Ok, so it has been just a wee while since I updated this...best intentions huh!?!
So, to cut a long story short - I am now back in NZ! I left the UK in April after getting a job offer with the NZ Fringe Festival, so I am now living in Wellington on a 2-3 year contract directing the Fringe and loving it!!
I had an awesome time in London, ended up staying on at Madame Tussauds until just before I left doing some cool stuff like being a pirate all day, playing the voice of Big Brother and singing some cheesy 80's love songs for Valentines - nice!
I also fitted in another stint at Fashion Week, this time managing the front of house for all the Top Shop shows and worked as an Assistant Stage Manager for the Red Bull Beat Battle - thanks Selina!!
On the way back, I toured Italy for 9 glorious days with my darling Mum and my good friend Paula (miss ya mate!) and had stoppovers in Dubai, Singapore and Sunshine Coast.
The time in NZ has flown by and I have been busy with the Fringe. I have three great staff working away to put the festival together, and I organised a Fringe Showcase recently that went well. Other plans in the pipeline include Fringe on Tour and Fringe Ed (the education programme).
Outside of the Fringe, I am/have produced a monthly series of one-act plays called the Six O'clock Swill which you can check out at http://www.sixoclockswill.blogspot.com
I have a great little apartment in the centre of the city and you are all welcome to stay if you come to Wellington (not all at once though!).
I have lots more pics that I have posted on my Facebook page - so make sure you sign up to that for the updates!
That's all for now!
M.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, December 25, 2006
Crooning, celluloid and Christmas wishes!
Hi all!
Thought I'd better get a post in before year end. Can't believe how quickly this year has gone, the days seem to slip by as recent events hurriedly become distant memories...
Since my last post I have been a busy lad (as usual!). Work at Madame Tussauds has been going well, it is an absolute dream to being going to work and singing all day long - I have really enjoyed my time there and made some great new friends. My contract finishes on Jan 3, so unless they renew it, it will be time to move on to the next adventure.
Here's a pic of me with two of my fellow crooners Tara and Dinah.
The coolest experience that almost happened while working there was singing for the (ex?) king of pop - Michael Jackson himself! He was supposed to come through with his kids, but cancelled at the last minute to go shopping at Top Shop instead...the cheek!
I also have done some paid work on a short film and did a web/print ad too, so have been keeping up the acting.
I was offered a six month position doing TIE (theatre in education) in Italy last Friday. An amazing opportunity to travel the country and learn the language, but I had to turn it down as the pay was just not enough to live on really - even with accomodation provided. I'm not too worried, there are plenty of auditions coming up in January and with most of the West End shows recasting in the next few months, I could be treading the boards on a London stage...fingers crossed!
On the production front, I was involved (until recently) on a psychological thriller feature as Producer but my differences of opinion with the writer/director have led me to pass this up. But as fortune would have it, another script has presented itself and I am working with the writer to get it to final draft stage. The film is a romantic/drama and is a Italian/Iraq co-production and has a great production team, so time will tell.
Misspelt (the feature I shot with Falstaff and Nick earlier this year) is going well. The footage is on its way to London to be completed here - our good friend Anthony Lewis is to finish the edit and a tralier and publicity material are on the way. Watch this space!!
Hmmm, what else? I saw my first british pantomime - Cinderella at the Hackney Empire a couple of weeks back. The brits really do love their panto, even Henry Winkler has come over from the US to star in one...weird!
That's about my lot for now, except to say a very Merry Christmas to all, enjoy the holiday season wherever you are in the world. I have some more photos I will upload to this site in the near future, so until then...ciao for now!
Hi all!
Thought I'd better get a post in before year end. Can't believe how quickly this year has gone, the days seem to slip by as recent events hurriedly become distant memories...
Since my last post I have been a busy lad (as usual!). Work at Madame Tussauds has been going well, it is an absolute dream to being going to work and singing all day long - I have really enjoyed my time there and made some great new friends. My contract finishes on Jan 3, so unless they renew it, it will be time to move on to the next adventure.Here's a pic of me with two of my fellow crooners Tara and Dinah.
