read before a workshop day on Thursday; lots of books bought at some of the excellent charity shops in town; a matinee on Wednesday and 'gis a job' letters & emails to send out in the hope of landing something nice to follow on from this job. You never know in this business; jobs can appear from anywhere. I remember the first job I did, playing a little boy who finds a red balloon in the play of the same name, was the thing many people would mention when I met them several years after the job ended. We would all like to jog some producer's memory a little sooner than that, but most theatre jobs will be already cast for anything starting before December 2012 and so we're all hunting down other forms of gainful employment to keep busy and afloat. We're a resourceful bunch, most of us all with other strings to our bows, ranging from teaching, nannying, fitness coach tour guides & through to garden designer.
I can't go without a hushed mention of our end of season party, in which folk get up to all sorts of tribute high jinks and sketches sending up key people and plays.. what will it be and who will do what? Watch this space!
I see that the rain has changed direction, now heading from right to left, so at least that makes a nice change.. apparently strong winds are next. Indian summer my ****!
No comments:
Post a Comment