If you’re around Dublin next week and would like to meet some Irish based bloggers, twitterers or social media socialites, then get to the BTW event! (Blogger, Twitter, Whatever!) Organised by Jason Roe of http://jasonroe.me these events prove to be very popular.
The meet up is taking place at 7pm on Thursday 29th July in The Church Bar. More details can be found on by clicking on Jason’s site here.
When I came across Red Letter Media on YouTube I was hooked. Any he’s definitely deserved of a full blog post. So who the hell are Red Letter Media?
A few months ago, much of the geekier side of the movie world, made reference to a 70 minute review of Star Wars The Phantom Menace (TPM) that was an indepth review. Now given my feelings on TPM, thats is awful and the fact this chap was posting a 70 minute review many years after the movie’s release, much to my shame I skipped his review.
Until recently. I so it mentioned on a site yet again and though, “not this thing again”. However I had some time to kill so I have a look. What started as a brief look ended up being a 3 hour marathon of watching as much Red Letter Media movie reviews that I could! The chap has a wildly entertaining, geeky yet completely sensical (is that a word???) view of how movies and story telling work. However the key word here is entertaining. His reviews are WILDLY entertaining.
Granted Mike from Red Letter Media doesn’t have many reviews uploaded and the reviews centre on the Star Wars and Star Trek world predominantly but once you watch his reviews you’ll be dying to see whats next. Even Mike himself is feeling the pressure, which we get a taste of with some of the other comical video’s he has uploaded.
To visit Red Letter Media’s website, click here!
So you may have read a previous blog post about No Drama Theatre’s Improv shows (Previously called Improvlova) or perhaps you have attended one of our shows (and hopefully had a good time!). We recently rebranded the improv show to Laughalot Improv to coincide with the launch of our regular monthly show in The Duke pub in Dublin. Serious business then? So how did it come about and what the hell is a theatre group doing improv comedy for?
For those of you who have no idea what Im talking about, improv comedy is comedy improvisation. Its unrehearsed, unscripted and with many of the games peformed, influenced based on suggestions from the audience. The result, when done right, should be a performance of sharp wit with hilarious scenarios. If done wrong, tumbleweeds, boos and tuts from the audience. If done very well, be prepared for accusations of having rehearsed or prepared already! (Some of the episodes of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” are so funny, they often look rehearsed!)
I’ve always loved improvised comedy. About 18 months ago, I thought it would be fun to organise a night of improv comedy as a fundraiser for the group. We were quite nervous on the night, a few drinks were consumsed for Dutch courage and the adrenalin was pumping. The first show was in Cassidy’s bar on Westmoreland St in Dublin. It was a massive success. I judge success based on the feedback of audience members present with no affiliation with the group. It proved to be quite inspiring! So we proceeded to organise some more shows, at random all of which were received well with a great turnout.
Earlier this year I figured that the improv show was something that could be turned from a fundraiser to a viable arm of No Drama Theatre. There was a demand among members for improv and for the chance to perform on stage. There are of course other improv comedy groups in Dublin but for new people wanting to get involved, it can prove very difficult as the improv groups are a tight knit unit.
I attended other improv shows this year to see how the competition faired. Choke Comedy Improv in Limerick and the Craic Pack group in Dublin. Both groups were excellent and each had their own slant with their improv shows. I chatted to one of the founders of Craic Pack after one show, the talented Peter O’Byrne.
Peter is no stranger to comedy. He has been performing with Craic Pack for many years since its founding and also frequents the stand up scene. When not on stage, he can also be found on the TV from time to time. Peter also runs Introductionary courses to Comedy Improv.
Knowing that it was time for us to invest seriously in our improv and up our game, I invited Peter to run some improv workshops for No Drama. They were a roaring success. He’s an excellent tutor and those of us who perform in the improv show benefited greatly from his tutorage.
Our improv shows in the Duke now have a more structured and confident edge. We ban performers taking alcohol before and during the show. We have call times and a 1 hour warm up before each show. We also have “rehearsals” the week of the show.