The coolest experience that almost happened while working there was singing for the (ex?) king of pop - Michael Jackson himself! He was supposed to come through with his kids, but cancelled at the last minute to go shopping at Top Shop instead...the cheek!
I also have done some paid work on a short film and did a web/print ad too, so have been keeping up the acting.
I was offered a six month position doing TIE (theatre in education) in Italy last Friday. An amazing opportunity to travel the country and learn the language, but I had to turn it down as the pay was just not enough to live on really - even with accomodation provided. I'm not too worried, there are plenty of auditions coming up in January and with most of the West End shows recasting in the next few months, I could be treading the boards on a London stage...fingers crossed!
On the production front, I was involved (until recently) on a psychological thriller feature as Producer but my differences of opinion with the writer/director have led me to pass this up. But as fortune would have it, another script has presented itself and I am working with the writer to get it to final draft stage. The film is a romantic/drama and is a Italian/Iraq co-production and has a great production team, so time will tell.
Misspelt (the feature I shot with Falstaff and Nick earlier this year) is going well. The footage is on its way to London to be completed here - our good friend Anthony Lewis is to finish the edit and a tralier and publicity material are on the way. Watch this space!!
Hmmm, what else? I saw my first british pantomime - Cinderella at the Hackney Empire a couple of weeks back. The brits really do love their panto, even Henry Winkler has come over from the US to star in one...weird!
That's about my lot for now, except to say a very Merry Christmas to all, enjoy the holiday season wherever you are in the world. I have some more photos I will upload to this site in the near future, so until then...ciao for now!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ahoy me hearties!
Has been a busy few weeks for both myself and mother nature over in old London-town. Daylight savings has ended and winter has reared its chilly head.
A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied Anthony to see a new exhibition in conjunction with his work Artisan Galleries. It was an interesting exhibition, the main drawcard was a certain story behind one of the paintings.
Artist Paul Karslake is the brother-in-law of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood. Paul does a lot of celebrity portraits so it was no strange request that Keith Richards' wife comissioned him to produce one for her husband. Paul has always though of Keith as a bit of a pirate, so the final piece reflected these qualities.
As the tale goes, Johnny Depp was visiting one night for dinner and he noticed the new painting hanging on the wall. He had just received a script from his agent for a new Disney film 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. So the rest, as they say, is history.
The exhibition featured the original portrait and a brand new one as Keith's character in the upcoming third instalment of the film franchise.
I also have to mention that Anthony had been working with Paul to produce limited edition reprints for these and other paintings as seen below. Here's two of my favourites - the statue of David and the image of Twiggy.
Here's a pic of Ant beside the original, pretty clever guy that Ant!
Has been a busy few weeks for both myself and mother nature over in old London-town. Daylight savings has ended and winter has reared its chilly head.
A couple of weeks ago, I accompanied Anthony to see a new exhibition in conjunction with his work Artisan Galleries. It was an interesting exhibition, the main drawcard was a certain story behind one of the paintings.
Artist Paul Karslake is the brother-in-law of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood. Paul does a lot of celebrity portraits so it was no strange request that Keith Richards' wife comissioned him to produce one for her husband. Paul has always though of Keith as a bit of a pirate, so the final piece reflected these qualities.
As the tale goes, Johnny Depp was visiting one night for dinner and he noticed the new painting hanging on the wall. He had just received a script from his agent for a new Disney film 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. So the rest, as they say, is history.
The exhibition featured the original portrait and a brand new one as Keith's character in the upcoming third instalment of the film franchise.
I also have to mention that Anthony had been working with Paul to produce limited edition reprints for these and other paintings as seen below. Here's two of my favourites - the statue of David and the image of Twiggy.
Here's a pic of Ant beside the original, pretty clever guy that Ant!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Wow! I just had a look at the calendar and realised I have been in London for seven weeks now. I don't where the days have gone, it has been a whirlwind since I arrived.
