3 months later

I’m still here! While I haven’t been “in anything” per se in the last few months, that shouldn’t be a reason to be quiet, right? Thanks Ziggy Luz for saying she missed my blogs and encouraging me to start them up again. Speaking of Ziggy: this week I went to Working Title in Marylebone to witness three short films that she and director Bradley Porter have been working. The setting of course was perfect, with an intimate theatre with big chairs to relax into, and the feeling that Tom Hooper had probably been there a few times (call me!). The shorts were truly excellent, with so much talent in the acting, cinematography, editing, writing and directing departments. I’m sure everyone involved was very proud to see them with a larger group of people.

As for me, I can proudly say that my creativity has been newly stretched thanks to time spent in the kitchen. I’ve enjoyed discovering spices and making as much as I can from scratch thanks to vegan recipes (such as Occasionally Eggs and Lazy Cat Kitchen) which, because of the absence of meat, focus even more on nutrients. They say you should have a hobby outside of acting that brings you joy and you can practice, and this is surely it right now.

A few weeks ago, I reunited with wonderfully talented cinematographer Tansy Simpson, member of Illuminatrix Rising DOPs, which showcases emerging and developing talent on a monthly basis. She was asked to collaborate with Kodak to create a video for International Women’s Day on March 8th. We met in the park, along with a few other cast and crew, and had a lot of fun on a sunny day in Kensington. The result, alongside the other talent, is gorgeous (see on the right). Tansy Simpson is currently creating another longer cut of her work on this project. I can definitely recommend Tansy for her intelligence, problem-solving skills and great taste, in life and work. Thanks for the black tank top!

I reunited with fellow “Curious Voyage” friends Magdalena and Nikos to read scripts during a scriptwriting workshop. It was great to collaborate, and be back in a room with creatives wanting to be the best they can be. I also met writer Tony Sands (who wrote and acted in Echoes of the Passed) and Elena Mazzon, who is soon to go to Iceland on her journey to present her one-woman show Clara to the world!

I’ve also been attending a few readings of Shakespeare plays organised by the talented actor Jonathan Le Billon. He has been organising weekly readings of the Bard’s plays. I joined the group late in the run, but am glad I could discover some of the plays along with other Shakespeare fans. Shoutout to actress Ali Shinall.

With regards to short film Dear Mum that I worked on with Donovan Swart last year, it is in the editing phase. Once that is complete, I will need to do a voiceover to include in the film. It will be worth the wait!

Finally, I want to mention a film I’ve enjoyed this month: The Kindergarten Teacher, directed by Sara Colangelo and starring the fabulous Maggie Gyllenhaal. She plays a kindergarten teacher who one day hears one of her kids speaking poetry. She makes the decision to nurture him and his talent, which makes her cross inappropriate lines with regards to his parents and the detachment she should have in her job, and creates tension inside her own family too. The character is warm, messy, brave, sad, all at the same time. It’s a beautiful portrait, one that will make you uncomfortable but you’ll like why that is.

Until next time!

What’s up, November?

These past few weeks have been all about The Curious Voyage, a secret immersive theatre show crossing continents! Indeed, it is being produced by Talk is Free Theatre, a company from Barrie, Canada. Canadian guests start a three-day immersive experience in Barrie ending in London, UK. Others are free to only do the London day, starting at 1pm and ending at 9pm in various London locations. You can read reviews on Broadway World or Londonist.

With only five more shows to do this coming week, I wanted to tell a bit more about my experience on the team, without revealing anything about the show of course! What I love about my part of the show, directed by Daniele Bartolini, is that the audience members really are the most important. They are the life of the show, as opposed to the actors.

In fact, I don’t feel like I’m acting at all. I have a script to follow, but also need to react to the groups I am leading through the “Voyage”. This has made the experience very freeing and I plan on taking this element into future shows.

I also have to point out the amazing people I’ve been working with: our director Daniele, the actors (Nikos Brahimllari; Rory de Brouwer; Gianpiero Cognoli; Magdalena Korpas; Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin, Ninad Samadder, Danielle Stagg) and our incredible producer Raylene Turner. I believe the nature of the show has opened us all up to each other’s quirkiness and originality – every crew member is an artist in their own way and it’s been a treat to meet them all. I will miss them when this is over.

Speaking of, after this show, I will be renewing my actor headshots and hopefully jumping on the audition train again.

Thanks for reading!

Toodloo and good night.   

Dear Mum: in the can

Every filmmaking experience is unique. It depends on the people you are working with, the chemistry between them, and the story that is being told. Working with my friend Donovan Swart over the last six months to prepare for Dear Mum has been a wonderful creative experience. What I felt I brought to the table was my experience on multiple short film sets as an actress, and also producer on Der Gugelhupf earlier this year. What he brought was this tremendous short story of grief, family and human connection. As we quickly noticed, the characters that he wrote were so full of life that what happens after or before the events of this short film could go in many directions. Donovan’s love for films, books and storytelling as well as excellent people skills were the fuel supporting our experience.

