oook... sorry it took so long!

Hi guys! So I know I haven't written in ages, so here it is! The two days filming on the set of Cuckoo! (webisode series for RTE Storyland!)

Ok Well here goes, it began on the Tuesday night, when I got my hair trimmed and Dyed by the awesome Eileen Buggy! (wife of the great Nial Buggy!) who was amazing and dyed my hair to a naturalistic red color!

Sorry, not the greatest image but whatevs! 

 Anyway... So then that night I met Maria, Marie and Muara. the make up artist, the Producer and the costume manager. That was a fun experience! And eventually I met Danann and Colum (The director and camera man) and also Denise McCormack who plays Tina Vickers. who is amazing! xx

Wednesday was bright and early at 8am on set in a house in Ranelagh where I met the rest of the lovely cast! Yay!! and it was a long day!!! we didn't wrap until 8pm and it was constant filming!! With a nice dinner break! xx we filmed all the house scene that day with Brian, Orla and even the little
Erin! and Bad ass Jeff and my girl Rosin!! love that girl! ! Yay! So bedroom scenes and kitchen scenes! and it was great!

Thursday was the same, 8am start! but this time we weren't at the house, we were in Ranelagh luas station! So we did a few scenes on the luas and just outside the luas, and then of course a couple scenes in a nightclub which was great fun to do!! All in all the days were long but i loved every minute of it and I hope we will get to film the rest of the episodes so please stay tuned because I'll be back on here to plead for your votes! xx
so here are a few lil photos from the set...

So this is what I learned, from my days shooting on both Titanic and Cuckoo:

be prepared to wait around!! There is a lot of down time between shots and scenes as it takes time to set up camera and lights

also, be prepared for a lot of smoke!!! The smoke adds depth to the room on camera, it was used both in Cuckoo and Titanic, kinda like dry ice, but it's not, and it's not as thick! So be warned there will be some smoke and some funny smells...

Working with glasses is hard!! Because eI have to wear glasses for my character of Niamh Keegan, it was hard to work glasses when I've never had any. This is not because it strains my eyes or anything, because it's clear glass... it's because the lens reflect light... so you've got to careful and weary of the angles you're playing in because the glass could reflect the light or an image of the camera.

everyone is amazing!! It's such a team work experience when you work on a set and the thing I love is that when you watch it back it obviously looks like two people in a room talking, when really there's ten people max. in the room operating light and sound and cameras and directing and assisting... it's awesome! xx

So then, I think thats really all I have to offer for now! I'll definitely write some more and post a few vlogs concerning face routines and also audition outfits! x

See you guys later!

Peach out!

Opportunity

It's the decisions you make in life that will affect you the most. Should you live in the moment and abandon your morals? Or make the choice your think is the right one and hope that someone will respect you for the choice you made to stick to your principals. I made a choice recently that will affect the rest of my life. I stuck to my principals even though my body was begging for something else. But I stood firm and even though that choice might never happen again and perhaps I'll always wonder what if, I think that it's better wonder what if rather than regret doing something. And maybe I'll get the opportunity again and the circumstances will be different and I will choose the other road without any qualms, but for now what will be will be. Don't ever feel pressured into doing something you don't think is right or goes against your morals, because then you're changing who you are and I think it is always better if you stick to who you are and have people respect you for who you are instead of tying to impress with someone you're not. In other news, I went to the titanic wrap party last night and had a great night! With Karl shiels, Anthony Morris and my driver mick and pat Larkin! I my the director who cast me and the producer who wanted to meet me! It's all about the network in this business guys! So get in with who you can just don't do it in a way that's really not appropriate! Ok that's all! Stay tuned for more! I am also delighted to officially announce I've been cast in Cuckoo for RTE stoyland which if you saw this blog befor you'll notice I took that piece down because I want technically allowed to release that information! But now I am! And I'll write about the two days I spent filming and the people I met and some strong advice! Xx Also to come, vlogs about facial care, audition outfits and acting essentials! Xx Stay reading! Peach! Ps, Kevin zegers is an amazing bit of eye candy! Xxx nom

titanic filming!

okey dokey, so here it is! The day of filming now in blog form!!

So at 10am I was collected by a really lovely driver called Mick. He was very sweet and welcoming. I arrived just after ten at Base where I was shown my trailer, the make up truck, the costume truck and the tea and coffee stand. I settled in my trailer for a little while,  it was lovely and warm in there let me tell ya!!  and then went right on over to hair and makeup! Where I met a lovely make up artist Katie!

We chatted as she did my makeup, completely natural by the way, it is a period drama after all. And i had a lovely lil cup of tea, it was freezing outside! before I was shipped over to Eimaer for Hair. She took around half and hour or so, possibly more on my hair for the scene. She's extremely talented and so lovely!!

I was then told I might be called for an earlier scene as well, but that wasn't going to go ahead. So I hung out in my trailer and read plays for college work. I was then told at around 12.40 to go to set to rehearse my scene. I went there and was put into the green room, with a lovely big heater and some refreshments but they never got round to the rehearsal, so... LUNCH!