“Rehearsals” I hear you say? Well, its not a rehearsal as such but an improv fresher. We’ve learnt that being funny has very little to do with successful improv. It takes good teamwork and going with what you are presented with on stage. It is in fact, a mindset. Improv goes against the grain of how we were reared to live our lives. Therefore in our rehearsal class, we spend the time carrying out improv exercises that have little to do with humour and everything to do with getting in the mindset. It makes a massive difference to our performance on the night of a show.
I never tire of improv. Every show brings something different and there is always a few moments of comedy gold in each show. The buzz of hearing the audience laugh and the odd heckle is fantastic.
As the show has become more successful, we now have the additional challenge of ensuring that people dont view No Drama Theatre as a improvisation theatre group. The rebranding and handling of our improv shows and workshops is being kept seperate to our theatre workshops and shows to ensure we keep ourselves focussed. But it has to be said, its alot of fun! Hopefully you will catch one of our shows too!
A big thanks to all the entrants to the [REC]2 competition! The winners of the goodie bags are as follows:
Brian Keenan
Brendan Pollard
Maria Dillon
Damien Holmes
Amber Power
PROMOTION:
E1 Entertainment Presents
‘The most frightening film of the year.
You will not sleep after watching this’
Nuts Magazine
After terrifying audiences with their nerve-shredding cult hit, [REC], acclaimed filmmakers Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza take fear to another level with the highly anticipated screamquel to the scariest camcorder horror since Blair Witch.
Only minutes have passed since the authorities lost contact with those trapped inside the virus-stricken apartment block, now completely sealed off from the outside world. Chaos reigns outside and a SWAT team, equipped with video cameras, has been sent in to try and control the situation. However, no one is prepared for the evil that awaits them and, once again, they must keep recording…no matter what!
FEAR IS REVISITED ON MAY 28TH 2010
For further information please contact:
KATE BOWE PR on 01 652 01 43:
maud@katebowepr.ie/niamh.regan@katebowepr.ie
Images – www.picselect.com
/PROMOTION
Ok now that the promotional bit is out of the way, lets get to the stuff you really want! Goodie bags! Ive a number of goodie bags up for grabs! You want to win one? Easy as eating cake. All you need to do is to email me with the name of your favourite horror movie and I will pick at random the lucky winners the day before the movie is released. Thats the 27th May! So get emailing, there are no wrong answers!!
I haven’t seen the movie yet but I’m a fan of the first one. Will post a review of this movie next week!
Those of you have read some of my earlier posts will remember be talking about an Irish horror film called Seer and its director, Eric Courtney. (I swear, that interview is coming soon!) Eric contacted me a few months ago asking if I could help him out with a new film he is directing on a somewhat not-often-touched topic; an exorcism.
We all remember that film from 1973. Banned in Ireland from many years due to its content, the film had a stigma attached in many corners, curses, strange things going on set, people dying, and all that hokey pokey good stuff.
The Exorcist is one of my favourite films, something that many friends question. It wasn’t the fact of having studied film in college back in the day or written a piece about what the film represents as a piece of art that drew me to it. It was the fact that when I saw it, 16 years of age, it scared the pants off me. For the 122 minutes the film displayed on my TV, I was glued to my seat in a lather of sweat and white knuckles. I was alive for those 2 hours and William Friedkin ensured that I would remember that film for a long time.
Nowadays, with our desensitised view of the world the film is somewhat dated, as horror films have been permitted by censors to be more shocking that they were in the 70′s and of course, the film has been imitated and parodied regularly. But never recreated. Even John Boorman couldn’t bring his charm to it’s sequel (and interestinly enough, Boorman apparantely turned down the chance to direct the first film, as the story goes, because it was a nasty piece of work). The original novel’s writer, William Peter Blatty, tried his hand at directing the third film, which focussed moreso on a spate of killings with satanic overtones. While the film had its moments, it wasn’t a patch on the original. I’m not going to mention the 2 prequels at this point.
Cut to today, Eric asked me if I could help out with some of the logistically elements of the film so with my background in No Drama Theatre, I set about sourcing potential actors that would potentially meet his criteria. The film will centre around an exorcism of an Irish girl but rather than focus on the horror of the piece, the film will focus on the psychological aspect. A good decision in my opinion.
