Thursday 23 September 2010

must...try....harder...

well...not much to report right now other than i feel like an empty human vessel drained of all energy due to molecular movement near grinding to a halt. It is definitely crunch time. We have been concentrating on the glue that holds the show together. This is in an effort to ensure that the work is not simply carried by the neat tricks and technology...and colour coordinated furniture. However, a royal presence meant that we had to vacate the studio and relocate to the dungeon-esque tramway 4 space. The whole building had been taken over by a frenetic energy, and the odd passerby in our temporary work space lead to calling it a day a little earlier than usual. I decided to resign myself to looking forward to a quiet non-alcoholic beer and veg pie and chips in bar mono. But alas, the kitchen had closed early and a band was sound checking on stage. It was definitely time to say cheerio glasgow for today. Home late once again and in need of wholesome nourishment and free wifi, I hit spoon cafe...which finally hit the spot

I think the money i saved on taxi rides today, i spent on my dinner...oh well


Today's tune sums it up...



And this was yesterday's tune. I don't quite know how Paul Weller managed to get into my head but all of a sudden all the brit pop memories came back...when i used to believe i could play guitar and wearing flares was cool once more.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Man vs Machine

I swear, at this rate computers will not be taking over the universe…or at the very least Macbooks won’t be leading the charge. I have been wallowing in a quagmire of video editing, downloading, trimming, matching, copying, pasting, reversing, cross dissolving, saving, losing, getting stuck and ultimately losing my rag! What is it about computers that make them act so illogically sometimes, while being vindictive? Sounds almost human in fact. I found myself returning to a dark place of despair today as I decided to tweak some of the video footage in the show. I had been dreading this moment but knew it was unavoidable. I spent about as much time watching spinning discs as I did actually making changes. All this to a soundtrack of indescribable and undesirable mechanical noise aberrations, emanating from my over-heating laptop. So what should have taken a couple of hours, took the whole day instead. However….it’s done and I have reconciled with my laptop (but will sidetrack to the mac store tomorrow on the way to work…I hope my laptop doesn’t read this…)

Time to hit the bar me thinks...


I always wanted to be on TV


With today's tune i confess my undying love....

Monday 20 September 2010

Ready, Set, Woah...

The final week of rehearsals has arrived, and so has the set for Watch iT! The amount of props seems to have grown exponentially…but they look pretty coooool. Taking centre stage in this respect has to be the covering for the armchair. I have Jane Foxall to thank for this. I was reluctant to spend time finding an altogether new chair as I had become accustomed to how the original one feels. At £12 from a bric-a-brac shop it turned out to be a good investment. Now if the chair and the cover survive the tour it may end up as a centre-piece in my gaff. As the set has been getting some fine tuning so has the content of the show. I continue to work with my creatively choreographic warming up mentor Chris Devaney as we try to discover how to open up, let go but not lose it…all at the same time. All in all, i’m very happy with the direction the work is taking. 4 more days left to crack it...

since when did this become about interior design...?



...and we did a bit of warming up to this today. I think you'll find the picture is quite apt.

Friday 17 September 2010

I write this end of week summation in Glasgow's Mono bar, where i first tasted a half decent alcohol free beer. Right now there is some ear piercing music being "mixed" but am nevertheless comfortably replete due to having my fill of roast vegetable pie and chips. Watch iT! continues to find it's feet under the watchful eye of Ms Devaney. It's all about character and i'm trying to find one that feels right for the show while dealing with the like, loss, lust and love of a TV relationship. Monday will hopefully all the set back in it's rightful place, but right now i'm looking forward to the weekend where i plan to surprise the Russian....will let you know how that goes.

Chris Devaney plays peek-a-boo....

So who is the mysterious Russian? I'm in the process of finding that out myself but in the meantime here she is succumbing to gravity. I should be lending a hand but i'm not one to miss a good photo opportunity.



...and Friday's tune is...



Thursday 16 September 2010

TV dinners

Man alive...this week has seen me get back into Watch iT! and remember what a behemoth of a show i created. Although this time i'm armed with a pretty competent production manger and lighting designer. It is still a beast of a show, however. Monday meant a trip to the big yellow store...not a place to be if you aren't a fan of that colour. It's pretty easy to get lost in this place so it's a good job i have a cracking sense of direction. Unfortunately my memory doesn't function as good. the last time i visited here i had forgotten my padlock combination and require the use of some industrial bolt cutters.

Someone say "Heeeeeerrrresss Johnny!"

