Opening night nerves

I had a nerve-wracking time last night at the opening of the Hole in One Act Play Festival which featured my play 'Bunkered'. I was so nervous I missed a sound cue on my own play - and we never got to hear the seagull poop on the Times crossword.

Afterwards, Kevin Myers, who wrote 'Surviving the Century', one of the other plays,  came up to me in the bar and said, "You know what it needed - a seagull sound effect." He was spot on - unlike the poop. If only I'd pressed the right button!

We had a really good-sized and appreciative audience, which was very rewarding as we were unsure whether people would be interested in unknown, untested plays.

Let's hope we get good crowds in for the rest of the week. A big thankyou to everyone involved - the wonderful writers, talented cast, dedicated directors and technical crew (especially sound!).

Special thanks must go to James Reynolds who co-ordinated the event - a thankless task but one he's done with energy and commitment. Here's to the next four nights!

Things have changed a lot

A song that I co-wrote in 1972 has just re-surfaced on a new CD by an old friend of mine, Drew Millin. The song. 'Things Have Changed A Lot', was one of a bunch of tunes we wrote when sharing a bungalow in sunny Torquay. I was a film student on holiday for the summer and Drew was selling advertising space on the local paper The Herald Express. But secretly, we both wanted to be rock stars - although as our band, The BOI, was a weird fusion of Crosby Stills and Nash and Frank Zappa, this was unlikely. We were either years ahead of our time - or rubbish.

As the band's producer (alias Yorick Zimmerman) I sent demo tapes off to every record label, including the Beatles' Apple and John Peel's Dandelion Records, and each of them in turn rejected us.

Above is the letter sent by legendary producer George Martin politely saying no. We were not, as we thought, the next Beatles.

Now one of the "pleasantly formed" songs, as George Martin described them, is on Drew's CD 'Don't Rush Me'.

Read all about it here - and buy a copy!
http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Balladeer-art-form-taking-time/article-2703444-detail/article.html

The drama of crazy golf

My play 'Bunkered' finally had a full cast for a rehearsal - and it was marvellous to see them all bringing my characters to life. More people also equals more laughs.

Particularly good to see Alex Wilson become belligerent businessman Bulstrode and playing crazy golf with his very bored "personal assistant" Poppy played by Sam Jones.

Here's a photo of them in action.

To see them in the flesh come along to the Hole in One Act Play Festival at the Dolman Theatre in Newport, 12 - 16 October. For tickets and more info phone 01633 263670.

From page to stage

It's amazing watching a play you've written make the transition from page to stage, and seeing the characters that once only existed in your imagination brought to life by talented actors. Last week's rehearsal of my play, 'Bunkered' which is part of the Hole in One Act Play Festival at the Dolman Theatre, was amazing. I sat snapping away as my wife, Caroline, directed the action, and then put the best photos into this short video. Hope you enjoy it.

Wishes do come true (when it comes to crazy golf)

So there I was, desperate for a crazy golf course to take photos of the cast of my one act play 'Bunkered' which is part of the Hole in One Act Play Festival.

Where shall it be? I wondered. Barry Island perhaps - there's a very good pirate one there - or possibly Tredegar Park.

Whilst I was pondering this, as part of the Big Splash event held over the August Bank Holiday weekend a crazy golf course was built on the doorstep of the Dolman Theatre.

A quick chat with the owner, Dave Lovatt, revealed that he's a theatre director from Bristol with a passion for crazy golf courses. Could we take photos of our cast on his course? No problem, he replied. So we did, for which, much thanks, Dave. His crazy golf course, by the way, is brilliantly fiendish and includes a pool table!

Dave is pictured, centre, at the photoshoot with Playgoers Bruno Cook and Lauren Brown. More details about the photos can be found here: http://newportplaygoers.wordpress.com/

Information about Dave's show 'Carny Village' can be found here: http://invisiblecircus.co.uk/invisible_circus/TheInvisibleCircus/Home.html

The play’s the thing

I was really pleased to hear that one of the plays I entered for Newport Playgoers’ One Act Play-Writing Competition had been selected for the forthcoming festival.

The theme of the plays was ‘golf’ of which I know precious little, except for the occasional highly competitive game of crazy golf I play with my wife Caroline. So I wrote about that – a down-at-heel crazy golf course that’s on the verge of bankruptcy because it’s at the wrong end of the recently revamped seafront.

The plays were judged by Frank Vickery, regarded by many to be Wales’s top playwright, and out of the 40+ plays entered, he chose three from a shortlist of 11. My play ‘Bunkered’ will now be part of the Hole in One Act Play Festival at the Dolman Theatre in Newport from 12 – 16 October 2010.

Caroline will direct it and we’re currently putting together a cast and desperately trying to find items for the set – namely, a small shed and a large ornamental windmill obstacle! As things progress, I hope to make a video diary of the play’s progress from page to stage, and will be posting it here.  For more information about the Festival, visit my blogsite: http://newportplaygoers.wordpress.com/

'Allotment Keeper' - the Video

Here's my video of the opening of the latest exhibition of photographs by Betina Skovbro - 'Allotment Keeper'.

