Meanwhile In Tinseltown

That is the name of the exhilarating new band fronted by The Voice UK semi-finalist Max Milner with Robbie White, Carly Meyers, Andy Blowers and Adrian Lee Stokes. They describe themselves as 'an upcoming, fresh and exciting band formed by four friends. Eloquent and witty lyrics mixed with beautifully written music, air tight harmonies and a host of inspirations help create this incredible talent.' Having had the pleasure of seeing them perform live last Sunday at Nambucca, Holloway Road, I can assure you that this band is all that and more.

Presenting a vast list of original songs, along with several personalised cover tracks, this band is modern, modest and unbelievably talented. Their songs include themes of heart-break, love and adultery, ‘as an argument is born our relationship is dying’. Yet also texting and Iphones! ‘if your messages sin lots, put a pin on your inbox’ Sex Sheets. Though not always for the faint-hearted, their lyrics manage to deliver the bitterness of betrayal in a topical and humorous way accessible to all audiences! ‘So I'm'a need to get my CDs back and get my life back on track, my shit goes where I want it now that you're no longer in my flat and that'll teach me, to stick my dick in crazy’ The Cute Song.

Multi-talented is an understatement for Robbie White, as he plays percussion, guitar, piano and also sings backing! Max Milner’s gravely smooth tone is beyond sexy which is complimented beautifully by Carly Meyers harmonising. This musicianship proves that there is not one average track amongst their playlist of beautiful ballads and fast-paced patter songs, which are perfect for summer! ‘I'm not saying I can't believe this, we just needed someone to dream with. Wish you could see this, jamming on the rooftops!’ Jamming on the rooftops.

With over 3000 twitter followers, including dozens of fan accounts this currently unsigned band have accumulated a distinct group of supporters labelling themselves #townies. Max Milner has his own loyal group of ever-loving #friends and all members of the band are in turn forever devoted and lovely to every fan among them. Signing autographs and posing for pictures with all who asked, they made alot of girls very happy on Sunday night.

A confirmed #friend and #townie for life, I need no convincing that Meanwhile in Tinseltown are ready to fly high into the music scene. With that I am still safe and happy in the knowledge that this humble band, when very famous and successful, will still be ever lovely and dedicated to all their fans and followers.

To see if you agree, check them out here - http://www.youtube.com/user/MITinseltown

Or follow them on twitter @M_I_Tinseltown

You can even see Max Milner and Meanwhile In Tinseltown live at Hampton Court Palace Festival on 18th June - http://www.hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com.

#friendsforever

Star-struck

Star-struck is defined as 'captivated by famous people or by fame itself.'

In the last week I have seen two tv stars during my daily life. One from a moderately famous TV show just on the tube and the other a current reality TV star walking down my high street and it got me thinking about the idea of feeling 'star-struck'.

Now living in London, you can expect to see famous people from time to time and obviously your level of 'captivation' would depend or whether you happen to be a fan of the celebrity in the first place. Then again, just the idea of meeting somebody famous can be thrilling.

If we call ourselves a 'fan' of a certain celebrities work, talents or looks, we can often become obsessed to learn everything possible about them. We feel like we already know these people, even though we have never met them. Of course we dont really know 'them', but we feel as if we do. The definiton of star-struck remains therefore, whether we meet them or not. If we are captivated by them already, why is it a big deal to meet them in person?

It is a big deal, because we expect only to see celebrities on our tv screens, or in a glamorous environment created purely for our voyueristic pleasure. All with the 'You can look but you can't touch' clause in small writing. Therefore, by bumping into somebody famous in our daily lives, there is something ellict and illegal about the situation that makes us feel extra privledged and special. (Never mind the simple fact that famous people are still humans beings, they just lead different lives to the rest of us!)

I think we can become star-struck in these situations because we are experiencing something we wouldnt normally get to. Most of us don't get to experience fame, so we desire to. Most of us don't get to meet famous people, so if we happen to get a chance to do so, we grab it with both hands. This is because it makes us feel priviledged and special, just like the celebrities we admire so much.

The Dream

a)To be a full time professional actress, performer
and singer in theatre, TV & film etc.
b)To go to an accredited drama school.
c)To have a lead role in a musical in the West End.

So now you are all up to speed with my dreams.
All humans have dreams. As children we are all told to believe in ourselves, and are nurtured as we go through a journey of ideas of what we would most like to be when we grow up. However, once we are 'grown up' there comes a time where we have to re-evaluate and wonder if our aspirations are at all achievable.

In life there are the forever dreamers, who will do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams. These are the ones who never stop dreaming. Then, there are the people who weigh up the pros and cons and eventually decide that they have come to the end of their aspirational road for one reason or another.

