University and I

So, I've been neglecting RYB a little bit lately because I haven't been feeling that good. I went to the doctor and had some blood tests, and thankfully everything came back okay. Shortly after that, I started getting headaches. I've had a headache every day for the last month, but they've been really mild. Like, they don't even ache, but they hurt. So whatever, because now they're starting to get very infrequent and they're not really there at all. The doctor said that it's nothing to worry about, since over 9000 things cause headaches. Just some that apply to me:

I've still got this bug, I don't drink enough water, I don't eat enough proper food, headaches are big in the family, I squint too much, strain my eyes, don't sleep nearly enough, stress, not taking any pain killers, sleeping awkwardly, having 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina' in my head for the last week.

The list goes on. Then the list ends.

But really, with them disappearing, life is getting a lot easier. Uni is totally fantastic, the best thing I've ever done in my life. It's basically a rinse and repeat of my last post, but I'm just having such a fanastic time. Last week we went to GOMA's new 21st Century Artwork expo which is totally fantastic, there's so much good stuff to see there. My favourite was this huge table of white lego which you could play with and make whatever you wanted. Other highlights were the Balloon Room (a room filled with dozens of huge balloons) and The Pool Room, where you could stare down/up at people on the other side of the glass. If you get a chance to see it, I totally recommend. Tomorrow I'll be going for my 4th time - and it's free. D:

Ben, Keira, Me and Emily in the Balloon Room!

Blissssss. Also, I got into the YAIR program! I was originally auditioning for the acting part of it, but I didn't realize you actually needed to prepare a monologue, so the night before I wrote up some of my work and organized some compositions and threw them into a 'portfolio'. Yey. Anyway, I got asked if I wanted in, and even though I can't make the Thursday afternoons thanks to uni, they offered me a position of sound designer/composer. D: Big job, but I imagine it's going to be mostly ambience, which is a piece of cake to write. Dr. Heim asked if anyone wanted to perform in the Brisbane Writers Festival, so I said I wouldn't mind. Now I'm in! Woah! Details to follow on both.

Also, I got into La Boite's ambassador program! I was pretty bummed since they said they'd notify us by the 25th of March. When I didn't get in, I was a little annoyed and practised my Performing Skills monologue, but I thought that it was a waste of time anyway. I got home from hanging out with Anj and Erin for a nice night out, and I read my emails! It sure picked up my night! Then I noticed.

A compromise I suppose I can live with.

Anyway, I've been slack with the book! Here's the last weeks. The idea was I needed to 'doodle' over a bunch of pages; the cover, the title page, instructions page, copyright page. That's a pretty tricky task if you're trying to actually complete it.

Doodled on the front.

Why is this one so much bigger?

I also had to go through and dogtag my favourite pages. DONE. I want to get an early night now since I don't want a headache tomorrow. Life's looking pretty good at the moment. =)

Wicked: Go for 'Defying Gravity in Act 1, stay for Act 2 Dialogue...

Emma Rix's 'Defying Gravity' could be one of the greatest musical moments ever.

Everyone is going gaga over 'Wicked', and fair enough, it's pretty good. James has been pimping it since '09, and everyone ensures me they'd sell off children in order to catch it, so I thought I'd better check it out. I'd say Wicked is an okay musical, but it'd be more accurate to say it's a great play with a good score. The only other experience I've had with Stephen Schwartz's music is 'Godspell', so this was far superior. Wicked has a quirky sense of humour, and with A grade technical aspects combined with a stellar cast, I totally recommend it.

The cast were amazing. Jenna Rix plays Elphaba, and she is probably the most talented musical theatre performer I've ever seen live. Her 'Defying Gravity' was the pinnacle of the show - it's soaring, powerful, breathtaking. There are not enough positive adjectives I van use to describe the piece. I would consider paying the whole price of the ticket again just to hear and see it again. Her other songs are excellent too - everytime she opens her mouth, out rolls melodies that are delivered with such conviction that it makes (almost) every scene she is in bearable. Her counterpart Glinda, player by Lucy Durack, is good too, but her upper soprano is drenched with vibrato overkill, which made me gasp with laughter during the opening. Her other fault is her acting, which gets in the way and compensates her singing. Only sometimes though, her 'Popular' is infectious and delightfully her own. She provides all kinds of dramatically and much needed comic relief, and she sounds lovely on her mezzo range. The rest of the cast I can't complain about, but special mention is needed for Bert Newton, who was downright charming and an absolute pleasure to see live. The cast is that they were under-utilised!

