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This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
Age 23, living in sin in Twickenham with Cheesy
Likes
Movies
Books
Writing
Theatre
Hugs
Kittens
Chess
Scrabble (mostly beating Cheesy's butt)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Dislikes
Vegetables
Arguments
Cleaning
Trashy TV
Pretensions
Public Transport
Pets
Rabbits-Bambi, Fern, Sooty, Pippa-all deceased
Dog-Sammy-deceased :(
Fish-CatFlap-recently (and finally!) deceased
Cat-Tiggy-still scratching
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Technically Rachel
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Finally got a spiffy shiny review from NODA - basically the organisation that looks after amatuer theatre and gives reviews/awards and other such lovely stuff. Last year "Technically Speaking" garnered a good review for the actors and the show in general, but the script got a little... well not bashed, but a little scolded for its bad language. Heh. Anyway, for those of you who managed to see the Short Plays directed by Bron last July here's a little review (with commentary by moi) of them - see if you agree.
Waking
This one act play was only short, but in it we had some extremely good acting from the two members of the cast (of course!); these being Rachael Hilton and Tom Cohen. It moved well and the performances did bring it to life.
I did lose some dialogue when the volume dropped, however. Although this play is a conversation piece at no time can you allow it to be just a conversation. Even though the theatre is small you still have to project. But this was a very interesting play (yay!), well done. (Ah, it was nothing)
Keeping Annabelle
This was a short but amusing playlet and well played by Michael Wignall and Katie Griffiths. (Who were indeed, fab)
Birthday Greetings
The third and longest of the evening of one-act plays by the young and talented Rachael *beep!* (Blast it, there's my name spelled wrong again - mind you, that's better than The Scotsman who thought my name was that of the director's! Also note the "talented" comment, and especially notice the "young" comment *tries to forget turn 26 in less than a month*) was well handled with Joe Simmons as the anchor part playing Albert and his old mate, Freddie, played by Alan Pearson - not type casting this time. (So much more should be said about these boys, who were just great)
A nice comedy this with two excellent performances from Sue Hilton as Blyth (Blythe!) and Bobbie Day as Vera. (Yay!). Tony Vanderweele was fine but did tend to go a little OTT with the role of Jeremy. (This is true, but I still laughed my head off at him)
Last but not least, Rebecca Andrews gave her usual sound performance. (If only I'd been able to see it! Alas, she was ill the night I watched, and the fab Hilton stepped up fabulously)
So, that's it. Shame there's not more comment about the shows as a whole and thus also the talented direction by a certain missy. Still, it's nice to have a review at all. So, yay.
In other writing related news, I'm sending my new play (which I can now tell you is called, "Starlings") to Soho Theatre tomorrow and am trying not to get all nervous about it. Eep!
8:48 pm
Friday, February 17, 2006
Oooooh. Tonight on Eastenders a new character starts called Carly Wicks, played by Kellie Shirley. Kellie was the lovely lady who played Beattie in my (very) short play "Keeping Annabelle" at the Soho Slam last year. *Smug face*. Am really pleased for her though - she's was great on stage, and a top girl to boot, so I hope she gets some good storylines and does well on the show. It does however mean the chances of me ever getting her for any fringe work pretty much sucks (what with the no doubt high price tag on her performances now). I shall have to wait till I'm super famous ;)
8:54 am
Monday, February 13, 2006
Thanks to Rocket Leaf for these quizzes (is that the right spelling?) - this first of which has made me go "Blimey!". It's an inkblot test, which I recommend you take, mostly just cause it's quite interesting to do, and certainly yields some interesting results. Here's mine:
Your unconscious mind is most driven by Love.
Your instinct to love and be loved is rooted very deeply in your subconscious and affects most of the decisions you make in life – whether you are aware of it or not. You inspire people to experience their true feelings of love and act kindly towards others. You also value your personal relationships more than most people. Your unique capacity to love may be greater than those around you, which means you may have more to give in relationships than your friends or romantic partners do. Your psyche is very rich; the more you learn about it, the more you will understand who you really are.
The IQ test must be screwy since it gave me a score of 135 and says I'm more a mathematician than a linguist - not that I think all that much of myself in the language stakes, but I've always pretty much sucked at maths. Here's the summary for that one:
You have a strong ability to process visual-spatial and mathematical information and this, combined with your logical mind, means you are a Visual Mathematician. You can manipulate multiple parts of the picture (or problem) to come up with a solution and can understand the "big picture," which is partly why people may turn to you for direction. Like Einstein, your ability to detect patterns and your skills in maths and logic, make it natural for you to come up with ideas and theories that simplify processes for everyone.
