ɪnspɪˈreɪʃ(ə)n.
Inspiration.
Stuff I like and use and may be useful for you— I’m awful at spelling so brace yourselves.
Rice Resonance.
This is what my dissertation and research project was based on and what now inspires a lot of my movement direction work.
The fragments of rice or salt used here replicate what happens to the particles in our bodies when we hear music, which I believe is why we all move in a different way. We are all made differently therefore sound vibrations create different patterns in our bodies causing us to inherently respond to that movement in our most natural and unique way!
The way we move and dance is literally in our DNA, which is wicked. I could talk about this for hours so if you want to kill a few of them just say rice to me and I’m off.
Garden Design.
It is Literally the art of creating visual poetry and atmosphere, the best live theatre is a garden in my opinion and I would very much like to be able to afford to go the the Chelsea Flower Show one day. Big monty don fan. The Ritch Brothers are also joyful. Top plant has to be Moss and i adore Japanese principles of respecting nature and framing it within the home.
Pina and Christine.
Christine and the Queens are queens. I’m a huge fan of her music and if you want to buy me tickets to her next UK gig that's absolutely fine with me. Beyond her music each time she performs it really is a performance in that her songs are dance pieces with the chorography taking inspiration from Pina Baush (legend). Pina and Christine are just legends and if you like them then you are too.
This is a good playlist. I use Christine’s music all the time.
Here’s a little wicked video of one of Pina’s most famous works ‘The Rite of Spring’. I know there’s some more articulate articles written about her out there- I’m not very concise but just take from this that you need to watch Pina’s work.
1927 Theatre Co.
Wes Anderson.
All time favourite film director. I’m aware this makes me every hipster stereotype going but he’s been my top director for YEARS now… so I got there first.. just saying. If you haven't watch any of his films they are in a nutshell all very ascetically pleasing and symmetrical. I love the straight humour and detail within not only the story and the acting but the art department too, for me its the personification of visual harmony. (What a twat).
Here’s me having the time of my life at Bar Luce a café he designed in Milan- honestly that sounds more fancy than reality.
Here’s a list of his films you should watch:
- Moonrise Kingdom -The Grand Budapest Hotel - Fantastic Mr Fox - The Life Aquatic - Rushmore
- The Royal Family Tenenbaum - Isle of Dogs
Here’s the soundtrack to Fantastic Mr Fox. I use this a lot. And drive to it a lot- its just happiness on tap.
Hofesh Shechter.
Just watch. Incredible.
Website: https://www.hofesh.co.uk/
Rambert.
Ballet Rambert are THE dance company and school (in my opinion). I’ve never not come out of one of their shows completely inspired and in AWE. They are machines and the work is completely beautiful.
Here are some pieces that I’ve seen (multiple times in some cases) and are imprinted in my mind as stunning. Watch here and watch them live, best theatre out there and as an actor watching dance can be twenty times more useful than watching a play. Trust me.
They also run adult classes if that's something your in to- they are great and really inclusive if your worried about your skill level.
Rambert website.
The Woodland Trust.
The woodland trust is a charity I feel MASSIVLY connected to. Their websites below for you to look at— the conservation of our British woodlands is so vital and as a result something I actively try to contribute to.
Trees in general are a gift, the more we can realise this the better. Below is a documentary Judi Dench did about her love of trees, its a great watch.
Woodland Trust Website
Dench Programme
Music.
Links to artists and playlists that I use:
Aracade Fire
XX
Alt-J
Christine and the Queens
Jaime T
James Blake
Inala (Zulu Ballet)
Sam Fender
Trex
Joan Armatrading
Rolling Stones
Jack Johnson
Fantastic Mr fox soundtrack
The boat that rocked soundtrack
Scott pilgrim vs the world soundtrack
The Who
James Bay
George Ezra
Bad Company
Fleetwood Mac
MAIN WORKSHOP PLAYLIST.
if you've been to one of my classes or workshops the music I used is most likely here. Big old mash up
Yoga Playlist.
