Summer Workshop

This summer I will be partaking in my second summer workshop. For those that don't know what that is, I will get to that in a minute. This post is about last years experience and what I am hoping will this years will be like.

Okay, the summer workshop is a yearly workshop held at the Riverhead Theatre in Louth. Each year the workshop consists of putting on a musical for three shows in two weeks. In the two weeks you audition, rehearse, help backstage and perform. So now you guys are caught up.

Last year, a bunch of us decided that we would do the summer workshop for two reasons. Firstly, it was Grease, how can you pass that opportunity up, and secondly because we were all heading off to university all over the country. During the workshop, I was pushed to my limits because I had never done so much work and had so much pressure in such a short period of time before, however it was a great experience because you have the time of your life. The workshop leaders make the experience so enjoyable, everyone is included, so even if you are really shy and only want to be in the background, you will have as much to do as the lead role. I am not the greatest singer or dancer, I happily admit that, I'm much more of an actor, so last years role suited me to a tee, a goof ball, who had silly lines in songs and danced like an idiot. However even though I wasn't necessarily comfortable with musicals, this was such a different experience it didn't even bother me. It's not all serious stuff though, you play games, you create little shows, but most importantly you get to hang out with a great group of people.

So that was my experience last year, so what is this year going to be like.... Well firstly there are not as many of my close friends doing it this year, however looking at the list of people who are doing it, I'm confident we will have fun and put on a great show. This years musical is My Favorite Year (I hate spelling it like that but it's what we have the license for). From what I can tell, there aren't as many big dance numbers, thank god, and the music is quite catchy and it seems like a really funny play. Hopefully I can get a good part and show off my silliness in a comedy role. But mainly all I want from this year is to have tons of fun, because that's what theatre is all about for me, fun. And who knows it may very well be my favourite year (pun intended)

Beauty

This post is inspired by a video by Colbie Caillat released two days ago. The video is at the bottom of this post, but before you watch the video I wanted to get my views across first.

The video deals with the idea of women trying too hard to impress other people, when what they should really focus on is making themselves happy. This message struck a chord with me because we all witness this on a daily basis. You see it all around you people wearing tons of make-up thinking that they need to do this otherwise they aren't attractive. People nowadays have this idea of what beauty really is, however there isn't one ideal of beauty, there are infinite amounts. What I find beautiful may not be someone else's. I'm not anti make-up, I just feel that girls should only wear it if it makes them happy, because at the end of the day, if you were home alone all week and didn't leave the house would you wear make-up, or if the world ran out of make-up would you not leave the house.

This issue especially hits me, with young people. I don't understand why an eleven year old thinks that they have to wear make-up. When I was eleven, girls my age, didn't care about make-up unless it was a special event, and the boys didn't judge them. So what has happened? Well society has now reached a point where the media decides what beauty is. Here is an example....

This girl was ten years old, when this picture graced the pages of highly popular magazine Vogue. Not only was this picture in an article but there were ten others and she was on the front cover in a sexual pose. Now let me repeat an earlier fact, she was TEN. Why are ten year olds being put in fashion magazines as sex symbols, they can't even have sex for another six years. Her mother had to shut down her Facebook account because she was being tagged in sexual photos of her daughter, but it begs the question, why would you have let your daughter do it in the first place. There is so much to be said about this situation, but bringing it back to the main point about beauty, this is a prime example of how the media are corrupting the minds of young people. They are being told to be beautiful and worthy of a magazine cover they must, wear heavy make-up, wear nice dresses and heels, be tanned and look like a model, when in actual fact, guys probably don't care.

Okay, I've gone off on a massive rant about women and beauty, so lets look at the male side of the argument. Men are shown pictures of these good looking blokes, with rippling muscles and because the media puts these out there, men feel inadequate in comparison, but who cares, if you like going to the gym and working out, that's fine, but if you don't care if you have a six pack of beer rather than a six pack, why feel crap. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

Now the video that brought me here, go like and share this video and leave me a comment about what you thought and your perception on beauty.

Stop, Cancel, Help

One of my friends the other day said "Everyone has demons, whether they show them or not, they definitely have them."