I find that I am often both of these people. In order to fulfil my dream, I have to be super confident that I will achieve it. I have to make a lifestyle choice. A choice to be forever uncertain, unknown and temporary. To allow my life to be determined by luck, being in the right place at the right time and the subjectivity of others. To fear that if i cannot achieve my dream, there is not another one that I would wish for. To fear that I may attempt it for too long and then be stuck for a career late in life. To fear that it may not be possible.

The three dreams listed at the top of the page are in no particular order. All are of great difficulty to obtain and I want them all. I have been attempting a) for just over a year now since leaving university and even though I have tried to remove the stigma that b) is absolutely necessary to achieve my dream, it still remains on the list. Like most people I find failure very difficult, (not so good if you are an actress.)I have tried to get into Drama School on three separate occasions and failed. Although there are many different routes to success as an actor, I can finally say that whether it is necessary or not, I want it. I want it, I need it and I believe that I deserve it.

That has taken me a while to realise again. I tried to tell myself that I didn't want it anymore, probably because it was difficult to achieve. Guess we cannot run from our dreams. Now that is out in the open, I guess I have to become a forever dreamer. I have to work extremely hard to achieve my dreams, and believe me there are many more of a similar nature to be added to the list!

For now real life is dreaming. We have to believe that there can be no reality where our dreams are not possible.

Easier to do it wrong.

So lately I have noticed how we often knowingly do the wrong thing. Mainly because it is what we prefer. The wrong thing can often be the most instantly gratifying option. Sometimes by doing the wrong thing we are breaking a rule and so feel reckless and this can be fun, or maybe it is simply because doing the right thing is so damn hard most of the time.

From the beginning we are always taught to do the right thing. Our education at school is a combination of many years and exams where we must get the right answer in order to gain the right result. However, as we get older we see that in life there can be grey areas. What if there are two right answers? What if what we think is right, is actually wrong?

So many questions. Which is why we ask others for guidance when we are in a quandary. Still knowing all the while that we are going to do the wrong thing anyway! Is it the thrill of being bad? Or maybe its because we feel too weak to make the right choice?

For me, I am always out of luck. As a very indecisive person making any decision is difficult. So when my head or heart eventually leans toward any side, I have to go with it or I'll remain in limbo forever.

I guess whether the right or wrong thing is easier, either path will provide a journey for further options for bad decisions, wrong turns and mistakes. Without these we wouldn't learn and grow as people. We just have to remember that while doing the wrong thing may be easy and fun, it can also sometimes hurt people, including ourselves.

Am I lazy or just scared?

Can laziness sometimes be confused with fear? This theory was suggested to me a few weeks ago and I still am not sure I agree with it. The idea is that often while our behaviour may look like sheer laziness, our lack of enthusiasm could simply be a fear of the task at hand. Obviously I am not suggesting that some of us may be completely terrorised by the idea of doing the washing up, or that all teenagers who avoid tidying their room actually suffer from a crippling fright of cleanliness. No. This notion runs a little deeper.

I have been out of education in the 'real world' for just over a year now, keeping up various part-time jobs while in search of acting work. After a stint in a musical and a fringe play, I managed to find an agent and felt like I was finally getting somewhere. However,for a mainly out-of-work actor, supposedly riddled with determination, I have become so lazy!

I am plodding along this motorway of reality while teaching children performing arts, stopping off at the services infrequently for a dose of 'The Dream' and then back I go to the slow lane, this time laden with lactose-intolerance issues. I reach the next exit not as a professional performer sporting excited jazz hands, but as a 23 year old actress who goes to bed with a microwavable warmie in the shape of a Babushka doll!

I have become a sucker for instant gratification. It is so much easier to gain happiness in amongst the reality, by going to the cinema with your mates, snuggling up to your gorgeous boyfriend, watching your favourite band play. 'The Dream' however requires a lot more time and effort. So the answer (apparently) is not laziness but fear? Granted, by nature I am not a lazy person, however recently I seem to have got much better at sleeping in, spending the whole day on my laptop surfing rubbish, and coming up with reasons not to do things.

For the last 6 months I have told myself every week to:

1. Go to some dance classes -
I tried everything local, including Zumba which while it is great exercise, a background knowledge in the subject isn't required when auditioning in the West End. I looked at most options that would avoid travel and cost, all the while knowing that Pineapple was where I needed to be. Laziness or fear?

2. Practice singing daily (Yes even if its loud!) -
I would try for about 10 minutes in the shower, not warming up properly, and then trail off. In recent singing lessons the task has been 'belting' aka: shouting on a tune, to the neighbours this would be translated as - a cat being strangled slowly. Funny how I don't wish that to be what springs to mind when I sing. Laziness or fear?

I think it could be either. The reason I am more torn towards laziness is because in the grand scheme of things neither of these two tasks are that difficult to carry out. What I really need is a verbal kick up the backside. Which funnily enough I get quite often from the people most important to me...

