Hello to everyone and yes, we have to apologise for not keeping up in the past two weeks with our blog. We were off to a really good start and now the amount of work coming up has driven me away from the internet. Please take it as a really good sign that in these times of "credit crunch" that Andrew and I are up to our eyeballs in work load. And we mean that.
The reason I am taking a minute to write to you all (especially considering it is a friday night and Andrew has a pizza cooking in the oven) is that I need some help.
My vocal teacher has asked me to be a part of his Showcase. This is a big deal for a number of reasons. One: My vocal teacher is rather big in town and for that reason I am honoured that he thinks me worthy of performing in a Showcase and Two: A Showcase is something that either big schools or professional teachers will put on and invite agents and casting directors to view their graduating class/students. Now, because my vocal teacher is so big this means that A LOT of really amazing agents and casting directors will be there. The catch: there is only enough time for me to sing two songs. Therefore they have to be really good.
Now, I am fine for the legit soprano piece, but I really, really need a pop or rock song as a lot of agents want to know that you can be versatile. (A.k.a one year you could play Mary Poppins and the next you could play in We Will Rock You or Mamma Mia! - it's all about trends...)
So, with the mass amounts of records and cd's that I know my family owns, if any of you come across one that you think would be great for me (hopefully in the next week as there are only 6 weeks until the Showcase) please let me know.
What I am looking for is something not too well known (i.e. not Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - everyone and their mother sings that one.) but preferably a quick tempo piece. (i.e. fast) I love old jazz numbers and stuff like "Midnight at the Oasis" and "I'm all out of love".
So please, Granddad and Charlene, Gram and Grandma, Mom and Dad, Aunt Jean Marc, Judy,David, Linda, Sandy, Ray, Colleen, Bob, Elaine, Curtis, Nathan, Alayna and Nick, Emily and Andrew, Rachael and Scott, Amanda, Britt, Ben, Barb and Bill and the Willicks and ANYONE else who reads this Blog - if you have any ideas for a pop or rock song that I could sing - no matter what year it was - send me a quick note or an email - call me at 2 a.m. I don't care...just HELP ME PLEASE!!!!
yours waiting ever so patiently...Brianne
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Return of the Random Thoughts
Once again I subject our loyal readers to the disconnected musings of my well-meaning but increasingly enfeebled brain!
The morning commute can help you discover the oddest paradoxes. The other day I found myself wedged between two tube riders, one of which stank of foul body odor, the other who reeked of Ivory soap! I actually found Soap Man harder to deal with.
I've had the chance to ride several English trains into the areas surrounding London, and it's a great way to travel. They're all rather "light rail" in nature, something like the GO Trains of Toronto (without being double decker.) I wish against wish that Ottawa would remove it's major sensory organs from it's sphincter, realize that the dedicated bus lane along the 417 is a pointless joke, and put in a light rail. By the by, has the strike been settled YET?
Brianne and I have discovered a new favourite take-out restaurant called Nando's. It's a chicken joint specializing in Portuguese barbecue, and it's a rather popular chain in London. Brianne tried it whilst on her tour and got me addicted in short order. The Portuguese spice is called
Piri Piri and it is mind-blowing, so we tend to go for the milder version of Mango and Lime.
I've mentioned the snow here in London, but I have not mentioned the cold. Granted it is balmy here compared to the frigid conditions of home-sweet-home, but there's a subtle difference in the chill here. It's a moister cold here, so even if the temperature is relatively mild, the nip of the wind goes through to your bones. Thank goodness for our little block heater.
Parting shots: Odd little observational humour from the morning paper.
When people who manufacture drawing boards want to start over, what do they go back to?
If sign-makers are on strike, how do they display their discontent?
Striking two halves of a pistachio shell together gives the impression that a very small horse is approaching.
The morning commute can help you discover the oddest paradoxes. The other day I found myself wedged between two tube riders, one of which stank of foul body odor, the other who reeked of Ivory soap! I actually found Soap Man harder to deal with.
I've had the chance to ride several English trains into the areas surrounding London, and it's a great way to travel. They're all rather "light rail" in nature, something like the GO Trains of Toronto (without being double decker.) I wish against wish that Ottawa would remove it's major sensory organs from it's sphincter, realize that the dedicated bus lane along the 417 is a pointless joke, and put in a light rail. By the by, has the strike been settled YET?
Brianne and I have discovered a new favourite take-out restaurant called Nando's. It's a chicken joint specializing in Portuguese barbecue, and it's a rather popular chain in London. Brianne tried it whilst on her tour and got me addicted in short order. The Portuguese spice is called
Piri Piri and it is mind-blowing, so we tend to go for the milder version of Mango and Lime.
I've mentioned the snow here in London, but I have not mentioned the cold. Granted it is balmy here compared to the frigid conditions of home-sweet-home, but there's a subtle difference in the chill here. It's a moister cold here, so even if the temperature is relatively mild, the nip of the wind goes through to your bones. Thank goodness for our little block heater.
Parting shots: Odd little observational humour from the morning paper.
When people who manufacture drawing boards want to start over, what do they go back to?
If sign-makers are on strike, how do they display their discontent?
