Hi Everyone,
How are we all???
How funny that this is blog 24 and I happen to feel 24 pounds heavier now that the Christmas week is nearly over and I have eaten lots and lots of wonderful food! I had a great time!!! I love my family and being at home so much!!! I got back to London this afternoon so here is what has happened over the last week:
I did my last day in the studio before the Xmas break of 'Marcaroni' last Thursday which was great, but I think we all knew that it was the day before a rest, so our minds had already begun to switch off which was annoying because it made the day seem really long and I personally was fighting to keep the lines in my head 'cause my mind was frazzled! But it was a lovely atmosphere and the company had Christmas lunches delivered to the studio for us which was very nice of them! The company ('Ceidiog' run by Nia Ceidiog) really are great people to work for - the production of the programme is great but they also really look after everyone who is working for them, and when you're working so hard and such long hours (7am-6pm) every day it makes it a lot easier knowing your work is gratefully appreciated by the management!
Then i got a train from Cardiff to Rhyl and I was so pleased that nothing was affected by the weather apart from when I got to Chester we had to hang around for a while, waiting for some delayed trains from Euston as they had loads of Irish people on them trying to get home for Christmas because Dublin airport was closed so they needed our train as a connection! Some of them will have had to travel for 22 hours to get home! They were so tired bless them! I felt lucky that my journey was only delayed by an hour and twenty minutes (meanwhile Moma Evans was waiting patiently in Rhyl train station bless her) but I got home eventually!
Christmas eve I was doing Santa duty delivering presents to different family members etc and doing a bit of last minute food shopping with my mum! Then I got home and helped my mum prepare the veg etc for the Christmas lunch then just watched TV.
CHRISTMAS DAY!!! I woke at about 9am. Had breakfast with my Mum, as my Dad was outside on the farm. My Dad always has to work harder than ever at this time of year as all his sheep are lambing. I went out on the farm to help him for a couple of hours Christmas morning to make sure he could finish in time to join us for lunch! It was SO COLD, and the main thing I was given to do was to change the water in each of the sheep pens - This involved smashing the layer of ice which had formed on the top of the buckets with my hands, empty each bucket then run the tap to fill them with fresh water- however, the water pipes are metal and had frozen over, so my Dad said "just cover the pipe with your hand for a couple of minutes and your body heat will defrost the ice"- well...I managed to do this for a good two and a half minutes and......no water came out! - my god that was like torture on a Christmas morning it was so cold! I ended up having to use another tap further away! When I later got in the house, I ran warm water over my hands for a few minutes, but they didn't warm up for ages! Ha. What a wimp! - I'm sure my dad was just doing it for a laugh!
Our Christmas lunch was amazing - Everyone thinks their Mum's xmas dinner is the best don't they?!, but i must tell you, my mum's really is the best (so there!). I was stuffed - not even room for a handful of Celebrations from the tub my Nanna gave us!!!
Christmas evening, all our immediate family members and the kids went to my sister's house and we had a great time just eating and drinking and laughing! The perfect Christmas for me personally is just having plenty of time to enjoy your family and that's what I had this year! I felt very grateful!
Boxing day - There has always been a tradition that we take it in turns to go round to different family member's houses for boxing day but since there have been grand-children and babies etc it is now held at my folks place (aka The Ranch) because we can't all fit anywhere else! Ha.
I got considerably drunk (in a good, happy drunk sort of way) on boxing day and ended up being games organiser which consisted of games like the Cornflake box game - which is basically a challenge to see who can pick up an empty cereal box off the floor with their mouth without putting your hands or knees on the floor - sounds easy but once everyone has done it, then you tear a bit off so it gets smaller each time! I am proud to say that I won - My brother got quite frustrated that I was better than him, so he ended up standing and the box so it was flat against the floor - but in true dancer style I got down into the splits and still managed to pick it up (I could barely walk the next day - drunken splits are not good everyone - remember that!!!) We also had a game which resulted in the 'grown ups' (Dad, Mum, Aunts & Uncles) wrapping their Husband/Wife in toilet roll against the stopwatch to see who can mummify their partner the best - My mum didn't even leave a gap for my Dad to breath! Us kids were on the floor with laughter! Just a couple of the many games played on what can only be described as a bloomin' marvellous boxing day!!!