Actually what I really need is to perform again. When I say perform I mean really perform. Get stuck into a real role or script or perform some great musical theatre songs in a concert or show. Indulge in what I do best.
How do I do that? Stop being lazy and practice!

That means, conquer your fear of not really being a dancer and join Pineapple and focus on the joy of belting that big note in your favourite song and forget about your neighbours, who are way to busy to care what you sound like anyway.
Hmm, maybe it was fear afterall.

Mother Monster at her Monster Ball

I just wanted to dedicate a post to the most iconic and most talked about woman in music today, whose picture currently covers most of my bedroom wall space. Lady Gaga, Mother Monster, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (her real name) are a few of the titles this revolutionary performer is known by.

After a world famous first album ‘The Fame’ and a sellout Monster Ball Tour, Gaga has just released her highly anticipated second album ‘Born This Way’. Before its release Gaga made four tracks available to download to tease her fans. She headlined Radio 1s Live Weekend and HBO’s recording of her Monster Ball tour Live in Madison Square Garden has been repeated all over Sky Telvision over the last few weeks.

I have just been watching the recording, from her black and white backstage documentary sections to the bright lights of the stage. Gaga is a born performer. This show is the last of five in her home town and you can see it means the world to her. While in makeup she cannot hold back the tears, as after hearing the screams of the sold out arena she still, deep down feels like a loser and wants to be a winner for all her fans.

Gaga sends out two main messages with the Monster Ball: 1 – It will be a night to party hard and 2 – It will be a place where everyone; irrelevant of race, colour, gender, sexual or fashion preference, will be accepted.

The show is a mix of Gaga’s fantastic costume changes, weird set changes, imaginative props and instruments and amazing live musicians. We can all see that Gaga is a phenomenal front woman with her Andy Warhol yellow hair and bare bum cheeks. She has dared to be different with her thoroughly entertaining, theatrical show, with freakish costumes and wild backing dancers. In addition to all this glitter and epic chaos, there are moments to hear her fanatically raw, powerful pop voice, and watch a superbly talented songwriter sit at her piano, and do what she does best.

When Gaga constantly address’s her fans as ‘Monsters’, we see that she lives and breathes for the music and for them. She is very loud and very crude but screaming with pride that she beat all the negativity and came out on top. Her anecdotes of always dreaming of headling Madison Square Garden are heartfelt and powerful. She wants to instill her new found confidence into her fans and inspire them to be great.
In her minimal clothes and bare skin she has made it. She is one of a kind and was born that way.

Go Mother Monster!
PUT YOUR PAWS UP!

Sienna and Sheridan= Two Talented Sweethearts

I was lucky enough to attend a Masterclass on Thursday with Sienna Miller and Sheridan Smith at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, discussing their current roles in Flare Path by Terrance Rattigan. I had not seen the play, neither had my friend who joined me, however this did not detract at all from the pleasure of the afternoon. (We are now looking for cheap last minute tickets before the run ends in 4 weeks!

Matt Wolf, all round theatre critic, author and university lecturer interviewed the ladies about the play and then opened up the conversation to the packed stalls of the theatre. These included a mix of aspiring actors, theatre fanatics and personal twitter fans of the two actresses. All were thoroughly entertained by these two remarkable young women who claimed to be shocked that they were giving a ‘masterclass’, because they didn’t feel they had enough knowledge or experience to coach others.

Sheridan has a hugely successful Televison career and an Olivier for Legally Blonde to boot, yet she constantly maintained that she ‘blags it’ and is always scared her unorthodox technique might be discovered! While Sienna Miller who has a thriving film career and two other theatre credits under her belt, claimed that she does not have the bold confidence she once had when she first set out as an actress.

While being unbelievable modest, these two ladies could not hide their inner nerves at being confronted with an audience and no character to play. They acted like giggling school friends, holding hands and sharing secrets and it was marvellous to watch. Both answered the audience’s questions with ease and gave genuine advice from their experiences. As an aspiring actress myself, it was truly rewarding to see that these two talented actresses were, by their own admission; very lucky and often in the right place at the right time, but also friendly, approachable and completely humble about their own success.

Although surprising, it was comforting to realise that all people famous or not, have insecurities, times of doubt and often need reassurance of their brilliance. It is easy to watch an actor play a character on stage or in a film and forget that they are real people who lead normal lives. (well, maybe not normal!)
Even though, both women dealt with the task at hand and their nerves quite differently; (Sienna played with her gorgeous hair frivolously as she talked and Sheridan had to pop to the toilet in the middle of the session!) they both excelled in the moment and without realising it, provided much entertainment and inspiration to all.

I can only hope that their success continues and that I get that chance to work with these talented ladies when I am in the right place at the right time. They may have both had bad reviews in the past, but they get five stars from me


The Masterclasses ‘offer free talks and workshops with leading professionals, to anyone aged 17-30.’ Sign up here: http://www.masterclass.org.uk/index.php