My tumor

Some of you may have come to realise that despite the title of my blog, I haven't spoken at great length about theatre. This isn't a conscious decision, more that I have allowed events of excitement or related thoughts space to feel and grow. 

I initially got 'into' theatre when I nearly died.

Sweeping statement, but also very very true. Some years back I was diagnosed with having a schwannoma tumor behind my left eye, actually inside my skull. I was shocked, upset, crushed and aware I had to remain strong for my mum. She was the person that brought me up to be the person I am, so I felt I owed it to her in part to smile through it and do everything I could to see a bright side. I ended up taking it to the extreme one day when leaving hospital with her after a consultation with a surgeon by quoting a line from 300. 

'It's just an eye. The gods saw it fit to grace me with a spare'.

She didn't really see the funny side. Well, she did but she cried a bit too as we walked slowly down the hill towards the town below. It goes without saying, but I lived. One day I may go into more detail about it but if you're desperate to find out then feel free to email me at chris@cd-productions.co.uk 

Fighting through the 'eye' episode of my life and coming out the other side certainly left me a strong person. I undertook a great deal of charity work with my best friend, Dan. He had had his own medical hardships and the achievement of reaching various milestones and raising money for good causes was a time of my life I will never forget. For anyone out there who supported me during this times, thank you. 

Coming out of the battle with my tumor made me not only value life but also challenge what I wanted. Naturally at school I was a very quiet kid, which lead to a bit of bullying and probably made me a pretty soft target. Growing up in a single parent family wasn't always easy but the love and support I received was far more then many others get in 'conventional' upbringings. The feeling I get when I take to the stage is a total departure from those days and I feel blessed for the turnaround of fortunes I have experienced. Many aren't so lucky and lose the battles life puts in front of them. 

I realise this isn't about theatre, but I think it's a heavy nod towards how I ended up 'in theatre'. You can look around St Pancras and see a vast multitude of people, but how did they get there? What purpose brought them to the capital? Will they ever leave? The questions we could ask are endless and to an extent futile, much the same as if you were given all the answers to a quiz before taking the hot seat. You're pulse won't race nor will any challenge present itself.


If you're reading this and your battling against an obstacle, whatever it is, know that you can overcome it. I did. I'm just like you, a person who has had his fair share of knocks and setbacks but used them to motivate me to succeed and be the person I know I can be.

The fight isn't easy, the journey will be tough, but you can do it. Good Luck. :)

Spread the Word

So today had been an ordinary day as Friday's go. All the usual run of the mill stuff happen then I found myself outside Chimichanga. Now this in itself is obviously not exciting (unless you have a fetish for Mexican food!), but then something happened.. I check my phone, more specifically my Twitter feed and something brought a huge smile to my face.

Now I am a huge fan of the Game of Thrones books and thus the TV show by HBO. I 'follow' a number of the actors and actresses on my and C&D's twitter accounts and I take as much interest in their tweets and activities as much as I do other people because namely, we are all just 'people' at the end of the day. However, following people from all walks of life opens the curtains that bit wider when you wake up in the morning and allows you to see more of that lovely, sunny horizon.

Well, as anyone who has read this blog will know, it's brand spanking new! Thus not many people know about it, nor does it have much of a following or readership. That will all change hopefully in the future, but for the time being.. baby steps. Anyhow.. So I saw a tweet by a chap called Eugene Simon. I've found quite a few of his tweets interesting, engaging and fresh, so when I saw he had some blog related info to spill I immediately replied with some information about mine. Here's the rub..

Eugene happens to be an actor. Who plays a character from the above mentioned Game of Throne series. Who has 50,000 followers+ on Twitter. What happened? He replied.

At this point the thought of my date I was waiting for (she was 5 minutes late at this point) went completely out of my mind and I may well have done a little happy dance, I can't remember. It's irrelevant. What isn't is the fact a tweet I posted got retweeted to quite a big bunch of people which is fantastic and if you're one of those people who have happened upon this blog via Eugene's kind retweet then may I say a humble, Welcome.

Now the theatre company I co-own is bare three months old and despite the grand plans I have in the back of my mind, it's still very much fledgling, kinda like this blog. What would be super would be if more people came and read some of my rambling thoughts, followed @CD_Productions1 and spread the word about us a little further. The possible excitement in Eugene lending his support (even if it ends up being fleeting) is it's good natured and honest. 

Who knows.. in three years time I could well be directing a small play in London at a deliciously intimate venue and he could be in the cast. The world is a funny place and none of us know where we might end up. Life is about living, spreading positivity and supporting others to follow their dreams. Coincidentally, Mr Simon also has a blog so in the nature of this post - here's the link! Feel free to give it a read and show him the same support you're showing me by becoming part of my world. 

I may be super cheeky and see if I can do my first ever 'vblog' with him as it would surely create lots of excitement, be in keeping with the sentiment of blogging and would be a good excuse for a mini road trip!

What do you say Eugene?

p.s. My date did eventually turn up, we had a splendid time and I'm hopefully seeing her again next time. Bye!

Bloglovin

Unleased upon the masses!

It has rapidly come to my attention that to fully get the most out of this blog, people need to be able to find it. I could write volumes and volumes of top quality material but if people can find me and thus get access to this 'gold' then it's all for nought. Unless I'm using this to simply air my thoughts and cleanse my soul.. No, I don't believe that either!