This got me thinking about every person I have ever made comments about, every silly and stupid thought I have thought about a person I don't really know. I used to be extremely judgemental and I think it was a defence mechanism, if I could see the flaws in others it would make my insecurities seem better. Since I have grown up a little, I try my best to get to know people first and give every person the benefit of the doubt before I come to some form of conclusion, however I now realise that I should never come to a conclusion about anyone, because there I know so little about them. I don't know what their deepest insecurities are. I don't know if they have demons that they have to fight on a day to day basis.

I then started to think about myself, and how it would feel if someone judged me. I know it happens, but I tend not think that way. I have demons, I fight them daily, so I may not always seem like the happiest person, but that is because I am having to wrestle with thousands of emotions and insecurities. Having realised that nearly everyone in the world also has these problems, next time I see someone not smiling, I'm not going to think that they are a miserable person, instead I'll think, maybe they have a lot on their mind, maybe something has happened, but instead of judging them, I shall instead go up to them and talk to them, like I would any of my friends, because maybe all they need is someone to listen to them, someone to share the burden. And if they then refuse my help, I still won't judge because maybe they need to conquer this battle on their own.

You probably don't think you are judgemental, it's not a nice thing to admit, so you probably deny it, but even those thoughts about people, whether or not you say them, they are still judging a person. So instead, next time those thoughts pop into your head, and they probably will, cancel them out and go and help a person, because who knows? You being there, is possibly the thing they need.

So here's a mantra for you. STOP (stop yourself for a moment whilst those thoughts happen) CANCEL (cancel those thoughts) HELP (go and make a difference to that person)

Will Smith

An edited version of an old post written 22nd June 2013:

My celebrity hero growing up (and seeing as how I'm still growing, still is) is Will Smith. Not only is he a great actor, but he is a great role model. The things he says are not only clever but are motivational for all those seeking a better life for themselves, which is the reason why I look up to him, not to mention the fact that he is absolutely hilarious.

First of all we have his incredible talent not only as an actor but as a rapper and all round entertainer. We have 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air' a show about a boy from the hood in West Philadelphia moving to live with his aunt and uncle in the rich and glamorous part of Los Angeles. The show not only was funny beyond comparison, but had real issues intertwined, such as black rights, family loyalty, young marriage, maturing, and school and Will was at the forefront of all of these. After that success we had amazing films such as Bad Boys, Enemy of the State, Ali, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness, 7 Pounds and many more. His talents have been rewarded as an actor with two Best Actor Oscars, so there is no denying his talent.

All that is well, but my favourite thing about Will Smith are his ideologies and ways he lives his life. Here are a few of my favourite Will Smith quotes which sum these up:

“Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings & emotions” 

This is basically saying stop worrying about what those few people say that don't matter. This is a very important message because so many people change themselves because of what one person says about them.

“We spend money that we do not have, on things we do not need, to impress people who do not care.” 

This is all about the effect that money has on people. People become reckless with money and it is used to earn the acceptance of others. However money is not central to life and it should not be able to consume us. Money is an aspect of life, but there is more out there to experience.

“If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success” 

This is one of my favourites because it is about not allowing those negative people into your life once you have made it because when you were down they didn't support you. This is important, especially if you become high profile as people will try to use you. When you have nothing you see the true side to people, but when you have everything you see the falseness of the person.

Miscreation Update

It is finale night tonight and then the last two and a half months of spending nearly everyday with this wonderful cast, rehearsing for an amazing play, will be officially over. We have powered through two shows, they weren't perfect, but we did ourselves justice.

This project has been different to normal shows I have done and so far it has been the best, or at least joint with Grease. Having Dan, the writer, with us on this journey has been amazing, because not only can we ask questions and further the performance, but to see how proud he is of the entire project really makes me feel good about what we have achieved.

So tonight we will give the best performance of our lives and then go and celebrate all we have achieved together in such a short amount of time.

 

Our Deepest Fear

Here is another of my old posts, written on Friday 21st June 2013:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

This means that the thing we fear is the ability of doing something because we fear that by being successful we will make those around us feel bad, but in actual fact we do the opposite because by being the best we can be people are inspired to do the same. The line "your playing small does not serve the world" I my favourite line because of its hard hitting truth; what it means is that nothing will come from holding back.

