Sat on the mattress, dress all in white, with Laurence the puppet standing by in the wings, i can honestly say that i was pooping my pants! I could feel my heart pounding, and i had to pretend to be asleep. Then the lights went down and the music began.... no going back now! The experience of trying to sustain an audience for 40 minutes was the scariest realisation for me. If i didnt start the dialogue... we wouldnt have a show. I needed to have enough confidence and self belief in myself, to think that my acting could keep an audience entertained for that length of time. The puppetry all came together in the end, and Sir Laurence was a hit with the audience. As the play came to a close, the emotion overtook me, and i deliverered a performance that i could be personally proud of. I will the first to say that i had reservations about doing a one woman version of this dark play, but i am so glad that Matt believed enough in me to let me try and succeed :)
Now Funny Ha Ha i wasnt nervous about. I knew that the person opposite me aka Darren Little, is such a talented actor, that he would be on his game! And boy was he! Sat in the wings, i could hear the audience loving his cynical bitter clown act! They were loving him! no pressure then. As soon as the clowns united on stage, we definitely had the audience where we wanted them. All the gags worked, and the routines went as good as they could have, even when Darren pushed me, but had his foot on the rope...... almost killing me!
And having such great feedback from the audience, we have decided to perform Funny Ha Ha in the festivalsa for next years festival season, around the county. Which of course is amazing, as i feel that it would be such a shame to stop something that could be alot of fun and good! So here's to Clown 1 and Clown 2 and 2013!! The festival scene wont know what hit them..... wellies and all :)
So to sum up the double bill experience, i am immensely proud of myself for doing 4.48! Dont think i will do another one woman show in a hurry, but the fact that i managed to do one, and didnt bore the audience to tears, is always a plus! and Funny Ha Ha was such a blast! who would have though our suicidal clowns would be such a hit with the audience? So now looking forward to 2013. Whole Hog, is going to be packing in lots more plays, including Joe Orton's What the butler saw for the Isle of Man festival! But for the time being, this little actress has to be content with not being in a rehearsal room for a few months....... oh god! im going to be rehab i fear!
2013.... look out, WHOLE HOG IS COMING