After working at fashion week, the following days, and subsequent weeks have been spent looking for more work. I had a couple of possible opportunities with event companies, but nothing solid as yet. So, lots of hours spent online, refining my CV, and many trips to the post office.
For some strange reason, they prefer applications mailed rather then emailed. All a bit backwards if you ask me.
Aside from all this, I have had a few auditions as well. If nothing else, it has been great to get back into the habit of auditioning regularly, something I haven't really done since my time in Australia. I have had auditions for three cruise ship contracts which sound interesting, an audition for the UK and European tour of a show and just recently an audition for Madame Tussards.
So, the news flash is - literally as I was typing this post - Madame Tussards rang me. I have been cast along with 7 others as an entertainer performing to the crowds at the waxworks museum for the next three months! It sounds like a lot of fun and hard work but I am so looking forward to it. In fact I start my first shift tomorrow!
So what else have I been doing? Not one to shirk my responsibilities as a movie-going citizen, I have been to see a few films. It has been interesting going to the different movie theatres over here, some are absolutely amazing spaces. So far I have seen The Black Dalia, The Guardian, The Departed, World Trade Centre (in digital sound and video, very cool!), The Wicker Man and Children of Men.
I have also been along to the live recording as a member of the studio audience for a couple of talk shows. Johnathon Ross (a bit like Rove Live) was very entertaining, he had Russell Crowe on the show talking about his new film A Good Year. The other show was Parkinson, a show I have been watching on telly for as long as I could remember. He had actor Ray Winstone talking about his role in The Departed and Eric Idle talking about the West End opening of the Monty Python Musical 'Spamalot'. They were both a lot of fun and very entertaining - not too bad for a free night out!!
Speaking of the West End, I couldn't have been in London this long without seeing any musicals! A couple of weeks ago I went to see Avenue Q, a musical loosely based on Sesame Street, complete with the muppets!
And just last Thursday I went to see Spamalot which was amazing! We were up in the nose bleed seats (literally 5 stories up!) but that didn't matter at all. The legendary Tim Curry was playing the title role as King Arthur and he was hilarious! My favourite moment was when the cast was singing 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' and the whole audience was singing along!
Well, now that I am in paid employment, I am looking forward to finally having a look outside of London - I sense a few long weekends exploring Britain, Ireland and maybe a sneaky trip or two to Paris coming up! Watch this space!!
After working at fashion week, the following days, and subsequent weeks have been spent looking for more work. I had a couple of possible opportunities with event companies, but nothing solid as yet. So, lots of hours spent online, refining my CV, and many trips to the post office.
For some strange reason, they prefer applications mailed rather then emailed. All a bit backwards if you ask me.
Aside from all this, I have had a few auditions as well. If nothing else, it has been great to get back into the habit of auditioning regularly, something I haven't really done since my time in Australia. I have had auditions for three cruise ship contracts which sound interesting, an audition for the UK and European tour of a show and just recently an audition for Madame Tussards.
So, the news flash is - literally as I was typing this post - Madame Tussards rang me. I have been cast along with 7 others as an entertainer performing to the crowds at the waxworks museum for the next three months! It sounds like a lot of fun and hard work but I am so looking forward to it. In fact I start my first shift tomorrow!
So what else have I been doing? Not one to shirk my responsibilities as a movie-going citizen, I have been to see a few films. It has been interesting going to the different movie theatres over here, some are absolutely amazing spaces. So far I have seen The Black Dalia, The Guardian, The Departed, World Trade Centre (in digital sound and video, very cool!), The Wicker Man and Children of Men.
I have also been along to the live recording as a member of the studio audience for a couple of talk shows. Johnathon Ross (a bit like Rove Live) was very entertaining, he had Russell Crowe on the show talking about his new film A Good Year. The other show was Parkinson, a show I have been watching on telly for as long as I could remember. He had actor Ray Winstone talking about his role in The Departed and Eric Idle talking about the West End opening of the Monty Python Musical 'Spamalot'. They were both a lot of fun and very entertaining - not too bad for a free night out!!