We all headed back to base, I got into a car with Billy Carter who is extremely gentlemanly and lovely altogether. We all lined up at the lunch truck, which is where I met Kevin Zegers too. Very nice also. I had some Chicken, with soy and mirin sauce and some mash which I ate in my trailer then went to hang out in make up, as it's really lonely all the time!! Kevin joined us in the makeup trailer for a bit of banter before having to go back to work.

I went back to my trailer while they all went to set to continue work. And the waiting began. It's just a lot of waiting around all the time guys. Not very exciting. At around half 3 Tamzin came to my trailer to put me in costume! A  beautiful full length navy dress, and hand made leather italian shoes! ah! gorgeous! and of course, the corset! ha! it turned out that the corset she had was actually too big, so it closed all the way, but no matter, I was in tight enough anyway and now I could still breathe!

Immediately after I was taken to set! where I watched Billy work, from the directors screen in the next room! It's fascinating stuff really! and It felt so exciting! seeing the set and everyone in costume. Then it came to my scene, which took approximately over an hour to shoot, just from different angles and different direction.

During which time we had 5 mins to relax and head to the green room where I chatted with Billy and Kevin.

Once we wrapped for the day Kevin and I decided to get a drink! so I had a quick drink with Kevin and then he walked me to the Luas station on Steven's green.

I had the most amazing day! and I had a lovely time with the entire cast and crew! they were all truly wonderful! xx

So thats my day of filming in writing! Hoped you enjoyed reading! If you have any questions, let me know. xxx

post coming! but for now.. here's mr zegers

ok sorry i know you're all waiting on the titanic post and it'll be up tomorrow! promise! I 've just had a long day! But after it i had a drink with Kevin Zegers which was lovely!

Post up tomorrow! watch this space!

Titanic filming tomorrow!

Oh gosh! I'm so excited! I can't wait to get there! I got my call sheet today! my own call sheet! God it's all real! ..Ah look at me, me and my one lil line! Still though! It is a line none-the-less! And I'm proud!

I'm so excited! I'll be working with Billy Carter and Kevin Zegers I believe! Oh yes!! So very anxious! I will be collected at 10! Make-up at 10.30! and then costumed and ready for 12pm! wowzers!!

I hope it's the same outfit i wore for the costume fitting! I love that beautiful dress! I have a feeling I'm going to be very tempted to take photographs, but of course thats not allowed! still! They'll remain in my head forever no doubt!

I will post tomorrow to let you all know how it went! oh wow!  I hope I don't screw this up!!!

Lol!!

chat ya laters!!

wednesday

So Titanic ran got day and it turns out i'm working on wednesday instead! So There won't be a post tomorrow night but hopefully there will be on wednesday night! yay!

I was supposed to work tomorrow and I cancelled my driving test and all but I guess thats the way it goes in showbiz, it's never a set timeframe!

So.. my driving test is rebooked, thank god, probably would have failed anyway and hopefully I'll be getting a call about Cookoo which I auditioned for on sat! Gosh, To be honest I'm not sure how that went.  I think I kept looking down a lot, which I know is a no-no when auditioning for film. and you know I believe I could have been a little more upset during one of the scenes.. So I've been kinda kicking myself for that! sake!

Oh also,  I begin my lil normal job in Penneys in Wexford next monday and once I start getting money in I'm going to work on getting definite Audition Outfits!

So when I do get around to getting audition outfits then I'll post them here and probably do a little vlog..

Also thinking about doing a monologue from Mean Girls in the spirit of Dramsoc this year as we're having a Mean Girls night on Wednesday evening.. if i'm done working on Titanic that is! but what do you guys think?

I want to know your opinion so feel free to comment below!!

Thanks guys!

messing up on stage

Like I said in my post "about last night" I have never been more terrified to go onstage, because I knew, that the actor I was working with had no idea about his lines. It's the most horrible thing in the world to not trust the ability of the actors you are working with. And that was what terrified me, I knew I could not trust him.

I knew my lines but he didn't know his and soI knew that I would have to carry the scene. The main thing to do in this situation is to stay calm! To try and calm yourself completely before going on stage.

And the most important rule: STAY IN CHARACTER!

whatever you do or say onstage, don't break character! commit to everything you do! Don't half heartily do something, do it, with conviction! If you know your lines and your movements and your partner does not then you take the lead in the scene. I hinted at him what to do, in character and he didn't do it!

This is where improv comes in handy, NEVER SAY NO! If I know my lines and I even know your lines, then when I hint at you to do something or if I say, "aren't you happy to see me?" say yes!! Never say no when you're in such a mess that it's improv! And If I hint to you in character to call someone on the phone, Don't go over to the phone and ask me why i've said that or what good will that do! I just gave you a clue to what you are supposed to do!

Now, fair enough, not knowing your lines then you probably wouldn't know what to say when you get to the telephone or who to call, but that is something I've said in another post, know what your goal is in the scene!! What are the main actions and what is your character trying to get across? If you know that then when I hint for you to use the telephone it'll click in your mind that you're supposed to ring such and such a character.. even if you didn't know what to say you could improvise.

The main thing is this post is firstly, learn your lines, and secondly, trust your partner!

Also a couple of things to note:

If you know your lines and you've made a mistake and jumped a few lines, then just carry on, you and your partner should just carry on! and then when you get offstage, forget about it! Forget the mistake you made and leave it in the past or it'll ruin your entire performance!