Betina’s Photos in Full Bloom

Allotment keepers are a hardy breed, braving all weathers to tend their plots of land. So, it was not surprising to see them turning out in the rain for the opening of the latest exhibition of photographs – entitled ‘Allotment Keeper’ - by Betina Skovbro. The event, at the National Museum of Wales, features an amazing series of portraits of allotment keepers, along with their tips and tales, arranged on a zigzag trail around an actual allotment created especially for the exhibition, complete with shed and greenhouse.

LEFT: Betina with Terry Walton, the Allotment Doctor from BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show. Terry opened the exhibition, praising not only Betina's work but also allotment keepers everywhere.

Although a little July sunshine would have been nice, the rain and umbrellas seemed somehow appropriate for the opening of this exhibition, emphasising just how dedicated allotment keepers are in their quest to grow the best flowers and vegetables. I took the photos here to capture the atmosphere of the event.

Betina was inspired to do this project after becoming an allotment keeper herself. The result is a fascinating series of photos, capturing allotment keepers in their natural habitat. Each work features an observation, with advice such as “Don’t forget your flask of coffee”, and what they love about their allotment: “No-one complains about my singing”.

Betina had grown up watching her parents grow their own vegetables in their garden just outside Copenhagen. Working on her allotment, she says, opened up a wealth of new experiences and encouraged her to explore a range of issues she hadn’t considered before such as today’s supermarket society with its pre-packed foods, and the return to a “grow your own” culture.

"Allotments are great places for reflection,” she says. “They help us re-connect with ourselves; the pleasure of simple tasks, the joy of being at ease with nature, the rewards from putting your back into it, and opportunities to learn, share and improvise.”

Betina used a 1975 Hasselblad medium format camera to capture the images in the exhibition which feature an eclectic mix of personalities, abilities and experience – “each one nurturing their own small plot of land”.

Among them is Ade Morris (pictured above with Betina), who hails from the Black Country and keeps bees on part of his allotment. He met Betina when she was working on her last project about dog walkers in a Cardiff Park. The resulting exhibition was just as innovative in its presentation as this one – with photographs of dogs and their owners hanginging from the branches of a tree.

For more information, read Betina’s blog: http://www.allotmentkeeper.wordpress.com/. Also check out Betina’s website: http://www.skovbro.com/

More on great ventriloquists of our time

When I wrote about Ray Allen being the ventriloquist's ventriloquist, a friend of mine remarked that he thought Arthur Worsley was the daddy of all ventriloquists.

This rumour about Arthur Worsley being the daddy of all ventriloquists was started by the News of the World and has no foundation in fact. For all I know, he may have put it about a bit and was a well-known ladies man. Some even said he was the ladies man's ladies man.

He was very good though, mainly because he never said anything, he let the dummy do the talking. So in fact, he was only doing half the work. Very smart man. He was always fond of telling himself off via his dummy: "Who's geen a naughty goy then?".

If you had Arthur Worsley on the same bill as Jimmy James and his gang of nincompoop sidekicks you knew you were in for a side-splitting evening, and would probably still be aching from laughter the next morning. It was the cause of many a sick note and a day off work. Which led to the death of the manufacturing industries in Britain, the rise and fall of the unions, Arthur Scargill, Thatcher and the present cock-eyed administration. All because of one episode of Seaside Special in 1961. It makes you think.

You can't see his lips move now

Let's open a gottle of geer and drink to Ray Allen and Lord Charles. Or was it Ray Charles and Lord Allen? Anyway, he used to make me laugh. The Guardian said his catch-phrase was "you silly arse" but of course it was "you silly ass" spoken with an upper crust accent. That's what made it so funny, for crying our loud. He was saying 'arse' on prime time telly at a time when you couldn't even say bum without being blacklisted. I remember when Kenneth Tynan said 'willy' and caused a national furore, and he was only referring to Willy Carson, the adorable little jockey fella. Happy days.Still, the world is poorer by one ventriloquist. More than that, he was the ventriloquist's ventriloquist. No man could ask for a finer obituary.

Sketches and Doodles

Found some more arty stuff and decided to share it with the world!

More artwork

Here are some more examples of the stuff I used to sell to grockles and art-lovers at various exhibitions.

Take a card...any card

Came across some old artwork that I used to try to make a living by selling. Thought I'd post it here as it may amuse people of a certain disposition.

This one's called 'Card Trick'. Will post more soon.

Budding Playwrights can take Centre Stage!

To celebrate Newport hosting the Ryder Cup 2010, Newport Playgoers Society, which owns and runs the city’s 400-seater Dolman Theatre, is holding a competition aimed at encouraging the writing of plays for amateur theatre.

To enter the competition, budding playwrights are invited to submit one act plays on the theme of ‘golf’. Plays should be between 20 - 30 minutes in length using a cast of 2 - 5 actors. In addition to a cash prize, the three best plays will be performed in the Dolman Studio Theatre for three nights culminating in a gala evening when prizes will be officially presented.

An Adjudication Panel appointed by Newport Playgoers Society will read and consider the plays entered in the competition and, in addition to arranging production of the plays at the Dolman Studio Theatre, will award the following prizes: 1st Prize - £100 plus trophy; 2nd Prize - £50; 3rd Prize - £25.
To download an application form, go to http://www.dolmantheatre.co.uk/.

By 'eck it's Frank Randle

Made this whilst recuperating from a series of illnesses. A tribute to the late great Northern comedian Frank Randle.