Hi Everyone,
Happy Thursday ,
How you all doing? Hope you've had a good week. I am sat looking out the window at what is the first dull day in quite some time. Is that the end to the wonderful sunshine? Hope not.
So it's been a funny old week really. I had a really busy weekend and then the last couple of days I have had no voice and been on complete shut down trying to get some rest so it's a blog of extremes this week.
Let's start with last Thursday - I reckon there was only about 20 minutes of Thursday left by the time I'd published last week's BLOG. It was a manic day and once i got to my friend Sally's I went online to upload the blog then ate about 5 slices of toast because I'd not been feeling too great during the show and wasn't hungry then was just completely ravenous by that time. Then we took 15 minutes to listen to the song I was recording with her the next morning then we both just headed to bed. Tired after a really busy day.
Friday morning I woke at about 8.30am to watch the coverage of the Royal Wedding - I surprised myself at how interested I was in the wedding. I found it really exciting that something so hugely positive was happening in the city that I live in and in our country - In a world and time of too much doom and gloom I was inspired by everyones celebrations of two people completely besotted with each other getting married and doing it with the perfect wedding.
I could only watch the footage until 10am because then we had to leave to go to the recording studio to work on the track I was duetting on with Sally for her EP. So I more or less missed the entire wedding. haha. We took a 2 minute break to see what she looked like getting out the car and then back to work.
I was a bit rubbish that morning. My voice had decided it wanted to sit and watch the royal wedding and though my brain and body were trying to persuade it to work properly, i think it was having a bit of a tantrum and was pretty determined not to sound good - ha, but we got there eventually and Sally's EP is going to sound amazing. Very proud of her!
So we had finished by 2pm then I went to meet a couple of mates for a late lunch before heading into Victoria (where Wicked is) - dropped off my bags in my room then decided to walk the short distance to the Mall and outside Buckingham Palace to soak up a bit of the amazing atmosphere that was still buzzing by 4.30pm. One thing I was so impressed with was that by 4pm (only 2 hours after the wedding had all finished) the Evening Standard newspaper had printed and dispatched their Royal Wedding collectors edition which was full from front to back with pictures of the wedding and all the correct info on what happened when and who arrived with who, wearing what etc etc. Now that is some incredible planning and work well done I say.
So after I got back from B'ham Palace I picked up a paper and a slice of carrot cake (yum) and went to sit in my dressing room watching highlights of the wedding for an hour before I had to head onto stage to Warm Up for the show.
That evening it really hit me that I actually get paid to be a prince as my job. Fiyero Tigelaar (my character) is what the script refers to as a 'winkified prince', so Friday evening I was inspired by Prince William in my stance and physicality and had prince Harry's mischievousness which I felt worked well for Fiyero! Ha.
After the show I headed home for a good night's sleep after a long day.
Saturday morning I woke and decided to go for a swim before work to energise myself. It was lovely - I had the pool to myself and did a good 50 lengths. Then i went into the building and there was a slight nervous air around the building because the choreographer of Wicked was in to watch the matinee - and when I say nervous, I think it's more adrenaline because Wayne Cilento is an INCREDIBLE man. His work on this show is amazing and one of the biggest perks of being a part of the company is that when we rehearsed and worked with Wayne you get to see those moments where he demonstrated the choreography and you see exactly what he wants and the meaning behind it all and how it's layered with so much thought - the musical staging in this show is so much more than just movement for movement's sake, which is what i think it takes to create a masterpiece which I honestly believe is what Wicked is, which is the reason I'm so proud to be associated with it.
So after the matinee Wayne was very happy with the show. There are many productions of Wicked worldwide and he said he's always delighted to see the London production and it's always in such 'good shape' - Wicked is going into it's 5th year in London and it's more popular than ever. Isn't that incredible.
After the evening show on Saturday i was straight home, watched an episode of grey's anatomy and then headed to bed 'cause I had the longest journey in the history of any journey ever made to do the next day - ok so that's dramatic. I was taking my family to watch the last show of the Dancing On Ice Live Tour as a treat and to thank them for supporting my good friends Laura and Colin who were runner's up in the T.V show. So I needed to get to Manchester, having said I'd take them there as it's closest to them in North Wales and for me it takes about 2 hours from Euston on the train - and in true panto style…. OH NO IT DIDN'T! Maybe that's how long it should take normally but on the Sunday of the Royal Wedding bank holiday…..oh no!