Striking two halves of a pistachio shell together gives the impression that a very small horse is approaching.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The Sky is Falling!
Run! Duck! Hide under your desk! For God's sake, shelter the children and hide your pet safely in a laundry hamper! London is engulfed in . . . 6 inches of the fluffiest snow imaginable and the apocalypse is apparently upon us. Honestly, the way this town loses it's mind over a little white stuff makes Toronto look like Yellowknife. Wow, how long has it been since I could make such a truly Canadian reference and know that my audience will know what I'm talking about?
The snow began on Sunday afternoon, when Brianne and I had been spending the entire day hanging out with her friend from the panto tour Clare and her boyfriend Jonathan. Lovely people, an actor couple like us, great pals to have. We've now got them hooked on a reality show that we like(d) called Murder in Small Town X. You may not remember it, it was only on for one season in the summer of 2001, but it was a great mix of reality contest and murder mystery, and we're watching it with them on YouTube. When we left their place that night, it was a fluffy marshmallow dusting all over the place, pretty and seemingly harmless.
The next day London was in the fetal position. Nearly all the tubes were down or severely delayed, every bus in town was cancelled - something that even The Blitz didn't achieve - and motorists were warned to stay off the roads if not absolutely necessary. I was one of only three people who made it to the office, other two being a hardy Aussie and a Frenchman with a skiing background. All manner of shops were closed, West End plays were called off for the night, two airports shut down, Heathrow cancelled dozens of flights, loss of business cost the city over a billion pounds . . . and I know all this because today's newspaper had about 10 pages dedicated to the devastation caused by 6 bloody inches of snow!
It was nice to notice some sense of humour about the whole affair yesterday. When I was waiting on the tube platform, an announcement came over the PA describing about 5 line closures and severe delays everywhere else. After a couple of seconds, the announcer piped up again and declared, "For once, ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT our fault!" Chuckling ensued amongst my fellow commuters.
The snow began on Sunday afternoon, when Brianne and I had been spending the entire day hanging out with her friend from the panto tour Clare and her boyfriend Jonathan. Lovely people, an actor couple like us, great pals to have. We've now got them hooked on a reality show that we like(d) called Murder in Small Town X. You may not remember it, it was only on for one season in the summer of 2001, but it was a great mix of reality contest and murder mystery, and we're watching it with them on YouTube. When we left their place that night, it was a fluffy marshmallow dusting all over the place, pretty and seemingly harmless.
The next day London was in the fetal position. Nearly all the tubes were down or severely delayed, every bus in town was cancelled - something that even The Blitz didn't achieve - and motorists were warned to stay off the roads if not absolutely necessary. I was one of only three people who made it to the office, other two being a hardy Aussie and a Frenchman with a skiing background. All manner of shops were closed, West End plays were called off for the night, two airports shut down, Heathrow cancelled dozens of flights, loss of business cost the city over a billion pounds . . . and I know all this because today's newspaper had about 10 pages dedicated to the devastation caused by 6 bloody inches of snow!
It was nice to notice some sense of humour about the whole affair yesterday. When I was waiting on the tube platform, an announcement came over the PA describing about 5 line closures and severe delays everywhere else. After a couple of seconds, the announcer piped up again and declared, "For once, ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT our fault!" Chuckling ensued amongst my fellow commuters.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Work and Play
I think I can conclusively say that, while I still tend to enjoy AYS catering jobs, the novelty has pretty much worn off. This past week I served a small dinner at Buckingham Palace attended by Princess Margaret, and I felt no real need to clamour over myself and report every minute detail to our adoring blog-reading public. Truth be told it was a complete breeze of a job, with much waiting around whilst the 40 guests finished eating each course. I did have the "privilege" of standing the in the vicinity of Her Royal Highness with a tray of drinks exclusively for her convenience and consumption. I hovered around her for 45 minutes, and she never touched a drop. Oh, the mad-cap adventures of serving royalty. The dinner took place in the Queen's Gallery of Buckingham Palace. While it was decked out in luxurious art and architecture, another symptom of too many high-society service gigs is that these timeless and ageless and priceless halls all seem to blend together in my mind, none of them standing out as they once might have done.
One great diversion from the stream of office and service work has been the opportunity to volunteer with Brianne's group of youngsters at the U-Film sessions. Two nights this week I have joined in with the group in their improv exercises and film-making tutorials. It's been great fun to "play" again, and gives me a deeper appreciation for the good work that B is involved with. The kids, while being identified by the local council as "at risk," are bright and responsive and relatively well-behaved. I feel that B's group is having a very positive impact upon the children. The experience has also reaffirmed my admiration for teaching profession, which is a form of performance art all it's own.
One great diversion from the stream of office and service work has been the opportunity to volunteer with Brianne's group of youngsters at the U-Film sessions. Two nights this week I have joined in with the group in their improv exercises and film-making tutorials. It's been great fun to "play" again, and gives me a deeper appreciation for the good work that B is involved with. The kids, while being identified by the local council as "at risk," are bright and responsive and relatively well-behaved. I feel that B's group is having a very positive impact upon the children. The experience has also reaffirmed my admiration for teaching profession, which is a form of performance art all it's own.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
OMG! My Grandfather is really Spock!