On Monday the 27th I went with my good friend Aimee to watch the pantomime, Peter Pan in Rhyl. One of my students from my summer school was in it and he was brilliant! I also know Tara Bethan who played Peter Pan and did a great job of it too - she was the year above me in high school and we have worked together a few times since. Funnily enough we were singing together on T.V on Monday evening! It was the concert I told you guys about that I did between Wolverhampton and Edinburgh with Oklahoma! It was held at the CIA in Cardiff and it featured people from Wales who have been successful in reality T.V over the past 5 years! I have to say it was great to see something really commercial on the channel S4C and thought it was a cracking programme!
I shall post the link to the online 'catch up' video of it on my Facebook fanpage - it's in Welsh but i'll let you know where my bit comes in the programme incase your interested in checking it out!
So Aimee stayed at the ranch on Monday then on Tuesday we went to a local pub, The Brookhouse Mill to meet our friends Carys and Helen for lunch. We had a right laugh and a good catch up! I have really enjoyed the novelty of waking up everyday this past week thinking "what have i got to do?, where have I got to go?" and realising that I don't have to do anything - I never give myself time to do nothing but it did me the world of good I think! However, I do think that it's because of me stopping all of a sudden, that I now have a sore throat and bad cold - booooooo!!! But hey, as I'm the sort of person who likes to look at the positives in life - at least it happened when i don't need to sing or even speak in general really!
Yesterday I chilled out all day and learned lots of Marcaroni script for when I return to the studio for 5 weeks next Tuesday! Then last night all the immediate family and the kids came to the ranch again for another dinner (Beef this time!!! No Turkey for a while now). Love my family lots!
So woke up today and my Mum has obviously caught my cold, but worse than me, so I told her she wasn't going to take me to the train station and the minister of our local chapel very kindly took me to Chester as he was driving that way anyway and I got the train from there! It's good to be back in London to be in my flat etc! But although I have said it a few times in this blog- you can't beat a good ole family Christmas and that's exactly what I had! The End!
So 2011 is nearly here! This past year for me has been incredible ....I have met some wonderful friends and worked with some too, toured the UK enjoying performing The Rocky Horror Show, Oklahoma! and the beginnings of Marcaroni. Also my summer school West End In Wales was a huge success again this year! I also loved both my visits to New York - where I will live one day (I hope - just for a couple of years!)....but I have a feeling (and this too is me thinking positive, as i have learned to do by reading 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne-highly recommended!) that 2011 is going to be an even better year! I am really looking forward to playing Fiyero in WICKED from February 7th, recording my debut album which is scheduled for a summer release, running my summer school again and having at least one holiday! There are also a couple of other exciting things in the pipeline (a non-frozen pipeline!!!) which i will tell you about if and when they happen!
Folks- that was my Christmas week, hope you enjoyed reading about it! I will say as always, please keep in contact via Twitter and my Facebook FanPage! I love hearing from you and appreciate your time and effort in supporting everything I do!
I want to put out a special mention to one of my fans, Paula, from Ireland, who sent me a wonderfully thoughtful Christmas gift! Thank you Paula, I love it!
Let me know what your doing tomorrow night to celebrate 2010 and the last decade and to welcome in 2011! I shall be at a friends house with a group of friends drinking champagne and enjoying good company!
You are all wonderful and always remember that! Life is great!
Thanks for reading!
See you in the next decade!
Mark
To find out more about Mark and his career visit his official website at http://www.markevansonline.co.uk/
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Blog 23!!! IT'S CHRIIIIIIIISTMAS!!!!!!
Good evening everyone!!!
What about this weather eh??!?!?! I hope you're all ok and safe and warm and healthy! i have had many comments on Twitter and facebook about various problems some of you have had! Let's all hope it calms down soon eh!?!?! Too many people been singing 'I'm Dreaming Of A Whit Christmas' I believe - careful what you wish for as it might come true!!!
So it's been a busy old time for me since I last Blogged ("When is it not?" i hear some of you cry!). The end of the week last week was busy with Marcaroni! It was all going well we were running to schedule at the end of the first week and then the snow came along and because it was so severe the production Manager and producer decided we should finish at lunch time (after they provided Fish & Chips-bonus!) otherwise people wouldn't have been able to get out of the car park etc! So now we are 1 episode behind the whole time which is very annoying! We'll catch up somewhere I'm sure!