As part of my research for the project, I read a number of modern non fiction books on the subject material; The Rite; The Dark Sacrement and Hostage Of The Devil. The books brought me into a world that I have to admit, should really only reside on the top shelf of the horror section down at your local Xtravision. The books were fascinated but equally frightening. Unlike Friedkin’s movie, the books didn’t offer tales of spinning heads, mass disfigurations or mutations but instead offered an insight into the modern Catholic Church that appears to have been brushed under the carpet for a long time. But books are books so the production team set out to meet with Ireland’s leading Exorcist. A priest named Father Pat Collins. Fr. Collins was difficult to track down but he did agree to meet with the team and share his insight into his world. Fr. Collin’s tales and explanation as to what happens during an exorcism would make the hairs stand up on your neck. His stories mirrored many of the stories we read about in the books. He wasn’t a troubled man, he came across as a very strong man mentally and spiritually. Perhaps his experiences, as nasty as some of them were, offered him a renewed sense of faith. As William Peter Blatty once said, “God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.”
I should point out that Fr. Collins did not object to the project nor try dissuade the project from proceeding. He did however warn the team to thread carefully. Almost like your mother telling you to look in both directions before crossing the road. One thing that the research has shown is that the subject matter is distressing and regardless of what anyone’s religious beliefs are, it’s not a pleasant topic in any shape or form.
But the show must go on. Eric and his screen writer, Martin Robinson, are pressing ahead with writing the story and almost a whole production team is now in place. Some actors have been already been cast and there is a sense of excitment already building. Eric plans on showcasing the film in the film festivals, similar to Seer, and hopefully a distributor will pick up film at that point.
The film is yet untitled and shooting is planned for early summer. I hope to blog about it more as things move along.
Oh and to pre-empt the question that is always asked when movies like this are being made, “has anything strange happened yet?” Yes it has. But you’re not really going to believe me, are you?
An internet sensation apparantely shot to limelight courtesy of @glinner and Sean Moncrief on Newstalk from Midleton in Cork. You know all this already of course.
Don’t know what Crystal Swing is? Then you are either dead or not from Ireland.
So just watch and enjoy…
There are no words I can add to this post. It is already… perfect.
Quite some time ago, I came across a chap called Antony Lane on twitter with the username @indywoodFILMS. Antony had set out to independently raise funds to make a feature film, “Invasion Of The Not Quite Dead”, which is a spin on the zombie movie genre. You might be saying, “Nothing new there” and would be forgiven for thinking that but when you dig deeper you realise that Antony, or should I say, AD Lane, is doing it a bit different than everyone else.
For a start, he’s really pushing the project as hard as he can. He’s not talking about it, he’s doing it. Through the power of Twitter and other social media sites, AD Lane, has managed to raise UK£16,340 (as of today) from 446 sponsors. And by sponsors, I mean regular people. That’s quite an achievement.
The concept is simple. On visiting the website, theindywoodproject.com you are given the option to take our a producer package. Their are producer packages that range from UK£10 to UK£500, each offering a number of unique perks such as signed DVD, posters, t-shirts and a chance to be a zombie on set for a day.
After following AD Lane’s progress for some time, I took out a producer package. I saw how much he wants this to work and how committed he is to it. But don’t just take my word on it, Jonathan Ross has also taken out a producer package and as you can see from the website, the project carries a number of celebrity endorsements.
So why am I only blogging about this now? Well the teaser trailer has just gone live on the web, giving a brief snapshot of what we can expect!
The teaser was shot on S16mm film on location at a small farm in Kent and stars horror veteran Leslie Simpson (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday), Efisia Fele and Frank Jakeman. I’m looking forward to seeing how this project progresses!
Like what you see or even just a little bit curious as to what its all about?
For more information on how you can help the production of ‘INVASION OF THE NOT QUITE DEAD’ please visit: http://www.theindywoodproject.com or http://www.invasionofthedead.com
For real time updates you can add them on Twitter: @indywoodFILMS
The official facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Invasion-of-the-Not-Quite-Dead/16091146970
Contact writer/producer/director Antony Lane: adlane@indywood.co.uk
No Drama Theatres upgraded website has gone live. There is still lots of content to add but the new layout is there with links to photos etc.
You can click to the site here: www.nodramatheatre.com
So I’m just recovering from our sellout run of Wanted – One Body! that we staged in the excellent Teacher’s Club on Parnell Square in Dublin. It was an awesome run. Four nights, no empty seats and an a great response from the audience!
