My tiny home with its two huge windows is providing me with some fabulous theatre of life. I’ve chosen one window in particular to feature under the hashtag #LoveMyWindow, and so far, over the past three months, I’ve found something different to capture every single day.
Since moving to Liverpool last year, I’ve been able to present my solo show, “Yes! Because…” (directed by Ira Seidenstein) as part of the Liverpool Fringe Festival, but there haven’t been opportunities to produce new work – so far.
Then there was the fabulous play Reality – The Final, by Brazilian playwright Michelle Ferreira, translated by Suzannah Finzi, presented as a staged reading in London as part of the Out of the Wings Festival, directed by Ramiro Silveira. I was fortunate enough to play the lead role of Eva Lo Brac, “a once-celebrated soap opera actress with cancer who is persuaded to participate in a reality TV show”.
Otherwise, I’ve been keeping myself occupied in the local Open Mic scene, writing and performing poetry and songs and enjoying the vast range and excellent quality of local performers’ work. There has also been the wonderful opportunity to train with Angela de Castro in Glasgow, and Ira Seidenstein in London. Ira’s book, “Clown Secret” is now available in the Amazon store and I HIGHLY recommend it.
The poetry is proving a rich and varied source of creativity, along the lines of TMT’s mission statement “poetry, passion and philosophy”. Here’s a wee sample:
Live in the Moment
(September 2018)
Live in the moment
That’s what we’re told
Enjoy what’s around you
The past will confound you
The future astound you.
It will be what you hoped for
Or not.
What’s gone won’t be changed
Though it might be forgotten
No use to exchange it,
Or rearrange it
What’s to come is no less
Than a gift you can’t guess
It will be what you hoped for
Or it’s not.
Why not make the most of what’s you’ve got?
Stay in the here and now?
That tightrope that you’re walking
Might be fun or terrifying
If you think you’re really flying
Use your toes to get a grip
To remind you, if you slip
That you’re only meant to be here
Until your final bow
Don’t hold on too tightly
Don’t be frightened to let go
Your future is already here –
And it’s either what you hoped for
Or it’s not.
In other news, I am in discussions with a fellow independent company, with a view to a possible co-production some time next year. And I have a sneaking suspicion there may be a new verse play slowly coming to a simmer, possibly to emerge fully brewed within a year or so.