So Friday afternoon/evening was lovely. I made sure I did absolutely nothing and just watched TV and did things online! It was exactly what I needed! And a half bottle of Red too! - Cheeky!!!
Saturday morning I hit the shops in central Cardiff by 10am to beat the crowds and that I did! It was about time i started my Christmas shopping! I thought i'd start it and finish it in that one day! And I did near enough! But my goodness, it's exhausting isn't it?!? Trudging round the shops in the snow for 6 hours! Glad i only did it for one day! Had to buy myself a couple of treats too of course! Actually it was just a new pair of boots I felt I needed for the snow, but I liked them so much I didn't want to wreck them in the slush! I soon got over that and they barely leave my feet now!
Saturday evening I went to watch a few friends of mine who are in Mamma Mia which is playing the WMC in Cardiff Bay until mid January! Was great to see them and the show was good! Seen Mamma Mia about 8 times now in different places! Worth seeing! It's fun! Then I spent a few hours catching up with my friends after the show until the wee hours of the morning and consumed rather a lot of alcohol and wow did I feel it on Sunday morning!!! I remembered then why i don't drink much!!! I wouldn't change it though, it was a fun night!!!
So sunday morning i was a little delicate then I went to the gym for a couple of hours before meeting my friends again for a healthy Wagamamas in the Bay!!! Lovely!!! Then I more or less got an early night!
Monday morning started with my daily swim (I've been getting up at 5.45am for the past week and a half so I can fit in 50 lengths of the complex's swimming pool before getting picked up to be driven to work by 7am) Then a good day on set! It was the first time we had another actor on set (Rhodri who plays Roli Odl) instead of just myself and Non who plays Oli Odl! We were so relieved to hear someone else talking so we could have a bit less script to memorise! So that was good! Monday evening it was an early night for me as usual.
Good day again on Tuesday and then after work last night Non knocked on my door (she's staying in the apartment next door!) and joined me for a chill out night with no script to learn because today was the first Choreography day for which we have an autocue (TV screen with the words on it)!!! We were suppose to film 10 numbers today of song and dance - we only completed 4!!! They're blooming great though! We have Steve Alias (West End actor and choreographer) as our choreographer who is great especially with the story telling of a song which is important with kids' stuff!
So we're now a little behind with the choreography stuff too! Booooooo! it'll all come together though! - My legs are aching now though! Little did I know that Marcaroni was gonna be giving it whack kicks and pencil turns and full on ballet movements!!! I was soaked with sweat - We heard the words "OK just one more take" about 17 times before we actually did finish! Ha!
So that brings us up to the present time where I happen to be sat on my sofa in my wonderful apartment! I'm about to pack my stuff to head home to North Wales for Christmas! I can't figure out weather to get a late train tomorrow after work or weather, by doing that I run the risk of getting stuck at some train station in the snow in the middle of nowhere until the early hours of the morning or weather it's best to wait and try and travel home on Christmas eve! I just want to get there to see my family asap and get in the festive spirit!!! I'll wait and see what the weather's like i think!
So.... a few things to announce - I am on BBC Radio Cymru (Welsh Radio Wales) tomorrow morning live between 9-10am if you want to listen! Also Christmas day I will be on the radio talking to Margaret Williams (legendary Welsh singer) again on Radio Cymru, about 4pm i think it's on! Then i will be on S4C - The concert I did at the CIA in Cardiff sometime ago which was a collection of the Welsh people who have been successful on reality TV which will be shown on the evening of December 27th!
New Year's Eve I will be on a programme called Cyfle Cothi on Radio Cymru which I believe is being repeated New Year's day too!
ALSO: Looking forward to this one - I'll be singing at a concert at the New Players Theatre in London to showcase the music of American songwriter Bobby Cronin who will be there on the night too! It's a great line up of very talented West End Performers so come along if you can - it'll be fab! All the details I'll put on my Facebook Fanpage! I'll also be posting reminders in the new year etc on Twitter and Facebook!
I think that is about it!
Folks - It's Christmas in 3 days!!! I can't wait!!! Hope you're all prepared and all looking forward to it! Let me know what you're doing!