So how did it feel to direct my first full play. It was hard work. Don’t get me wrong, its not as if none of the other people involved didnt have their work cut out for them, but I doubt they sweated as much as both myself and my co-director, Noel Murphy, did during all four performances. But it was worth it. It was sad to wrap up on the last day, a set that took 3 days to build came down in 3 hours. The friendships that were struck up, the bond between actors and crew and the banter during rehearsals and backstage, it will all be missed.
I just wanted to put my thanks to people in writing and mention everyone! Please bare with me! This thanks list is in no particular order.
Co Director
Noel Murphy
Cast
Patrick O’Callaghan
Shane Robinson
Caelinn Largey
Tracey Diamond
Sarah Moloney
Laura McGovern
Tom Murphy
Alan Rogers
Dave McGowan
Crew
Brian “Silvio” Quinn
Rose Geoghegan
Sheila Dooley
Darragh Beirne
Cat O’Sullivan
Maria “Ladyhammer” Dillon
Louise Hall
Barry O’Donovan
Lisa McSharry
Louise Hall
Paul Bonner
Dearbhla Lawler
Damien Holmes
Jonathan Hughes
Kate Feeney
Vonnie Duran
Rachel Byrne
Ruairi De Burca
Angela Carlin
Grainne O’Sullivan
Everyone else:
Teacher’s Club – Tadhg, Dave and Stephen
Dav and Darragh from boards.ie
The Live Drive Team on Dublin City FM
James Power of Stagemad Theatre
Margaret Curran
Jason Gill of Athlone Little Theatre
Gavin Byrne
Members of No Drama Theatre who have supported us all along!
A big thanks also to those who came along to see us!
We all know how awesome Ben Dunne is here in Ireland. Everything the man touches turns to gold. A very successful business man having been head of Dunne Stores before handing the reigns over, he also owns a chain of gyms and I’m sure he has plenty of other very successful ventures. Watching him on The Apprentice would have been far more entertaining and worthwhile than Bill Cullen in my opinion. Anyway, more recently, it would be impossible not to have heard Mr. Dunne’s dulcet tones promoting his latest venture, bendunne.com, over the airwaves. In short its a site similar to buyandsell.ie for all our buying and selling needs. The cost of advertising on bendunne.com is very cheap.
Which probably explains why there have been many bizarre and funny ads on bendunne.com. Some clever clogs took note of this and set up beendunne.com which gives you the highlights of the best ones!
Enjoy! www.beendunne.com
As some of you remember, No Drama Theatre staged our first ‘major’ production back in May. It comprised of two One Acts, Tales From The Fairground, and the main event, Night At The Invasion. The latter of course being the piece where I played the character, Col. Hazelby. Our esteemed director of Invasion, Barry O’Donovan, had his work cut out for him. Given he had written the play, it put him under increased pressure as it was his work being staged afterall.
We had a cast member pull out half way through production, many re-writes and an enormous amount of rehearsal time (5 months), which was due to the lack of funds available to us in the early days to put us in a position to put the play on. While the end result was something to be proud of, no one will deny the struggle we had putting the whole thing together. Directing seemed like a role best left for the foolish.
I’m some fool it seems. No Drama is staging Charles Dyer’s excellent farcical murder mystery chiller, Wanted – One Body! in January and muggins here is directing. Why I’m directing instead of acting is a long story (I did set up the group because I wanted to direct) but when I took the reigns I decided that a major battle plan was needed. Afterall the play is 2 hours long. It seems we are doing another “first major” production and stage time is less than 8 weeks away…
Fortunately the passion and committment of the No Drama members has been fantastic. I have a co-director in Noel Murphy. And I have a Stage Manager and Production Manager in Darragh Beirne and Cat O’Sullivan. Most amateur drama groups struggle organising a backstage and production team. Working with Darragh and Cat we have a team of almost 12 people. Friends in the theatre world have commented on how lucky we are to have such a large committed team. It seems its something that only the professional world has the privilege of having. And I must add, that no one is getting any form of payment to be involved in the production.