2:09 pm
Friday, February 10, 2006
*taps the computer screen to see if any bloggers fall out*
Quiet here at the moment, ain't it? There's blogs being quit left right and centre at the moment - bloody cock-teasers. I guess the trend just isn't so cool anymore, eh?
Am in a grumpy today (you don't say!) - work is mega busy, some of my colleagues spend most the day talking over coffee than actually doing any work, what it is to be female is giving me stomach cramps, and the Cheesm is off away with work for a little while. Leaving me sulking tremendously and refusing to tidy up. Oh, and the Benefits System is filled with fuckwits who somehow think my Momo's slipped disc in her back has managed to pop itself back in and be miraculously cured. Because there are hundreds of jobs available to a woman in her late fifties who's not worked due to illness for nearly 20 years and can't sit/stand/walk for any lengthy duration. Arses. I should just become Prime Minister and smack them all round the head. I'd be a good Prime Minister I think. Execute the Press for a start and make them build up again from scratch with non-bastards. Or something. Hmm, rather whimsical, I think.
For the first time in years I have an idea for a book I'd like to write - I used to write stories and books all the time when I was 13/14. (I was destined to write Point Horror books as far as I was concerned). It was only at 16 I started writing plays, and since then I've never real had the patience for a novel and its inevitable narrative. Got an idea that's simple though, and gets me a bit excited when I think about it - so I may have to dig out my novel hat and see if I still have an ability for that kind of writing. We'll see - it's difficult when you've got lots of other plays you want to write.
Right - gotta go pretend that I'm doing work. I am so bored today it's laughable. Locations department keep expecting me magic cheques from my arse and look very disappointed when I can't. "What, you mean we have to get someone to authorise it before you can pay it? Good God!". I swear I wonder sometimes whether people have ever worked on other films before, the way their eyes pop when you ask them for paperwork.
On an amusing work related note, a nice old lady from the village we're filming in thought Cheeky Irish was my assistant. Which now is all I refer to him to.
Well, it's funny if you're here.
Cheesm being away always reminds me how limited I am with my friends - I can't really call on any of them for company - certainly not easily. I nearly managed a rendezvous with Huggy Boobs, but she's just not got time. Everyone else lives so far away.
I've been feeling a little lonely regarding friends lately. It's not like I'm much better at keeping in touch, but I know I don't speak to some of them anywhere near as much as I used to. There's also a big shift in attention when previously single friends become not so single - and that's a good and natural thing. Truth is, I probably hear most from my friends when things aren't going well with them - when everyone's happy and content you just don't hear from them as much. Not that I'm bitching about that - after all, happiness is what you want for your friends. I'm not about to enter that dodgy resentful territory. It's just weird to move from a place where you support someone, to not being needed at all. But that's the balance of being a friend, isn't it? Being there when you're needed. You know? Ack, I'm whiney and reflective today. I'm gonna go find some chocolate and give myself a lecture about taking life too seriously.
12:20 pm
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Brokeback To The Future
I haven't been able to listen to this with the sound on yet, but the idea makes me chortle.
12:37 pm
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Soooooo, stuff stuff stuff. Let's see...
Work is kicking off spectacularly manically - as expected. We start filming on Thursday, and it's all gone crazy. The HODs are all great on this pic though, which helps massively. Also the head caterer I knew from another production called in to say hello since he's on this picture too - it's nice to see old faces. Starts making me feel like I'm getting somewhere, when I come across folks I've worked with before.
Still, am gonna be mega busy now for February and March. And then I have to panic and find another job. Eep!
And speaking of Eep! type things - the house hunt continues. Nearly got carried away and put in an offer for a flat, even though it looks like it has a damp problem from its roof. But we've slowed it down a bit and narrowed our search - hopefully going to find somewhere that needs some work doing to it. I hate going into these places that are all done up - it's like buying someone else's home (which I know, technically, is the case - but you get what I mean). I want somewhere we can make our own. Not something we can't do anything to cause it's already decorated to the max.
Technically Rachel - Fire Fighter!