Book List.
Just a load of good reads- some are acting books some really arnt, I like Biographys. this isn't a list of plays to read (There’s too many)
My Life in Parts- Brian Cranston
Only blow the bloody doors off - Michael Cain
The Achelmist
Wildlings
How to catch a mole
The Ogham Tree
Character Breakdown
Tuesdays with Moray
Wes Anderson Collection
Notes on a nervous Planet
The Year of The king, The Year of the Mad King,
The year of the Fat Knight - Antony SheerDifferent Every Night- Mike Alfreds
Bartenieff, I. (1980) “Body movement : coping with the environment” New York : Gordon and Brench
Black, LD. (2014) “Mindfulness in Movement: an investigation of practicing mindfulness in improvisational dance through the lens of non-attachment” Oregon: ProQuest
Bogart, A. (2005) “The Viewpoints book : a practical guide to viewpoints and composition” New York : Theatre communications Group
Brook, P. (1972) “The Empty Space” England: Clays Ltd, St Ives plc
Callery, D. (2001) “Through the body, a practical guide to Physical Theatre” London: Routledge
Chekhov, M. (2014) “To the Actor, on the technique of Acting” USA: Martino Publishing
Darley, C. (2009) “The Space to Move, essentials of movement training” London: Nick Hern Books Limited
Dennis, A. (2002) “The Articulated Body, The Physical Training of the Actor” London: Nick Hern Books Limited
Donnellan, D. (2002) “The Actor the Target” London: Nick Hern Books Limited
Fernandes, C. (2005) “Pina Bausch and the Wuppertal Dance Theatre: aesthetics of repetition and transformation” New York: Peter Lang
Graham, S., Hoggett, S. (2009) “The Frantic Assesmbly book of devising theatre” Oxon: Routledge
Grotowski, J. (1968) “Towards a poor theatre” Denmark: Odin Teatrets Forlag
Hackney, P. (2002) “Making connections: total body integration through Bartenieff Fundaments” New York: Routledge
Hagen, U. (1973) “Respect for Acting” New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Lamb, W. (1997) “Body code : the meaning in movement” London : Routledge and Kegan Paul
Lecoq, J. (2006) “Theatre of Movement and Gesture” Oxon: Routledge
McBurney, S. (2012) “Who you hear it from” London: Complicite
Meisner, S. (1987) “Stanford Meisner on acting” New York: Random House
Moore, C.L. (2012) “Beyond words: movement observation and analysis” London: Routledge
Morrison, M. (1977) “Clear Speech” London: Bloomsbury Methuen drama
Newlove, J. (1993) “Laban for Actors and Dancers. Putting Laban’s movement theory into practice- A Step-by-step Guide” London: Nick Hern Books
Newlove, J., Dalby, J. (2004) “LABAN for all” London: Routledge
Richards, T. (2008) “Heart of Practice within the work center of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards” Oxon: Routledge
Rudlin, J. (1994) “Commedia dell’Arte an actor’s handbook” Oxon: Routledge
Schmitz, H. (2010) “Complicite rehearsal notes” London: Complicite
Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics. (2017). Dir David Briggs. BBC Studios Open University partnership
Spatz, B. (2015) “What a Body can do, technique as knowledge, practice as research” Oxon: Routledge
Stella, A. (2000) “Stella Adler the art of acting” New York: Applause Books
Suzuki, T. (2006) “The theatre practice of Tadishi Suzuki” London: Bloomsbury Methuen drama
Zinder, D. (2002) “Body Voice Imagination, a training for the actor” New York: Routledge
Workshops/Classes
Heres a list of a LOAD of great classes and places that run workshops and professional development programmes:
The Place
Bardcity
Fable Workshop
gymjam
Monobox
Rambert
The Actors Guild
The Actors Centre
Casting Workshops
The Actors Class
Masterclass
Rambert
Instrational Circus Centre
Curious School of Puppetry
The Pappy Show
The Circus Project
Gecko
Frantic assembly
London International Mime Festival