I’m very impressed by my cast of 9 people. Some of them have never graced a stage before. All of them have shown massive dedication. Everyone learnt their lines for Act 1, as requested, before the first rehearsal. In the next few days, we are starting to do full run throughs of the play. It is being staged in The Teachers Club on Parnell Square from January 20th to 23rd.
My stress levels are 90. Yes, I admit it. Despite how organised things are, it impossible not to be anxious. During some rehearsals, it has taken us 30 minutes to get a snippet of a scene of 1 minute nailed. There is so much going on in the play be it dialogue, visual or General Comedy Business (as we have kindly christianed it!)
But despite my blood pressure, I’m very excited and privileged to be doing this. I don’t see myself wanted to direct again for some time (I prefer to be performing!) but I know I benefit greatly from this experience.
Big thanks though goes to James Power of Stagemad Theatre and Jason Gill of Athlone Little Theatre. While they probably don’t realise it, they have been acting as my mentors on occasion over the past weeks. Without it, I’d be a raging alcoholic by now!
The above poster is a draft and not the final product. Wanted – One Body! was written by Charles Dyer. This amateur production is performed by arrangement with Josef Weinberg Ltd
Just for a laugh, with no theme whatsoever, some random but entertaining clips from YouTube…. Ok ok, I admit it, they probably only entertain me!
Stumbled across these 2 videos sponsored by the American Tinnitus Association. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort in Ireland.
I think it was either David St. Hobbins or Derek Smalls, who said in a commentary in the DVD version of the movie, This Is Spinal Tap, something along the lines of, “it really helps mark the passage of time, someone dying.” I recently was taking stock of life, am I half way there, will I live that long, will I have an adequate pension and security and will the Gardai ever catch up with me for stealing that 49p Action Man figure when I was 10?
I’ve gone through a lot of change in life in recent times. Lost friends, gained friends, change in life circumstances. Big life changes seem to remind us of our mortality and the true frailty of life. Its usually at night, in the quiet and darkness that surrounds us, where our fears or hopes are realised.
We make mistakes too as human beings. Its part of life. Sometimes its difficult not to. We can do 10 things right in life but it only takes 1 thing to undo all that. Sometimes of course, we make repeated mistakes and it takes a while for us to fix the things we do wrong. That’s when the problems really start. Sometimes it can be hard to understand why people in our lives make those mistakes and even harder to understand their intentions. But there comes a point where a line is drawn. You have to decide whether you can support that person and stick by that person. Its not an easy thing to do. And you have to take stock of how you feel about it.
If you have something good, hang on to it. If it needs fixing, fix it. Don’t let go of a good thing.
And then what? Life goes on. Someone important in my life once told me, “You were always 5 Neil”. Hopefully someday I won’t be.
Wow. Its the only word I can use to sum up the experience I had with Apple following the not-so-wow experience with O2. They returned my iPhone hassle free by the Friday. So I was effectively without my phone for only 4 days.
But the story doesn’t end there. A new issue arose with the iPhone the day after I got it back. It got stuck in ‘headphone’ mode for some reason. I contacted Apple who were most apologetic. In fact they also agree to provide the replacement courtesy phone while mine was being repaired free of charge. Turns out I was able to resolve the issue without needing to send it off again but either way, it left me a positive experience despite the fact the iPhone had a potential new fault.
Lessons to be learnt O2 Ireland…
They did it again. The O2 crowd. I had to make contact with a problem. I’m a bit of an apple fan. Not a geek mind you, but I like some of their stuff. Although I have never liked the price. I ashamedly have a genuine iPhone 3G on one of the horrendous iPhone contracts. But I made the choice myself so that’s not really the issue.
I keep my phone in immaculate condition. I didn’t take insurance out on the phone because O2 wanted €15 per month for insurance compared to the usual phone insurance of a few euro that they usually charge. Taking a gamble it may be, but I have a one year warranty anyway.
Through normal operation the Silent switch on the side of the iPhone snapped off recently. Out of nowhere. I’m quite a puny chap so its not like I used brute force to do it. A few google searches later I find that this has happened to a few people around the world and many claim problems in trying to have it fixed under warranty.
