Ah.

For those of you reading this blog avidly (yeah right), I apologise for the infrequent updates. Fear not, however, as I will shortly be updating again after a period of prolonged busy-ness.

Stay strong, youngsters.

MySpace

I finally did it. More later.

I Confess

It's time for me to come clean.

I love Buffy The Vamire Slayer.

I don't mean the actual character or the actress who plays her, I mean the television series. It is one of the most well written things I've ever seen on television. The plot and character arcs are amazing. Some of the things that Joss Whedon does to his characters are incredible.

The funny thing is, when it was actaually airing on television I couldn't stand it. I would come home at 11pm from whatever show or rehearsal I was doing, flick on the TV, and there Buffy would be at the start of an episode, fighting some demon while wearing an improbably short tight skirt. "My god," I would groan, and switch the TV off.

Years later, after the show's last episode had aired, a friend of mine strapped me into a chair and force-fed me the first eposide. The bastard. I was rapt from the very first frame. After that time I borrowed the series on DVD from someone and consumed all seven seasons in about four weeks (I worked at home at that point, so adjusting my work schedule to watch Buffy was not hard...ahem).

Buffy and the Scooby gang (an in-show reference that you will only understand if you have watched Buffy as avidly as I did) were my friends for that four weeks. I loved them all. I was so sad after watching the final episode I had to take myself out of the house for a little walk.

Recently I have been getting cravings again. I think I'm going to be impulsive one of these days and go out and buy the whole darn series and start watching it from scratch again. I'm worried that I might have a problem.

Maybe I should see if there's a "Buffy Anonymous" club or some such organisation...

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

I am so tired I could sleep on the back of an ADHD giraffe full to the brim with Red Bull.

Frustration

Please forgive me, I'm about to use my blog to vent a little frustration. I get frustrated when I'm forced to choose between things - even when the choices are clear - because I don't like upsetting people. I want to keep everyone happy. I like being in demand, but sometimes things overlap in unsatisfactory ways and I physically can't be available to everyone. I then add worry to my frustration because I don't want to be forgotten by those I eschew in favour of doing things that are more artistically challenging.

Also, and this is the really petty and stupid (STUPID!) part, I don't want to be usurped for good by someone who comes along to fill in for me in my absence if this person deos it better than me.

There now. I feel a little better.

Do you?

Adelaide Theatre Guide Review: October 18th

Read the review here.

Laraine Ball's review opens with probably the best synopsis of the plot I've read in any review to date. She names the pertinent characters correctly, and gives us a short outline of the basic plot points.

The rest of the review is bookended by lamentations about the technical issues suffered by the show, and rightly so. However, the way in which she discusses these issues is not nasty or personal - she simply states the obvious problems and moves on.

Her reviews of the main cast are very complimentary, again rightly so. She also gives the chorus an excellent review, of which they are fully deserving and should be very proud.

It's a shame that previous reviewers have somehow missed one of the very things that make the show what it is, but this time choreography gets a decent mention. Sue Pole is a wonderful and passionate choreographer, and "energises the space" is exactly what her choreography does. Rodney Hrvatin's excellent band does not escape notice either, as many bands often do, and he and his musos are a credit to the show.

Again, as in other reviews, mention is made of the lack of set. Although this time Laraine puts forward an interesting theory: there is no set in this particular show because room needs to be left for the dancing, which is of paramount importance in this production. As theories go, it is a credible one.

Laraine seems to be a reviewer who pays attention to detail, and she highlights that fact by mentioning the scene changes, ably and efficiently managed by the amazing Chris Buhagiar and his equally amazing crew, and the costumes, coordinated by Kerry Jesset.

The only thing that could bear changing in this review is the final line - it would be much better to finish on a positive note, rather than leaving the failings of the show uppermost in the reader's mind. By all means mention them at the end of the review, but not as the closing line.

Once again, this is another review that makes you want to come and see the show - honest, informative and complimentary.