This quote was originally by Marianne Williamson but some of you may have heard of it when it was adapted for Coach Carter as Timo Cruz, and the message is an important one for our lives as it is teaching is to never hold back and fear being vulnerable due to success. I have read many a motivational speech and quote, but I feel that none really tell the truth as well as this one. It captures a different side to people and grasps the true thoughts of people. Some do hold back because of what others feel, some are scared of becoming successful because of all the pressure placed on them and that is the reason why I love this quote

A Message For My Children

In the future I may have children and I thought it would be good idea for me to write down a message for them to read when they are thinking about where their lives are heading. I thought I'd write it from the perspective of the 18 year old me so that they can relate to it more, as we all know how teenagers feel when parents try to relate to our lives.

Dear Son/Daughter,
                                                You are now deciding upon your future, whether or not to go to university, what career you want to pursue, and creating a plan for your life. I understand that this is a difficult time for you, you are starting to split from childhood friends, you have fears about whether or not you are good enough, you have the pressure of exams and you may be scared about growing up too fast. I know at this point in time, it may seem like everything is happening at 150 miles an hour and that maybe you can't handle it. All I know is, you can.

I have been where you are now, I know it's hard to believe, but I faced all those things you are facing right now (unless you are my daughter, in which case you have a few more things on your plate). If I could go back in time and give myself some advice on what to do, it would have helped me so much to enjoy the end of that chapter. But seeing as though time travel is not possible (or is it yet?) I would like to pass on that advice to you instead.

1) Enjoy yourself. I know it seems cliché, but it's true. Instead of worrying about petty little things, enjoy what little time you have left, because believe it or not, these times right now will be the ones you miss the most. So if you argue with your friend, be the bigger person, sort it out and create memories that will last a life time.

2) Live. This is the time, when you are free. Although you may think you have so much responsibility, wait until you have to start paying rent, phone bills, buying your own shopping etc... So instead of sitting around indoors watching TV, or playing on your phone, go outside and live a little. Go for a bike ride with your mates, go play footie at the beach, do the things that you may not always get the chance to do, because when you have a full time job, or you have a pile of university work to do, or a house full of children, it's harder to hang around with your mates.

3) Dream. Don't be afraid to tackle the biggest dream you have, because if you don't you will have a lifetime of regrets. Make sure that what you are doing with your life, is something that will make you happy for the rest of your life. Know that I will support you in anything you ever want to do, and also know that anything is achievable.

When you have finished reading this, if you have any questions feel free to come and talk to me.

Love 
     Dad x

Personally I think we should all write one of these to our future children, because at least then they can really understand that we can relate.

Robert Frost

I'm going to be reposting some of my favourite posts from my old blog and I thought I'd start with this post about Robert Frost that I wrote on Saturday 20th July 2013:

Robert Frost was an American poet. Most of you will probably have heard of him, despite having been dead 50 years. The reason; he was an influential character and his poems depicted the realistic manner of the world. He had works such as 'A Soldier' which is talking about the soldiers that fight for us and 'The Oven Bird' which is telling us, through a woodpecker's perspective, that life is too short.

However my favourite thing that Robert Frost has ever written was “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.” The reason why this is amazing to me is because it really captures, in my mind, the main message of life. No matter what life throws at us and no matter how many time we are knocked down, it doesn't matter because life will carry on despite our troubles. This message for me is something that all people should live by, because if they do then they worry less about what went wrong and are more likely to focus on the positives, that life carries on.

Robert Frost, Poet and Legend

1874-1963

Thank You

In my life, I have been lucky enough to meet many people doing what I do and many of them have made an impact on the way on my life. I look up not only to my celebrity idols, but my real life idols, people that have affected my life positively. Because I started so young I had a lot of people teach me things about not only acting but life. I wouldn't be the man I am today without these very special people. There were also some people who have affected me because I try my hardest to be nothing like them, but less about them and more about the good people.

Mr Broomfield - Although it was a long time ago and I don't remember this time in my life very well, there is always someone that sticks in my mind and it is Mr Broomfield, my year four teacher. I remember that he was such a caring man, who taught me a lot about not being afraid to be different. When I was in my early years, I was slightly ahead academically, so I was a bit of trouble child because I never saw the need to do work, but Mr Broomfield taught me that I have to keep working to stay ahead. I was also a very hyper and weird child and I always kind of knew I was different to other children, but he never treated me any different, instilling in my mind that it's okay to be a bit weird. I owe a lot of my self confidence to this man and it is a massive shame that he was taken from this world to early, as he could have shown so many people the things he taught me.

