Simone Workshop January 19, 2012

Natalia and I will be presenting a creative writing workshop in tandem with the Simone exhibition that’s at Oxford House. Do feel free to come along as,
 

a) it’s free

b) it would be nice to see you
 

and
 

c) we’re wanting to get people collaborating, like we have, in different mediums.

 

So if you’re a shy writer who doesn’t feel like they have what it takes to write a full length story… Come and see if there’s a photographer who could help you collate one. Or if you’re a painter who has dabbled but only does it behind closed doors… Maybe see if there’s a fellow painter who wants a stimulus from month to month. The main objective of the workshop is to discuss and experiment with responses to different mediums and how to generate ideas. Not only is it free, but it’s in a nice place and you’ll get to see the exhibition too as it will take place in the cafe. Give us a shout if you’re coming along and if you can’t make it, feel free to pass it on the someone who can. Here’s the blurb:
 

‘Consequences’

Creative Writing Workshop

by Katie McCullough & Natka Studio

Café Gallery, Oxford House

Wednesday 25th January 2012

7.30 – 8.45pm

All Welcome!

Katie McCullough and Natka Studio collaborated in a creative version of

‘Consequences’ to create their project, ‘Simone’, which is currently displaying

in the cafe at Oxford House.
 

Merging the written word and illustration they have forged a unique

collaboration. Using simple exercises and exploring their approach to the

project they will be discussing how you too can forge creative relationships.

Materials will be provided and the workshop will be free of charge.

Exhibition takes place till the 31.01.2012, in the Oxford House cafe.

 
Katie Mccullough – Writer

www.katiemccullough.co.uk

 
Natka Studio – Illustrator

www.natkastudio.com 

YARN Catch-Up January 16, 2012

Well apparently the audience were laughing which was a huge weight off my mind. Due to the nature of the piece I was worried it would come across as pretentious theatre clap-trap, BUT people liked it. Which was nice*. 

Below are some shots from the night kindly taken by Gemma Mitchell, the mistress at the helm of YARNfest and I’ve also added a bonus segment of the (very dark, lo-fi and altogether quite shonky) rehearsal video I managed to capture. It’s a few excerpts so don’t expect to make much sense of it, but you definitely get the beginning. Lots of appreciation and thanks go out to Poppy Corbett, James Pellow, Shamaya Blake and Trevor Murphy for their sterling work, faux sex and Lion King re-enactment. To be parry to this short rehearsal process has been a charm with the actors hitting the script perfectly and straight from that bat. Kudos to the lot of them.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
YARNfest are always up to something, so please check out their website and keep an eye on anything else that they may doing in the near future.
     
*Fast Show reference intended.

Simone Exhibition News January 14, 2012

The exhibition was a success! And because I was so busy shoving wine into people’s hands and urging people to eat I didn’t manage to get any photos of the folks walking around looking at Simone. But I took one before it got busy and, because I’m chuffed with all the canapés I made, mostly of the spread. Because I know you want to see what I made.
 

 

 

 

 
Limited Edition prints are now available online. We’ve already made two sales with our Limited Edition prints, one on the night and one the very next day. This pleases myself and Natalia a whole load of lot. I thought I’d take the opportunity to say thanks to those who came (about 40 over the whole night) and to urge those who couldn’t make it to go see it now. It’s on at Oxford House till 31st January and it’s in the cafe so you can grab yourself a nice cuppa/java and stroll around. It’s a great building tucked away off the main road and it’s always got stuff going on in there as well as other artwork.
 
If you’d like to buy a Limited Edition print the information is below:
 
Style – Giclée print
Paper – Hahnemühle Photo Rag (308)
Size – 420mm x 520mm
Limited Edition Run – 50 of each image
 
They are for sale for £90 (which includes p&p) and you can browse them here.
 
And we’ll be doing a workshop in conjunction with the exhibition in the next week or so and we’ll have more news on that soon. No doubt I’ll be hollering on Facebook/Twitter/this blog here nearer the time.

Regina V Cooper Footage January 4, 2012

Another blast from the past! Unfortunately a lot of the footage for Regina V Cooper was lost, but myself and cameraman Matthew Farman have trawled through what we have and compiled what we’d like to call a trailer for the piece. And when I say ‘we‘ trawled, what I really mean is I gave Matt notes and he did all the hard work.
 