Well I've been summoned by the mighty overlords at Bloglovin to include a bit of texty code in a post so this will prove a good vehicle for that. 

The good news will be that people can give good feedback and make what I type count. After all, the greatest prophet could have the most profound message, but if the masses don't hear him, then it is merely but a whisper.

I saw a good comedian last night at the venue I'll be performing at in May. His name was Liam Williams and he appeared at the last Edinburgh Fringe. He was very good, articulate and clever in his humour, which is probably why I didn't stop laughing. I can sometimes be sat watching a stand up show on TV and it gives me very little pleasure at all. My conclusion - either I need 'smart' humour to tickle my funny bone or I'm a sucker for in-person interaction. Either way, I had a good time and if his tour is coming near you I'd advise you buy a ticket!

I'll no doubt soon (in the next hour) look at making this a little bit more pretty and visually appealing. The trouble with starting a blog is that you want to fill it with content, namely your thoughts. However if you dress it up poorly, no one will hang around to read. 

Thoughts?

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Encouragement

The turn of the year seems so long ago, it seems only yesterday myself and Dan were sat in a local pub running through a myriad of ideas about our theatre company. Then we didn't have a name or even an idea of what our first production would be. We did have the best of intentions however, any grander schemes have been planned and executed without those featuring at all on the agenda.

The past three months have not been a disappointment. People have continued to surprise and amaze me with their kindness, their generosity and a spirit of support without the need to have anything in return. More and more in today's culture it becomes apparent as someone is doing you a favour that five minutes down the friendship they will expect the favour return, with interest. 

Why though? Surely one of the greatest feelings a human being can experience is the unconditional offering of friendship and advice. Then to see the fruits of your labours grow and prosper, in no small part to the help you gave the young sapling. It will continue to grow and one day when your walking past and feeling peckish, an apple may well just throw from a branch into your hand and you'll smile because the journey has come full circle.

Back to today, back to real life.

About a month ago I got in touch with a lovely young lady on Twitter @BeautyinBeta who runs a blog herself and was kind enough to give me some warm words of encouragement. Her genre is fashion and from the stolen glances I've taken at her website she certainly knows a thing or two so if you're intrigued here's the link. It was with a small tinge of pride that I tweeted her news on this blog's creation and in the style of this post she instantly re-tweeted the link. This is social media being what it was intended to be... Sociable.

Further focused thanks must go to Coulson Macleod who happen to be based in the same town I live in, Kettering (Northamptonshire). I initially approached Hannah on LinkedIn with an idea to get some help on the design front for our promo material for our first production, Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' set to be staged at the Kettering Arts Centre on May 10th. Unfortunately she wasn't able to help out on that front, but has since opened my mind a little to the 'Twitter Universe' and has given me a platform to get in touch with other local companies. I just want to take this moment to say thank you..

Of course there are a great many other people who have helped and encouraged me but I thought I'd give a nod in this post to the creation of this actual blog. It goes without saying if anyone has a particular subject or facet of theatre you'd like me to discuss and focus on, then please leave a comment below and i'll be my best asap.

The Beginning

I’m not sure where to begin if I’m honest.

I’ve just spent the last few minutes looking at the above line wondering how to continue then suddenly realised as I type that I have in fact begun. Life can be like that sometimes. You ponder and worry what the next step to take is and sure enough, by the time you’ve plucked your head out of the clouds you’re walking. Sometimes you don’t know where, but.. isn’t that sometimes the best way? You’re on your way to work on the bus or tube, you feel miserable. Why? Because you know what awaits you. The same building, the same dreary office furniture, the girl you like who is enraptured by the new guy.. That’s why I enjoy what I do.

Theatre.

I’m sure many posts will be of course littered with thoughts and opinions on theatre and a kaleidoscope of other somehow related disciplines, locales and people. It is of course the latter that can leave the most long lasting impression on someone, so maybe I should have put that first, it did however allow me into this train of thought. People can have such a huge impact, in a positive or negative light, that it can seem a risk stepping out of your door and opening yourself to the experiences they can offer. But then, what would have happened to Middle Earth if Bilbo hadn’t taken that first step he almost didn’t make?

I digress. The point I think I was trying to make was that if you don’t give people the scope to not only enter your life but also stay around a little then you deprive yourself. Life can be hard enough, but to choose to battle it out alone when you have potential allies at every turn just seems madness. I’m quite impressed by myself that this is a theatre blog but I have now only mentioned it twice. Maybe it’s a lesson that no ‘one’ thing should be all encompassing and to give passions and interests room to breathe you in fact nourish them rather than provide an over suffocating blanket, similar to an overzealous parent on that first day at school.

I’m Chris btw. I’ve let you into my mind so I thought it only polite to introduce myself. I won’t bombard you with an avalanche of experiences, events and mindless data just yet. I’ll try to slowly let it seep out through the cracks of my conscious so I don’t overwhelm you too suddenly. I’ve been involved in theatre for four years and have worked with probably 200+ people in that time, across a multitude of venues across the UK. I guess that’s why I like theatre so much, it isn’t the same building or the same furniture or people.

The pretty girl smiling at me in the front row one night could just as easily be a discerning critic the next. Different venues offer a range of alternatives experiences on so many levels from meeting staff who weren’t working the night before to the change of promo material and propaganda. I’m sure future posts will explore this angle in more detail but I’ll leave you with a thought. Venues change with the seasons. Make sure you bring your umbrella.

Chris