I won't blog again before Christmas day now so I would like to wish each and everyone of you a very merry Christmas - and I have looked through the settings of my blog page and have been overwhelmed with the amount of people who read my blog and also - in so many different countries - and so, I have decided to wish you all a Merry christmas in your native language as a gesture to say thanks for your support and continued interest in what I'm doing - I hope to meet you all someday if I haven't met you already! I have used my 'itranslate' app on my iphone so don't blame me if they're not right! Here goes...
U.K - Merry Christmas
U.S.A - Merry Christmas
Netherlands - Vrolijk kerstfeest
Ireland - Merry Christmas
Germany - Frohe Weihnachten
Australia - Merry Christmas
Russia - (Some letters I don't have so I'm using a * instead, sorry) - C Po**ecTBOM
Malaysia - Selamat Hari Krismas
Spain - Feliz Navidad
Thailand and Japan - I'm afraid I only have the English letters on my laptop to type but I wish you a very Merry Christmas and my iphone has taught me how to say the words in your languages so I am saying them out loud to you now!
And a special Nadolig Llawen to my Welsh Folk!
Festive greetings to all you lovely people!!! May your Christmas be filled with love, joy and happiness!
Life is great and don't forget it! Embrace every moment good or bad and treasure it, learn from it and never forget it! That's my philosophy on life!
Big love
Chat soon
Mark
What about this weather eh??!?!?! I hope you're all ok and safe and warm and healthy! i have had many comments on Twitter and facebook about various problems some of you have had! Let's all hope it calms down soon eh!?!?! Too many people been singing 'I'm Dreaming Of A Whit Christmas' I believe - careful what you wish for as it might come true!!!
So it's been a busy old time for me since I last Blogged ("When is it not?" i hear some of you cry!). The end of the week last week was busy with Marcaroni! It was all going well we were running to schedule at the end of the first week and then the snow came along and because it was so severe the production Manager and producer decided we should finish at lunch time (after they provided Fish & Chips-bonus!) otherwise people wouldn't have been able to get out of the car park etc! So now we are 1 episode behind the whole time which is very annoying! We'll catch up somewhere I'm sure!
So Friday afternoon/evening was lovely. I made sure I did absolutely nothing and just watched TV and did things online! It was exactly what I needed! And a half bottle of Red too! - Cheeky!!!
Saturday morning I hit the shops in central Cardiff by 10am to beat the crowds and that I did! It was about time i started my Christmas shopping! I thought i'd start it and finish it in that one day! And I did near enough! But my goodness, it's exhausting isn't it?!? Trudging round the shops in the snow for 6 hours! Glad i only did it for one day! Had to buy myself a couple of treats too of course! Actually it was just a new pair of boots I felt I needed for the snow, but I liked them so much I didn't want to wreck them in the slush! I soon got over that and they barely leave my feet now!
Saturday evening I went to watch a few friends of mine who are in Mamma Mia which is playing the WMC in Cardiff Bay until mid January! Was great to see them and the show was good! Seen Mamma Mia about 8 times now in different places! Worth seeing! It's fun! Then I spent a few hours catching up with my friends after the show until the wee hours of the morning and consumed rather a lot of alcohol and wow did I feel it on Sunday morning!!! I remembered then why i don't drink much!!! I wouldn't change it though, it was a fun night!!!
So sunday morning i was a little delicate then I went to the gym for a couple of hours before meeting my friends again for a healthy Wagamamas in the Bay!!! Lovely!!! Then I more or less got an early night!
Monday morning started with my daily swim (I've been getting up at 5.45am for the past week and a half so I can fit in 50 lengths of the complex's swimming pool before getting picked up to be driven to work by 7am) Then a good day on set! It was the first time we had another actor on set (Rhodri who plays Roli Odl) instead of just myself and Non who plays Oli Odl! We were so relieved to hear someone else talking so we could have a bit less script to memorise! So that was good! Monday evening it was an early night for me as usual.
Good day again on Tuesday and then after work last night Non knocked on my door (she's staying in the apartment next door!) and joined me for a chill out night with no script to learn because today was the first Choreography day for which we have an autocue (TV screen with the words on it)!!! We were suppose to film 10 numbers today of song and dance - we only completed 4!!! They're blooming great though! We have Steve Alias (West End actor and choreographer) as our choreographer who is great especially with the story telling of a song which is important with kids' stuff!
