Tag Archives: Entertainment

Ice Cream, Gas Masks and God – the perfect summer read

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Ice Cream, Gas Masks and God
A young girl grows up in the war years

By Joyce M Lovely

PUBLICATION DATE: 22 June 2015
Mereo Books www.mereobooks.com

Gasmasks and God cover CS 19.5mm_Layout 103

A funny, touching and heart-warming portrait of war time and beyond, Ice Cream, Gas Masks and God is the author’s trip down memory lane to 1940s Liverpool, where early reminiscences include not just the hated gas mask, but also the regular night time spells in the air raid shelter as the bombs fell.

A beautifully drawn portrait of the place and its people, from Calder High School Joyce went on to work at the Eagle Star Insurance Company and the office of the Dunlop Rubber Factory. Missing out on being one of the first to see The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club (because she didn’t fancy the sound of them from her sister’s description!), she moved to London to study Nursing at St Bartholomew’s. Marriage took her on to the Shetland Islands – where life as a parson’s wife meant that prayer was sometimes relied upon to provide dinner – and then to the West Riding of Yorkshire, before finally settling in Maine, USA.

A natural storyteller, Joyce’s recollections of people, places and events are effortlessly recounted. From the exotic neighbour who had been in the German Resistance (but whose priority was now pudding) to her splendid Spirella Corsetier grandmother, Ice Cream, Gas Masks and God is a gentle, fascinating and humorous personal history, rich in colour and detail.

Gloriously nostalgic and beautifully written, this is the perfect summer read.

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Sneak preview extracts

“Jerry made one heck of a mess here, didn’t he?” said Dad. “And all my best willow pattern china has been smashed” Mum sniffed, trying not to cry again. Dad put his arm around her. “Don’t worry, love. We’ll get through this.” And we did, even though I heard a few days later that eight people had been killed in their air-raid shelters, along with many others, including some in the public shelters. Much later I learned that 2000 Liverpudlians had been killed in just that week, with thousands more injured and homeless.

I sat stunned. First I felt the pricking of tears, and then I began to laugh. There lay my ancient, despised, childhood World War II gasmask. It rested there staring at me eerily, the eyepiece still displaying the   oval sickly-brown cellophane, which wasn’t even cracked. I sat back. My eyes closed, and the memories streamed back…

I remember vividly growing up in Liverpool, amidst air raids, bombs and gasmasks. My story is from a childhood perspective, leaving the grown-ups to worry about battles and shortages. We observed strict morals as a teenager in the fifties, yet still had boyfriends, stolen kisses and fun. This memoir concludes with my marriage to a minister and our adventures in the distant Shetland Islands. Here I experienced the islanders’ expectations of ‘yon minister’s wife’ often resulting in unexpected humorous consequences…

Humour, tenacity, sharing and resourcefulness, especially by the women on the home front, kept life normal for us children. We laughed, cried, hoped and dreamed, but we never asked for more than what we knew was around us.

About the author

Born in Liverpool, Joyce M Lovely now lives in Maine, USA. She has had numerous articles and stories published in magazines and periodicals and she is a member of a writing group. Joyce worked in education for many years, as a teacher and then later in administration, working with teachers and leading workshops.

A Damsel In Distress, Chichester Festival Theatre – review

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Photo credit Johan Persson

Photo credit Johan Perssonzpfile000

A Damsel In Distress
Chichester Festival Theatre
Until 27 June
Box office: 01243 781312
www.cft.org.uk

Gad zukes! What a delightful piece of froth! Perfect for summer, especially given the Festival Theatre’s glorious setting (what could be jollier than a pre-theatre G&T in the park?), the 1930s novel by PG Wodehouse initially adapted as a play, and later as a film for which Gershwin composed songs, enjoys new life as a stage musical by Jeremy Sams and Robert Hudson.

A topping blend of music, song and ripping fun, the story is about as daft as they come. Maud, a headstrong 1920s English rose, is locked in the tower of a stately home and guarded by her dragon of an aunt who is determined to prevent her niece marrying a penniless poet. But it’s an American theatre director who is smitten with the girl. If he can’t sleigh the dragon then he’s set on shoving her out of the way so that he can at least declare his heart. Spamalot meets Downton Abbey. But with more tap dancing.

Marshalling the whole charming caboodle, Rob Ashford directs and choreographs. The score may not be the most memorable in the world, but a cast of ace singers and dancers give it all they’ve got, adding plenty of visual fizz as they belt and hoof with as much infectious enthusiasm as dazzling skill. Clutching mops, rakes, and even oversized quivering jellies, routines are high octane and high camp.

