Good morning!
I had a great day yesterday - the second full time one in Jasmine Street and indicative of just the way I want it be with her! A place to explore, play, drink good coffee and eat bread.... well the bread thing ... didn't actually manifest yesterday. I blame Maciej... well not really. It was his last day with me before he returns on August 9th for the ARKA Teatr visit and we had a lot of ends to tie up before he was out of Jasmine Street. Its been a good trip - much achieved including him being interviewed for Polish radio. I am grateful to him - what started out as an odyssey to Poland in April has transformed into a new business relationship which is helping me to realise Jasmine Street. I do love alchemy!
And then to the studio to work with Ria and Sam on their new solo piece which Sam is writing for RIa. Its a shocking piece even in its fragmented form right now - about teenage sexuality and modern gender politics. Mmmm - tough stuff. But it was fabulous to chart this territory forensically in the studio, and we progressed the ideas some distance.
I reluctantly left Ria and Sam scrutinising Archetype cards and rushed off to meet Cameron (Cllr Geddes) to visit Trinity school in Dagenham to talk about Project Polish Theatre! What a revelation... the Head is Paul McPortland.... frankly a genius. He runs a school for the severely disabled (3-19) and is inspiring as he talks about his approach. Many of his pupils are at the severe end of the autism spectrum, so we talk about how he and his staff make school a meaningful space to be in, to learn and to be seen. He tells me that when he arrived there in the early nineties, the school was in disarray. Children with autism particularly need structure and certainty to help them in the extreme levels of anxiety and acting this out that they experience. Its at once essential that discipline and predictability are certain, but also a freedom to experience the moment and for staff to pick up on individual's needs as they occur. I am reminded of the excellent book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - a definite must read! Peter has it all. This passionate fifty-something is a pragmatist - if it works use it, enhance it and see where it leads you.
Our conversation was far reaching and eclectic and by the end we had determined to begin exploring a project together with Jasmine Street in the Autumn. Peter is a great advocate of theatre and drama with his pupils, he just gets how to goes straight into the heart bypassing often the need to intellectualise. So looking forward to that - and grateful to Cameron for suggesting this visit.
And then we were off to Butler Court, nestled under the apron of the Civic Centre in Dagenham. Once again Cameron has come up trumps. I was getting a tad stressed by the need to find accommodation for our Polish actors (20 of them!) especially given the fact that we still have £2000 to raise and its only three weeks till they come now. This place was a revelation too in a different way - a rather caught-in-time building nestled between two tower blocks. The arrangement of this two storey building seems odd until Cameron explains that it was designed as the car park but converted in the eighties to a kind of hall of residence for student and newly qualified teachers.
Jim the manager - a welcoming New Zealander welcomes us and shows us round. There are seventy beds here and its a bit of a hidden gem. Games rooms, kitchens, common rooms - the Poles will be happy here. And to boot Jim has given us an extraordinarily good deal at £5 per person per night! Never dreamed we could achieve that! Once again thanks are due to Cameron for thinking this up and then making it happen - he's well suited to his job as a councillor!
And then to Morrison's to buy food and see if they will donate to the Polish effort, after all they are in the shadow of the Civic too! I have to go back today to meet their charities manager. I took advantage of being in this supermarket to buy food for the visit of my friend Sarah Argent last night. Sarah is a wonderful director, and is recognised as one of the (if not THE) best directors of theatre for the under fives in the UK. We haven't seen each other for over 20 years, but reconnected through Facebook some time ago. And through this we have shared our practice and our lives. Indeed I saw a recent show at the Half Moon back in March- and what a joy it was. So I was hugely looking forward to seeing her and having her stay the night with me.
We didn't stop talking from the moment I picked her up from the station. To be honest it was amazing that I even got to cooking - engrossed as we were in our conversation. You see its a small tribe thing. Directors don't often get to share in depth their work. There is a certain protection that kicks in - vulnerability about one's own swampy process and just a little preciousness about it too. Not with Sarah - we talked the hind leg off Pegasus! Indeed I am in the process of persuading Sarah to help me out with a few things - Jasmine Street shaped.
And so to my decision to take a break from blogging for the next month. Gulp! I have now been blogging since November when I innocently started to write my Cinderella blog as a means of building my 60-strong team. I had no idea about the subtleties nor ramifications of becoming a blogger - none at all! And there have been myriad - too many to write about here. Indeed I still marvel at the number of hits both that blog and this still get! its a surprise and a joy. So thanks to those of you who check in from time to time, and some who have made reading this part of their breakfast habit along with cornflakes and a cup of tea. I am grateful for this and it encourages me to write more.
So why take a break for a month? Well fittingly the blogging journey has been nine months now- a suitable gestation period - and a monumental time of change. And its time for me to check out for a while. I need to retreat into a period of incubation - a time to dream and plan for my Jasmine Street future, to step back from the fire fighting of recent months and the leaving of Arc and very importantly too to focus on my other writing.
Alongside my daily blog I have also been writing my 'other' book - so most mornings I write between about 5am-9.30am. Its surprising how much you can get done in the silent hours. No emails, facebook posts or calls. Blissful lark time. I am 350 pages into my first novel - and that's all I will share at this stage as its in its embryonic phase. And I am learning about it. I have been writing it on and off for over five years - and now its time for it to take centre stage.