Mr Shaw - Another teacher that I have fond memories of is my old music teacher Mr Shaw. I am not a musical person, so it may seem odd that he had such a impact on my life, but he did. Mr Shaw was different to other teachers, because with him, it always felt like he actually gave a damn about YOU. Not just the you the pupil, but the you the person. He made me realise things about myself that I never understood. He also is responsible for the spark that lead me to where I am now. I remember sitting in his office in year nine talking about my options and I told him that day that I wanted to be an actor. And he told me, that in order to do that, I would probably have to act, so for two years he pushed me to get experience and get involved and thanks to him, I have experience. I remember the last thing he said to me, about a month before he passed; I was thinking about auditioning for a pantomime at the local theatre, but I still had doubts about whether or not I was good enough and he told me "Go for it. You have to believe in yourself or you'll never get anywhere".

Stuart Spendlow - Now Stuart was one of the first people to give me a break in my hometown outside of school. He cast me as Friar Tuck in the local pantomime. I was 16 at the time and the things that Stuart taught me were extremely important, because at that time, I was starting to think bout my future. Stuart made me the most confident I had ever been in my life, because he never once judged me, even when I messed up all he ever did what encourage me to get back up and try again. He also helped me out whenever I was having trouble with family or friends. He also helped me through dealing with the death of Mr Shaw and kept me positive and gave me something to fight for. But most importantly he made me feel like somebody cared about me and that somebody believed in me and that is why I have his message to me framed on my bedroom wall.

Ms Walton - Now Ms Walton is possibly the most important person in my life because she saved me so many times that I can't even count. She was always there for me whenever I needed help, whether it be personal or work. She like all the others believed in me and that gave me comfort, because it meant that I could do anything I wanted. She was a friend when I needed advice and a teacher when I needed a push. I remember one time, I was having a terrible time at school and I was ready to lash out and I knew that there was one place in that entire school that I felt safe and that was her room. She, on that day, made me realise that people that say horrible things are the ones that need help, because they lash out at the people they want to be like. In those two years I had terrible lows and the only thing that kept me sane, were theatre and her words of wisdom.

Aaron Kenyon(my brother from another mother)- I met Aaron at university this past year and although we were just friends at the start of the year, we have grown so close that I can honestly call him a brother. I know that I can talk to him about anything and I know that he will listen and help me. If anything the best thing about our relationship is that we are honest with each other, there is no crap. We've learnt so much about each other and I know that this guy is one of the best guys in the world and he deserves a lot more than a shout out in a blog for everything he has had to endure. I can't wait for many more years with my brother from another mother.

There are many more I could list, John Hewer for being an amazing director/friend and making theatre the best experience ever. My family for always letting me do what I want and supporting me in everything I do. My friends, old and new, to name a few Ashley Standland (a great friend of whom I've had some brilliant times with and who actually told me about my first audition), Ollie Ewin (who not only was a great friend through sixth form, but is now with me at uni still having a laugh), Helen Crawshaw (We have a great relationship and I always enjoy being in her company because she's ace), Sophie Grundy (There is a photo at the bottom which sums us up), there are so many more. You guys are always there making life enjoyable. Malcolm Raeburn for teaching me so much about the industry I want to enter. Emily Bowman for helping me achieve so many things as well as always being there.

I am blessed to have had and still have these people in my life because they have made me into a strong independent and confident person with dreams as big as the universe and an attitude the chase them.

Oh and here's that photo, seeing as I couldn't find the words for our friendship:

Rehearsals...

So, I have not been posting as often as I wanted to with this blog, but I have been crazy busy with the Riverhead Producers event and my rehearsals for Miscreation. However one event has now passed so I thought I'd do an update on how Miscreation rehearsals are going.

The rehearsal process has been an absolute blast so far, because of a few reasons; we are all friends and enjoy each others company, we have an amazing director, and we have a hilarious script. Now that we are getting closer to the performance, it is starting to get more difficult (we still don't have a set, YIKES!), however we try our best to keep rehearsals fun, so that we can all still enjoy the fact that we are working on something that we can ll be proud of.