Speaking of the West End, I couldn't have been in London this long without seeing any musicals! A couple of weeks ago I went to see Avenue Q, a musical loosely based on Sesame Street, complete with the muppets!And just last Thursday I went to see Spamalot which was amazing! We were up in the nose bleed seats (literally 5 stories up!) but that didn't matter at all. The legendary Tim Curry was playing the title role as King Arthur and he was hilarious! My favourite moment was when the cast was singing 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' and the whole audience was singing along!
Well, now that I am in paid employment, I am looking forward to finally having a look outside of London - I sense a few long weekends exploring Britain, Ireland and maybe a sneaky trip or two to Paris coming up! Watch this space!!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Hello again folks!
Thanks for all the replies and comments, good to know I have an audience out there!!
Thought I might just summarise the goings on of the last few weeks, mainly because I am getter older and the memory isn't what it used to be.
After the weekend was over, I spent the next couple of days checking out the city as you will see in the photo albums. I discovered the Marble Arch, the massive Hyde Park and finally got my first glimpse of the Globe Theatre.
On Wednesday I went back to the Globe and saw a production of the Comedy of Errors with Karyn. It was amazing to actually be in the spot (or a replica of at least) that Shakespeare and his players performed in their day. Quite a humbling experience.
Karyn had given me the choice of paying £5 and standing or £15 to sit. Not that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth or anything, but I chose to take the comfy option. I'm convinced that if I was alive back in the day, I would've been part of the upper classes anyway! This proved to be the right option when, fifteen minutes into the performance, the heavens opened and the poor sods standing the centre got soaked.
The rest of my first week in London flew by as I got all those mundane chores out of the way as one does when you first move to a country - setting up a bank account, applying for a tax number, blah, blah, blah.
Mmmwah, darling!!
The very next week, it was time to earn my keep. I got called in at the last minute to be a Production Manager for three collection shows at London Fashion Week. So here I was thrust back into the craziness of the fashion world once again. The long hours were worth it and it was a great way to make good contacts in the event world.
The first show I worked on was the Giles collection show which was held in an old school hall in East London. I didn't get to see the show, but managed the build of the set. We essentially converted a completely empty space into a big mirrored set that reflected the light from the HUGE rig set up outside. For the fashionistas out there who wanna know more, check out the Vogue catwalk report
No time for resting, I rushed straight to the City Hall, a very swanky, yet oddly-shaped building on the South Bank.
This show was called Fashion Fringe and was essentially a competition between four up-and-coming designers presided over by fashion gods like Tom Ford.
Part of my job here was to stage manage the awards function after the collection shows which was held on the top floor in a funky space called London's Living Room (so called for the amazing views it affords of London). Here's another show report for those interested.
Finally, it was Friday and the end of Fashion Week. The very last show of the schedule was Julien Macdonald, held at the Hilton Hotel. Once again, I managed the build and break down of the set. A very flashy show this one - check out the images here.
So that was Fashion Week, and the end of this post, more soon!!
Thanks for all the replies and comments, good to know I have an audience out there!!
Thought I might just summarise the goings on of the last few weeks, mainly because I am getter older and the memory isn't what it used to be.
After the weekend was over, I spent the next couple of days checking out the city as you will see in the photo albums. I discovered the Marble Arch, the massive Hyde Park and finally got my first glimpse of the Globe Theatre.
On Wednesday I went back to the Globe and saw a production of the Comedy of Errors with Karyn. It was amazing to actually be in the spot (or a replica of at least) that Shakespeare and his players performed in their day. Quite a humbling experience.
Karyn had given me the choice of paying £5 and standing or £15 to sit. Not that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth or anything, but I chose to take the comfy option. I'm convinced that if I was alive back in the day, I would've been part of the upper classes anyway! This proved to be the right option when, fifteen minutes into the performance, the heavens opened and the poor sods standing the centre got soaked.
The rest of my first week in London flew by as I got all those mundane chores out of the way as one does when you first move to a country - setting up a bank account, applying for a tax number, blah, blah, blah.
Mmmwah, darling!!