As step one in this I am off this weekend to a creative writing retreat in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to a place called Cortijo Romero. There is no internet but a very lovely swimming pool looking up at the mountains. The course is being run by playwright Diane Samuels (Kindertransport) and consists of private writing time and group time. I can't wait!
So it feels like a bit of soul restoration is on its way for August. Of course the month will include the exciting ARKA visit and my Soulful Actor workshop too - in between the reflection and writing time.
In my blog absence though I have much in store for you - I am in the process of negotiating a blog sitter for the month and making a space and platform for guest bloggers - those who might fancy a blog or two but don't necessarily want to commit to the whole thing! I shall be posting later today on how to get involved and submit a guest blog and also more information about my blog sitter!
It'll be good to have more fresh voices on here - and serves me and hopefully my guests very well.
So back later with the signposts for bloggers before I head for the hills!
Have a great day.
I had a great day yesterday - the second full time one in Jasmine Street and indicative of just the way I want it be with her! A place to explore, play, drink good coffee and eat bread.... well the bread thing ... didn't actually manifest yesterday. I blame Maciej... well not really. It was his last day with me before he returns on August 9th for the ARKA Teatr visit and we had a lot of ends to tie up before he was out of Jasmine Street. Its been a good trip - much achieved including him being interviewed for Polish radio. I am grateful to him - what started out as an odyssey to Poland in April has transformed into a new business relationship which is helping me to realise Jasmine Street. I do love alchemy!
 |
| Ria Butler-Knowles |
I reluctantly left Ria and Sam scrutinising Archetype cards and rushed off to meet Cameron (Cllr Geddes) to visit Trinity school in Dagenham to talk about Project Polish Theatre! What a revelation... the Head is Paul McPortland.... frankly a genius. He runs a school for the severely disabled (3-19) and is inspiring as he talks about his approach. Many of his pupils are at the severe end of the autism spectrum, so we talk about how he and his staff make school a meaningful space to be in, to learn and to be seen. He tells me that when he arrived there in the early nineties, the school was in disarray. Children with autism particularly need structure and certainty to help them in the extreme levels of anxiety and acting this out that they experience. Its at once essential that discipline and predictability are certain, but also a freedom to experience the moment and for staff to pick up on individual's needs as they occur. I am reminded of the excellent book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - a definite must read! Peter has it all. This passionate fifty-something is a pragmatist - if it works use it, enhance it and see where it leads you.Our conversation was far reaching and eclectic and by the end we had determined to begin exploring a project together with Jasmine Street in the Autumn. Peter is a great advocate of theatre and drama with his pupils, he just gets how to goes straight into the heart bypassing often the need to intellectualise. So looking forward to that - and grateful to Cameron for suggesting this visit.
Jim the manager - a welcoming New Zealander welcomes us and shows us round. There are seventy beds here and its a bit of a hidden gem. Games rooms, kitchens, common rooms - the Poles will be happy here. And to boot Jim has given us an extraordinarily good deal at £5 per person per night! Never dreamed we could achieve that! Once again thanks are due to Cameron for thinking this up and then making it happen - he's well suited to his job as a councillor!
 |
| Sarah Argent - Theatre Director |
We didn't stop talking from the moment I picked her up from the station. To be honest it was amazing that I even got to cooking - engrossed as we were in our conversation. You see its a small tribe thing. Directors don't often get to share in depth their work. There is a certain protection that kicks in - vulnerability about one's own swampy process and just a little preciousness about it too. Not with Sarah - we talked the hind leg off Pegasus! Indeed I am in the process of persuading Sarah to help me out with a few things - Jasmine Street shaped.
And so to my decision to take a break from blogging for the next month. Gulp! I have now been blogging since November when I innocently started to write my Cinderella blog as a means of building my 60-strong team. I had no idea about the subtleties nor ramifications of becoming a blogger - none at all! And there have been myriad - too many to write about here. Indeed I still marvel at the number of hits both that blog and this still get! its a surprise and a joy. So thanks to those of you who check in from time to time, and some who have made reading this part of their breakfast habit along with cornflakes and a cup of tea. I am grateful for this and it encourages me to write more.
 |
| Cortijo Romero |
So why take a break for a month? Well fittingly the blogging journey has been nine months now- a suitable gestation period - and a monumental time of change. And its time for me to check out for a while. I need to retreat into a period of incubation - a time to dream and plan for my Jasmine Street future, to step back from the fire fighting of recent months and the leaving of Arc and very importantly too to focus on my other writing.
Alongside my daily blog I have also been writing my 'other' book - so most mornings I write between about 5am-9.30am. Its surprising how much you can get done in the silent hours. No emails, facebook posts or calls. Blissful lark time. I am 350 pages into my first novel - and that's all I will share at this stage as its in its embryonic phase. And I am learning about it. I have been writing it on and off for over five years - and now its time for it to take centre stage.
 |
| Sierra Nevada Mountains |
 |
| Corijo Romero - Door to the future! |
In my blog absence though I have much in store for you - I am in the process of negotiating a blog sitter for the month and making a space and platform for guest bloggers - those who might fancy a blog or two but don't necessarily want to commit to the whole thing! I shall be posting later today on how to get involved and submit a guest blog and also more information about my blog sitter!
It'll be good to have more fresh voices on here - and serves me and hopefully my guests very well.
So back later with the signposts for bloggers before I head for the hills!
Have a great day.
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