Tag: Edinburgh Fringe

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Ed Fringe #Day2

Greetings from glorious Edinburgh!

I arrived with an hour to spare via the ever Mega Megabus last night and am well and truly settled in to my new home for the next few weeks.  How lovely is the view 30 seconds from my digs…?!

The plan is that I’ll keep this here news page pretty regularly up to date (more so than usual) with my Fringey goings on…

I had a grand tech run this afternoon at The Bongo Club and got the first glance at the flyers for my show, designed by Paul Garner. I am bouncing about rather excitedly/in a daze.

The promo video is all done and uploaded and you can view its wonder here:

Big thanks to Geoffrey Sautner for doing the biz.

The preview of Fabled at Theatre503 was a resounding success, with me sweating off pretty much all of my make up (stingy eyes owwwwww!) and I’m PUMPED to give it my all for everyone who comes to be Fabled over the next month.

In a moment of madness today, I thought I’d start doing an Edinburgh Fringe video diary. FIRST INSTALLMENT HERE.  Who knows how regular this will be!

In other news, I’m now booked to do Gypsy Hotel on the 15th of September and there’ll be plentiful amounts of cabaret dates throughout this month at the Fringe.  I’ve also gone and put my songs on MySpace.

August, here I come…

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Fabe-ulous

Fabled preparations continue at lightening speed: re-writes and records have been done, soundtrack tweeks continue, new props are materialising and rehearsals are going great guns at Jackson’s Lane – very grateful for the space!

The photo shoot for the show by www.mecaniques.co.uk was a resounding success:

…as was the video promo shoot, the fruits of which are headed imminently internet-wards.

My second London preview date is also now organised: catch Fabled next Tuesday the 24th at 7pm at Theatre503.
Details and tickets here.

Many things (like actually buying my train/coach ticket up to Edinburgh) are backing up but every day brings progress!

The Postcards Cabaret at Jackson’s Lane last month was a storming success (find amazing pictures of the night by AbsolutQueer Photography here) and, off the back of it, I’m performing on the Bandstand at the Secret Garden Party this Sunday.  Somehow I’m going to pull a 20 minute Lois of the Lane act out of the bag…

On top of all this, I’ve added a new song to my songs page.  Please find ‘Android‘ there for your delectation.

Sleeps.

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Ah-yeah!

We are GO for Edinburgh Fringe tickets!

I repeat:

GO for Edinburgh Fringe tickets!

Yup, the programme launch for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is today and you may now buy muchos tickets for Fabled – woo hoo!

Manic… sorry – focussed preparations for its first performance on the 10th of June at the Holloway Arts Festival are well underway and I am really looking forward to it.  So many great people involved in bringing it all together.  The voiceovers are all pretty much recorded now and a mammoth soundscape build is in the diary for Saturday for rehearsals next week.

You can buy tickets for the 10th of June here.

Have a nose at the rest of the Holloway Arts Festival programme – loadsa great stuff on.

I had great fun at the Boxing Rabbit Launch Party last week and am really relishing the crazy Fabled deadline I’m up against.

GOOD TIMES!

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I am a writing machine

I am most definitely ensconced in writing mode. My new hour long solo show ‘Fabled‘ needs to be all up and running for its premier performance at 5pm on the 10th of June and that day rapidly approaches.  I AM LOIS’ HYPERDRIVE. 40mins written so far and 20 left to go – it’s a sinch I tells ya…

Once again: details are here and hot tickets are here.

I am now also taking the show up to the Edinburgh Fringe this August and I’ll be performing at The Bongo Club at 4pm – proper details when tickets are on sale.  Soon!  Soundtrack, photos, video, webpage, flyer: all backed up in the pipeline behind the as yet unfinished script.  Tasty, tasty deadlines – hot diggity dog.

On the more variety side of Lois of the Lane based things I had a great gig in April at the Bussey Building in Peckham for a V-Day London fundraiser for Bede House and I have another gig at the launch party for new theatre company Boxing Rabbit at the Rag Factory on the 25th of May – more details and links when I have them.  It’s all go.