And secondly, Don't ever jump back!!! If your partner has skipped a page of dialogue, unless that dialogue was absolutely imperative to the main storyline, then you never jump back! just keep going! just continue until the end of the scene! when you jump back to something completely pointless then it'll put you and your partner off and when you come back up to the phrase you jumped ahead to then your thought process is lost and then queue the awkward teeth pulling silence.

Don't corpse on stage when you or another character says something funny. there is nothing worse than an actor who is hilarious but then laughs or smiles at their own lines or actions on stage. It doesn't look right at all. If your line is said in a deadpan way then your face should remain neutral while the audience laughs their head off! keep your face steady! If you know the line/ action will get a laugh then practice it so many times that you really don't find it funny anymore. Because when you corpse on stage, it makes you and your partners loose character, which if you'll notice above is the most important rule in this post!!!.. and consequently in the theatre!! don't ever break character.

So that's my little rant and points about messing up on stage. But honestly all I can say is, that it is shameful to go on the first night of performance, and in fact all nights of performance and not know your lines. If you're an actor your first requirement is to know your lines. Know your lines and know your goal/aim in the scene.

Thanks for reading!

Peach out!!

About last night....

So last night was the first night of present laughter... Well let's just say I'm still alive. I think it's fair to say that noel coward's script was fairly butchered! So this is what the main reason for this disaster was, people, fundamentally didn't know their lines. Not putting the blame on anyone but the main character is Gary Essendine and he carries the show and his lines were dropped. Not just one or two but pages! THat just messed up everyone else's queues and fucked it up basically. We all laughed it off because we all did forget lines, but really I have never been so terrified to go on stage in my entire acting life! My first scene, second and third were fine. It wasn't until act 3 that it all went tits up! My scene involves intimate dialogue with Gary Essendine and so when he dropped lines and queues in the first 3 mins and forgot to ring his wife then it just settled into crippling silence!!! Crippling, like pullin teeth! He rambled and asked me a question which wasnt to be asked until the end of my scene!! And i actually said the words i dont know!! On stage! In character came the words "well, i dont know". I couldnt imput anything because I was totally lost when his lines and even intention in the scene was lost and I didn't know where to go! It was awful until he copped on and rang his wife. Then my Braun clicked into action. I made my memory come back and I was on track! I just Went into a monologue because I knew he was totally lost and would just drop he ball of he whole scene so monologue it was and I felt so relieved when his wife enters because we knew we could pick it back up from the floor, from those dreadful silences and from the sadist dentist room floor on which were all the metaphorical teeth I plucked in my silence!!! So tonight, we go on. And I'm terrified! Honestly. I'm about to Do a line run with the cast and I'm hoping we all know our lines and our queues!!! All in all the play although adlibbed quite a bit, the story was not lost and apparently the show was not that bad. We pulled it off despite the slip ups. It also didn't help that it was the first night of Caberet was on at the same time so we had 6 people in the audience! So it just went pear shaped from the start but for our first run on the set and with lights and sound so we did well considering... Anyway tonight should run smoothly! Wish us luck!!

first improv pre-team lesson

So I've discovered that the improv team has not been finalized and instead we are all just on extended auditions. And I had my first class today! so inspiring!

There were only a few of us, 7 when it began and then it broke to like 5 including the host. Our host is amazing! I learnt so much today.

we played a rhyming warm up game which helps to break the ice and release you're inner funny. so that was fun, didn't really learn anything there as there isn't a technique to that.

We tried to focus today on Character and Objective in improv. There are rules to improv that can be summed up as follows, C. R. O. W. (E).

C--- character
R--- Relationship
O--- Objective
W--- Where (where are you?)
(E)--- Silent E, Emotion

Today we were working on character. Our host advised us that if we are unsure of character to be on stage as we are about to walk on, 'follow your foot' just go with it. Try think of someone you hate or someone who is completely opposite to you. Or even if you go on as yourself and can't think of a character, go on as yourself but give yourself an adjective, like confused or excited or rushed...

just go on with a really great statement. so there is no question about character or objective or where you know? So something like "Mom I don't want to go to the zoo today it's raining, and it's china all they have are pandas" So in that sentence there is sooo much to work with, the other person can now have no doubt about who they are or where they are.

Again, always accept what you're given, don't deny it or say something like "who you calling mom? I'm your sister?" you know what I mean? No questions and don't just bat someone down.

Also we played a few games that I'm totally shit at! So rap games and a game where the objective was to legitimize taking the other person's hat. I was totally rubbish at them, but I accepted that I was rubbish at them and then I went with just being really really awfully bad at it. Because I just went with it, and if you commit to it whole heartedly then something funny will come out.

Also I learnt that you should build and build on a scene, such as " You didn't do you're homework... you can't go outside..." that would turn into something like "alright listen you can go outside only if you take this umbrella with you, the plant had a meltdown and so acid is spewing like rain" Or something along those lines, you can't just go from somewhere straight to crazy town because then you're just trying to be funny, let the scene develop and accept what you're given.

