Time for an aside from all this R n J rubbish. To blather pointlessly at one o'clock in the bloody morning about very little.

It's half term, though you wouldn't know it, 'cos it's not half-term at university, only at college, and it's cetainly not half-term for the play. I've got 60 essays to mark this week and I haven't had a moment to look at 'em. Bugger.

Basically life is full. Got a great job. Studying European Theatre. Directing. Got a girlfriend (when I can see her). Bit tired, but good-tired, like after a hard day of rewarding work, rather than bad-tired when the days are a long, painful drag.

Got a Playstation 2 on impulse the other day. Hurrah! Don't have much time to play it, of course. But I'm well-enough paid that I feel I can get away with an absurd impulse buy like that (not too often though). This is what life is supposed to be like!

Let us celebrate being busy! Being creative! Filling your time up with shit-to-do! Not being bored! Being tired out! Not monging about in front of the telly! Let's hear it for student bars! Bacon sandwiches! Sunday afternoon rehearsals! Lazing around in bed with a friend counting down the time when it's stormy outside!

Let's hear it for splashing out! Being hung over! Working through your holiday! Planning the next thing even when you're knackered and stressed doing the current one! You bloody asked for it! So don't grizzle next time you're 'bored'!

Hurrah for lumping far too much on your plate! Finish it all up now. Or you won't get your pudding.

:)

Been working on the poster for Romeo and Juliet. See the R n J pages for a larger version. Only three weeks to go now... oooo scary!

Been jazzing up the Romeo and Juliet pages, now with this 'about the show' section and functional archives. :)

As a reminder of how great physical theatre is done, I managed to catch Frantic Assembly performing 'Peepshow' at the Gardner Arts Centre, where R and J is to appear. They're touring the UK at the moment, so if this show passes you, check it out. Contemporary, cool, accessible.

Bizarre troubles with Blogger's ftping and heavy workload doing R and J, MA, BHASVIC etc, all conspire to keep updates to the Blog Cabin rare and uninformative.

But it was my Birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday Yesterday to Me! :D

Read-through of Romeo and Juliet at Mandela Hall.

For any random readers interested in Romeo and Juliet, you can download the edited script and a 'manifesto' for the play from the RnJ webpage. :)

ROMEO AND JULIET - CAST LIST

Congratulations to all you guys, you were fantastic. :)

STANDARDS
Nick Chambers (Romeo)
Paul Corcoran (Capulet)
Gordon Cowell (Mercutio)
Lance Harris (Paris)
Nkem Ifejika (Tybalt)
Lauren Jones (Lady Capulet)
Rebecca Moult (Nurse)
Simon Plotkin (Friar Laurence)
Katherine Sanders (Benvolio)
Charlotte Twining (Juliet)
Chris Zawadski (Prince Escalus)

PLAYERS
Morag Calderbank (Lady Montague)
Charli Franklin (Friar John &c)
Ellie Hale (Peter &c)
Thomas Halstead (Montague)
Jennifer Tyler (Rosalind)

- The Players will take more than one part, and
some of the standards may
assist in doubling.

Romeo and Juliet is full speed ahead. Hence no posts for ages. We've done the auditions, and now have a cast and a rehearsal schedule. It's breathtakingly short and scary.

Rehearsals will have to be tight as hell and we can only hope that the cast 'gets it' and puts in the work to make the RnJ we want. we don't have time to be teaching people new styles of acting or working to undo old habits of mind.

It's exciting but scary. :)