So we're now a little behind with the choreography stuff too! Booooooo! it'll all come together though! - My legs are aching now though! Little did I know that Marcaroni was gonna be giving it whack kicks and pencil turns and full on ballet movements!!! I was soaked with sweat - We heard the words "OK just one more take" about 17 times before we actually did finish! Ha!
So that brings us up to the present time where I happen to be sat on my sofa in my wonderful apartment! I'm about to pack my stuff to head home to North Wales for Christmas! I can't figure out weather to get a late train tomorrow after work or weather, by doing that I run the risk of getting stuck at some train station in the snow in the middle of nowhere until the early hours of the morning or weather it's best to wait and try and travel home on Christmas eve! I just want to get there to see my family asap and get in the festive spirit!!! I'll wait and see what the weather's like i think!
So.... a few things to announce - I am on BBC Radio Cymru (Welsh Radio Wales) tomorrow morning live between 9-10am if you want to listen! Also Christmas day I will be on the radio talking to Margaret Williams (legendary Welsh singer) again on Radio Cymru, about 4pm i think it's on! Then i will be on S4C - The concert I did at the CIA in Cardiff sometime ago which was a collection of the Welsh people who have been successful on reality TV which will be shown on the evening of December 27th!
New Year's Eve I will be on a programme called Cyfle Cothi on Radio Cymru which I believe is being repeated New Year's day too!
ALSO: Looking forward to this one - I'll be singing at a concert at the New Players Theatre in London to showcase the music of American songwriter Bobby Cronin who will be there on the night too! It's a great line up of very talented West End Performers so come along if you can - it'll be fab! All the details I'll put on my Facebook Fanpage! I'll also be posting reminders in the new year etc on Twitter and Facebook!
I think that is about it!
Folks - It's Christmas in 3 days!!! I can't wait!!! Hope you're all prepared and all looking forward to it! Let me know what you're doing!
I won't blog again before Christmas day now so I would like to wish each and everyone of you a very merry Christmas - and I have looked through the settings of my blog page and have been overwhelmed with the amount of people who read my blog and also - in so many different countries - and so, I have decided to wish you all a Merry christmas in your native language as a gesture to say thanks for your support and continued interest in what I'm doing - I hope to meet you all someday if I haven't met you already! I have used my 'itranslate' app on my iphone so don't blame me if they're not right! Here goes...
U.K - Merry Christmas
U.S.A - Merry Christmas
Netherlands - Vrolijk kerstfeest
Ireland - Merry Christmas
Germany - Frohe Weihnachten
Australia - Merry Christmas
Russia - (Some letters I don't have so I'm using a * instead, sorry) - C Po**ecTBOM
Malaysia - Selamat Hari Krismas
Spain - Feliz Navidad
Thailand and Japan - I'm afraid I only have the English letters on my laptop to type but I wish you a very Merry Christmas and my iphone has taught me how to say the words in your languages so I am saying them out loud to you now!
And a special Nadolig Llawen to my Welsh Folk!
Festive greetings to all you lovely people!!! May your Christmas be filled with love, joy and happiness!
Life is great and don't forget it! Embrace every moment good or bad and treasure it, learn from it and never forget it! That's my philosophy on life!
Big love
Chat soon
Mark
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Blog 22!!! Marcaroni has been born!!!
Hi everyone!!!
How are you? hope you're all well.
So...having been speaking about it since the beginning of my Blog a few months ago, Marcaroni is underway and the character himself has well and truly been born!!! Ha.
But before I chat about where i'm up to with it all let's catch up on what I did the end of last week.
So Thursday I had be at the Apollo Victoria theatre (Wicked) to have some costume fittings for when I start in February! The tailor they have making the suits for that show is a genius!!! I have never had anything fit me so nicely in my life. i had some costumes still there from when I understudied the role three years ago but upon trying them on again, I realised that working my butt off in the gym for the last couple of years, has in fact made a considerable difference to my shape as I could barely move in them - I looked like I was trying on my little brothers clothes or something. Very funny, and it's resulted in new clothes so I'll be feeling wonderfully smart on stage. Hurrah! Now all i need to do is remember what I'm doing and I'll be fine. Hahaha!!! I cannot wait to begin!!!