I had to wake at 7am to get a train into London then 2 tubes to Paddington, then a train from there to Reading and then a 4 hour train to Manchester!!! Boo!!! - No actually it wasn't too painful. I read my book, slept a lot, watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy (and cried - I never really cry at T.V/films but it was a great episode) then i arrived.
I met my family for a lovely late lunch (mum, sis, bro in law, auntie & uncle) and then we headed back stage at the M.E.N so I could introduce them to Laura and Colin and also to Chris Biggins who my mum just adored. My sister and I were sat next to each other and devoured a bag of cadbury's nibbles and a bag of winegums before the show had even started. The show was great. I can't get over the professional skaters being so good. When they come out and do their partner work it's just breathtaking. It makes me wanna get up and have a go but i know that I'd just be like Bambi and absolutely stack it on the ice!
It was clearly a very emotional night for a lot of the cast because it was their last day with the people they've spent the last 7 months skating with - it reminded me of finishing a job, you always feel relieved that it's over but quite emotional that it's the end of an era. It gets much easier with the more work you do. You kind of have to just think 'on to the next thing' otherwise you'd be depressed all the time.
After the show we went back to see Colin and Laura and Biggins, to thank them for a great night and then we got into the people carrier my uncle had borrowed for the day - baring in mind my sister and I wanted to have a good catch up so we sat in the back where there was barely enough room for one 7 year old let alone two rather tall adults! It was a rather uncomfortable journey, but we had a good chat. My sister is one of my best friends - only trouble is I don't see her nearly enough so moments like that are great to fill each other in on any gossip!!!
When I got home everyone went to bed but my Dad had waited up so I sat and had a chat with him for about n hour and a half, which ended in me taking pictures of us with my iphone using the 'fat-booth' app which takes a normal picture and then changes it to make you very fat. Well my Dad and i nearly died laughing - seriously, he's a heavy smoker and couldn't breath. Ha. Just kidding. It was great to have time to chill and laugh together though because we are both always so busy that it rarely happens.
That night I slept in my old bed - nothing better.
Woke early Monday so i could fit in an hour with my nieces just chilling in their half built playroom - my bro in law is constructing a playroom and they like being in there even though it's just bricks and concrete at the moment! I adore them.
I then got the train back to Euston and had to rush down to the theatre where I had arranged to meet the Musical Director of my Album to discuss orchestrations and arrangment ideas and i got very excited. He is a great guy named John Quirke and has some cracking ideas to make the album as good as it can possibly be musically.
I just can't wait to get in the studio and start singing my little head off!!!
After the show on Monday night my voice was really delicate and felt like it was about to disappear so i headed straight home to rest it and had been drinking so much water i was in the bathroom all night. However, I woke on Tuesday and had to accept the fact that part my singing voice had gone and that it was not wise for me to be singing on it so I had to take time off from work which I hate doing and very rarely have to do - especially vocally. I am one of those lucky people who can usually get through anything singing wise but I knew that I needed to give it some time to rest. So the lest two days have been pretty boring really. Talking as little as possible. I have seen a couple of friends but had to let them talk at me instead of being able to engage in conversation and basically give myself time to recover. As soon as I let myself stop i just felt exhausted and I have never drunk as much water as I have done this week. I am, as you know, a busy person who is always in control so to have to sit and do nothing was pretty rare but i embraced it and i think it's done me the world of good and I'm heading back to work tonight. Sh-boom!
Thanks to all of you who sent messages over the last couple of days. I really appreciate them. I'm not the sort of person to broadcast any negativity so I just decided to keep off the radar a little until I could be myself!!!
So I woke today and I'm heading to the gym for a steam and for a good old vocal massage to reset things to where they should be and then I'm meeting a mate to chat and warm up the clack for tonights show!!!
Still got lots of things coming up in the near future which I am excited to tell you about and will do when i can. Manic summer kicks off in about two weeks!!! Bring it on!!!
Keep your messages and tweets heading in folks cos I love them and love hearing from you.
Check out my new YouTube channel for any videos I will be adding will officially be embedded here!
http://www.youtube.com/markevansonlinetv
And I think that's about it.
Enjoy your week until the next BLOG!!!
Keep smiling
SH-BOOM!!!
Mark
