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?