Thursday evening, i went round to my lovely friend Lucie's flat to have a good old catch up with her as it's been a while. We were at college together, and we've also worked together on two pantos, a few TV dancing jobs, Opening ceremony of the WMC, Night of 1000 voices (Twice), Chess in concert, and she was my dance partner in Wicked when we were in the ensemble! She's a wonderful girl, a good friend and VERY talented!
Friday I met my friend Graham in the morning and my friends Hollie and Michael in the afternoon which was all lovely. Michael had to leave early as he's playing the lead in the new show the Three Muskateers which is playing in kingston at the mo. Hollie and i wondered around Spitalfields market in east London for a couple of hours having a laugh and catching up.
Then I met my friend Dom (who was Rocky in the Rocky Horror Show) for a cuppa tea before he had to go into work as he's the assistant Dance Captain on Legally blonde!!!
So the end of last week was wonderful, just relaxing and making the most of some time to meet friends i hadn't seen for a while. The week was topped off by spending Saturday afternoon with my best friend Sally in the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park drinking mulled wine and eating christmassy treats. mmmm Yum!
Saturday night i sat at home learning Marcaroni script, setting up my new Macbook (which I'm writing on now - lovely) and watching the X-Factor! Not gonna talk about the X-Factor much as it's over now and i think it's consumed enough of our lives already, however I thought that all four acts in the final deserved to win. They were all very different but extremely talented in their individual ways and I believe they deserve a medal for dealing with the pressure!!! I had not even 1% of a glimpse of what they went through when I did the reality show Your Country Needs You for the BBC two years ago and that was stressful enough!!! It is really really hard trying to put yourself in a place in your head where you don't let things distract you and effect your ability to perform the best you possibly can in the live shows!!! Matt Cardle I think is great and deserves every success!
So then Sunday I travelled down to Cardiff (with an overpacked suitcase) to settle into my wonderful apartment which they have provided for me. I stayed at this complex 6 years ago when I worked on the Opening ceremony of the WMC here but this apartment has amazing views and it is lovely to have all this space to myself so I can focus on the job and learn scripts each night in peace!!!
I went in on Monday morning to discuss a few ideas with the choreographer of the programme Steve Alias who is great and we were working on the physicality of Marcaroni as I wanted him to be very animated and full of theatrical gestures (as he's an eccentric quirky composer) so that was fun. Then the exciting bit was deciding what he should actually look like. The costume has been made since a few weeks now but there was nothing decided on hair and make up etc, and daft as this may sound - it's actually very tiring sitting in the make up chair for hours having different things tried out on you. I think it's because I'm the sort of person who is always on the go that when you stop and sit still for a long length of time tiredness hits you! Anyway, we have decided on a look that I'm very happy with. The hair is slicked back starting with a ridiculously large quiff at the front that works it's way back into a long pony tail which our hair/make up lady, Linda, attaches every morning to my hair and it's tied together with a red ribbon! Not camp at all! Haha! It fits really well with the outfit. We all agreed that the hair looks the same as when the beast gets turned into the prince in Beaty and The Beast, the Disney film! Ha!
Yesterday was my first day on set and it was fun. Discovering the characters little 'isms' and what makes him quirky! I have based a lot of his theatrical arm gestures on what I used to do as my Emerald City character in Wicked three years ago. Very flamboyant and quite over the top. It's such fun! However keeping that energy at the moment is fine as we've completed 4 episodes but when we're on maybe episode 43 of 52 I might find it a little harder to look so fresh faced and jolly. Ha!!!
So all in all I am happy to be working on something so completely different. I'm very comfortable here in Cardiff (there's a pool so I go swimming every night - lovely) and all that I need to say is it's Christmas in less than 10 days now!
10 DAYS!!!!!! I cannot wait!!! I hope the weather stays ok for us all and that everyone of you stay safe during the wintery spells of snow and ice. Please be careful.
I shall blog next week which will be my last one before christmas. Hahahahahahahaha. Exciting! I'm starting my Christmas shopping on Saturday here in Cardiff. I'm only really buying for my nieces this year - everyone else in my life we just arrange to spend special time together instead which is more important to me than some jumper from Next that doesn't fit properly!!! Ha.
