Thursday, January 25, 2007
What Was Lost – And How To Find It.
Last night a Stan posse rocked up at The Jam House, just down the road from our office, to celebrate the launch of What Was Lost, a novel written by Stan friend Catherine O’Flynn.
Having read a early draft, it was no surprise when an agent signed her up or when Tindal Street Press said they wanted to make it their lead publication for 2007. The launch was a great feel-good affair with Catherine ending up sat at a table self-consciously signing copies for family, friends and a very good crowd of total strangers.
‘Get used to it Girl’ we thought, wishing her the best, knowing What Was Lost be a book people recommend to each other, as I am recommending it to you. It’s part of the 3 for 2 offer in some Waterstones, of course you can buy it from Amazon, or directly from the Tindal Street Press (follow the link for more).
James
Link
Having read a early draft, it was no surprise when an agent signed her up or when Tindal Street Press said they wanted to make it their lead publication for 2007. The launch was a great feel-good affair with Catherine ending up sat at a table self-consciously signing copies for family, friends and a very good crowd of total strangers.
‘Get used to it Girl’ we thought, wishing her the best, knowing What Was Lost be a book people recommend to each other, as I am recommending it to you. It’s part of the 3 for 2 offer in some Waterstones, of course you can buy it from Amazon, or directly from the Tindal Street Press (follow the link for more).
James
Link
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Speaking Of The Unspeakable
The project of which we cannot speak was completed last week. It was both enlightening and stressful.
We were contributing colour, noise, energy and contrast to a big internal sales conference. There were thirty of us meshing with a day of presentations. The script was written by elsewhere by someone we didn’t know. They were juggling demands of the client and promptings of the production company who had engaged us. Consequently the script changed regularly, sometimes substantially and ultimately late. The venue was vast and stuffed with kit designed to deliver the conference’s technically sophisticated A/V show. We didn’t have a tec and the dress rehearsal barely merited the name. In many ways we were the ideal team to deal with such challenges.
As the captain of a ship almost totally at the mercy of the elements I was steering, in command of the crew but not our course, a fact that was strangely liberating. Ultimately I think we did a decent job. Nick (Tigg) and Amanda were great in the speaking roles. The rest of the Stan team added a few subtle touches that may have been spotted by some in the melee.
It was great to be working with a team of 22 from a local casting agency, hired in by the production company, all good sorts and patient as Job himself. Ultimately it was great to have helped pay a few people’s bills for the month and to raise a decent kitty for Arvo and Nina to spend on kit for The Cleansing Of Constance Brown.
Would we do it again if asked? Yes, if the circumstances were right.
James
We were contributing colour, noise, energy and contrast to a big internal sales conference. There were thirty of us meshing with a day of presentations. The script was written by elsewhere by someone we didn’t know. They were juggling demands of the client and promptings of the production company who had engaged us. Consequently the script changed regularly, sometimes substantially and ultimately late. The venue was vast and stuffed with kit designed to deliver the conference’s technically sophisticated A/V show. We didn’t have a tec and the dress rehearsal barely merited the name. In many ways we were the ideal team to deal with such challenges.
As the captain of a ship almost totally at the mercy of the elements I was steering, in command of the crew but not our course, a fact that was strangely liberating. Ultimately I think we did a decent job. Nick (Tigg) and Amanda were great in the speaking roles. The rest of the Stan team added a few subtle touches that may have been spotted by some in the melee.
It was great to be working with a team of 22 from a local casting agency, hired in by the production company, all good sorts and patient as Job himself. Ultimately it was great to have helped pay a few people’s bills for the month and to raise a decent kitty for Arvo and Nina to spend on kit for The Cleansing Of Constance Brown.
Would we do it again if asked? Yes, if the circumstances were right.
James
Friday, January 05, 2007
Your Fee Don't Come For Free
The project of which we cannot speak (see 10th December post), despite seeming very straightforward on paper, is causing a significant amount of stress. The fact that the stakes are so high for everyone else involved naturally raises the stakes for us. With relatively little information available and isolated from the main action all I have left to do is fret. Thus this four day job invades time that should be spent thinking about other things.
I realise now there are two rate cards, in one people pay for your time, in the other they pay for your brain-space. The nightmare is when you price a job thinking it’s about time only to find it’s about space. As a result this job, which I initially thought was lucrative, turns out to be charged correctly.
The notion is that any profits from this job go directly to buying kit for our new theatre show, The Cleansing Of Constance Brown. This show is finding its brain-space squatted at the moment, raising the stress levels further.
James
I realise now there are two rate cards, in one people pay for your time, in the other they pay for your brain-space. The nightmare is when you price a job thinking it’s about time only to find it’s about space. As a result this job, which I initially thought was lucrative, turns out to be charged correctly.
The notion is that any profits from this job go directly to buying kit for our new theatre show, The Cleansing Of Constance Brown. This show is finding its brain-space squatted at the moment, raising the stress levels further.
James
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Dot Kom
The Komedy Kollective kontacted us looking for a link from our site. This prompted a visit to our links page. I saw with minor horror that it’s a mess. It’s neglected. There’s not real logic to it, some of the links are dead and gone. This is certainly not the time to be randomly adding in new links to that page, least of all links to renegades from Bradford who we’ve never met.
This said, wandering around their site in all its kraziness, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of goodwill towards them; another troupe setting out on an uncertain course with piles of energy and a wobbly grasp of html.
In five years time they’ll have their own series on BBC 2 and emailing the likes of us for a weblink will be dim and distant history.
James
Link
This said, wandering around their site in all its kraziness, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of goodwill towards them; another troupe setting out on an uncertain course with piles of energy and a wobbly grasp of html.
In five years time they’ll have their own series on BBC 2 and emailing the likes of us for a weblink will be dim and distant history.
James
Link