Also It's not enough to just say yes and accept it. Sometimes it is, but you should always say Yes And... so add to the scene build with your partners.

Um.. thats all for now! I should probably go do my readings for tomorrow and for my essays! oh joy!

Hope this post was of some interest/help!!

Really quick ending actually, there was no sort of summing up or winding down there... strange.

Ok bye!!

learning lines

Sigh.. we've all got to do it... and lets face it, sometimes there is just too much going on in your life, especially if you're a student like me, to sit down and concentrate for a few hours on a piece of paper.

Right now I'm learning lines for Joanna in Present Laughter. And I have some tips that may or may not help you when it comes to learning lines:

Firstly, do it scene by scene and page by page. Read the scene. Read the entire scene first and find out what is my character saying in this scene? what is the aim or motivations for what they are saying? Understand what is happening in the scene first and you'll learn the lines way quicker than if you try learn it line by line and not focus on what that character is saying.


 Second. Go back to the top of the scene and set a goal, for example I'm going to learn from page 200-201. Goals always help me and if you sit down and put a time limit on it then it tends to help. so lets say you're going to learn page 200-201 in the next 10mins.

Thirdly, read it twice, and concentrate on the words, even over exaggerate the words and say every syllable in your head. You already know the meaning of the conversation as you've done step one. So now you have to get your mouth used to saying those words and the sounds they make on your ear.

Fourth, After reading it twice. Read it again as if you have just thought of those words, you were actually having a conversation with someone. and then look away and see how much of the lines do you know?

Fifth, look back and see what you remembered. If it helps, act it out as you're saying it. I normally don't act it out, i tend to look at the line, look away and say it, look back and read it then look away again.

I hope that helps anyone learning lines at the minute. That's just my technique so hopefully that helps....

um, thanks for reading!

Peach

To refilm or not to refilm... That Is the question

Hello! So yesterday i spent the day filming with my boyfriend, a small Irish monologue for my showreel. It was from the play I had done professionally. Then as we were walking home from the filming I realised that I had said part of the monologue wrong! Shit! So I'll probably have up film it again!... Or will I? What do you think? Because its an amateur showreel could I maybe put 'adaptation of an extract from "lay me down Softly" by billy Roche? Do you think I could go that? Instead of going back and refilming? Because yesterday the light was perfect and we got some really lovely shots for my monologue... I'm going to call billy today and see if I'm allowed to use the extract from his script... I'm so worried he'll say no, but I'm sure it'll be fine! Tomorrow I'm filming some more stuff in Dublin in my friends apartment for my showreel. See if I have to refilm my Irish monologue then I'll have to do it next weekend... Sake. Anyway enough of that. I had a great time filming and I think I'll use my boyfriend more often as he has a great eye for detail and he's an artist and do naturally is very artistic!! We filmed using my iPhone4s. The clip will be added to my YouTube when it's fully edited. Ps I hope you enjoyed my girl interrupted speech! I thought I might as well have something up on YouTube. I'll have more clips up soon enough! Xx Thanks for reading . If you have any advice for my predicament please comment below, or of you have any general advice about an amateur showreel please help!! Much appreciated!! Peach out!

first youtube video!

http://www.youtube.com/user/appeleyes?feature=mhsn#p/a/u/0/Gv1hnnV5Hcc

pretentious people

Everyone knows someone who is a little pretentious, who is just that little bit of an ego-head. Well in the world of theatre, they're everywhere!! And it's just so upsetting to meet those people, because underneath all the pretentious wank that they put on, they are probably really nice people. They just need to let go of all their paranoia about the world and to stop trying to put on a show! Performing on stage and on screen is totally different to performing in everyday life, and some people should just really give it up.

Why do you pretend to be someone you are not? It's so strange. I read a quote recently that said you could make more many friends in 2 days by being interested in other people, than  you would in two years by trying to make other people interested in you. So guys give up the act. People can and will like you for who you really are.

And also, I've noticed lately in the world of drama, there are a lot of men, who are, lets put it this way, 'up for some'. Fair enough, the men I seem to be associating with these days are in the ages of 17-25. However, let me give you a quick lesson in girls and their 'sensitivities'.

What women want to hear:
You look beautiful today

What women don't want to hear:
You look hot today. Seriously. I mean wow. Like so hot. Wanna do some stuff?...go somewhere maybe?

So what did we learn here? Right both begin the same way. But it ends after a compliment. Yeah? Get me? Just shut up. When you say 'you look beautiful' we blush and smile and think, 'aw that's so sweet'. when you go on about it, we think 'ok, shut up already...perve i'm not your prize'.

(slightly femist post i've noticed... seem to be in that mood)

Just things like that. They are probably really bad examples. But come one guys, I for one don't like the sex comments. And when I say I've got a boyfriend, that doesn't mean, 'ah sure it's a bit of a challenge'. It means, I'm in love and obviously not interested. I hate when men, especially touchy guys who think they're all that and a bag of tayto try it on with you, touch ya and make sly remarks about sex and appearance... like really? Piss off... Have a little feckin charm at least!

Arg! Ok sorry that was a bit of a feministic rant right there, but come one girls? Am I right? Its one thing to be complimented and it's another thing to be perved on.