Keep in touch folks - 'Mark Evans' for the facebook page, MarkHEvans to follow me on Twitter (let's see who the first person to 'tweet' me on Twitter is, to tell me what the H stands for in my middle name!!! There's your challenge!!! Also my website address is www.MarkEvansOnline.co.uk (which will not be updated as soon as we thought I'm sorry to say, early new year now but still gonna be cool).
Stay happy folks - if you're feeling down think of how ridiculous I must look with a ponytail on the back of my head with what looks like a little girls ribbon on it! ha that'll make you smile (i'll post a picture as soon as they have been done and i'm given permission to- you won't believe how different, and young I look)
Big festive love to you all and warm hugs all round.
Mark
How are you? hope you're all well.
So...having been speaking about it since the beginning of my Blog a few months ago, Marcaroni is underway and the character himself has well and truly been born!!! Ha.
But before I chat about where i'm up to with it all let's catch up on what I did the end of last week.
So Thursday I had be at the Apollo Victoria theatre (Wicked) to have some costume fittings for when I start in February! The tailor they have making the suits for that show is a genius!!! I have never had anything fit me so nicely in my life. i had some costumes still there from when I understudied the role three years ago but upon trying them on again, I realised that working my butt off in the gym for the last couple of years, has in fact made a considerable difference to my shape as I could barely move in them - I looked like I was trying on my little brothers clothes or something. Very funny, and it's resulted in new clothes so I'll be feeling wonderfully smart on stage. Hurrah! Now all i need to do is remember what I'm doing and I'll be fine. Hahaha!!! I cannot wait to begin!!!
Thursday evening, i went round to my lovely friend Lucie's flat to have a good old catch up with her as it's been a while. We were at college together, and we've also worked together on two pantos, a few TV dancing jobs, Opening ceremony of the WMC, Night of 1000 voices (Twice), Chess in concert, and she was my dance partner in Wicked when we were in the ensemble! She's a wonderful girl, a good friend and VERY talented!
Friday I met my friend Graham in the morning and my friends Hollie and Michael in the afternoon which was all lovely. Michael had to leave early as he's playing the lead in the new show the Three Muskateers which is playing in kingston at the mo. Hollie and i wondered around Spitalfields market in east London for a couple of hours having a laugh and catching up.
Then I met my friend Dom (who was Rocky in the Rocky Horror Show) for a cuppa tea before he had to go into work as he's the assistant Dance Captain on Legally blonde!!!
So the end of last week was wonderful, just relaxing and making the most of some time to meet friends i hadn't seen for a while. The week was topped off by spending Saturday afternoon with my best friend Sally in the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park drinking mulled wine and eating christmassy treats. mmmm Yum!
Saturday night i sat at home learning Marcaroni script, setting up my new Macbook (which I'm writing on now - lovely) and watching the X-Factor! Not gonna talk about the X-Factor much as it's over now and i think it's consumed enough of our lives already, however I thought that all four acts in the final deserved to win. They were all very different but extremely talented in their individual ways and I believe they deserve a medal for dealing with the pressure!!! I had not even 1% of a glimpse of what they went through when I did the reality show Your Country Needs You for the BBC two years ago and that was stressful enough!!! It is really really hard trying to put yourself in a place in your head where you don't let things distract you and effect your ability to perform the best you possibly can in the live shows!!! Matt Cardle I think is great and deserves every success!
So then Sunday I travelled down to Cardiff (with an overpacked suitcase) to settle into my wonderful apartment which they have provided for me. I stayed at this complex 6 years ago when I worked on the Opening ceremony of the WMC here but this apartment has amazing views and it is lovely to have all this space to myself so I can focus on the job and learn scripts each night in peace!!!
