This began life as a tweet and then migrated to Facebook. It then exceeded their word limit so I find myself here on dear old WordPress. Anyhow, it concerns last night’s programme Gareth Malone’s Extraordinary School for Boys on BBC2 in which the choirmaster tackled the problem of boys’ literacy. Here are my thoughts. They… [Read more…]
September 7, 2010
Last term I had a spell during which students at several different drama schools were unwilling or unable to learn lines. These were students who want to be professional actors and who were paying for expensive training with that goal in mind. It rendered several lessons completely unworkable because not a single student had learned… [Read more…]
July 22, 2010
As you are probably aware, no two people in the Actors’ union Equity can share the same name. It works on a first come, first served basis so if you apply to Equity and someone already has your name registered, you have to choose another name. The form also tells you, helpfully, that you can’t… [Read more…]
July 22, 2010
I was recently contacted by a graduate who was doing her MA in Museums and Galleries in Education at IOE. She asked me whether I would mind answering a few questions, given the fact that I had played Agatha in Relic: Guardians of the Museum, CBBC show set at the British Museum. I obliged and… [Read more…]
March 21, 2010
My students regularly amuse me. Recently, one girl was asking me about science and we got onto the subject of horoscopes which I was quick to dismiss as patent nonsense. “You don’t believe in horoscopes?” she looked surprised (she clearly doesn’t know me very well.) “No, of course not.” “Why not?” “Well aside from the… [Read more…]
February 9, 2010
I don’t normally do personal reviews of anything because, well, who really cares about my opinion and also I know that reviews by completely unqualified people can be really glib and unknowledgeable. I’ve been at the sharp end of them myself and so have never sought to propagate the phenomenon. But so many people have… [Read more…]
October 31, 2009
I have no problem with Nativity plays. They are nice little pieces of warm fuzzy tradition and they teach teamwork, the art of line learning, speaking in public and all sorts of other skills. And the Birth Narrative of the Synoptic Gospels (minus Mark) is a great little story. It has plenty of characters, it… [Read more…]
October 31, 2009
When I was 5 I was cast in the school nativity play. Not being a desperately attractive child, I was passed over for Mary and didn’t even manage a shepherd or a wise man. The staff at Olive Hill Primary school in 1986 obviously couldn’t spot talent when they saw it as it was decided… [Read more…]
September 4, 2009
***** More Than 17 Aug 2009 reviewer: Stuart – Blairgowrie, Scotland At my first visit to the fringe I had 2 hours to kill and spent one in the wonderful company of Mould and Arrowsmith. The show entertains on many levels and left me realising what I have been missing by not comming to the… [Read more…]
September 4, 2009
Thought I would post our reviews in full up here. So here we go; PRESS REVIEWS The List **** (4stars) Beyond nerdy, yet playful and ingeniously funny, Steve Mould and Gemma Arrowsmith’s mock-highbrow revue is like a Centre Georges Pompidou of comedy: all exposed plumbing, postmodern form-as-content and paradox fetishism. Hauling a wide load of… [Read more…]
September 10, 2010
0