So here it is…

 

 

No One Writes (Them) Like That Anymore January 2, 2012

This is the name of the short play I’ve been asked to write for the YARNfest night as part of the London Short Film Festival. And the great news is that it’s been cast!   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

The role of Terry (the half-hearted suicidal man) will be played by James Pellow, Gareth (the hen-pecked argumentative husband of Suzie) will be played by Trevor Murphy and Suzie (slightly bored housewive of Gareth) will be played by Shamaya Blake.

 

 

The film above is the piece I’ve written my response to. What I like about Alex’s visual and aural representation of the letter written by Vittorio Gassman is that we can subconsciously relate glimmers of what we see to a narrative we are being fed. It’s a psychological dot-to-dot for me and further underlines the power of the written word and how fertile the human imagination is. So I’ve approached my response in a very surreal fashion, but I’m quite proud of it. Lifting the idea of how we treat silence and noise within relationships I’ve set the piece in a grotty B&B where the walls are thin. I’ve also explored the influence of popular culture through the TV set and how we relate this to memories subconsciously. And how nobody writes letters anymore and the influence of technology having an effect on something as straightforward, such as the suicide note. As I said, it’s a whole collection of surreal ideas presented in a bizarre manner.

 

Wednesday 11th Jan

YARN presents… An Evening of Cinematic Soliloquies
Starts 7pm
£6 tickets, available in advance here

 

LSFF and YARN December 31, 2011

 

 

On the 11th of January YARN will screen films originally commissioned for the Letters Festival in Milan, interweaving them with new works inspired by the films across a range of mediums, including music, theatre and spoken word. The evening will feature work by filmmakers including Ruth Paxton, Helena Astbury, Kate Jessop, Michael Rittansberger, Alexander Taylor and Serena Corvaglia.
 

I’ve been asked to write a response to one of the films to be performed on the night as part of the London Short Film Festival. My film in question is called Vittorio Gassman by Alexander Taylor and my response is called, No One Writes (Them) Like That Anymore. More information about the event can be seen here.
 

(I’ll be honest, it’s one of the more surreal things I’ve written. It involves a re-enactment of The Lion King, bad handwriting, grotty B&Bs, sex noises and televisions that don’t work properly. Poppy Corbett is the director at the helm and I’ll blog about it later once rehearsals are underway.)
 
 

 

As you can see from the trailer above, it’s bound to be an interesting night and the festival itself is superb at highlighting the talents within the short film industry. Unfortunately I won’t be in attendance as it’s the private viewing of the Simone exhibition the same night, which I’m quite gutted about. It seems I’ve got busy once again… But go along and support the festival. These are two brilliant and unique groups of people who are extremely passionate about the work they share. If you can, go along to any of the other events that both YARN and LSFF organise. You’re bound to be in for a treat when you do. 
 

Wednesday 11th Jan

YARN presents… An Evening of Cinematic Soliloquies
Starts 7pm
£6 tickets, available in advance here

 

‘Simone’ Exhibition December 21, 2011

As this year comes to and end it also signals the fruitful passing of time for the Simone project. Just a quick recap for those who don’t know… I’ve been collaborating with a fantastic illustrator called Natalia Wilkoszewska throughout the year on a variation of the games of ‘Consequences‘. And Simone is the culmination of it all. I write a piece of flash fiction and Natalia would illustrate it, then she’d illustrate the next part of the story and then it was up to me to write the response, then the next part of the story… And so on. We never forced each other’s hand to bend the story, we simply gave each other cliffhangers and free reign. And now we have a year’s worth of Simone’s life documented for all to see. It’s been an adventure.

 

 

I cannot believe a year has passed on this. Each month we did one image and one text and in January 2012 the entire collection will have it’s first public viewing at Oxford House in Bethnal Green. We’re chuffed, thrilled and ecstatic to be able to have the opportunity to let it unfurl in a public forum, especially in a building like Oxford House where they’re keen to exhibit upcoming artists.

 

This is something new for me (I’m going to be ‘exhibiting some work’ – odd!) and the idea of having work up for people to see for a prolonged period of time is a good kind of crazy. What initially started as an exercise to keep each other creatively exercising, has turned into a beautiful project and we’re keen to get people to go along and see not only our work, but the others on show.

 

 

Simone will be displayed from 12th January till 31st January 2012 in the Oxford House cafe which is open from 9am till 4pm. We’re hoping this won’t be the only outing for the project, so I’ll blog about any future developments about other exhibits. Do let us know if you go along and more importantly, enjoy it!

