Where the Wild Things Are

I'm very, very excited by the prospect of this film.
For me, it's pretty much the best book ever written.

Dave Eggers & Spike Jonze have scriopted it, so it could be very interesting indeed.

Dance in the moonlight Max, and let the wild rumpus begin!

The embedding from youtube hasn't come through, so have a look at the following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM

The Fountain

When I first moved to the island of Mull I started listening to the radio in earnest.

One of the first programmes I remember hearing was something along the lines of Front Row or Saturday Review on Radio 4. In it the reviewers talked about Darren Aronofsky's film, The Fountain.

It seemed to divide the reviewers, some thought it utter tosh, while others thought it well worth a look.

It sounded like a mad conceit – two characters spread out through three eras, on the quest for eternal life.

The only other thing I'd heard that had divided the reviewers in such a way was Jonathon Strange and Mr Norell, by Sussanah Clark. It so happened that I got a hold of said book not long after the programme and fell totally in love with it.

So I thought The Fountain may, perhaps, be worth a gander.

For a couple of years now, while it's been out on DVD, I've heard friends talk about it in shocked tones, not quite knowing what they make of it, loving it or hating it. Some fell for it totally, others were not so keen.

The Fountain finally arrived via my love film account a few days ago, and last night Georgia and I sat down to watch it.

Firstly I must say that it is flawed. There are some moments of it that are just a touch too sentimental, too over played. But it is brilliantly flawed. Those moments pale in to insignificance beside the sweeping majesty and sheer joyful nonsense of the tale.

It feels like a very personal musing on love and obsession to me, much like Soderbergh's superb remake of Solaris (which I much prefer to the original, as it leaves so much to your imagination).

Hugh Jackman is just brilliant as an the threefold man Tom (possibly four fold if you consider what he's revealed to be). He must have had a great, crazy time making this film. He's always good value for money, but boy is he suoperb in this. He completely enters in to the madness and obsession of the character.

Rachel Weisz is ethereal, enigmatic and stunningly beautiful in this. She captures a great tenderness in the threefold character (possibly fourfold too), sparkling as Izzi in the modern day section. It's from her side that you really feel the relationship between the two characters. Where Jackman is focused and obsessed, she floats realistically at his side, driving him on subtly by her wonderful presence.

The music of The Fountain is totally intoxicating. It gives the images so much space to breath, it's quite brilliant. I've listened to the soundtrack twice today already. I bow down before Clint Mansell and doff my cap at his toes.

But what is it about?

God knows.

If you sup of the tree do you become at one through several points of time – and also the others who, too, supped? From the creator of the tree all the way to the end of the star?

Is God, an ecumenical sort, the absent character in the piece?

Or is it there all along?

It quite clearly states there is something bigger than all of us put together going on.

But what?

The images of this film will stay with me for ever. The macro photographed scenes of petri dish based outer space blew my mind.

The ending as the ship arrives at Xibalba and the attending silence made me whoop and cheer.

How that ties in to everything else is quite simply superb.

I'm not going to rant on about this film any more, but bloomin heck, I'm going to be digesting it for a long time to come.

Superb.

The Future of Drama Training?

Some rambling thoughts on the future of drama training.

Please excuse me if I'm talking from a performance based perspective, and don't mention the technical and production based sides of the industry in depth, but I think that the broad ideas of what I'm talking about here apply across the board.

It seems that the conservatoire approach to actor training is very much under threat these days. Look at the storm that the RSAMD recently weathered, and the desperately sad path that QM is following.

What is the future for the potential drama students of 5 or 10 years time (perhaps less)?

How will they be able to start to learn their craft?

Where can they go to get that first foot in the door, to feel empowered and enabled enough to start to explore their creative selves?

I think that some of the most important aspects of a training environment are space, time, security and exposure.

What I mean by these words, if you'll excuse my slightly esoteric ramblings, is:

Space – An actual space to play in and work, a space to learn how things work, a dedicated space that is for theatre training, not a classroom that the computers have to be moved around to get enough room to do anything.

A great space can be just as valuable to the student as the teacher. A space will ask things of you, talk to you, demand that you justify your presence there.

Time – That you get a set block of time, be that years, months, days or whatever that are specifically dedicated to the growth of your craft. Psychologically that's very important for the student actor. Do what you can to survive outside the hours of training, but when you're in the training environment you're there for that purpose, and you better bloomin' well justify your presence there.

Security – The security to fail. Possibly the most important aspect of this train of thought, for me. If you've got dedicated time and space set out to your training, you can then start to apply yourself to it, and to really learn, and, unless you're some sort of phenomenon, you're going to fail and fail again, for other reasosn as your learning progresses. Building on from those failures in a safe environment can give you such a massive frame of reference for the outside world.

Exposure - Exposure to an audience. It's the very essence of the performer's craft. It's where the greatest amount of learning takes place. In a solid establishment the frameworks that you need in place for a performance to happen are there, the student doesn't have to worry about marketing, front of house or anything like that, they rehearse and then they perform. The lucky things.

Take drama training out of such a secure environment, and the suddenly the pressures on the student surely become much greater, and the likelihood of exposure to an audience lessens considerably.

So what is the future for drama training?

Are there other models out there for how a student actor may start to learn their trade?