After a relatively painless load up a big yellow, myself and Grahame (trusty PM) headed of into town to get the not-so-flying carpet edged. Going down a dead end in leith was not part of the plan but easily rectified with some maverick reverse manoeuvring. Also on the list was a collecting of a rather nifty lampshade courtesy of Karen Tennent. If, like me, you have stuck your eyeballs up close and personal to an old TV set you will notice a hypnotic red, green and blue pattern. Watch this space for more colour coordinated furniture....



The day wrapped up with delivery at tramway, a discussion on what was needing touching up, built or scrapped and then the appearance of the russian :)

Tuesday - the russian and and inactive sim card somehow lead to a good day.

Wednesday - back in the mix. Some of the props leave workroom to get a facelift and i start to remind my body of how difficult i like to make things for myself. A late finish ensues with bangers and mash, ginger beer and the company of Arches head honchos Al Seed and LJ Dodds.

Thursday - crikey it's thursday already! I'm lucky enough to have Christine Devaney from Curious Seed on board as my mentor for Watch iT! and while on tour. The day kicks off with some pilates (no doming people!) followed by some much needed improv. We spend most of the day talking about the show. It feels really good to get some feedback and discuss ways in which to tweak the piece. After a lot of head nodding and chat a plan is formed. I end proceedings with a run of Such a Bloke...i should really warm myself up properly next time. Anyway, it's past 8pm and i need to get out of here so i'll leave you with the obvious choice for today's tune...




Friday 10 September 2010

wind it up!


So we reach the end of week 2. One more showing in the bag for the lighting designer, Renny, and tour manager, Vicky...and i'm spent. Managed to dig deep for the morning warm up but i fear the odd late night skype session may have caught up with me. Regardless, the piece is looking good and i'm pretty pleased with where it's at. After sitting in on discussions with all those involved in the tour i begin to realise it's quite a large project i have set loose. So i'm grateful i've got some good people (see vicky and JC below) handling their business and, consequently, mine. I decided to treat myself to some Tramway dinner out in the hidden gardens before winding it up with a 24 season 3 episode...all of a sudden quite retro. And todays tune is there for those of us waiting for something good to happen....


























Thursday 9 September 2010

game on!

Alright...so let this blogging business commence. It's been a week and a half since R2M (me) entered the rehearsal space of the Work Room in Glasgow's Tramway building (web). It's pretty cool man let me tell you...access til 8pm, solitude if you want it, Scottish Ballet in one end, Frantic Assembly's Beautiful Burnout taking place at the other and the hidden gardens outside should one need to get back to nature during lunchtime. Now if only the quality of coffee served in the Tramway cafe could go up a notch or two then this would be (my) artistic heaven.

So...this week i have mostly been getting back in the groove of Such a Bloke. Janis Claxton (janisclaxton.com) is back in the building and cracking the whip and mostly talking about her new love for china and gorillas. So much so that i'm even counting gorillas in the piece. The piece is coming along nicely and now requires the final touches of a good suit from House of Billiam (houseofbilliam.com) and some scrutiny from a lighting designer. The day culminated in a showing for the board of the Work Room. With smiles and positive feedback at the end of the piece, fingers crossed that's put me in the good books for securing future residencies...thanks clackers!!

Mock up from House of Billiam...although i could possibly step out in this....?


JC all up in the place!...just before the flash and i'm not talking about the camera.


tunes i have discovered through this process in one way or another...and i'm now listening too...and so can you.

The low down...

‘Watch iT!’ | ‘Such a Bloke’

Room 2 Manoeuvre presents a dynamic double bill of dance solos performed by Tony Mills. Fusing breakdance, physical theatre, film and animation ‘Watch iT!’ is a multimedia dance odyssey. A hit at the 2009 Fringe Festival, it has been described as "essential viewing". ‘Such a Bloke’ by award winning choreographer Janis Claxton, offers an emotionally driven look into frustration and futility from a personal insight. Gripping and unpredictable, both pieces are an absolute must see.

“A show that’s as clever as its title… and a good reason for couch potatoes to get out more” **** The Herald
“Essential viewing… not only for lovers of dance but also for theatre enthusiasts” ***** The Skinny

On tour at the following venues:

Oct

2nd - The Macrobert, Stirling
6th & 7th - The Arches, Glasgow
9th - Dancelive at Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
13th - Garrison theatre, Shetland
16th - The Byre, St Andrews
21st - Paisley Arts Centre
23rd - Cumbernauld Theatre
26th - Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
29th - An Lanntair, Stornoway

Nov

4th - IETM at CCA, Glasgow
6th - Brunton Theatre, Mussleburgh

For details on how to book tickets please visit www.r-2-m.net

Join the facebook group HERE

..and finally take a peek at the Watch iT! promo vid


Room 2 manoeuvre - coming to a theatre near you soon!!!