1. Watch as many shows as possible and make friends with the critics
I’m currently reading Stephen Unwin’s So You Want To Be A Theatre DIRECTOR, which has those words in massive writing on the front cover. Ashamedly, I actually feel slightly embarrassed reading it on the tube because I feel like people are looking at me and judging whether they think I’ll make it. Anyway, he is telling me to go to the theatre two or three times a week if possible. He doesn’t sympathize with the 'I can’t afford it' argument: “Why not join the interval crowd and sneak into the second half as I used to?” Well I haven’t been that jammy but I have managed to see two operas for £13.30 this week (three, if you include the dress rehearsals for Kentish Opera’s Eugine Onegin, incidentally running at The Stag this week…)
i) James MacMillan’s Clemency – Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
Bit of a spontaneous ticket buy (£13.30 for a ‘student’…) as I really love MacMillan’s work. If you haven’t heard him my favourites are A Child’s Prayer and Christus Vincit. Very atmospheric. This was no different; the male trio passages particularly standing out for me.
Sarah Mitchell directed this production. I loved the set concept in particular which was a gold-plated triptych (religious symbolism) with the joining bits on hinges as if it had been opened up to tell the story. The Stage Right panel contained the kitchen. If the performer exited the kitchen towards Stage Right, he/she would enter the middle panel (living/dining room) from Stage Right. If he/she exited the kitchen towards Stage Left, he/she would appear from Stage Left in the Stage Left panel (I swear at one point I heard the footsteps of 'Abraham' running backstage from one side to the other as fast as possible)… which if closed up on it’s hinges would complete half of the end of the living/dining room. If you’re confused, see my drawing which shows how I worked out the rooms fit together. This occupied half my train ride home but was intensely satisfying, even if the intention was not for the rooms to link up.
ii) The Barber of Seville (or Salisbury) – OperaUpClose at The King’s Head
Thankfully I was more able to grasp the simple set design of this production and I got to go for free as the plus one of my proper reviewer friend (go to The Gizzle Review to read his take on the production). I made him sit in the front row so we could see the singers’ faces (and spit… and even bogey at one point). This all added to the hilarity of the production and there really were some marvelous facial expressions from ‘Dr. Bartleby’. I particularly liked the chairs-on-wheels convention, which was used comically and provided distraction from the repetitive score. I also liked the audience participation ‘Figaro Figaro Figaro’ – any chance to sing is welcome by me.
2. Network, network, network... but try not to scare people off...
As a pretty independently-minded young lady, it doesn’t tend to phase me going to networking events and shows on my own. However, this week, I seem to have made two social faux pas.
i) I attended a TV Development Producers Meeting, wanting to hear from the top Commissioning Editors in the business. I had hoped to meet Jan Younghusband in particular, as she is Commissioning Editor for Music and Events at the BBC and trained in opera production at Glyndebourne. There had been a bit of mix up and it turned she couldn’t make it. So there I was, standing chatting to a young production secretary, trying to come across as all grown-up and confident, when a man comes over and introduces himself.
“I’m Mark”.
“Hello, I’m Olivia! And what do you do Mark?”
“I work for the BBC… in the arts…”
“Oh lovely, I work in music production.”
“Well my colleague Jan actually does more of the music stuff whereas I do books and literature etc…”
“Oh right… so is your colleague Jan Younghusband?”
“Yes…”
“So are you Mark Bell… Commissioning Editor for the Arts at the BBC” (i.e. VERY IMPORTANT PERSON WHO I’VE JUST ASKED “AND WHAT DO YOU DO” TOO!!!)
Note to self: next time, study the photos beforehand, as well as the biographies.
ii) My spontaneous ticket-buy meant that I went alone to Clemency. The young man on my right also appeared to be alone and so I struck up a friendly conversation with him. Clearly we had a fair amount to talk about… interest in music, singing, what shows we’d seen. He was German, a little shy and I don’t think he was particularly used to young ladies striking up conversation with him. As soon as we walked out of the studio, he bolted for the exit without so much as a turn to say “Nice to meet you, goodbye” as if he thought I might trap him into going for a drink!!! Well, I can tick off “scaring off young German men” on the things-to-do-before-I-die list… Oh dear.
3. Just keep going!
Marathon-training update:
i) Today I reached my target of completing an Otford circuit in under 45 minutes!!! I even bumped into the 4 boys I babysit for who I hope now think I’m terribly fit and sporty.
ii) Had to part a sea of about 50 young men walking through a field on my very unenergetic run on Tuesday… of course my passers-by banter completely failed me and all I could do was smile and jog on…
iii) Brilliant country-banter later however from the two older men down by the river, who clapped me on as if I was already finishing the marathon…
iv) On same run I did that thing where I was walking… then I saw another runner coming in the opposite direction so I started running again… then as soon as he’d gone I was back to the walking! The thing that made it funny though was that I saw him doing the same thing…
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