Acting wise, this has probably been my most challenging role due to the emotion it required. However, by being a producer, I feel like I’d been living with my character Katie for months. This helped me take my time to research her life, make personal decisions and, once the other actors were cast, develop her relationships. Once we got on set, I think the culmination of it all was a big help. In fact, a few days before we started, I was really itching to GO!

I had the majority of my scenes with Daniel Barry, a generous and very friendly actor who I got to know a bit before shooting. He played my husband George, and it was great to have him as a partner. My daughter was played by Lucy Allwood, who had been perfect in the audition already, and I wish I had had more than one scene with her! It was great to act alongside people of different ages on this project. My father was played with so much focus and generosity by CJ Barton. Without lines, he still stole the show in my opinion. My mother Fiona was played by Chrissie Grech, who I acted in flashback scenes with. I became attached to her and it was fun imagining some of our past together.

During the five-day shoot (four in a house in South West London and one in Botany Bay), I often had to pinch myself that people were working tirelessly for this one story. We had a great crew, starting with the brilliant director of photography Ariel Artur, who brought along his great camera team Steven Fairman, Felix Dembinski and Clare Brittain. Our assistant director Andrea Ratti is out of this world, so organised, sweet and strict when needed. The skill of developing a stripboard is a mystery to me. Andrea was assisted by the lovely Rama Amkie. Our sound technician was Lee Viesnik, and our make up artist Joan Karimi, who I was happy to have interesting conversations with, especially on our last day. Continuity was handled by Valentina Marciano (also a runner), Hannah Rogers and Sandra Tomalka. I had not realised early enough during pre-production how important this role was, which is why we couldn’t find one same person for all days. Better next time! Our super duper runners were: Orhan Toprakci (also producer), Cat Scambler (also executive producer), Liam Bland (also acting as the barman and assisting Donovan on script work), Marina Lacoste and Valentina, mentioned above. On set photography was handled by Luisina Fascendini and Ivan Troopa.

What I care about as producer is that: nothing broke and no one died! Seriously, I feel that that’s the job of the producer: make sure everyone shows up and stays healthy, and that things get done. A film team is a house of cards. Take one away, and it all falls apart. I am so pleased that I could play this role in Donovan’s first film. As a director, he was a great leader and this is definitely only the beginning for him.

Post production has now started, and I will be keeping you updated on edits and more photos. In the meantime, I’m now in rehearsals for an immersive show called The Curious Voyage, so I’m out of here! Toodloo.

It's September!

Temperatures have cooled, international film festivals are in full swing, and we are approaching our shoot for DEAR MUM. With the help of the wonderful producing team Don, Cat, Orhan and Andrea, I feel we are on the right track. Our 2nd AC and gaffer have been locked, which is great news!

Rehearsals: To prepare, I have been taking in text, audio and videos about mother-daughter relationships and bipolar disorder over the summer. I met my fellow actor Daniel Barry this week, and am so pleased that he is even more of a character geek than me! I've been chatting with Lucy Allwood (playing my daughter Lily) and Chrysanthe Grech (playing my mother Fiona) about memories. This is wonderful, and I am in the process of writing my full life backstory as Katie. Next week, actors will be meeting with director Donovan to work on scenes. 

Costume: the next week will be about tone and locking down costume. This is always a tough one for me: you don't want your own taste to get in the way. I am happiest when someone just hands me what I have to wear (this has only happened to me twice thus far) - is that lazy?

Set design: we are meeting with set designer Sunny Jeon this week at the house, the location where we will be shooting for four days.

Catering: apart from the fact that looking at websites of catering menus is mouth-watering, this is an important part of our budget. As an actress, I notice the disappointment when you are simply served supermarket sandwiches and soda - no go!

Toodloo!

Casting almost complete

Yesterday we had our audition day, meeting ten candidates for the various characters. It was an incredible learning experience for me and the other producers Cat, Donovan (our director) and Orhan. We asked the actors to read a specific scene, and then chatted with them. I was very grateful have two friends Tony and Elena coming in to read with the actors. We now have confirmed three out of the four actors we were looking for, and are still deciding on the last one. The casting announcement should happen soon though!

We have now also hired a make up artist and... a 1st assistant director! This is wonderful news, as they are a great addition to our team, have an excellent eye for detail, and I can now focus more fully on the acting - yes!

Next week we will be traveling down to Margate to scout two more locations, and our cast rehearsal will happen in September.

Thanks for following our progress!