Adelaide Advertiser Review: October 18th

This is one of the most concise and fair reviews I've read in a good long while. Samela Harris, if a trifle stern in her delivery, provides a review which is honest and informative. From the very first paragraph she shows that her eye for quality is in top shape. It is true that the on-stage budget of this show appears low, but Samela makes us proud of that fact - this production, while lacking the budget of so-called "professional" productions, is full to the brim with professional talent and passion.

She also crams an awful lot of praise for the cast into a surprisingly small space without it seeming overly rushed. Furthermore, she exhibits a definite knowledge of theatre, not to mention performers. Her comparison of Ray Bolger (who played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz) to Brady Lloyd not only shows insight and prior knowledge, it is also a huge feather in Brady's cap. Have a look at some of the links above and you can see that it's not an idle comparison - it's almost bang on the money.

She makes mention of the obvious technical issues that have arisen (and which are being dealt with piece by piece during the show), again in a straightforward and honest manner. Sadly the news is not all perfect. In her final sentence Samela partially succumbs to the fate of so many other reviewers when she makes the review personal and points a finger squarely at the director, who also appears in the show. Even if the comment is not meant to be personal, it may be taken as such, and for that reason I believe this practice is something which reviewers should be at pains to avoid.

Still, in the main this is a review that truely makes one want to come and see the show - which, for my money, is what a review is for.

Sunday Mail Review: October 15th

I'm going to be harsh right off the bat and say that it's a pity that our first review was written by someone who apparently has no idea about theatre, let alone the purpose of a review. Before we've even hit the bottom of the first column she opines that the script needs updating to suit "today's audience." Firstly, the show is a period piece. I ask you - what is the point of putting on a period piece if the script is modern? Secondly, the script was written in 1997/98, and is as modern as it can be while remaining faithful to the 80's style.

The phrase "Cheesy is not always charming," not unlike a slice of three thouseand year old Gorgonzola, stinks to high heaven. Let me be clear that this is only my opinion (I have not actually seen the song from an audience's point of view since we moved into the theatre, and it has evolved a great deal since then), but in my opinion the song is not cheesy at all, and it is not performed as such. There is a great deal of connection between the two women, and this aspect is accentuated by a backwards glance towards the other as they leave opposite sides of the stage. Towards the end of this paragraph Rosetta Mastrantone yet again expresses her discontent with the script, calling for a "reinterpretation" to keep "the essence of the play." In essence, she seems to have missed it entirely.

Now, at last, she begins to speak about the other members of the cast, giving strong (well deserved) reviews for most of the leading roles (although I think that, in her three-word summation of Bomont, the phrase "strange redneck town" misses the mark somewhat). Most damningly, however, she completely neglects to mention one of the most important and strongest voiced actors in the show - Nicolle Hartnett, who plays opposite Brady Lloyd's excellent Willard. It is apparent to me that Rosetta must have been inattentive for much of the show if she missed even a moment of Nicolle's brilliant performance - particularly if she missed out on that voice. Nicolle's range and power leave many voices dead in the water, and the future has great things in store for her vocally once she grows into her voice and learns to harness its extraordinary range and power.

Not content with calling the script into question twice already, Rosetta subjects it to further bashing as the review draws to a close, calling it an "awkward translation." Yet she does try to make it appear as though she has a clue by giving a backhanded compliment to we who swell the ranks of community theatre, by saying that alot of people got behind the show. How patronising. She then recommends that the readers get along and see the show "if you are a fan of the 1980's and nostalgia is your bag." One suspects from the tone of this final statement that nostalgia is most definitely not her "bag."

All in all this review is somewhat of a non-review. Rosetta Stone manages to fill the bottom quarter of a Sunday Mail page by using an awful lot of words to say nothing much at all. She might as well saved the effort and the ink and left it blank.

Reviewing the Reviewers

I've decided to do something I've always wanted to do: write a counter review for each of the reviews written about shows that I am in, or that I go to see. So stay tuned and I will post reviews of the reviews throughout the next few days.

Haiku High

I left a comment on a blog that asked for Haiku submissions. It was an interesting request. I am hoping that I have just the right quotient of cleverness versus readability.

Wish me luck...