Happy New Year!
From my last post to now, I have had quite the ride! I had a brilliant summer working with Bard in the Botanics, appearing as Apemantus and the Senator in Timon of Athens, and as Goneril in Queen Lear. I had the bonus this season of also staging all of the action for the four plays in rep, meaning working on Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure as well. One indoor and one outdoor show on my performance schedule made for an appreciation of the dry days in a Glasgow summer for sure.
As soon as rehearsals for the final shows ended with Bard, I was into rehearsal with Calvinball for Ipdip Theatre. I directed this fun and engaging interactive show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and it went on to sell over 2000 tickets and pick up numerous **** reviews.
Apemantus in Timon of Athens (photo cred Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
Goneril in Queen Lear (photo cred. Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)
Zinnie Harris' The Oresteia Trilogy was remounted for the International Festival, and it was bloody brilliant to dive back into the epic mess with the cast. After a run at the Royal Lyceum Theatre it returned to Glasgow for two weeks.
August: Osage County was Andrew Panton's first production as new Artistic Director of Dundee Rep. I had the real privilege of coming in to work on the violence with this fantastic company. (In this video Andrew speaks about the show and there is footage of myself in rehearsal with the cast)
At this point, life kicked off in all sorts of directions. I moved my mailing address to Toronto, which is where I am living these days. I want to be working internationally, and in order to do so need to be making connections in the new scene. It has been positive for sure. I have signed with Butler Ruston Bell, who have been massively positive and supportive, getting me out on auditions all the time. I booked and shot a commercial in October and have a couple things in the pipeline coming up in the next month or two.
I flew back to Scotland briefly to work on Cockpit with Wils Wilson at The Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. This politically charged site specific piece had actors climbing the walls, sliding down ropes and shooting guns in the auditorium as well as on stage. A massively talented cast to work with.
It has been a rare opportunity to work with three large cast shows. With budgets decreasing and funding being cut all over, getting to see more that 2 or 3 bodies on stage at a time is rare. At the three largest theatres in Scotland, I had the privilege to work with the top actors in the country.
So bring it on, 2018. I'm ready for you.