I rang O2 Customer Support and they said that the switch could only have been damaged by having dropped the phone or applying some Bruce Willis type Die Hard action to it. I explained to the at-all-times-friendly customer care person that the phone is immaculate other than that. (I have it since January might add) She went on to explain the process of having to send the iPhone to O2 who then send it to Apple, and Apple might send it back unfixed etc etc. It sounded very daunting I must admit. She told me that it was best to bring the phone to an O2 Store as opposed to any other mobile stores. (presumably Carphone Warehouse?)
I made my merry way to an O2 store in Dublin to see what they will say instore. At this point I must add that I originally purchased the phone in Carphone Warehouse. The chap in the store was very friendly. As it was a Friday he recommended coming back on the Monday as they wouldn’t be sending the phone to Apple until then anyway. He reiterated much of what was told to me on the phone by the Customer Care rep. However he added the whole receipt thing. They wouldnt do anything with a receipt. (Even though they have all the details of the phone on their system) But given the whole ‘best to come back on Monday’ advice, I didn’t want to enter a debate on the receipt necessity at that point.
I left somewhat annoyed. Although the staff were friendly, I felt that they were preparing me for the worst. They made Apple sound like tyrants, in my opinion of course.
I didn’t drop the phone into Apple on the Monday. Instead, I called Apple direct. Wow. What a difference. They customer care rep made some enquires to assess if the phone had water damage, listened to my story and advised that the issue was more than likely covered by the warranty. He also sent me an email to that effect.
UPS turned up the following day with the courier box and I will have to wait for between 5 and 7 days for my phone to return. There was even an optional courtesy iPhone while my phone was being repaired for €29. While I will miss my piece of Apple, I wont miss it so bad that I need to pay €29 for courtesy phone but the option was nice.
Right so its not an end of the world experience but I felt the need to share it anyway. Perhaps I’m becoming a crankier fart in my old age. But at least I can set my video recorder to record The Late Late Show on a Friday night. Wait, I mean DVD recorder…..
So the summer break is over a few weeks now and the committee deliberated over what the next production for No Drama would be. To cut a long story short, we had planned on annoucing our next production on August 18th. However due to the lack of a suitable script, the scramble to find an established play suitable for us, we only annouced the play last week. We have chosen Raymond Dyer’s Wanted – One Body!. We are in the process of securing the rights to perform it later this year.
The play itself is described by the author as being a farcical chiller. I would more call it a murder mystery/comedy/farce/chiller. The play goes from downright hilarious to downright creepy with many a twist throughout. It sends up many of the murder mysteries that were common at that time (the play was first performed in 1961).
The cast if made up of 9 characters and within No Drama, many people have expressed interest in auditioning.
As for directing, myself and one of No Drama’s respected members, Noel Murphy, will be leading the production. We are looking forward to bringing the magic of this play to the stage.
Once rights are secured we are hoping to perform this play in late November or early December.
The photo above was taken at a workshop in Little Theatre where a selection of No Drama Theatre were tutored by the good folk of Athlone Little Theatre.
So last week a gang of about 15 bikers took to the roads from Dublin and headed to Cork. What an overnight trip! The weather was good, the buzz was awesome and the anticipation for Cork poured beer was high! I drive a Honda Deauville myself which is a 650cc tourer. Its a big bike but was actually the smallest bike for the day, with most other riders on BMW’s or tuned road bikes.
We left Dublin via the N7 at 9:30. Unofficially marshalled by those good folks at Bike 2 Bike Training, we plotted a route over the back roads that took us from Dublin to Blessington via the Sally Gap, on over to Kilkenny city for lunch, then towards Tipperary, Clare, over the V to Waterford before finally arriving in Cork.
We didnt arrive in Cork in 6:30pm which goes to show how much of a challenge the route was. Many roads were windy, gravelly, badly marked but that didnt deter from the fun and the sights. We took a somewhat leisurely pace and safety was as always paramount. Taking the back roads reminds you of how beautiful the country really is and we dont often get to see it when bombing down the motorway in rush hour traffic!
The arrival to Cork was celebrated with lots of beer, a trip to the local pubs and then more beer to wash it the first lot down.
Myself and one of the other bikers, John Fair, tweeted the day’s exploits on Twitter with the tag #wobblybiker
Needless to say the trip home the next day in the rain was not as pleasant…
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