Anyway I'll leave my lil rant here. Again sorry, but,... kinda not..

Anyone agree??

Peach

UCD improv!

Booya!! I got in! yay! so bring on the funny times and bring on the new info and all the learning! I'm so happy I got into the improv team because I firmly believe there is so much you can learn from other actors and their techniques! So bring it on! I'm like a sponge!  a super sponge!! absorb absorb!! yay!! Can't wait for the side splitting comedy to come!! xx

shite!

So today was the third night of Riders To The Sea. The first two nights were great! I loved it! I felt so engaged... but tonight I just felt.. well shite. I couldn't cry. I know that sounds a bit shit, but it was if i knew the audience were there where as before I paid no attention to them. It was super hard to concentrate and my father and brother were in the audience tonight. I just felt judged, throughout the whole play. And it made me feel utter shit!!

So my plan is to get a very good sleep tonight!! And tomorrow I'm heading in to the improv audition for the college team!! So I am very excited about that and I think it'll give me the break i need! And then I'm going to be filming a little scene or two and I'll be posting it  here and on youtube soon enough! Hopefully by sat! or sunday! going to get the ole boyfriend to help me edit them!!

My friends have also been such an inspiration to me and I think I'll give singing on youtube a go!! Acting first tho eh? concentrate on one thing at a time! I can't wait to get this showreel done and sent to my agent and get me some more work!! HA!

Onward and upward, isn't that what they say? So no more being shite!! I just have to concentrate and get in the zone. Before the show there is a soundtrack of waves and wind. It is so nice to just sit in character for a while, and hear the wind and sea as if I were really on the Aran Islands.

What I find is really helpful before the show is to go off on my own and just sit in character. Think in character. I imagine the small cottage, and I imagine sitting on the edge of a cliff, with a pail of some kind next to me, and feeling the wind on my face and the sea spray in my hair. It is so calming and its also quite depressing though so i wouldn't do this for too long! But I find that if you're about to go on and you can't focus, just take 20mins or so to yourself, and imagine your character in thought, and maybe even go through a day in the life of their character. imagine waking up in the morning as your character, obviously, what do they see, what do they think about when they wake up? It's really interesting to think in this way, I have never thought in character before and I find it exhilarating because it just gives you more depth!!


so I think thats all now, Oh I got a note on diction from last night, so before the show when we were running through lines, just really really enunciate every syllable because it does help when you're on stage later, you don't realize it but your brian really pronounces the words later on when you're doing it for real.

So um.. thats all my little tid-bits for you...

See ya guys!

Peach!

IMPROV

So last thursday I went to my first improv class with dramsoc. It was amazing! The girl, who shall not be named, who taught the class was incredible! I was watching her with awe!! So here are some of the handy tips I learned that I will pass on to you!

1. Don't try over do yourself in a character, try to stick to your own personality, and let your 'inner funny' come out.

2. The next one is, recognize the game. So there will be a sentence someone says or something someone does that you should latch too. So if example someone says, "I can't, my feet are too big.. they've always been an embarrassment", then latch to that until something else comes out, or new information is produced. this would be like, your banter topic.

3. Don't ever begin with a question or refrain from asking too many or any at all, the idea here is, when you do this then you put all the responsibility on your partner and in improv it's all a team act! so play the game and share the responsibility!

4. Always supply information, don't ever say no or stay silent or say the same response over. This is because it causes the improv to go in circles and not progress.

Um.. That's all I can remember for now! So i'll be back with more tips from the most amazing teacher! yay! I'm going to audition for the improv team so it'll be deadly!


So thats all for now! my little readers!
Peach out!

Character development

So guys I'm currently in three different up-coming Dramsoc shows (one is actually running this week), and I thought I'd do a little blog about character development and how it helps to keep you on your toes and how it makes each charter different.

The character I am currently spending the most time on is Michelle Dubois from "Allo Allo" which is running in UCD dramsoc this week. Michelle is a leader of the French Resistance in wartime France. This is crucial information when thinking about Michelle. Firstly French culture isn't so alien to me as I love french and France itself, but the 1940's France is new to me. So It is important to read up on research of this time period because remember, what you say on stage is coming from the character and it is important to distinguish between the character and the actor.
   We did workshops on character a few times in rehearsals, and this is what we did. Walk around the room as your own person, as the actor. Notice how fast you walk, what parts of your body move, how your feet are placed. This will make it easier for you to know when you have stepped out of character on stage. Feel the ground and the way you hold yourself, do you look ahead? Do you look down? Is your back straight or curved, are your shoulders back or forward. Then slowly think about your character and how they would walk, how they would place their feet. Michelle, is paranoid and wears ridiculous disguises so I have her walking slightly hunched over (except when in disguise) and her footsteps are longer strides than mine, and lighter so as to not draw attention to herself. Her head moves quickly to take in her surroundings, she speaks softly but audibly. These are her characteristics and they are quite different to mine so I know when I am out of character. It is difficult to be a character in disguise, because they are trying to put on a performance over their normal attributes, Michelle dresses as a nun, a gendarme and a prostitute. The main thing I focus on here is the head, how does her head move. Her body may move differently, i.e., more upright for the gendarme (french police) and more hunched as a nun. But her head movements stay the same, sharp movements. Take in everything.