The very next week, it was time to earn my keep. I got called in at the last minute to be a Production Manager for three collection shows at London Fashion Week. So here I was thrust back into the craziness of the fashion world once again. The long hours were worth it and it was a great way to make good contacts in the event world.
The first show I worked on was the Giles collection show which was held in an old school hall in East London. I didn't get to see the show, but managed the build of the set. We essentially converted a completely empty space into a big mirrored set that reflected the light from the HUGE rig set up outside. For the fashionistas out there who wanna know more, check out the Vogue catwalk report
No time for resting, I rushed straight to the City Hall, a very swanky, yet oddly-shaped building on the South Bank.This show was called Fashion Fringe and was essentially a competition between four up-and-coming designers presided over by fashion gods like Tom Ford.
Part of my job here was to stage manage the awards function after the collection shows which was held on the top floor in a funky space called London's Living Room (so called for the amazing views it affords of London). Here's another show report for those interested.
Finally, it was Friday and the end of Fashion Week. The very last show of the schedule was Julien Macdonald, held at the Hilton Hotel. Once again, I managed the build and break down of the set. A very flashy show this one - check out the images here.
So that was Fashion Week, and the end of this post, more soon!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Ok, I have succumbed to the pressure and decided to create a blog. In reality it means I will have somewhere to post my thoughts about my time away from New Zealand and satisfy you lot with photos as well.
Check out the links to my photo albums on the right-hand side of this blog page.
I guess I should bring you all up to speed with what has been happening since I arrived.
Here goes...
6 September 2006
After leaving New Zealand (in a very organised fashion I have to say), I flew to Sydney for three days to catch up with friends. My good friend and partner in crime Winnie put me up at her digs in Lilyfield. It was a very rushed three days as I attempted to catch up with as many people as time/schedules would allow (sorry to those I missed out on seeing - you'll have to come visit me!).
8 September 2006
Saying goodbye to the land of Oz, I started a 14 hour hellish journey I never wish to repeat again. I love flying Emirates but fortune did not favour me and I was stuck in the middle of a row of people with no foot room on a packed flight. What made it worse, a poor elderly woman took a turn for the worse across the aisle from us, and after having practically every crew member and doctor they could summon virtually sitting in my lap they managed to bring her around. I was relieved for her, but there was a stench in the air that remained there for some time. Needless to say, sleeping on this flight was not an option.
9 September 2006
At last! With my feet firmly on the ground (or sand) I was finally in Dubai. We arrived around 5am and it was already 33 degrees. Dubai airport was this huge barn-like structure, and for the amount of people milling around it was unusually quiet. I sat down at a cafe and ordered a large coffee which cost £4 and it arrived in the hugest mug I have ever seen. Just over an hour to stretch my legs and then it was back on the plane for part two. As we were taking off I had a great view of the famous Sails hotel on its own little island and saw the massive palm tree island - stunning. These folks don't do anything by halves.
Managing to procure myself a window seat for the Dubai to London leg, I was much more comfortable and although I hadn't slept in 26 hours, the view from the window was far too interesting to miss. We flew straight up the Persian Gulf, hung a left before we got to Iraq and then a right before Gaza Strip. It was quite a surreal feeling flying over these war torn countries I had heard so much about over the years, and the reality of the situation hit home when I saw a couple of fighter jets go whizzing by.
Even at 30,000 feet, I could make out cars, buildings and the many oil facilities below.
We flew north west over Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary and with hardly any clouds, the views were amazing. Thanks to the onboard wizardry of the Emirates system, I was regularly informed of our exact position.
The most interesting part of the journey was flying directly over Frankfurt, it looks like an amazing city (well as far as I can tell from that height anyway).
It wasn't long before we were crossing the English Channel and we soon landed at Heathrow. It felt great to finally have this long journey almost at an end. I was met at the airport by my good friend Anthony, it was nice to see a familiar face.
Ant accompanied me to Clapham Junction where I met Leisha and Derek, my gracious hosts for the next few weeks. A quick hello and then it was head to the pillow!