The music is pretty...chaotic? The score is a mixture of '90s retro synth, symphonic orchestration, and dreadful Schwartz guitars. Songs are catchy and punchy, but not all are immediately recognisable or memorable. The main Wicked theme is imposing and menacing, which is delicious to hear throughout the score in its various incarnations, and 'Defying Gravity' is an absolute show-stopper. One thing I think is important to apply to Wicked is that you need to see the show to 'get it'. The OBC recording is crammed full of songs which clock in just 2 minutes and seem sort of superfluous, but they work well in the show to set the mood or emphasise an important plot twist (and there are plenty in Wicked). Other songs are just made to be seen, such as 'Popular', 'Dancing Through Life', and 'Thank Goodness'. The worst song is the one I suspect is the most difficult to perform - 'No Good Deed' is utterly dreadful, there is nothing to it except for a bunch of anguished, albeit really impressive, belts from Elphaba. Très awful. Pretty much like listening to 'Now That I've Seen Her' from Miss Saigon. I actually turned to my Dad and grimly stated "That was fucking awful", and he solemnly agreed. think I'd need to see it again to wrap my head around the score.

The story is fun, and the set design and lighting was superb. The set has an amalgamation is various architecture, the most prominent is the steampunk clockwork which looks really cool. The sound design was pretty good but seemed tone a little muddy, but I suspect that was because I was sitting on the 2nd tier. The mixing and effects on the vocals were so good, especially on Defying Gravity (<3!).

So on a whole I really liked it, but the music was the weakest link (huh...). The production dies after Act 1 because the ending of it is flawless, you never reach an equivalent in Act 2. It's not as good as people made it out to be, but extremely entertaining and arguably the best thing on in Brisbane at the moment. Recommended, liked not loved, would go back again just to hear Rix's 'Defying Gravity'.

Tickets for Wicked range from $69.90 to $134.90, and is showing until April 2. Book by visiting QPAC's website or by calling 136 246.

(ETA: Book task up on Thursday I think).

These Particular Angels Don't Sing Jazz Chords...

I'm 18! WE ARE MAN! I had a really nice day - I got up for uni and Mum said Happy Birthday and gave me presents (to be opened later), and then I headed off to uni. Amelia "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" everytime someone said my name, got me a bunch of Kitkats, and Nikki got me some chocolate and scratchies! =D We didn't win anything. =( I also got to meet up with Rhed and Maddy for lunch at the Pancake Manor, and Maddy presented me with a hip hop 'how to be a hipster' kit!

Glasses for the essential hipster; Coffee from an obscure location you've probably never heard of before, vintage book you probably haven't read, essential notepad, indie group ironically, Kitkats because I'm Sam.

Amelia organised it so we could go to the uni bar after our last lecture. It was me, Amelia, Nikki, Nick, Liam to start with, but we were then joined by Cameron, Joel, Maggie, Chris and Joel. I had a fantastic time at the Guild Bar! =D Amelia bought me my first and second drink, and after I tried to convince everyone that Clive Owen looks like Nicolas Cage, Cameron bought me another beer and a shot to stop me. =P I was a bit, uh, tipsy, by the end, but I hopped on the bus and went home and managed to sober up on the way. Mum cooked me steak and we had an awesome chocolate mousse cake from Breadtop! Thanks for the awesome night, guys!

Left to right: Liam, Nikki, Me, Amelia, Chris, Nick

This week I also had the great pleasure of attending Jason Robert Brown's one night Brisbane Concert. Brown is an exceptional pianist, with an even better talent at composing and collaborating repertoire for a fantastic 2 hour spectacle. He was joined on stage for a couple of times by Rachel Beck, who is an Australian singer who was pretty good too (I'll get to her later).