It’s a terrific team effort but Isla Blair as fire-breathing Lady Caroline is a splendid battle-axe. Richard Fleeshman as George and Summer Strallen as the feisty ‘damsel’ of the title are in superb voice, while Nicholas Farrell as the aging lord of the manor who rediscovers his va va vroom when he meets showgirl Billie (a warm and effortlessly sexy Sally Ann Triplett) is gloriously funny. Delighted to have found a siren who not only has a cleavage like the Rhonda Valley but who also shares his passion for pigs and roses, the pair provide some of the production’s most uproarious moments.

Further comedic expertise is demonstrated by Desmond Barrit as butler Keggs, and also David Roberts. Managing to switch roles between Perkins the theatre director and Pierre the highly strung chef, as the latter Roberts inspires yet more laughter. Richard Dempsey meanwhile is adorable as dim toff Reggie.

Designed by Christopher Oram, the set, as Reggie would say, is bally clever. Revolving rose gardens and castle turrets cunningly morph into the stage at the Savoy and the kitchen of a stately home.

Chekov it ain’t. Brilliantly executed blissful nonsense it most definitely is. Don’t be a frightful clot – book tickets today!

Review: The Rehearsal at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester

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Chichester Festival Theatre

Photo credit: Catherine Ashmore

The Rehearsal
By Jean Anouilh

The Minerva Theatre, Chichester.  Until 13 June
Box Office: 01243 781312 www.cft.org.uk

Anouilh has fallen out of fashion somewhat in recent times. Having seen Chichester’s revival of The Rehearsal one wonders why.

An insightful, dark and sharply witty comedy that is almost musical in its fluidity, the setting is a French chateau in the 1950s. The absurdities of class and relationships are in the spotlight as Count Tiger (Jamie Glover) revs up for one of his legendary parties. Deciding to include a performance of Marivaux’s The Double Inconstancy by way of entertainment, he hustles together a cast that includes his wife (Niamh Cusack), his mistress (Katherine Kingsley) his wife’s lover (Joseph Arkley), Lucille, a young resident nursemaid to a dozen orphans (Gabrielle Dempsey) and Hero, his old school friend and chronic alcoholic (Edward Bennett).

Rehearsals descend into a thinly veiled slanging match as both Tiger’s wife and mistress realise that he has fallen for the young nanny. Copping off with people of ‘their own kind’ is quite acceptable, but a servant? The shame! And worse, Tiger appears to have actually fallen in love, and that doesn’t suit at all. Resorting to trying to frame the girl for theft, a plan that swiftly comes apart, the Countess enlists the help of Hero, persuading the hopeless drunk who ‘likes breaking things’ to help her to boot out the little commoner with all speed.

It’s a well-meshed cast with terrific individual performances, not least Edward Bennett who is simply mesmerising as Hero. Shallow, cynical and permanently sloshed, as his desperation and despair becomes increasingly evident the effect is both nerve-shredding and heart-breaking.

Etiquette and manners doing little to disguise the cattiness of their verbal scuffles, Niamh Cusack and Katherine Kingsley are marvellously acerbic as the wife and the mistress, while Gabrielle Dempsey gives Lucille perfectly proportioned perception and vulnerability.

Translated and directed by Jeremey Sams, this is an accomplished and compelling production. Do not miss.

Five Things Aspiring Actors Should Do

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acting tips, acting career, acting, advice, book, how to be a successful actor, quit, Catherine BalavageTake Advantage of Your Novelty Value.

You are new and shiny. Take advantage of this. Casting directors will give you an audition just because they have never seen you before. Not so much after you have been auditioning for years. Getting noticed when you are new can really give you a foothold into the industry as every agent, producer and casting director wants to discover the Next Big Thing. You have about six months until the next wave of graduates enter the ring. Sounds brutal and unfair? That’s because it is.

Get An Accurate Headshot.

I cannot stress this enough. Get a headshot that looks like you. I have been on the other side of the casting divide and have always been shocked when an actor comes in with a headshot that is either ten years old or airbrushed into oblivion. You are an actor, not a supermodel. The key to a good headshot is to look like yourself, only better. Have spots and dark circles removed, nothing else. Actors are hired to play real people, not robots (usually). Not looking like your headshot is also the quickest way to upset a casting director. They will look bad in front of the producer or director. Many productions also cast from pictures and, if like the women who was hired to play 1980s era Madonna on a production I was also cast in, you now look completely different than you do in your picture that casting director will never hire you again.

Write To Every Casting Director Who Ever Lived.

