A wave of fun

So, three more BLANKs under our belts. And what a fun time it has been. To be honest with you, I can't give a good review of the shows because I wasn't paying all that much attention. You see... we narrowly avoided Death the other night.

At the end of our show on Wednesday night ("Soot the Musical") we were backstage towelling down when one of the Princesses (that's what we call the girls from Princess Cabaret; we, in turn, are called BLANKers) received on her mobile phone a text message. It was read out as such:

"Tsunami warning for the East Coast"

Well, it was received with a mix of scepticism and fear. Phone calls were made, iPhones were put to good use, and the warning was confirmed. Fears were put at bay when we discovered the warning was for Lord Howe Island and the potential waves would strike between then and midnight. Over the next 15 minutes, however, the alert level was raised and the NSW coast (I feel I need not specify 'East coast' for I don't really think of NSW as having any other coasts exposed to the sea) was included.

Now, the important thing is to panic.

A moment before Princess Cabaret was to open, the producer heard the updated alert and decided to call the show off. The audience was informed (and greeted the announcement with a similar degree of scepticism and fear as did we) and everyone made an orderly panicked rush to lock up, jump into cars, and get up the hill to safety. Though I note that our hasty retreat was somewhat slowed by the man at the boom-gate who made us pay to leave.

The other (and probably more heavily-weighted) reason I cannot remember much of our three shows thus far - Towel, Soot and Tsunami (of course) the Musicals - is that I've been having too much fun with my shiny things during the shows.

Those who have seen many a BLANK will know that I have a habit of playing non-essential roles. I have continued to do so this week, playing an English-understanding cat and a grisled old man for much of the last two shows and pretty much playing around with the characters and not paying all that much attention to the other characters (or 'lead roles' as they are sometimes called). Which is fine, because they didn't pay much attention to me. An improv writer once called this "finding your shiny thing". It is something that Jon does very well, and I've been quite pleased with doing so myself.



Anyway, that tells you very little about the shows, doesn't it? And we haven't been videoing them. So really, the best way to experience a BLANK the Musical is to see one live. You've two nights left, so please waste no further time.

BLANK the Musical & Princess Cabaret at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre (which is still standing, despite the tsunami alert) tonight and tomorrow night from 8pm. Details at http://tumbleweed.org.au/

A cubist peg in a round hole

So, another long month with no BLANK to keep you warm. How will you cope? How do we?

Brydie, Amanda and Benny are down in Melbourne, funnying it up in their respective shows (Dolls Cabaret and Alice; Beaconsfield the Musical; Axis of Awesome vs a Bee). No doubt some of you have received emails from the free wifi at the cubist paradise of Federation Square.

Tim is putting his voice to (good?) use hosting karaoke.

Jon is teaching kids. He is doing practical placement at a school near you, and also coaching a bunch of young improvisers who will soon be heading over to an improv competition in Canada. Exciting, eh?

Adam? I've not heard from Adam. He may have metamorphosised himself into a tiny insect during some (botched? deliberate?) science experiment and is unable to contact us except by landing on our phone keypads and tapping out a message. But the message would be lost, because Adam never did fully grasp predictive text.

Jason has been organising improv nights of his own, scoring Canadian improv duo Scratch for a charity fundraiser show. Nice work, Jase!

I'm currently in rehearsal mode for a production of Steve Martin's play Picasso at the Lapin Agile. It's a fantastic script, as you would imagine of Mr Martin, and full of history and wit. It is set in a little bar in Paris (called the Lapin Agile, where Picasso did actually hang out in the early 1900s), with Einstein, Picasso, Schmendimen, and other odd genii (plural of genius; not the magical djinn). Obviously there are a variety of accents, and if you've ever seen an improv scene with several accents in them you'll know how they can go awry. So it's practice practice practice and I'm watching lots of YouTube Antonio Banderas clips to get the accent right for Picasso.

Oh yeah, I'm playing Picasso. Which is somewhat coincidental seeing as I fell in love with him when I went to MoMA in New York last year and saw his painting Les Demoiselles D'avignon. The process of painting it - of playing with different styles to create something shockingly new - floored me. Basically, the piece signalled the beginning - the invention? - of cubism. Now, a year later, I am playing the artist just before he paints that very picture.

Anyway, the show is playing from 28 April to 9 March, Tuesday to Saturday. Come along. It will be fun. Scripts are funny things...

Cushion and Jelly. What's next?