Well, technically Fire Goes-To-Get-Help-And-Watches-While-It's-Put-Out Fighter. Popped out to my car this evening, and when I was climbing back up our fire escape to get into our kitchen, I smelled smoke. I nearly dismissed it, attributing it to an over vigoursly cooked supper, but I noticed there was quite a lot of smoke coming from the kitchen window in the flat below ours. And there didn't seem to be a light on in that kitchen. So, I nipped back down and look into the kitchen to see a whole hob on fire on the stove. Panic? Just a tad. Ran over to the porters house and got him on the case - lots of yelling and banging of doors, and the weird old guy who lived there initially tried to put it out and somehow made it worse. Eventually a fire extinguisher was thrown at the things and the day was saved. All with me stood watching, concerned expression on my face. Weird old guy got a good telling off. Left me concerned though. This is the guy who watches episodes of Countdown at 4am at full volume. Crap knows how bad the fire would have got if I hadn't spotted it. In a flat below ours. Swell. Not that I did much. I'm less of a fire fighter, more of a Lassie type.
And the Oscar goes to...
Oscar noms are in, and I thought I'd give me tuppence on them. A fairly predictable bunch this year.
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain - Bound to win. The Oscars just drool over any film focussed on "minority/issue" groups. Plus it is actually supposed to be rather good.
Capote - Heard rather little about it, except that it's good.
Crash - Mixed opinions on this one. Token nomination, methinks.
Good Night, and Good Luck - Who would've thought five years ago that a film directed/written/acted by George Clooney would be an Oscar contender. Tv heart-throb done good.
Munich - Nice and political, but probably too political for most of the delicate Academy Members.
Rachel says Brokeback Mountain
Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote" - Always a brillantly talented actor, but I don't think they're quite ready to acknowledge him.
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow" - Not seen the film or much of him - but I feel he may be the token nomination in this category.
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain" - Good potential to win as there's been a lot of talk about his performance - but personally I don't think anyone can get past the fact that it's still Heath Ledger.
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line" - After winning the Golden Globe he's probably the most likely. By all accounts his performance is quite something.
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck." - Bound to be a great performance - could be the dark horse.
Rachel says Joaquin Phoenix
Actress
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents" - An old favourite, and this will probably work against her. Plus Mrs Henderson was hardly a challenging role for her.
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica" - Could take it, though I reckon only a limited bunch will have even seen the movie.
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice" - Good God what were they thinking?! What is it with the Americans and their drooly ass kissing over that scrawny talentless thing just cause she's got a British accent? Yes, it's her best performance in any movie, but that's not saying much. If she wins I'll never watch the Oscars again.
Charlize Theron, "North Country" - Probably very good, but she won too recently. Bound to work against her.
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line." - An unlikely candidate a year ago, but I think she might take it.
Rachel says Reese Witherspoon (Kick Keira's ass!)
Supporting Actor
George Clooney, "Syriana" - Could swing his way - they're going to want to award him something on the night, and I think this is the most likely.
Matt Dillon, "Crash" - Nah, no one will get past the fact it's Matt Dillon.
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man" - Great actor. Only major nomination for this film though, so I think it'll be unlikely.
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain" - Jake has mostly been ignored in reviews in favour of Heath Ledger. So probably no, though his ass should get an Oscar.
William Hurt, "A History of Violence." - Dark horse, I reckon. Could steal it from the sidelines.
Rachel says George Clooney
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "Junebug" - Who? What?
Catherine Keener, "Capote" - Maybe. Just seems a little... boring.
Frances McDormand, "North Country" - Frances is fantastic, but for some reason I don't see her winning for this.
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener" - Most likely candidate. Would be great to see her win it.
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain." - She was in Dawson's Creek. It can't happen.
Rachel says Rachel Weisz
Director
Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain" - Since I predicted Brokeback to win best film, this seems the likely winner. Not that I'm that much of a fan.
Bennett Miller, "Capote" - Unlikey
Paul Haggis, "Crash" - Even more unlikely. Then again, it has been a lot more popular in the States. But probably been around to long. They like they're winners fresh.
George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck." - Could be an outside contender. Strong possibility they'll give Brokeback the Film award, and settle for Clooney as director.
Steven Spielberg, "Munich." - Nah. Not the year for beardy man.
Rachel says close call betweenAng Lee/George Clooney
That's all I'll go into for now. Consider it a travesty that Sin City isn't in the Special Effects nominations. Glad to see King Kong being snubbed - it was popcorn and nothing more.
8:42 pm
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