Well I didn't see that one coming - TWICE!

I was acting again this week, not surprising since we're in the rehearsal stages for next weeks 'live studio' project, and I've known for some time that I'd need to record a cutaway ahead of the night. Well last Wednesday it happened, and I couldn't have been less ready...
I'd turned up for another rehearsal but was whisked away and asked to perform one little speech - just a part of the whole scene I've been working on.

I was rubbish again. I couldn't remember more than 2 lines in a row and having a script was no good as it was to be performed direct to camera!

I was a little demoralised by this, wondering if I'm nothing more than a show off, not an actor.

Thursday night I went to the Arc in Stockton to see an art installation by local artists Dave and Michelle Allinson.

http://www.wireframe.org/

As I arrived at the Arc however, I landed on a brand new class being held by Writers Block, preperations for an open sketch show for Easter...
Well, I took everyone to see the art first - it was fantastic and mesmerising: projector screens layered into cubes with dynamic water animations projected 'into' them whilst sounds of the ocean played quietly. Excellent, I could have stayed for hours there... Rehearsing my lines!

At the writers block event, following introductions and ice breaker exercises, we finished the night by creating short sketches in groups of four. It was exciting to work with strangers and have to trust them and yourselves based on very little prior knowledge; since we were largely improvising, should I play it safe or was it time to let Bad Johnny out of the bag and push the boundaries a little?

If you know me, you already know the answer and we all had a lot of fun! It wasn't recorded mind, so for those who weren't there, it's been lost in the night just like a mummy's tomb in the sand - maybe it will be revisited one day but for now it has gone.

And that was improv.

Acting from a scrip: I suck
Improv: you can't go wrong!

Food for thought.

It's my birthday tomorrow, I can't afford to many more false starts in life. Depending how the live project goes, I may decide to stay behind the camera for a couple of years, get good at that without the distractions of acting...

As always, watch this space.