You Can Help Belarus Theatre November 19, 2011

This is a post that is intended to inform. Whether you be invested in the theatre industry or not, it’s highly important. It’s meant to hold a mirror up to your own life for a moments reflection and understand what we are privileged to have, and it’s something that is not a tangible entity. I’m not talking about the latest computer game, or what benefits you’re claiming, whereabouts you live or what gender/class/job you happen to fall into. It’s something we all have, something that unites us as a human race and something that is recognised. And that is the power to say what we want. Now before people bite my head off and profoundly/crassly bark that the Government doesn’t hear us, yes I know. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the simple action of speaking out. We can bemoan the state of affairs down the pub, in the garden, in the workplace, around the dinner table, in the street. But we don’t get hauled into prison for merely talking about it, do we?
 

 

I don’t confess to being a highly intelligent person, in fact I crave learning more now than I did in school. I’m also not announcing that I hold all the answers, but I can draw your attention to things that I think are important like Belarus Theatre… I’ll be honest here, I knew of the company and I knew of their work, but I’d never really known the facts behind the furore. And in a way, I wish I could go back to thinking like that. What these people are subjected to is heinous. Something we very much take for granted and strive to work for (and create a system for ‘young’ playwrights to flourish in and create a whole business out of) is something that is a luxury. Competitions, schemes, bursaries, programmes, courses, university degrees and so on. I say this as a playwright but also as a human being. We choose to partake in going to the theatre, in studying the craft, in allowing ourselves to pick up a pen or buy a ticket to go and create, see theatre. We can say what we want and the worst backlash we have to deal with is Charles Spencer thinking we shouldn’t be given funding or the Producer trying to give away more comps so they can disguise the fact the show’s not sold many tickets. We can say what the hell we want and if it doesn’t work, we carry on to the next project. Belarus Theatre do not have this luxury. They are constantly trying to be deprived of such an activity and even if you do not like the theatre or even consider this a hardship, it is.
 

 

Belarus Theatre company is a collective that people have either heard about or seen. The company itself is compiled of people who want to express themselves through the normal channels of freedom of speech but who are imprisoned, beaten and prevented from doing so. They rehearse in alleyways, courtyards, darkness to put on their shows and it’s not unheard of for someone to not turn up because they’ve been thrown in isolation or simply gone missing. All because the dictatorship knows the power their work can have, the ability to speak out against the regiment they want to instil in the people.
 

 

They’re asking for anything you can give to help them set up a base here in London, a stable environment which they’ve never had so the few of them that are here can generate funds to carry on performing. This is a company who have worked on a shoestring with rehearsal spaces being public places so therefore free. You can give them any donation at the following page: click here
 

 

I’ve donated what I can and it’s by no means large. But what I can do is bring it to your attention so the word can spread and hopefully the total will rise. Like I say, I’ve been walking around with my head in the sand about this company and I feel like we need to shout a bit louder from being in a position because we can. Do the research, take in the atrocities these people are facing and share these links. I cannot imagine what it would be like living in a situation where someone else dictates what I can and cannot write. Part of the allure of theatre is being able to say what you want and having the freedom to do so. Even though I’m not a politically minded individual, I’m a voice that can say what I want. And I’m going to use it to bring attention to those that need it. Do me a favour and do the same. 

Last Chance To Catch Me This Year November 17, 2011

The Lovely folks over at C54 Theatre Company are putting on a Christmassy night in Belsize Park at Oliver’s Village Cafe called ‘Winter’s Tales’ on the 8th and 9th of December. The whole event will be fuelled by mulled wine, mince pies and I hear a lot of good cheer will be present. Niceness.

 

 

I’ve written one of the tales and it’s called ‘Extension’ and this will be the last time this year I’ve got some work on for you to come see (and possibly for a while). I’m really looking forward to this night as it’s a more intimate venue and basically a nice reason to have some well earned hot alcohol juice and mince pies. A cosy evening with some new writing and smiling faces. Heck, I may be becoming sentimental as I age, but at least I’ll do it with a glass in my hand.