Doing small workshops and noticing how your body moves is extremely useful for when you are doing a lot of character driven plays. Another production I'm working on is "Riders to the Sea" by J.M. Synge  which will be performed next week. I play the role of Nora, who is the youngest in the play, possibly mid teens and who is the quietest. She is soft and gentle in her movements. She is much closer to Maurya than she is to Cathleen and Bartley. I feel that she is sisterly to Cathleen of course who would inform her of the ways of the world more so than Maurya would, but she would never really speak out of turn to Bartley. I feel this is because she respects him as the older man and the only son left in the household. Very chauvinistic I know but this play is not exactly set in modern times. Her character is completely different to that of Michelle so it is not hard at all to pop in an out between characters. Both born in completely different eras, Michelle is french and used to mainland France. Nora is born and raised on The Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland and is taught that men are out to work and woman are to stay at home. Because she is closer to Maurya her views are similar to her mothers.

I discovered all this information about Nora because of a workshop with the directors. It proved so useful for getting into the mind frame of Nora. Ask yourself questions. Simple questions at first like, Who is this character closest to in terms of relationships? And then proceed to questions like, what happened the night before this play was set? What will happen to the character after? What is the thought process right now from line A to line B. This will come in handy in terms of emotion. Nora is young and so she hasn't got the greatest amount of control on her emotions and so she cries quite a bit. The thought process helps with the bringing up of emotions. I find whenever I have a line that is riveted with emotion I can't help but cry. If you are deep into the thought process and the inner workings of a character it really isn't hard to cry at all.

 So keep thinking about your character. Believe in every word you are saying, because they aren't just lines on a page, every sentence has a purpose and needs to be said accordingly. the other character I'm playing is Joanna from "Present Laughter", who I will address in a later post as the other two shows are the more prominent as "Allo Allo" is on this week and "Riders to the Sea" is on Next week.

stay tuned for more!! I will hopefully post up videos soon enough of me acting, perhaps of these characters so that it'll help you in some sense grasp what I'm saying.

Thanks for reading! sorry it's a bit long-winded!!

Peach out!! xxxx

DEVASTATED and EXHAUSTED

So.....

On monday I received a phone call from the wonderful Assistant Director of Titanic to inform me that in two days time I would be shooting the scene for Titanic and that they would collect me from my accommodation in Dublin but would call me tomorrow for more details about Wednesday (this call being on Monday).

Today I waited all day for the phone call. I told all my tutors and directors for the Dramsoc plays that I'm waiting on a call that I must take when it comes in. All were of course understanding. Just after half past 3, I got a phone call. Not from the company but from my agent, who informed me that he was terribly sorry to bring bad news but the scene was re-written and I was not going to be in Titanic: Blood and Steel. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!

Needless to say I was devastated because I was terribly excited. I absolutely loved the costume I tried on in the costume fitting and I was so excited about what would have been my first TV experience. Alas it was not to be. Hopefully I will get another job soon though. Although they have cut me out of the script (understandable in such a huge production under time constraints) they are still going to pay me the full shilling. This was in case I could have been offered a different job on that date but I had said no, so really they needed to pay me. (that's how I see it anyway). So when it comes down to it, I suppose it's not that bad really. Still... would have loved for my little scene to happen. Oh well.

Also I'm absolutely drowned with stress and pressures of Family life, college and balancing 3 up-coming Dramsoc plays. I have decided, since I was going to be working tomorrow anyway and have written to my tutor for the one class I have tomorrow, that I'm taking the day off. Because even my weekend was busy with rehearsals. So every now and then a girl needs to do what a girl needs to do. And this girl needs a break!!!

It didn't help that I walked to college today and my socks were so wet the whole day. I have a headache now and a bit of a sore throat, so I hope that I'll be ok for tomorrow night's show.


OH YES!! THE SHOW!! Gosh, I forgot! Last night was the first production of "Allo Allo". It was quite good considering it was our first full run with all the props, music and costume changes (I have quite a few). tonight was much better however. so I think the rest of the run will follow in the footsteps of tonight.

I think I'll leave it at that for now. I will post later on, possibly tomorrow about great techniques for character development.


Stay tuned for my next adventure!

Peach out!

DRAMSOC and POSITIVITY

So, as I believe i previous stated, I'm becoming very involved in the Dramsoc projects at UCD. Today I'll have dress rehearsal for "Allo Allo"where hopefully we'll get so much done that we'll finish early... well, here's hoping! xx
I also had rehearsals last night for a play I've recently been cast in: "Riders of the Sea"by J.M. Synge.  As I go along I'll let you know the thoughts on my character and how I channel emotions as the play deals with the recent death of two brothers. I have a twin brother who I'm close to so I don't think it's quite hard to imagine what the loss of him will feel like. More on that next week when proper rehearsals begin.

I have been having the worst possible issues pressed on me for the last 6 months, which recently exploded  a couple nights ago. It has left me emotionally and physically drained but I carry on and push through. Because we all should try our best to not inflict your circumstances on to others, and affect them just because you're having a crap day. That is not to say that you should bear the load yourself, if you have great friends or a boyfriend that you can talk to like I do, then you should. Provided that the information you relay stays between you as know one else should be discussing your business.