I am extremely proud of this production, not just because of all the adversity that we have faced, but because of the outstanding talent that will be on stage, showing that Louth may be small, but it definitely has talent.

The One Year Anniversary

So on Saturday night the Riverhead Producers had our one year anniversary. The event featured four music acts and a comedian. We also had food and drinks. This show was an amazing testament to what young people can do when they work hard and have a clear goal in mind. The event brought back some of our favourite acts that we have had as well as some fresh new faces, as a celebration of all we have accomplished and as a sign we aren't going to stop anytime soon. The audience loved the event and we received great feedback throughout the night, confirming that we are leaving a positive impression in people's minds. Not only did we pay tribute to what we have put on stage over the past year, but we also paid tribute to our fearless leader, of whom without we would be lost. Overall the event was amazing and I am extremely proud of everyone involved, but as they say... Onwards and Upwards! 

Writing

Okay, so I like to think of myself as a bit of a writer and I'll be using this holiday to focus on carrying on some projects I had to hold off because of my university commitments. Although my schedule is very hectic with a play coming up in July and event this month and a musical in August (details of that to come soon), I am going to be trying my very best to get as much writing done as possible. So here are some of my ongoing projects:

1) I am currently writing a play about four friends in their last summer together before they all go their separate ways. Of course, there will be some ups and downs, but the thing about this play is that it will not follow the stereotypical Hollywood script of resolution in the end. The ending is yet to be written but I have some ideas that will shock a few people. I love the characters I have written because each one is a little piece of me. I can't wait to finish this and hopefully pass it to a few of my writer friends to see what people think of and the dream would be to have it put on the stage.

2) I am also planning on getting together with a friend and rewriting our sixth form play 'Bedlam'. The play was a farce (intentionally) and we were really proud of it, however since we have both been at university together we realised that it needs a lot of work, because most of the time it made no sense. Hopefully I can find some time to at least start thus one, because I feel that this one would be really popular.

3) I also started writing a novel about a fourteen months ago and it got put on the backburner because of university, but I hope to start writing it again soon. It is an adventure novel and I have currently got twelve chapters and I am extremely proud of them and some of the plot twists. I feel the characters are relatable, lovable and yet remaining comical. I don't know whether this will ever be released as I know how hard it is to get a book published, but I will certainly try my hardest.

First Date

This year has been my first year at university, where I study media performance. One of my modules required us to make a short film, around 5 minutes long, using a set script from a film. Although we had a few problems creating this, we were all extremely proud of it, especially considering this was kinda the first time we had all done a project like this. The concept is a first date, hence the title, where a boy and girl are walking around Salford and then he invites her back to his flat. Then we see the character change. The message really is, you can't really judge a person from the first impression because people are not always what they seem. Hope you enjoy. (p.s it's best to watch it on YouTube on 1080HD).

Riverhead Producers

I currently work with a group called the Riverhead Producers in Louth. We are a collection of young people who work on creating alternative events within the local theatre. We have mainly focused on music gigs, but have recently put on workshops and have even had a sell out comedy night. I have been the longest member so far and I have seen the group go from strength to strength in the short amount of time we have been going. We are currently in the process of organising a one year anniversary gig, combining the past year with what we want for the future. I have been extremely privileged to work with the people that I have, meeting great musicians, good friends and even a minor celebrity. I can't wait to create more events over the next few years and carry on growing.

This picture was the first ever group photo taken

Miscreation

Currently I am working on a play written by Dan Christmas, a guy who won a scratch night at my local theatre to get this play produced. It is an extremely clever piece mixing serious issues with witty and farcical comedy. I am happy to be working with the director, John Hewer, for the second time because I hugely respect his directorial ability. I am also working with a number of actors for a second time, Natalie Clark, James Burgess, Jamie Harris and Lucy Cooper. The play itself will be challenging for a number of reasons; one, I am playing an Australian (crikey mate!), two, there is not a lot of time (it is on in a just over a month) and three, there is a lot of dialogue and actions to learn (and I mean a LOT). I am very happy to be working on this piece, because I truly feel that this piece will make me a better actor. For those in the Louth area it is on 3rd, 4th and 5th July and tickets are £6.00.