The details to get tickets are on the poster above (email/mobile number) and I hear that the first night is almost sold out. Do come along and raise a glass to the year that’s whizzing by. 2012 eh? Yeah, it’s just around the corner. But first, let’s have some more mulled wine…

November Interrobang, See You There? October 26, 2011

So once again, myself and Natka The Great have been speeding through our ‘Simone’ series. I cannot believe that it’s nearly been a year since we started this project. We started it in January (ish) and we’re tying up the ends of Simone’s narrative this December. We won’t have the entire finished current series to show you in November, but we will have one last showing of it as work-in-progress at Interrobang next month. And when I say next month I mean next week.
 

Myself and Natka have really loved the creative juices this project has sparked. We’ve enjoyed giving each other those cliffhangers only to find more at every turn. Simone is someone we’ve both grown to love and explore. As much as her story will end in December, her character will live on, it’s inevitable. And we’re talking of doing other characters… I’ll keep you in the loop about that.
 

To get those who aren’t in the know up to speed, it’s like a game of consequences but with the exchange being between an illustrator and a writer. We don’t tell each other where we want the story to head, we just put our creative thoughts and interpretations down on to paper and then let the other pick up where we’ve left off.
 

Interrobang

 

You can see our collection so far in person at Interrobang at The Book Club on Tuesday 1st along with some fantastic acts. The doors open at 7pm and kicks off at 7:55pm at 100 Leonard Street EC2 (nearest Tube: Old Street). I’ll be there if you want to come along and say howdy, but also if you want to ask me any questions about this project. Here’s a reminder of our first two months work to whet your appetite… 
 

Clicky clicky here!

 

And a sneak peek at a newer one… 

 

It would be a pleasure to see a big crowd for the last Interrobang of the year, it’s bound to be a goodun. See below for other acts on the night:
 

Interrobang
Tuesday 1st November
Comedy~Music~Stories~Food~Cabaret~Literature
Exactly the same…yet slightly different!
Doors 7pm
Show Starts 7.55pm
Entry £5/£3 concs.
@ The Bookclub
100 Leonard Street
EC2
www.interrobangtime.co.uk/ www.wearetbc.com 

 

Do not miss us this November! Come and get cosy Downstairs at the Bookclub for this specially themed Interrobang. As many of you know, in the summer I teamed up with Welsh Theatre-Maker Aimee Corbett to walk from Mid-Wales to London collecting stories. This month we will be presenting an exhibition of some of the stories we have collected; as well as inviting a line-up of very special guest-performers to offer their own responses to the theme of Storytelling and Collecting. Come along at 7pm so you have time to see and interact with the exhibits before the show begins at 7.55pm. And remember, the Bookclub serves a great evening menu and we have tables downstairs so you can dine in comfort while enjoying the show. After it is all finished, anyone who wants to can stay on for a story-collecting session with Aimee and I; and I can guarantee you will be inspired to tell some stories of your own! 

 

Now if that’s not enough to whet your appetite; have a look at the line up: 

 

Bret Goldstein
Bret ss an incredible Stand Up Comedian and a natural Story teller. He recieved rave reviews this year for his Edinburgh show ‘Bret Goldstein Grew Up In A Strip Club’, described by the Guardian as a thoughtful reflection on fathers and sons, men and women and the nature of fantasy’ and recieving the review “Goldstein has filtered the funniest moments of that formative experience into an expertly told hour-long story, bringing out the mordant wit of what must have been a tough time..in the telling, he has great timing, pace and sense of dramatic storytelling that keeps the action moving – as well as the ability to really create a sense of mood and of place….” from Chortle. Not to be missed. 

 

Camilla Fiori
In between performing at Latitude and the Southbank Centre the utterly charming Camilla Fiori finds time to write really funny, intelligent and genuine poetry. She gave a gutsy, sincere and well-measured performance last year at Interrobang, so I am thrilled to have her back. 

 

Jamie Doe
Singer & Guitarist of Magic Lantern (“pretty special I think you’ll agree-outstanding acoustic song writing!”-tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music) Jamie Doe will be telling us stories and singing us songs! Check out the Magic Lantern page for a taster of what to expect http://www.myspace.com/themagiclantern . 

 

Camille Delean
Lovely Canadian folk singer Camille Delean has not been in London long, but she has already had the sense to hook up with excellent guitarist Ben Walker. This will be a sweet and glorious performance for sure. 

 

Drawn To Stars
On their journey from Mid Wales to London Aimee Corbett and Vanessa Hammick collected over 200 stories. They have begun to turn these stories into various performances and exhibits. See them employ film, puppetry and installation to bring the stories of their journey to life, as part of an ongoing process. And of course, share some stories of your own!