While researching photographers for headshots (Andrew needs to have his re-done) we came across this picture of Leonard Nimoy. The likeness is uncany. He looks like my grandfather in this picture.
That's right ladies and gentlemen, my Grandfather is secretly Spock - all I have to do now is get him to teach me the Vulcan death grip and I will be set for life!
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Pranks Roll On...ladadadadee
Andrew and I have a great housemate in Matt, Not only does he share in our sense of humour, but he also is willing to join us in pranks – even if they are occasionally planned against each other. A few weeks after Andrew left to do a show before Christmas I started hearing a flute being played in the morning. Eventually I discovered that it was Matt who had previously studied the flute classically and had gotten his hands onto one. Earlier in the year I believe Andrew wrote about my loathing of most woodwind instruments. Please understand that this mostly stems from hearing either people playing them poorly or playing songs that should never be changed over to a classical instrument – such as Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”. It just doesn’t work. Well – because of this loathing I offered to Matt that he should follow Andrew around the apartment playing the flute – preferably the theme from Peter and the Wolf. Unfortunately it did not come to fruition but it was still a great idea for a prank. However, recently things have been getting a little silly. For instance; Andrew and I brought back with us from Christmas seasons three and four of The Office, a show that we are all crazy about. What ensued was two weeks of all three of us gathering around the couch and watching at least two episodes to relax after work. Due to my new job there are some nights that I am not home until rather late – for these occasions Matt has made a sign to show how much he is in Office viewing withdrawal, it reads as such: Will Drop Pants for Episodes of The Office. It makes me giggle inside knowing about it.
Anywho….last night we were all hanging about watching a bit of The Office as well as some Fawlty Towers, chatting about the plans for the week ahead, etc. Matt goes into the kitchen for a bit to make up a snack or something and when he comes back Andrew and I are canoodling on the couch. He playfully made a big deal about it as if he had walked into an extremely uncomfortablesituation. We all had a little laugh at it. I then went into the washroom for a few minutes and when I emerged I found Andrew and Matt locked into a tight embrace. Their prank worked – I hit the floor laughing and proceeded to run around in a very Benny Hill fashion exclaiming about the place. The only question now is…what can I plan next to top it?
Anywho….last night we were all hanging about watching a bit of The Office as well as some Fawlty Towers, chatting about the plans for the week ahead, etc. Matt goes into the kitchen for a bit to make up a snack or something and when he comes back Andrew and I are canoodling on the couch. He playfully made a big deal about it as if he had walked into an extremely uncomfortablesituation. We all had a little laugh at it. I then went into the washroom for a few minutes and when I emerged I found Andrew and Matt locked into a tight embrace. Their prank worked – I hit the floor laughing and proceeded to run around in a very Benny Hill fashion exclaiming about the place. The only question now is…what can I plan next to top it?
Ufilm
This past week has been some incredible work. Incredible as in how great I feel about it, but also as in how much hard work is going into it. During the day from Monday to Friday I am doing two shows a day of a healthy lifestyle children’s show called Golden Spoon. For this show I am tour manager, sound technician and I also have a small acting role as a Cooking Competition Judge. Then on Tuesday and Thursday nights I am part of a new program called Ufilm. We have 17 kids involved in it with ages ranging from 13 to 17. Most of them have either been referred to the program by teachers, guardians or care givers. Some of these kids are in foster care, most are not doing well in school and one girl is pregnant. What we are doing in the program is splitting into three groups and each group will write, produce and film a short 10 minute film. We’re trying to get these kids involved and if they do the work it will go towards their school credits.
Most of the kids are really into it, some are even coming up with some really original ideas – although a little dark in nature – but there is always one or two that are out there to stir up a bit of trouble. There are five facilitators always on hand just in case there is trouble (I am one of them) and we have our eyes on two boys in particular that we know if closely paired together will cause a distraction for others. If anyone receives two warnings they are kicked out of the program. It may sound tough but it is necessary.The evenings that I am working on this end late, and I am usually so zonked that I just have a light snack when I get home and then crawl into bed. Ufilm will be going on for twelve sessions. Come March it should wrap up, however In February during the school break I will be part of some High School Musical workshops and then starting up in late March will be another tour of a show about anti smoking. Lots of overlapping of work in other words. Next week we start writing the film scripts so I will be able to expand on that then. TTFN!
Most of the kids are really into it, some are even coming up with some really original ideas – although a little dark in nature – but there is always one or two that are out there to stir up a bit of trouble. There are five facilitators always on hand just in case there is trouble (I am one of them) and we have our eyes on two boys in particular that we know if closely paired together will cause a distraction for others. If anyone receives two warnings they are kicked out of the program. It may sound tough but it is necessary.The evenings that I am working on this end late, and I am usually so zonked that I just have a light snack when I get home and then crawl into bed. Ufilm will be going on for twelve sessions. Come March it should wrap up, however In February during the school break I will be part of some High School Musical workshops and then starting up in late March will be another tour of a show about anti smoking. Lots of overlapping of work in other words. Next week we start writing the film scripts so I will be able to expand on that then. TTFN!
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