I’m now going to go and put our crockery in alphabetical order and catalogue my lint collection before sitting down for another writing splurge…  (No, I’m not procrastinating – these things are important.)

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Overdue update and new show ‘Fabled’!

Ahoy!  So, here’s my brand spanking new website ready for a fresh leap into creative action this Spring.  It’s been another quiet few months, blog-wise, around these parts but, as ever, stuff’s been going down.  The main thing was trying to find a new place to live and then getting settled in, but thankfully that’s all now done and dusted and I’m most definitely ready TO GET CRACKIN’.

In August I made a brief jaunt up to the Edinburgh Fringe where I made a couple of appearances at the Gorgeous George Cabaret Club, singing some of my songs and doing a bit of Lois of the Lane-ing.  Lovely to see everyone and get my Fringe fix.

September saw me popping up to Birmingham to Lois of the Lane at Barbara Nice‘s Jamboree at A.E. Harris.  A grand evening it was too.  For all of you Brum-based, the next one’s on Friday the 20th of April and you can book tickets now.

Here’s a picture of me doing ‘Alive and Amplified’ that night, picture by Graeme Braidwood:

There was also a great 1st Birthday Village Green in September, theme: Hotel vs Camping, where I performed Chris Issac’s ‘Blue Hotel’ with the lyrics changed to make it about an Hotel painted blue…

October saw another Village Green, this time the theme being Wonkavision and I Lois of the Lane-ed it up good and proper with my ‘Dance Fever’ act.

November saw me hosting a Pac Man vs Pac-a-Mac Village Green then, after the Crimbo hiatus, I was back in the driving seat on Friday the 13th of January at the ‘Bad Luck Cabaret’ at The Space with a BRAND NEW Lois of the Lane act called ‘Somewhere’ which went down a treat.  Here’s me gurning away as normal during the show, photo by Johanna Spiers:

January also saw another Village Green, the theme being Spelling Bee, where I performed Arthur Askey’s ‘The Bee Song’ with the lyrics changed to make it about a Spelling Bee (the reference was mostly lost as only one person in the audience had even heard of the song… ha!).

Aside from all of this, I’ve also been in the very early stages of rehearsal of a brand new play called ‘Kill the President’ by James O’Shea which should be on in London in September, funding dependent… and I’ve also hooked up with Angela Gasparetto who’s going to be helping me develop all aspects of my performance goings on – exciting times!

The BIG big news is that my new solo show is going to be premiering in June.  It’s called ‘Fabled’ and it will be showing, initially, for one night only at the Holloway Arts Festival at 5pm at Platform.  Details and tickets here.  Now I’ve finished my website, the task is to actually finish writing the show and get it all ready – I like a deadline!  More dates for the show following shortly, all being well…

2012 – I’m comin’ atcha!

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A very Lane-y new year

Happy slightly new year all!

2011 ain’t been too bad for me so far.  A few bits have been going on…

I made another appearance at the Village Green Preservation Society at the end of January with a Lois of the Lane based guitar/voice over happening which, despite being very last minute, seemed to work!  This was a very, very basic try out of an idea I have for a new full length show this year that I want to take up to the Edinburgh Fringe in August if I can scrape together the monies.  Watch this space!  (I am very excited about it…)

I’ve finally created a Facebook page for Lois of the Lane.  You can find her here:

Lois of the Lane

Promote your Page too

I’ve also just uploaded the versions of ‘Me and Mr Bones’ and ‘The Last Two Zombies in the World’ that I recorded for The Other Woman Podcast.  You can find ’em on my singing page.

Onwards into February…

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Guitar, maaan

I’m currently sat all beatnik-ed up in my room, ready to go and perform at the inaugural night of The Village Preservation Society‘s monthly residency at The Betsey Trotwood this evening.

Slight changes (or rather: additions) are now afoot in my cabaret offerings following my jaunt up to the Edinburgh Fringe last month.  I went up to busk on the mean streets of the Royal Mile and prepared some cover versions and original bits to sing and play guitar to.  I even made the very serious investment of purchasing a kazoo and bastardised harmonica holder to spice up the proceedings.

