Journal your inner critic & learn from her!

There is always so much negative stuff talked about the inner critic and inner editor. Yes we have to create from a place of freedom and after that is finished then we go in with our editor’s scalpel. Yelling ‘why are you being so shit right now!’ at yourself does not help you on stage or mid audition but a calm collected post-mortem can be useful, not just by those you trust such as directors and script editors but also by yourself.

I was on stage last night trying my ‘Singing Psychic’ character out. I had no script deliberately, just a few points I wanted to try and hit and a possible opener. There is a twenty minute scripted bit I did in July but the show should be as live and as immersive as possible so live psychic readings of the room are the obvious next step. (Yes she is a character) There was one point where I came out with a line, delivered on the fly, I didn’t mean to be funny yet the audience roared with laughter, all of them, even the ones who had been quieter. I couldn’t help but grin at them (the show has no 4th wall as in I am talking to the audience directly anyway) and got on with the show but there was a small part of my brain that exulted. After the show had finished I could still feel that incredible high when the audience completely lost itself in laughter. It is the same bit of my brain that when filming knows I have to hit my mark, be careful not to bend too far forward and thus get into my costars light etc. I can act freely and with full range of emotions but all the filming and theatre work I have done had trained me to have a slight portion of my brain trained on the ‘stand here, say that line now’ etc bit whilst I get on with being free.

I am not saying you should pick apart everything you do but certainly taping or videoing your shows and live work will point out glaring issues like keeping your eyes closed when you sing, or your repetitive habits such as throat clearing in press conferences. So I am suggesting you keep a diary or journal of ‘lessons to learn and points to improve on from each time you work or have an audition. It is not about being harshly critical but about honing your craft and technique.

So every time you are on the way home from an audition or a show just take a few minutes to write in your ‘journal’, either on your iPad, phone or indeed in a special book.

Lessons I have learnt from the last few shows, rehearsals and auditions from the last 2 weeks.

• Google not just the people you are meeting but also what they look like! Last week I had a very big audition, I knew there were to be three ladies there (the director, producer and a casting director) plus the male casting director who I did know. However neither of the two ladies introduced themselves and the missing third lady never turned up, I had googled them and their credits but not their image! Hence although I tried asking names, in the flurry it got missed. I did a great audition, I got great feedback but it was annoying not being 100% sure who was in the room.
• Recording your live show or presentation even on your iPhone means you can catch the exact phrasing that got everyone laughing. Even as a speaker on say management systems or introducing your art exhibition, you can learn by constantly revisiting and seeing where bits went flat.
• Read your call sheet every night no matter if you think it is the same time again! This week as part of the rehearsals for the fantastic immersive site specific show The Backstage Tour I am doing for A and B Productions, I have been going in to the same place, same time in the Hoxton Holborn Hotel for the rehearsals. However one day the call sheet for the next day had the start date shifted an hour later. It was fine but a reminder to not get into a temporary routine as I just blithely can assume.
• Remembering to write down those you met, even if you did not get booked that time, in a searchable database. This creative world is very small, you will bump into people again! Simon Evans the director of the immersive show I am doing next week, was brought on board after some initial castings. However when I rang him as we were organising a meet I realised he was already in my phone as I had worked with him in 2007 as we both had solo shows we were taking to Edinburgh, I had hired him to be a guest on my show.

I am today about to do again ‘One To One’ theatre, one audience member to one performer and do the Singing Psychic readings in my character. It is as always a joy interacting properly and hearing the audience stories. The Face To Face Festival is curated by Colin Watkeys, my podcast interview with him is here Link to the podcast and transcript
I am on til 8pm with the fabulous Claire Dowie’s Dylan tarot card readings and Peta Lily’s Imperfection, a href=”http://clairedowie.co.uk/page3.html”>Link to Claire Dowie’s website a href=”http://www.losttheatre.co.uk/index.php/whats-on/calendar/11-current-shows/245-face-to-face-2014″>Face To Face Festival link) the dream teller and lots of other artistic treats. The Lost Theatre,