The evening got off to a pretty rocky start.

Angst, anger, romance - oh my!

With that in my mind, I bought a programme. But I did not enjoy it. =P Well partly because I'm stubborn, but mainly because it cost $15 AND IT WAS EIGHT PAGES LONG. I was still being a drama queen after and punched the program when the music in the theatre was playing 'A Miracle Would Happen' (from L5Y) and Cai asked if this was 'the one where the guy dies'.

Beck came back on stage to sing some more stuff, and she was lovely but sometimes...sucked. Who exactly was she racing with? Her voice has a wonderful and sweet texture, but she rushed way too much - I was upset with her 'Still Hurting' (which Mum painfully calls 'Jaime') because her first line was 'Jamieisover [DRAMATIC PAUSE] andJamieisgone'. She managed to slow down by the last verse, but the damage was done. The other little thing was, while she was a soprano, she struggled to belt out those top notes, and instead sung passages with more like a delicate, vibrato laden style.

Besides that, she was wonderfully flirty and sang with absolute conviction and confidence. She really added to the stage presence, but never stole the show from Brown - it was a wonderful connection and the chemistry between the two during their duet in the second half was one of the highlights of the evening. I was grinning by the end - I'm a big fan of the man, but don't own his entire works (which will soon change...) but every piece was entertaining. There was only one moment where I wanted to die, and that was during the excruciatingly long improvising during one piece (can't remember which), which I guess stems back to because of Chris Vale's 6 minute drum solos now means I can now only handle 30 second sections. He played 'The Old Hills of Home' which was tha besttt. Another awesome highlight was his showcasing of a newish song he'd written called 'Caravan of Angels', which involved us singing at the end to join in. He joked that we weren't allowed to sing with sharp 11ths and so on and gave the reasoning "These particular angels don't sing jazz chords". It was my favourite song of the night and was just too cool for school! =D He even finished off with an encore from Urban Cowboy, which I cheered at.

So after my fiasco with forgetting the Parade CD, I got outside and managed to be the first person to get in line for an autograph. YAY. He came out and said hello and I said hi, could you please sign here - and I mumbled about how I was gonna stick it in with my Parade soundtrack. He smiled (and thought YOU CRAZY, BOI!*), signed, and I said I had a great time and thanked him again. YEY.

This was this weeks book task - to commit a violent and sudden motion with the book. We chose the library as the perfect location for such an event. Filmed by the lovely Bonnie, of course.

 

Keen for the rest of uni too! Goodbye until tomorrow!

Back for 2011

Right, so I'm back in the country! I didn't end up taking the book overseas with me, since I stuck that honey in it. The honey (along with lots of the foliage) would have meant that I'd have to have thrown the whole book away.

Regarding the grim entries from November, I actually did make it to the second round of auditions. After I'd worked out what I was going to do in life, I replaced my QTAC putting Fine Arts in Drama at the top instead. It was then that day that the uni rang up and said they'd made a mistake. The second audition went very well until one of the lecturers pointed out I wasn't connected with one of the characters, then I knew that was it. It was okay though, because I'd already been through it the first time. =P That'll teach me for only applying to one university!

Regardless, I've started at QUT for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama, studying at Kelvin Grove. So far it's been heaps of fun since I've met a lot of cool people. Everyone in Drama is really enthusiastic so it's easy to meet friends. We're even studying 'The Cherry Orchard' in a few weeks so I'm pumped for that!

I got an early birthday present today! (from myself to myself)

SCOTT PILGRIM!

