back of a spreadsheet; back of the net

It's time for a Tuesday Two.

After a three week break from the gym for holidays and a bit of a slow start back due to some disrupted sleep it looks like this week is the week to get some weight lifting done.

My PT and I did some asymmetric lifting. Essentially doing deadlifts with the feet slightly out of alignment which makes the various muscle groups work a bit smarter. It paid off. I lifted a 100 kgs and was so surprised by how light it was I thought it was 80. Topped out with a couple of reps at 120kgs. 120 is the second most I've ever lifted and my current working maximum so I was very pleased to get back to lifting that. At the moment the main barrier to lifting a little more weight is my grip. By the time I've warmed up and worked up to 100-120 my grip is begining to go. There's not much to do about that other than keep gripping things. Perhaps cooler weather will help.

We finished the session with some sprints on the rowing machine. That was hard work. It's been a while since I was last on the rowing machine. I think a bit more of that would be good, but it was hard work.

Sharing the space with us whilst I was rowing was my current gym curiousity. A woman who is at the gym every time I'm there (which implies she's there most days.) I've seen her do a pull-up and then lift her feet up to touch the bar. That was impressive. Today she was doing a headstand and then a push up in to a handstand. That was mighty awesome. I've no idea what, if anything, she is training for, but whatever it is is very impressive.

Secondly, Skirt sold out its opening night. The performance was really good. Lots of energy and concentration. My scene got plenty of laughs and my appearance in the coda also got a laugh. Which was unexpected but lovely. I think the audience will have left having enjoyed the show as well as finding it thought provoking. Entertained, informed and educated. It's been a real pleasure being involved in the production. The entire cast have been great to work with. Focused, creative, diligent yet light-hearted and warm. The director has been superb. It looks like we might just about sell out the entire run. There are only a dozen or so tickets for tonight's performance and only 8 for Friday. So I think we'll sell those nights out and that should then drive some audience towards the three nights which currently have more tickets available. We've already sold 70% of the run.

So, back on stage tonight at 6.30 at the Royal Scots club. If you are in Edinburgh do come and see the play. It's rather good.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/skirt

I am taking part in a series of scrip workshops on a play about gender.

The play is being written by a friend and drama colleague. It is inspired by her reaction to the Daily Mail front page Legsit, showing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the First Minister of Scotland meeting to discuss the role of Scotland in the Brexit process and entirely commenting on their legs.

Her drama blog is here.

https://cmfwood.blogspot.co.uk/

This is her second play. Her first play, Beauty was in last year's Fringe and was very good.

http://www.alledinburghtheatre.com/beauty-grads-edfringe-2017-review/

I like working with her and it's nice to be doing some drama. I'm a bit out of the loop because, stuff, but I understand she's got a first draft written and we are providing grist to the mill of a second, more weighty, draft. I have not seen the scrip. I don't think anyone other than her assistant director has.

Sunday's workshop was about engaging with gender cliches, which are the most dangerious, which are the most persistent, how do they shape individual and culturall expectations and beginging a group conversation about gender. It was interesting. I'm looking forward to the rest. I think Sunday was mostly about building a container for us to work in.

No revelations yet.

I am in a play. Specifically, I have a small role in the Edinburgh Grads production of Julius Caesar. I am to play Varro, an amalgamation of several small subsidiary roles, a citizen, a soldier and cobbler. Varro is one of several amalgamated roles used to show the reaction and actions of the Roman public to the personal and political drama happening before them. He’s a bit of a wide boy – a poor man’s Eric Morecambe playing Jimmy Dean in his own head.

I have some twenty lines, not many at all. However, I am first on the stage and last off it and, as you would expect from a character whose main purpose is to react to things I’m on stage a lot. Lots of my lines are general harrumphing at speeches. I’m actually finding it harder work learning the lines than if I had large blocks of speech or conversations. There’s nothing to hang them on

Rehearsals are going well. There are nice bits in the play and the quality of the acting is pretty good for an amateur production.  The cast are a lovely mix of good humour without being silly. Scenes gets rehearsed, people pay attention, remember the blocking, throw in some constructive suggestions, have a bit of laugh.

I’ve not seen any costumes but preliminary sketches indicate a sort of Victoriana / steampunk vibe and I get to grow my hair a bit. This is quite cool. I don’t love steampunk as a genre but the clothes are quite cool. I wonder if I can get some googles to go with my switchblade.

I’m also getting a chance to do a little bit of improvisation in rehearsals, which is nice. On a few occasions my improv experience has really helped me to work out what happens next. I think the improvisation in my favourite scene will turn out to be very effective.

I’m enjoying watching the directing process and I’m learning stuff about directing as we go. I would quite like to have a go at directing something in the next few years. I’ve been on a few RSC / NTS workshops on production design and these are helping me think about directing.

It’s been nearly 20 years since I was last on stage with a script. It’s nice to

The show runs in the last week of November in Adam House opposite the Royal Museum in Edinburgh.

http://egtg.co.uk/productions/julius-caesar

I am in the technical crew (nearly in the Arty bit because things I do appear on stage and I get to take a bow) for a play being produced by my drama group.

We are putting on A Comedy of Errors. It is a farce, with two pairs of twins, a master and a servant each, separated at birth, being mistaken for each other and mistaking each others servant or master for their own. Lots of slapstick. I’m really impressed by the show. It’s laugh out loud funny in rehearsal. I think this is a good sign.

I’m responsible for operating the projector. The projector displays a shadow puppet show of the back story of the separation of the twins and also name cards as characters enter. The shadow puppet bit is quite tricky and I don’t have long to learn it so that I’m as good as the rest of the cast. I’m sure it will be fine but it needs some attention.

I’m enjoying the show. I like being part of the group. It’s nice to be doing something good and something that is creative and different from what I’ve spent the last six months doing.

I wish I’d been able to be in the performance cast but I chose to campaign for democracy instead.

It’s going to be a good show.

Tickets here if anyone fancies booking but there will be tickets available on the door.

http://www.hubtickets.co.uk/show_events_list.asp