I have also been recently aware of how people act around me. A friend's blog reminded me that you cannot always trust people and you should try and keep the negative ones out. It is a truth that has echoed throughout my life. Moving from South Africa to Ireland was a big change, and people say things or do things that are hurtful to you because you're different. In college it's not so much the fact that you're different, but it's your personality, how you treat other people, that affects how you are perceived and treated. In a name game in the rehearsals and warm ups in Dramsoc, we come out with an adjective to describe ourselves that begin with the same letter as our name. Mine is "Positive Pagan". And that is how I plan  to remain, positive. It's so much easier to be a negative person so I believe that if you are positive you make every effort to bring light into any situation.

"If you see someone without a smile, give them yours"--- Dolly Parton.

So if you are an actor facing difficulties juggling a dysfunctional family, a relationship, college work and your slow moving actor career, then my advice to you is to stay positive!! Because you might just be in a shit mood one day and bump into someone really important and be mean to them and they may never hire you. Stay positive, be kind and help who-ever you can because at the end of the day, someone may remember you in 50 years time as being the person who made a difference.

Peach out.xx

Costume fitting!!!

Ok so wow, I went for my first costume fitting today! It was fantastic! As you know i've a small part in the Titanic series, and I went for the fitting today. Anyways, I'm just repeating myself, So I went into the production house at half 4.

I was introduced to the producer and had to fill out a health form... oh how exciting.... after that though I had to wait a while whilst someone else was getting fitted. And I couldn't help but gawp at the large wall of black and white headshots! I found mine as soon as I stared at the wall for more than 5 mins! also there was my ex-cast member Anthony Morris, so it was lovely to see a familiar face, even if it was only a photograph. Also I found Karl Shiel's photo soon enough. Also there was Derek Jacobi, Kevin Zegers Neeve Campbell and Chris Noth!!!! wowzers! To see my face on the same cast list as those big names is so fabulous!! YAY!!

Shortly afterwards I was introduced to the costume designer, a fabulous Italian, and from what I've seen, has an amazing gift for costume!! When I was finally being fitted by the costume assistant, I could hardly contain my excitement!! I was put into a corset!! then fabulous shoes, black leather lace up!! nom!!

Then An AMAZING dress!! AMAZING! It was long and navy and pleated. Absolutely beautiful detail. No one else was able to fit into this dress and they really wanted it in the production! Luckily I managed to just squeeze into it!! Only just! The corset will be a little tighter (and I thought it was bad already!!) So excited for my lil scene!! I'll be working with Kevin Zegers and Billy Carter on wednesday!! Can't wait!!

I'll let you know more about the filming on the day! my tip for going to a fitting is where tights it's just less embarrassing! xx
Anyways that is all for now!!

Stay tuned for more!

script amendment and Dramsoc!!

so yesterday morning I received a large letter!!  It's all very exciting when I get post! So When I opened it I found a green script because they had made changes to the script for my part in Titanic: Blood and Steel. The one line I have has changed and the scene has changed altogether. Exciting! I keep thinking it's not real, but it is!! I can't believe I'm going to be in my first TV role! Now I know that it's only one line and it's a glorified extra really, but I can't wait. I think this is just the beginning and I'm only going to go and do bigger and better things after this!! Exciting times ahead!! xx

I also would like to say a small bit about UCD Dramsoc. I had rehearsals yesterday from 3-4pm then again from 5-6pm for "Allo Allo. I then had an hour workshop with the cast from my next project, "Present Laughter". I am getting so involved with everything and I'm auditioning for everything I can! Because I think in this business, no matter how stressful the workload is, when you're acting and doing what you love then it's all worth it, and all problems seem to melt away with the transformation into a character. And back to back rehearsals for two different productions really keeps me on my toes, and it's so much fun to change character so quickly! I also Auditioned for "Riders of the Sea" which I really hope I get to be a part of! I can't wait to hear about callbacks!!! I am possibly going to audition for "Blue Remembered Hills" as well, because hey, who doesn't want to be 7 again?!! xx

So that is all my exciting news for now. Not terribly exciting but news is better than no news. Stay tuned for Coming posts on great ideas for female monologues. And I shall be shortly up on youtube performing monologues and dialogues! I just need a camera and a reading partner... should be up next week sometime. If i can't get anyone I'll put up the monologue by Regina George from Mean Girls, not the best monologue but it's just a bit of fun!!

Stay tuned!!

Morning all!

Good morning!

As you can see that the previous posts were about food, what to make and where to eat. This is because between my busy schedule I don't have a lot of time to make extravagant meals, and on a student's budget  I can't afford them either. So if i find any good recipes or any great cheap places to eat in Dublin City I shall post it here.

So a bit about me. I was born in South Africa and I moved to Wexford, Ireland when I was 10 years old. Ireland was where I fell in love with acting and drama (although I was a rather dramatic child!) and I joined Red Moon Youth Ensemble. I was a member with them for a few years before moving on to County Wexford Youth Theatre where I stayed and played for 5 years. When I started college I found myself attending the youth theatre less and less due to the workload, but now I return occasionally to teach and assist and to have fun. I mainly help with the newer youth members or the younger members. I loved being in Youth Theatre because I found it challenged and matured me and it's where I made lifelong friends, I have never regretted a moment in youth theatre.