Considering I would never have dreamt of singing and playing in front of people under normal circumstances, coupled with the fact that I haven’t picked up my guitar regularly for ages, it went really well!  I made a few bob (I do really mean ‘few’), didn’t have rotten food thrown at me and massively upped my confidence levels.  I had NOWHERE NEAR as big a crowd as some of the old hands, but it was muchly useful nonetheless.

I subsequently had a radio interview on Leith FM, where I played a couple of my original songs (I’ll upload the catchily titled ‘A Chinese Food Loving Vegetarian’s Lament’, based on a song you’ll aaaaall know, soon…) and a couple of gigs at the legendary Bongo Club Cabaret where I had a fantastic time and realised that playing and singing in front of people and actually speaking(!) in between that, isn’t actually all that bad.  Lovely friendly place to discover that.  Thank you Bongo and Rhymes with Purple!  Who’d’ve thunk it?  Lois of the Lane made a brief but triumphant appearance at the Bongo too.  She’s definitely here to stay 🙂

So, on the back of this, I’ve decided to start writing some more songs and do them on the comedy/cabaret circuit – as well as Ms of the Lane – and this evening I’m premiering a jaunty new song entitled ‘The Last 2 Zombies in the World‘ which I knocked out on Sunday.  A month or so early I suppose, but it’s good to be prepared.  (You never know when they might strike..)  I’ll get it recorded at some point soon and stick it on my singing page.  Keep your eyes/ears peeled for more…

Since I’ve been back from the beautiful ‘burgh I was a part of Jennifer Farmer‘s première performance of her new immersive theatre/sound play ‘Conversations I Wish I Could Overhear’ which was part of the Spit ‘n’ Scrub open studios at ASC Studios in Bow.  I’ve also just found out that I’ve got a cracking part in a great piece called ‘No Surprises’ by Mikail Chowdhury, that’s going to be part of a one off charity event on the afternoon of Saturday 16th of October.  More details on this one soon.  Really looking forward to getting my teeth into it!

Until then, here’s a couple of picture of me busking on the Southbank, just before heading up to Edinburgh, taken by my friend Sarah:

You’ve gotta love a kazoo…

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Tragic Cabinet Freakshow Twin Application Symposium and Waterloo East Busking!

Another 4 months appears to have zipped past.  They do that don’t they?

Well, in April I was being all tragic in a masked version of The Bacchae for Chris Vervain which was filmed for use in schools.  Helloooooooooooo Thebes!

In May I had another private Lois of the Lane gig and then subsequently found myself hanging out at Paul Zenon‘s cabinet of Curiosities at the Brighton Fringe:

I was generally being a helpful sailor and keeping an eye on Paul Garner‘s freakshow artwork:

June saw me freaking out with the Gawkagogo Freakshow again – this time at the Udderbelly on the Southbank as part of the Time Out Live Friday Night Freakshow.  There was pigging and a bit of Siamese Twin action:

(Lots of black wig wearing going on over the past few months!)

Also finally put in an application to the Arts Council in June, for funding to re-develop and re-vamp Super Situation.  ALL TOES ARE CROSSED.  I’ve just been on a fund raising course too, so NOTHING WILL STOP ME…

Moving on to July, last Thursday I was part of Jennifer Farmer’s 10 minute slot during the Brand writers symposium at the Southbank Centre as part of the London Literature Festival.  She presented 4 small sections of piece she is developing entitled ‘thefadingcity’ which will ultimately be a large scale immersive theatre piece.  I was doing random, absurd, interactive improvised stuff with kitchen implements, imaginary toxic ingredients and song.  Love it 🙂

Coming up…

I’m putting on Super Situation and Glitch at the (almost) newly opened Waterloo East Theatre on Brad Street next week.  Here be map.  Also on the bill is ‘Baby Rice Cakes’ by Michele Hallak; performed by Michele and the Director of Super Situation: Jamie Rocha Allan.  (We have the honour of being the first professional shows on there – whoop!)  Important details below:

Thurs 22nd and Fri 23rd of July

7:30pm – Super Situation
9pm – Baby Rice Cakes followed by Glitch

£8 for one time slot, £10 for both

Box Office: 0207 928 0060

Click here for Facebook event.