I ordered them last month and it was a perfect way to end the day! =D It's a little weird to think soon I'll be a 18 and a total legal adult. Heh. In case anyone else was wondering what I've got on my wishlist:

• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 4)
• A badowl Hyperbole and a Half Jumper
• Tuttle Classic's Edition of 'The Water Margin'
• My pendant to be repaired

The book will make an appearance again next Monday - I would have put it on today, but I forgot to crack it out after my lecture. I'm thinking about updating the blog on Mondays now, or sometimes Saturday if it's on my mind. Yay for continuing towards the goal of finishing the book - also, shout out to my #1 fan, Bonnie, who always asks me where the blog updates are! And abuses me when there are none. You're a real pal, Bonnie! =P

'Julius Caesar' at La Boite

If you're looking for an easy target, kill Portia since she dies off-stage unremarkably anyway.

I saw 'Julius Caesar' tonight, as presented and modernised by La Boite Theatre Company. It wasn't perfect, or especially memorable, but it was definitely great entertainment.

First off, let me say that I'm not at all familiar with the play by Shakespeare, however I'm someone who knows plenty about the events surrounding Caesar's rise to prominence and eventual assassination. I'd seen the play pimped all around Brisbane and saturating the halls of Kelvin Grove, so I figured I'd better go along to see it. The interpretation wasn't exactly what I was expecting, seeing as it was presented with skinny jeans and plenty of skin. On the topic of skin, holy shit, when did it become a prerequisite that you need to be ultra-attractive to be an actor? The cast are sexxxyyyyy.

The play starts off with this club/rave styled scene which was the highlight of the evening - the cast make their appearance, baring their skin and doing all kinds of crazy ass shit, like licking each other or drinking/snorting huge amounts of liquor in their underwear. This practically summaries how La Boite has tried to transform their interpretation by creating chaos which can be viewed differently, by any angle. The song is catchy, I sat there really enjoying it; there was one repetitive line that kept on popping up, and I wanted to make it my Facebook status but I can't remember what it was. That's the main problem with the production - most of it is glamorous and glitzy, but it's not particularly memorable.

The cast are attractive, and no-one is terrible. Well, they're all good, but some far better than others. The most talented man, Steve Toulmin, acts out a bunch of ridiculous scenarios and roles. In addition to being the composer, music and sound designer, he also plays the crack-head Soothsayer, Lucius, a priest, and Cimber the Poet (who really serves no purpose to the plot at all - Shakespeare, what are you doing - and the only reason he's in the show is to be killed on top of a mat so the ensemble can remove the rug and reveal a clever new scenario). Other star members are Thomas Larkin, who plays the passionate and devoted Marc Antony, and Emily Tomlins. Tomlins gets a special mention from me because I had no idea that she played two characters - she plays Caesar's wife, but she also plays a bunch of stupid superfulous characters. I was actually sitting and wondering to myself "Where did that bitch with the hipster glasses go?" when only in the last 5 minutes I realised it was the same actor. Naturally, Hugh Parker, who plays the ill fated dictator, is quite good in the titular role, but is required to do a bunch of bizarre shit (that I'll tackle later). Steven Rooke as Brutus is equally excellent, and was the only character where I actually caught EVERY word that he said. Paul Bishop is good too, but if he's not facing you, just look up and admire how the lighting set up is done so well - he speaks too fast and there is not enough projection for him to be heard. Whatevs.

Which brings me to the point of criticism with the rest of the cast. Or, rest of the lack of cast. 5 of the cast members have to adopt a bunch of different roles in the production, and you never know who is who on stage unless you're familiar with the play!!! Ross Balbuziente plays Casca well, but then, suddenly, in the next scene he is an anonymous vigilante, then in the next he is a citizen of Rome. Then Antony says something like "stu, Octavius". WHAT? Besides the lousy costume change, I had NO CLUE that he had changed characters. The mannerisms, the timbre and control of his voice, and how he moves does not indicate he's had a character change! Likewise, his colleague Anna McGahan was totally forgettable in all her roles with the exception of Portia. Her Portia is really sexy, firey, and when she argues with Brutus she commands the stage. However, Portia dies offstage (tragically) and McGahan is stuck in the same stupid, ambiguous roles that Balbuziente, Toulmin, and even my dear Tomlins are stuck doing. This could have been rectified with a larger cast, or the directors requiring a bigger differentiation between the characters! The supporting cast were good, but here they're straining to shine.