Do we go down the route of apprenticeships?

There's a lot of governmental talk about apprenticeships these days, but can that be applied to theatre? That would require a reshaping of the funding environment to see such a thing brought out across the board.

There's the oriental model for such a training, and, broadly similar the medieval route. But what would be a good approach for Scotland, now?

A centralised apprenticeship agency or two, providing groundwork classes and then sending apprentices off to study with companies?

Do we see the rise of private theatre schools, following the Lecoq / Gaulier style model, where the students pay large fees and are worked solidly for half the day, then go off for the rest of the day to earn their crust? Mind you, the paying of large fees seems to be a universal thing these days.

Perhaps a school on wheels? A roving set of foundation and skills workshops that travel the country from town to town, meeting for month long bursts of time in village and town halls?

Do theatre companies create short schools?

Does Berty the Magic Theatre Banana go and tap people on the head an make them in to performers?

The one thing that definitely needs to be in place for what ever the future may be is a system of quality approval. The training needs to be of high quality, and the more fractured that the training environment becomes, the harder it may be to assure such quality.

Performance Poyum

Enough is enough, thank you.

No, honestly, I couldn’t.

Not at all.

No, really.

Honest.

Well…

I shouldn’t really…

You know how it is…

But, I can’t say that I haven’t –

Go on then.

Just a wee bit.

Just dip it in the sauce.

Lovely.

Oh that’s good.

Oh that’s very good.

Why didn’t I try that one earlier?

Oh I like that one.

But this one’s my favourite.

Oh, yum.

Yum.

Yum, yum, yum.

I do like that one.

But, what about that one, the first one.

Oh it’s tasty.

I’ll just try one of these in there, in that first one.

Oh now, that’s just the ticket.

Will it taste the same with one of these in that sauce?

Oh!

Oh!

Goodness!

I like that, oh I do like that.

What happens if you mix the two together?

Oh yes, I like that too!

Mhmmm.

There’s not much of it left, I may as well finish it off.

Ach what harm will it do?

It’s just a wee bitty.

There.

Just like that.

And that.

And… that…

Now…

Aw.

There’s none left.

Aw.

I don’t feel well.

Shetland and elsewhere

I find myself sat cross legged on my bed in a B&B in Lerwick, Shetland.

It's been good to get away from Mull for a bit.
As much as I love my life there, I really do appreciate getting away from it from time to time.

I went through to Edinburgh to catch up with some pals on the Friday night, after having forced my self to do work all the way on the train from Oban.
It was a nice night, and we even caught a play at the Travarse. It wasn't a great piece, but it was very well acted, especially by that bright young star still in ascendance, Owen Whitelaw.
A top chap, and one to watch out for.

So after that we ended up in a club listening to 80's and 90's dance. Oh lordy.
I jsut don't fit in, in club environments. I'm totally out of place. But ach well, it was fun.
And then I finished off the night by being informed that I was, indeed, the other man in someone's affections, but she was considering heading off to the land of Oz with the first fella. Which was nice.

Oh well. I am a bachelor, and a bachelor I shall remain.
More Star Trek... More...

Well, on Monday I flew up to Shetland, from Glasgow, and saw the whole of the west coast of Scotland open up there in front of me. Amazing. The best plane ride I've ever had.

So in Shetland I've spent the odd day here and there leading a workshop or two, eating like a porcine individual and generally soaking up the lovely atmosphere.

But the reason I started writing this was to describe the very strange experience I had after a workshop on Tuesday night.
Jackie, who has organised my trip, said to head on down the pub after the workshop had finished, and she'd meet up with us there.
So I got a lift from one of the participants, who asked me if I fancied a wee trip around Lerwick on the way.
My current philosophy being a 'yes' approach to life, I said 'ok...'.

So off we headed roon the toon.
For the first 5 mins, her hazard lights kept flashing, which she was totally unaware of, whilst singing along to Amy MacDonald...
And then when we came to turn round and head off back to the pub, she took the car up an alleyway, past loads of houses, and then reversed (showing me that the car had a reversing camera and screen) straight into another car. She didn't say much.
We just drove off.
Eventually she said that "That happens all the time in Shetland"...
Pictures of James Caan in a bed kept flashing in to my head.

hmm...

But since then things have been perfectly fine and normal. Mostly.

Today was spent travelling around the mainland on the quest for otters with the boys and girl from the company.

And now, perhaps a wee battered sausage supper and chips.

I like being on the road.

Bachelorhood

I guess I kind of set it as a marker of sadness, or perhaps just simple singularity of masculinity.
I always thought that those kind of people who buy Star Trek series on video or DVD are standing out as archetypal bachelors.

Well.

I've just ordered the 1st Season of Star Trek The Next Generation on DVD.
In my defence it was cheap-ish, and it's been at least 10 years since I've seen any of it.

But does this mean that I'm a sad bachelor pushing 30?

Oh jings....

A Lively Fellow

I took a trip from Tobermory to Colonsay, and back round the west coast of Mull on the Waverley last weekend.
It was astonishing how beautiful the journey was.

Whilst on the boat I met Alasdair Gray - a genuine all time hero of mine.

After having written quite about about my dead heroes on this page, I think I'll now give some thoughts over to a living one.

I must remember to update this blog soon...

More soon.

A