Slight exaggeration but you get my point. Start your research. Watch TV and film and write down who the casting director is. Do the same for theatre. Do not just throw mud at the wall however, don’t contact casting directors who only do kids TV shows if you are 30. The key is to contact casting directors who cast your type. Be concise and to the point and remember to include your headshot and contact details. This brings me to my next point…

Know Your Type.

I know, I know. You are an actor dahling. You can play any role. But the acting industry does not work like that. Casting directors have to put you somewhere and the brutal truth is that the acting industry is probably the only industry that can actually discriminate on how you look. And it will. Catherine Zeta Jones may be a lass from the Welsh valley but she is frequently cast as Italian or Spanish because, in a superficial stereotypical world, that is what they think she looks like. I get cast in period roles a lot because I am slim and pale. So work out your type. Ask friends and family. Make a list of who you are and who you are not and market yourself accordingly. It is not all bad however, getting typecast means getting work, and you can always branch out into other roles later.

 

Catherine Balavage has been an actor for over ten years. Her book on acting, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur, has gotten numerous five star reviews and has been called the ‘best advice available’ by numerous sources.

 

 

Naomi Watts: I Was Ready To Quit Acting

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acting, acting advice, quit acting, Naomi WattsSome actors find success easy and others struggle for years. Naomi Watts definitely falls into the latter category. The Oscar nominated actress used to drive for hours to pick up bad scripts people refused to send her. She regularly doubted that she would ever have a career after moving to Los Angeles as things were so tough.

“[I went from playing leads] to being someone who had to drive for two hours to get two pages of really bad dialogue in some TV movie, just because they couldn’t be bothered faxing me the pages. And I did that for pretty much ten years. When it was like, you know what, I can’t handle it, I’m giving up. But every time my bags were packed, I’d get a call saying, ‘You’ve got this part.'” she told InStyle magazine.

The 46-year-old actress took anything she was offered when she moved to LA.

“Oh, listen, I did not have any snobbery about anything. I just wanted to work. I always had the attitude that work begets work and one thing would roll to the next, I think I knew I had something. But I certainly had plenty of doubt.”

The star did not get her big break until David Lynch cast her in Mulholland Drive solely from her photograph.

 

If you are an actor then check out How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon. 

 

 

Some People Actually Have a Problem With The All-Female Ghostbuster Cast

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all female cast, ghostbusters, sexism, film, Upon hearing a piece of modern music my Grandfather always used the line, ‘You kids today, you don’t even know you’re born.’ Well if you are a young thing and you have not seen Ghostbusters then let me tell you: you don’t even know you are born. The same goes for most 80s & 90s films. The 80s and 90s were great decades for film. Fact. Which is super exciting because not only are they doing a remake of Ghostbusters, but it has an all-female cast. Yes people, you heard it right: an all-female cast. Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will star in the 2016 remake. Problem is, even though it is 2015, some people actually have a problem with this.

Director Paul Feig tweeted the news of the new cast and confirmed the new Ghostbuster film release date: July 22, 2016.

 

Paul said: “It’s official, I’m making a new Ghostbusters & writing it with @katiedippold & yes, it will star hilarious women. That’s who I’m gonna call.” Not everyone is as enlightened as Paul however. Social media was awash with sexist comments about the all-female cast. Funnily enough, no one had a problem with the all-male cast. Some Tweets were funny:

 

 

The most depressing thing is that in 2015, the new Ghostbuster film having an all-female cast is actually a thing. While I won’t be giving any trolls publicity here there was one important person who gave it the thumbs up: the original Ghostbuster himself, Dan Aykroyd. A statement read:

 

“The Aykroyd family is delighted by this inheritance of the Ghostbusters torch by these most magnificent women in comedy. My great grandfather, Dr. Sam Aykroyd, the original Ghostbuster, was a man who empowered women in his day and this is a beautiful development in the legacy of our family business.” 

 Dan Aykroyd is obviously a very awesome and evolved man. As is (@JohnRossBowie) 

 

 

Bill Murray hasn’t said anything about the project but the other surviving member of the original, Ernie Hudson, doesn’t seem happy about it; he doesn’t think it should carry on the Ghostbusters name as it will have  “nothing to do with the other two movies.” and while he said he was not against the idea of an all-female cast his first reaction to the casting news on Facebook was  “No comment”. There are more brilliant reactions in this excellent Radio Times article.

 

Ghostbusters all-female cast: good or bad idea? Have your say.

