David ArtissMy theatre life
Back in 2016 I wrote an article about the apparent truth that coffee, and caffeine in general, affects a singing voice.
Well, now, having been told numerous times the same about chocolate, it’s time to explore this one too. So, does chocolate affect a singing voice?
Back in May, my eldest daughter, Laura, contacted me to see if I was interested in seeing the tour of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds. I’ve been a fan of the musical since 1989, when I got to play my landladies vinyl copy of it. I later bought it on CD and, since then, I’ve managed to get Laura hooked too.
Laura wanted to go to the tour and it was due to be in Nottingham, near to me, in December. Would I buy her a ticket as a Christmas present? Of course.
Last Friday was the day (or rather night) of the concert and I went to it knowing nothing of what to expect. I really had no idea.
On Saturday I went to see the professional, touring performance of The Wedding Singer, starring Ray Quinn and Ruth Madoc. I’d performed in the show myself, last year, in a local, amateur theatre group. And, you know, I think ours was better.
Let me explain why.
It’s now just 3 weeks until the opening night of the show. Nervous? Me? Actually, no. I have some lines left to learn and a couple of dances to work on but, otherwise, yeah, I’m confident. My hair, which got a mention in my last diary entry, it getting to new levels of annoyance – it’s knotty, won’t dry, sticks up all over the place and is now getting in my eyes. I’ve remember now why I hate it long – I grew it long for Jesus Christ Superstar and love the photos of me during that time – the one at the top of this site is taken from that time – but had obviously forgotten how much I hated it at the time!
In the last entry I mentioned that I had another part. Okay, now add one more. I now play a Secret Service Agent during the final wedding scene. Now, a black suit and tie I can do. I’ve already got the mirrored shaded and have, fantastically, found someone selling genuine agent-style ear-pieces on Amazon for just a couple of pounds. I don’t need it but, yeah, it will look cool 😉
In a few months time I’ll be performing in a show. I own a blog. Why, before now, have I not thought to combine them? Okay, we’re a couple of months into rehearsals, so this first part will be extra long and bring everything up-to-date.
Okay, The Wedding Singer. One of my favourite films and probably my favourite non-SciFi film. It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do (if you didn’t know already, I regularly perform in local amateur shows) and BMTG (Beeston Musical Theatre Group) are performing it. Actually, I was asked if I would be in it, rather than volunteering myself, which is always nice.