I am now in my third year of a degree in English and Drama in UCD. I am an extremely active member of their Dramsoc this year as I'm looking to gain valuable experience and meet new people. I didn't have a lot of time for extra activities last year as I was taking part in my first professional show, "Lay Me Down Softly" by Billy Roche, which began in Wexford and went on to Dublin, Galway and London. Those were extremely exciting times and an amazing experience. It was also amazing because i was receiving a pay check! I couldn't believe it, I was a professional!

But after one job, it's all auditions and meetings until the next and you suddenly feel the lack of a pay check. Which i suppose is natural for anyone who has worked temporarily. So I'm on the hunt for a new job (acting wise mind you!). So any auditions I have I will post it here. Any jobs I get I'll post it here. Anything I think I will...ah you get the idea...

Since my run in London finished, I have performed a rehearsed reading for the fringe and I will be doing a very small walk on part in Titanic: Blood and Steel, due to be filmed next week. Super excited about that. I don't think I can tell you any details about the scene or the characters or what I'm doing exactly but I can tell you about how I found my experience.

I hope you enjoy this blog and the many posts to come!!
Stay tuned!

(PS: Yes that is me on the METEOR photograph campaign, you can see it around dublin centre and UCD, I'm Vegas Baby!!)

JUICE

So yesterday my friend and I were out in Dublin, looking for a nice place to eat. We sort of stumbled across JUICE on George's street near Temple Bar. JUICE is a vegetarian restaurant (we didn't know that until we went in and sat down to look at the menu) I don't eat vegetables so I was apprehensive but I found that I enjoyed myself.

JUICE were offering an early bird three course menu for 15.50 so we thought that was a great idea. The place is cosy and not over crowded. Service was extremely quick and well worth going in. The had a very wide variety of starters but if you're like me and prefer to not eat before a main, they also have a choice of drinks as a "starter" which is really handy for someone like me. However if you are someone who enjoys a starter of soup or bruschetta (just two examples) then you'd have to pay extra for a drink or glass of wine. I got the sparkling drink, in lime crush and it was really nice, but extremely strong. So if you're only after a small essence of lime, that's not the drink for you. I loved it however and it seemed barely five minutes before we got our main. We had the pasta with their sauce of the day Tomato and Basil. It also came with a few mushrooms, onions and courgettes and broccoli, but since I don't eat any vegetables (I know!! shame!) I only ate the pasta and sauce. It was really lovely, the pasta was al dente and the sauce was so lovely and creamy and it came with parmesan cheese on top which just melted in my mouth. It was truly wonderful.

Desert. I'm a huge desert fan so I was looking forward to this. The menu was hard to choose from with things like, lemon and lime tart, chocolate and hazelnut torte, ice cream and tiramisu. In the end I decided on the fruit crumble which consisted of plum, pear and apple. It was served hot with cream. But the crumble wasn't ordinary crumble and I was a little disappointed in that. However, in saying that, their crumble was oats and some sunflower seeds (I think) and it was quite nice. However they could have served a little more cream as their version of crumble was very stodgy (it's oats after all) and sticky and I would have liked just that little but more cream.

My friend ordered the tiramisu. Being a fan of the desert he couldn't wait to try it. Instead he got a slice of what looked and tasted like Aldi tiramisu. He didn't mind as he quite likes the Aldi product but I think that's a bit skimpy. It's very like the Chinese Buffet King in dundrum, but i'll address that in another post.

over all our experience was lovely and because we're both students it was great to have somewhere to eat that wasn't too overly expensive. Our search continues however for high class food and lower cost prices!

Until next time,

Happy dining!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

great place to eat in dublin

The Mongolian Barbecue!!

If you haven't already been, then go! Its wonderful. It's located in Temple Bar just off Dame street. This is the ideal place to eat, as it's good food at a great price. I usually go for the lunch buffet which is only 5 euro and covers one trip to their buffet. The idea here is that you create your own dish. You get a bowl and choose your vegetables and then pick yourself up a bowl of meat of your choice; beef, chicken, pork or seafood. Then you head over to the spice section where you can spice both bowls with a variety of spices, I like really spicy food so I normally choose a little bit of chinese 5 spice, cayenne pepper and chilli powder. Now don't overload the spoon with the spice, you only want about a quarter of the spoon of the spice. Then take your bowls over to the sauce section, I usually get the chicken so the sauce I have with it is either BBQ or honey and ginger. I'm not the greatest lover of vegetables so I only just get their noodles and kidney beans.

Once you're done with the spices and the sauce, you take your bowls over to a man who cooks it all for you on a large flat hot iron circle. It's amazing. The chicken soaks in the honey sauce really well but you don't taste honey you just get the sweetness of it against the heat of the chilli and the kidney beans and noodles give a soft texture to contrast the heat of the dish. You also get a free bowl of rice with your meal.

It's a fantatic place to eat and I'm so glad I discovered this little gem! Enjoy!!

Here is the link to their website!

http://www.mongolianbbq.ie/default.asp