10 September 2006
After a good nights sleep, it was time to explore the city. Leisha, Derek and I spent the day roaming the inner city, taking in the sights of the likes of the London Eye, Big Ben (not so big up close), The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and then lunch and a spot of shopping on Oxford Street.
After lunch we headed back down towards the river to check out the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London is a pretty impressive structure. You can see where it has been added to over the years. I heard they are thinking about refilling the moat around the building.
Aside from the light blue colour scheme, the Tower Bridge is interesting too, I intend to go back and do the tour at some stage in the near future.
We then met up with Karyn Hall (another theatre friend from Hamilton) and her partner for a drink at a pub on the south bank, a fitting end to a busy day!
Check out the links to my photo albums on the right-hand side of this blog page.
I guess I should bring you all up to speed with what has been happening since I arrived.
Here goes...
6 September 2006
After leaving New Zealand (in a very organised fashion I have to say), I flew to Sydney for three days to catch up with friends. My good friend and partner in crime Winnie put me up at her digs in Lilyfield. It was a very rushed three days as I attempted to catch up with as many people as time/schedules would allow (sorry to those I missed out on seeing - you'll have to come visit me!).
8 September 2006
Saying goodbye to the land of Oz, I started a 14 hour hellish journey I never wish to repeat again. I love flying Emirates but fortune did not favour me and I was stuck in the middle of a row of people with no foot room on a packed flight. What made it worse, a poor elderly woman took a turn for the worse across the aisle from us, and after having practically every crew member and doctor they could summon virtually sitting in my lap they managed to bring her around. I was relieved for her, but there was a stench in the air that remained there for some time. Needless to say, sleeping on this flight was not an option.
9 September 2006
At last! With my feet firmly on the ground (or sand) I was finally in Dubai. We arrived around 5am and it was already 33 degrees. Dubai airport was this huge barn-like structure, and for the amount of people milling around it was unusually quiet. I sat down at a cafe and ordered a large coffee which cost £4 and it arrived in the hugest mug I have ever seen. Just over an hour to stretch my legs and then it was back on the plane for part two. As we were taking off I had a great view of the famous Sails hotel on its own little island and saw the massive palm tree island - stunning. These folks don't do anything by halves.
Managing to procure myself a window seat for the Dubai to London leg, I was much more comfortable and although I hadn't slept in 26 hours, the view from the window was far too interesting to miss. We flew straight up the Persian Gulf, hung a left before we got to Iraq and then a right before Gaza Strip. It was quite a surreal feeling flying over these war torn countries I had heard so much about over the years, and the reality of the situation hit home when I saw a couple of fighter jets go whizzing by.
Even at 30,000 feet, I could make out cars, buildings and the many oil facilities below.
We flew north west over Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary and with hardly any clouds, the views were amazing. Thanks to the onboard wizardry of the Emirates system, I was regularly informed of our exact position.
The most interesting part of the journey was flying directly over Frankfurt, it looks like an amazing city (well as far as I can tell from that height anyway).
It wasn't long before we were crossing the English Channel and we soon landed at Heathrow. It felt great to finally have this long journey almost at an end. I was met at the airport by my good friend Anthony, it was nice to see a familiar face.
Ant accompanied me to Clapham Junction where I met Leisha and Derek, my gracious hosts for the next few weeks. A quick hello and then it was head to the pillow!
10 September 2006
After a good nights sleep, it was time to explore the city. Leisha, Derek and I spent the day roaming the inner city, taking in the sights of the likes of the London Eye, Big Ben (not so big up close), The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and then lunch and a spot of shopping on Oxford Street.
After lunch we headed back down towards the river to check out the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London is a pretty impressive structure. You can see where it has been added to over the years. I heard they are thinking about refilling the moat around the building.
Aside from the light blue colour scheme, the Tower Bridge is interesting too, I intend to go back and do the tour at some stage in the near future.
We then met up with Karyn Hall (another theatre friend from Hamilton) and her partner for a drink at a pub on the south bank, a fitting end to a busy day!
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