It’s part of the Best of Festivals season produced by Theatre6 which is warming up the theatre before it officially opens in September.  Looking forward to cracking on with rehearsals next week 🙂

In August I’m going to be disappearing off to the Edinburgh Fringe to do a bit of busking for just over a week.  As yet, I still have to dust off my guitar and come up with the songs, but, seemingly, I like a challenge!

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What a to-do

Whilst all quiet on the blog front it’s been all go in the real world…

My new show Super Situation was somehow finished in time after me spending most of the year hurtling at breakneck speed towards the ever looming deadline.  We had a great couple of previews at Theatre 503 at the end of July and then off I headed to The Bongo Club for the whole of August for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Wearing a Super Hero outfit almost every day for a month really ain’t that bad and a great time was had by all.  You can find reviews, photos and the rather wonderful Extraordinary Watch blog here.

I managed to get a great team on board to help me with the show (you knows it) and the plan now is to develop the show further and get ourselves a nice tour booked.  Yum.  Lots of work to be done.

Lois of the Lane also made a number of cabaret outings up at the Fringe this year including Sweet Venue‘s open mic night, the Generation Crunch night at Bedlam Theatre, the MOOnlight Sessions at the Cow Cafe in the Underbelly and last, but certainly not least – the Bongo Club Cabaret.  Then, upon our return, she nipped straight off to do a gig in the teeny tiny Comedy Tent at the Offset Festival, where she ate lots of food and drank some oh-so-delicious free beer.

In Gawkagogo news, preparations are well underway for the next, re-vamped outing of the Gawkagogo Freakshow which will be rearing its beautifully ugly head on the 3rd of December at The Lowry in Manchester.  I’ve got one half of a great new character to get my teeth into and some new Piggy antics to attack.  Can’t wait.

Some photos of three of the characters from the Freakshow, including me as the Pig Faced Girl, are up on Alexandra Jasper‘s website – taken for her collaborative ‘Burlesque Grotesque’ book project.

Finally, after picking up my geetar on Sunday for the first time in ages, I wrote a silly little song which there’ll be a link to once I’ve got round to recording it.  For now though, the to-do list must be tamed and the backlog of my life must be vanquished.  Have at you!

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My Super Situation

The Edinburgh preparations continue…

The show is now written, as of Tuesday last week, and it’s now onto casting the voices, putting together the soundtrack, finding more money, organising props, costume and rehearsals, putting together the flyer and press information and EVERYTHING ELSE!  Lots to do, but I’m very excited.

Unfortunately I’ve been mysteriously let down by the Producer I thought I had on board, so valuable time has been wasted on that front, but hopefully I’ll have someone else in the driving seat very, very soon (please).

Blurb deadlines have already past, so here’s what’s going in the Bongo Club brochure:

Enter the world of Extraordinary Girl, ordinary Jo turned Super Hero.

KA-BLAM!

Following exposure to a mysterious chemical at the hands of evil genius Megalomaniac Man, Extraordinary is one of the members of the Government-funded Unstoppable 5, always ready to come to the rescue (not leaving a great deal of time for much else…).

Lois Tucker’s silent comedy creation Lois of the Lane returns to Edinburgh in this new visual comedy, following the transfer of her last show ‘Glitch’ to the British Library.  Performed to a juicy soundtrack featuring great music and larger than life voice-overs.

THWACK!

along with this image:

I’m playing (almost) every day during the Festival in August at 3:30pm.  Here are the dates:

5th-6th: £4
7th-16th, 18th-22nd, 24th-30th: £6.50, (£5 conc)

(Is that the sound of you writing those in your diary?  Good, good.)

Much more news on all this soon.  Now, back to work…