99% of the costumes end up looking like this

The actors have to do a bunch of bullshit stuff which is borderline hilarious or awkward. In one scene, Cassus is blubbering about something, and Caesar's ghost pops up and starts singing 'Happy Birthday...'! ZOMG! I was GAGGING. It was hilariously inappropriate - the cheese of that should be kept far away from us, and reserved for the Friday night low budget horror movies. Another scene prompts Casca (although, not really Casca, or Octavian - let's call them 'Happy Vigilante') to break out into some obscene rap to garner laughs from children in highschool, but thankfully it's only for a few awkward seconds. It's worse than the rapping in 'A Tale' from the La Nouba CD. Caesar popping up and stabbing people was really awkward too - especially when he ran off and came back on with a hoody and killed Cassus! I giggled like a school girl (laughing at Casca's rapping) when Caesar dramatically pulled his HOODIE OFF and stabbed him. Tee hee. Stupid. Toulmin also has to sing some awkward guitar song, which is nice, but it's very jarring and disjointed since no-one is seriously singing throughout until this bit...I assumed it was comical so I laughed, but it went on and on and it didn't do much. He finally falls asleep, and (omfg, hats off to this guy) he has to sit in the same position for about 20 minutes. I thought it was a clumsy mistake by the director, but in the end it serves a purpose. But, shit man, it's gotta be tough sitting there for that long, especially seeing his crunched up face all that time!

The costumes (which very very minimal - in content, and later in depth. I assume that the white was trying to draw parallels with purity, and Brutus being the only one without shoes represents...something else...) and set overall are very blah, but the lighting is interesting, and in some cases quite evocative and very simulating. Jason Glenwright pulls of similar effects as produced in 'The Tempest' (Zen Zen Zo:2009), and the moments such as the fighting, dream sequencing, and anything with rain works especially well. There was one scene where I looked up, and I just couldn't believe that the Roundhouse was capable of producing such lovely effects! Paired with the lighting it's mostly a winning combo, however I'm not sure if the fact I can't hear the actors occasionally is the fault of them not projection, or how unnecessarily loud it is in certain places. I'm inclined to think the latter, but it does depend which character is speaking. Overall, great design - the decay reverb effects used in the second act to address the audience by Antony and Brutus is superbly done - I felt as though I was actually in a real mob crowd. The score is an original too (as far as I know), and it certainly helped with immersion into the intensity and tension in the scenes that it often tired to invoke. Nice job, team.

So it may look like I've complained about a ton of stuff. I have, but if you look over it you'll notice it's just me making a big deal over small details. It's a cracking production! When they took their bows at the end, honestly all I could do was smile since I genuinely enjoyed it. There are some spectacular moments in the piece - when Larkin delivers his speech at the beginning of Act 2 to rouse the citizens to kill the conspirators was simply astounding, the death of Caesar is sudden, powerfully tragic, Rookie's portrayal of Brutus' transcendence from public adoration to his death, the spine tingling malice/revenge of Parker's Caesar's final words, and the opening - plus anything Toulmin does on stage - is totally worth it. Heck, this is La Boite - you're paying very little for great entertainment which re imagines the text. Even if I did want to jump up and scream the vocal cue from when Sweeney Todd kills the Old Beggar Woman (the one where he goes "The judge, I have no time!" *slits throat* "DUN, DUN, DUN DUN" <- in the tune of 'Alms!, Alms!).

Caesar's final statement is breathtakingly engaging.

So I have my complaints, but overall I totally recommend the show if you get the chance to catch it. It's better than Zen Zen Zo's, and it's like over 9000 times better than that painful bullet that was QTC's 'King Lear' last year. Sure, while I'm sitting here I can only remember small fragments of the awesome moments, and I'd never pen it down to be life changing or one of my favourite pieces, but that's not a reason not to see it.

Tickets for Julius Caesar range from $39-$48, and is showing until March 20. Book by visiting La Boite's website or by calling (07) 3007 8600. Photos on this page by Al Caeiro for promotional performances.