We've had two fun shows over the past two nights. Tuesday night was "Cushion the Musical" - a rollicking adventure about Dr Cushings (Pete - a zombie), intelligent puppy Puddles (Jon - with cushings disease; also a zombie), and veterenary assistant Andrew (Adam - creator of said zombies); Susan (Amanda) and her quest to stop telling the truth (learning to cushion the blow); and a Cushion Kid (Jon) who wanted to be loved. The first and last of these things are based on real-life FACT.



Wednesday night was "Jelly the Musical", introducing Elena (who is so good I haven't even been told her last name!) to the improvised musical stage, and with special guest Steve Lynch. Stevie (Tim) is a soccer striker who needed to learn to control his fear; Katie (Brydie) has dreams of turning her priveleged upbringing into a life of high-class prostitution and madamery; Michael (Steve) yearns to beat the 90-pound weakling girls in the jelly-wresting ring, wearing only his spandex bikini. How will they achieve their dreams? And will they appreciate it when they get there? What can we all learn from their example?

You have to be at a BLANK to truly appreciate it. So get along to the Roxbury Hotel this Friday and/or Saturday night and we'll make your BLANK come true.

Another visit to the BLANK

You may have noticed, dear followers of all things BLANK, that it has been some time since we have given you a show, something to read in this weblog, or something to look forward to. Well, let me assure you that things are changing. All three of the above, in fact.

True, it has been some time since we last BLANKed. And in that time much has changed. The dear Ms Buckley has played a big part in the success and popularity of Beaconsfield: The Musical in its Melbourne an Sydney seasons, and is right now setting the Adelaide punters' hearts aflutter. Ms Lee Kennedy has been busily writing and directing her talented Princesses in a new revue, Dolls Cabaret (more on that soon) and some old-fashioned storytelling shows headed for Melbourne. Mr Yardley will soon be hitting our screens in a reality-show spoof about comedians. Mr Judge has been racking up nametags and hairnets in search of fulfilling employment, and thinking up new ways to inspire his cast of BLANKers. Mr Williams has been planning a school excursion to the improv world capital (Canada), starring in Sydney's favourite regular improv show (FBCNL Tennis), and helping steer Sydney's longest-running improv show (Scared Scriptless) to its new format and home at the Roxbury. Mr Lead eloped, avoided being crushed by a glacier, visited Wellington's finest improvisers, moved offices and moved house. Mr Davis took his cohorts from the The Axis of Awesome touring to Edinburgh and Asia, and is set to take their new show around Australia. The last I heard from Mr Rushton he was headed for the snow-fields of Japan and coordinating fundraisers for Willoughby Rotary Society (two separate projects, I understand).

And what of Ms Daley? It would sadden you to learn that she is dead. Thankfully she isn't dead. Keira performed in a fantastic little cabaret called Speakeasy with the newly-formed Cabaret Merlot, and will perform another couple of shows with them later this year (Wagons Ho and The Roxbury Horror Show). Sadly though she is no longer with us in the BLANKing sense, having hung up her BLANKs at the end of last year.

That takes care of the 'giving you something to read' trio of needs. Now for the 'something to look forward to' section. More BLANKs! Next week we'll be back at the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe, this time on the downstairs stage, supporting Dolls Cabaret for four big nights. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with BLANK at 8pm and Dolls Cabaret at 9:30pm. You get a discount for seeing both shows, so why not huh?

Go to http://tumbleweed.org.au/blank for more information and to book or reserve tickets.

With all our separate projects, it had been a while since we had all improvised together when we had our first re-rehearsal a few weeks ago. (Yes, we practice improvising. Yes, it's somewhat ironic. But you'd practice for a soccer match, even though that is essentially improvised within a set structure.) After the initial excitement of performing with each other again, the main feeling was self-consciousness. This came as quite a surprise. We have performed as a BLANK cast for two years now, and most of us had performed together for years before then. After acknowledging that and shaking off the alien feeling we got into proper rehearsal mode. What came out then was quite sub-conscious - desires, fears and whatnot. Had I a psych or philosophy background I could possibly identify these as basic Freudian personality/id development building-blocks or somesuch. But I have not, so I'll just say that it was quite a raw reflection of us as humans. It was an interesting experience, and I think it has brought a fresh twist to the BLANK experience - one that I hope will be glimpsed on stage.

Ah yes, the third leg of the tripod of needs: giving you a good old BLANKing. We've got a show. Will you be our audience?