 

 

 

Why The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Acting Career Is To Quit

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acting tips, acting career, acting, advice, book, how to be a successful actor, quit, Catherine BalavageI know what you are thinking: what? That makes no sense. But bear with me. I have been acting for a long time. Since I was a teenager and in that time I have had some amazing parts, met amazing people and worked on projects that I was proud of. Also in that time I worked with a lot of jerks, had some terrible auditions, worked on awful projects and had some really awful experiences. My hair was always in a state of recovery because some over-zealous make up person had gone to town on it, my breasts were always being taped down by gaffer tape because costume people ‘didn’t know what to do with them’ and I was working too damn hard in an industry where the pay had not only not risen, but was actually the lowest in fourteen years. I kept almost getting the life-changing parts but lost out at the final hurdle. To put it frankly, I had had enough.

The last straw was working on a film on which I sustained a serious back injury. I damaged a disc and also had nerve damage. Over a year of painful physiotherapy followed. It was a nightmare. It was the last straw. ‘I quit’ I told my husband. ‘I just can’t do this anymore’. But it was only then the moment of clarity came; ‘Don’t quit’, my husband said, ‘You are too talented and have too much to offer. Take a break and then go back to it’. Cue the previously mentioned moment of clarity. He was right. Quit, but then go back.

The truth was, I just wasn’t into it anymore. I hated auditions, I hated working, I hated all of the BS that came with acting. So I quit, wrote my acting book, and by the time I was ready to go back I was in love with acting again. I wanted to make films again. I wanted to be on a television set. The break gave me the distance needed to realise why I had become an actor in the first place. I rediscovered all of the things I loved about working in the entertainment industry, which is the only way you can deal with all of the stuff you don’t love about it.

When your heart isn’t in something it comes across. You just have to take a break and go do something else for a while. Get a good-paying job and build up your bank account, travel, learn a new skill. Do anything but quit acting. It just might be the best thing for your acting career that you ever do.

 

If you are an actor then check out my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon. 

 

 

Russell Crowe: Female Actors Should Act Their Age. Meryl Streep Responds

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There has been some uproar after Russell Crowe said that female actors should act their age. Meryl Streep came out in support of him and The Guardian did a great quiz on actors and playing age.

Russell said in an interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly: “To be honest, I think you’ll find that the woman who is saying that [the roles have dried up] is the woman who at 40, 45, 48, still wants to play the ingenue, and can’t understand why she’s not being cast as the 21-year-old, Meryl Streep will give you 10,000 examples and arguments as to why that’s bullshit, so will Helen Mirren, or whoever it happens to be. If you are willing to live in your own skin, you can work as an actor. If you are trying to pretend that you’re still the young buck when you’re my age, it just doesn’t work. I have heard of an actress, part of her fee negotiation was getting the number of children she was supposed to have lessened. Can you believe this? This (character) was a woman with four children, and there were reasons why she had to have four children – mainly, she lived in a cold climate and there was nothing to do but fornicate all day – so quit arguing, just play the role!”

Russell_Crowe female actors should act their age

Unfortunately that is not right at all. While some women will not want to play older, I have met a few, the roles for women are usually terrible when under 40: girlfriend, stripper, ‘the girl‘, a whore or merely window-dressing. When a women is over 40 the roles do not realistically reflect women’s lives. We are usually the mother, grandmother, crone or witch.

Jezebel blogger Rebecca Rose had this to say: “ALERT: Hollywood movie actor person Russell Crowe is fed up with all the old ladies who dare to want to be cast as something other than old spinsters or whatnot. Quit complaining that you’re cast in a role where your character has ‘nothing to do but fornicate all day’ and make a bunch of babies. Stop demanding that film-makers try to expand the depth of your character beyond ‘broodmare’. Just play the role, OK? Funny how Crowe doesn’t bother to offer any opinion about the mind-boggling legacy of Hollywood men playing romantic leads to women 10, 20, 30, and sometimes 40 (!!!!!) years younger than them,” Rose added. “Because it’s clearly the sad old women daring to pretend they are outside their actual birth ages that are ruining Hollywood … Thanks Crowe for reminding us, yet again, that women are always held in contempt for doing anything remotely similar to what their male counterparts do without reproach.” Very good points. Men do not tend to ‘play their age’ and their on-screen wives are usually significantly younger than them.

 

Amy Gray wrote on Junkee.com,  “The ‘ingenue’ roles Crowe refers to are the only ones readily available for women; on the flip side, the majority of male characters in film and TV are aged between their 30s (27%) and 40s (31%). That could be because we’re more likely to want to watch lead characters based on their fuckability – and the older a woman gets, as any executive will tell you, the less faceable she becomes.” Crowe is 50 and also said “The point is, you do have to be prepared to accept that there are stages in life. So I can’t be the Gladiator forever,”

 

What do you think?

If you are an actor then check out my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon. It has had 5 five star reviews.