I went in on Monday morning to discuss a few ideas with the choreographer of the programme Steve Alias who is great and we were working on the physicality of Marcaroni as I wanted him to be very animated and full of theatrical gestures (as he's an eccentric quirky composer) so that was fun. Then the exciting bit was deciding what he should actually look like. The costume has been made since a few weeks now but there was nothing decided on hair and make up etc, and daft as this may sound - it's actually very tiring sitting in the make up chair for hours having different things tried out on you. I think it's because I'm the sort of person who is always on the go that when you stop and sit still for a long length of time tiredness hits you! Anyway, we have decided on a look that I'm very happy with. The hair is slicked back starting with a ridiculously large quiff at the front that works it's way back into a long pony tail which our hair/make up lady, Linda, attaches every morning to my hair and it's tied together with a red ribbon! Not camp at all! Haha! It fits really well with the outfit. We all agreed that the hair looks the same as when the beast gets turned into the prince in Beaty and The Beast, the Disney film! Ha!
Yesterday was my first day on set and it was fun. Discovering the characters little 'isms' and what makes him quirky! I have based a lot of his theatrical arm gestures on what I used to do as my Emerald City character in Wicked three years ago. Very flamboyant and quite over the top. It's such fun! However keeping that energy at the moment is fine as we've completed 4 episodes but when we're on maybe episode 43 of 52 I might find it a little harder to look so fresh faced and jolly. Ha!!!
So all in all I am happy to be working on something so completely different. I'm very comfortable here in Cardiff (there's a pool so I go swimming every night - lovely) and all that I need to say is it's Christmas in less than 10 days now!
10 DAYS!!!!!! I cannot wait!!! I hope the weather stays ok for us all and that everyone of you stay safe during the wintery spells of snow and ice. Please be careful.
I shall blog next week which will be my last one before christmas. Hahahahahahahaha. Exciting! I'm starting my Christmas shopping on Saturday here in Cardiff. I'm only really buying for my nieces this year - everyone else in my life we just arrange to spend special time together instead which is more important to me than some jumper from Next that doesn't fit properly!!! Ha.
Keep in touch folks - 'Mark Evans' for the facebook page, MarkHEvans to follow me on Twitter (let's see who the first person to 'tweet' me on Twitter is, to tell me what the H stands for in my middle name!!! There's your challenge!!! Also my website address is www.MarkEvansOnline.co.uk (which will not be updated as soon as we thought I'm sorry to say, early new year now but still gonna be cool).
Stay happy folks - if you're feeling down think of how ridiculous I must look with a ponytail on the back of my head with what looks like a little girls ribbon on it! ha that'll make you smile (i'll post a picture as soon as they have been done and i'm given permission to- you won't believe how different, and young I look)
Big festive love to you all and warm hugs all round.
Mark
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
BLOG 21!!! Friends!!!
Hey everyone,
How are ya'll???
All is well with me! Thought I'd write the blog whilst chilling on my sofa, quite disappointed that I got home tonight just after Coronation Street had finished! Ha - I've only had a week and a half of having my evenings free and I'm hooked on Corrie!!! Loving all the drama during this 50th anniversary week! Won't talk too much about it as it'll be boring for all of you who don't watch it - but my god that was a good stunt for a soap and also - didn't that Tram Driver press the emergency stop button with some gusto!!! That actor knows that the clip of it all will be shown for decades now and he put his all into that button - ha, hilarious!!! Well done him!!!
Anyway so the last post of my blog was last Thursday, so here's my week! It's not been that busy to be honest!!! Been trying to make sure I make the most of time to see my friends and learning script for Marcaroni! So Friday evening I visited my friend Aaron who lives near by and we had nice food and a good chill out night. Saturday my brother and his girlfriend ended up staying at my flat as they didn't like the hotel they had booked so took them into London and as they did touristy things I went to watch the best show I have seen in a while - 'End Of The Rainbow' starring Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland. Not gonna preach about it, but if you fancy watching a comedic, emotional, moving, overwhelming performance and have a great time out at the theatre, then catch it while you can at the Trafalgar Studios in central London!
Then I met my brother and his girlfriend in the evening for a few drinks in town before heading back to devour two large take away pizzas from Pizza Hut!!! Mmmmm!!!
They then left on Sunday and I had a spring / winter clean of my flat before heading round to my friend Nathan's house to pick up the edited photos he took of me in the shoot for my new website which will be launched in a couple of weeks!!! I was on Twitter and tweeted about how I'd quite like to be airbrushed every morning the way that Nathan made me look on those pictures! I would look at a picture and think, 'oh I like that and I think I look ok', then once he's finished the editing on it I say, "yeah I really like that, it's great" then he'd show me the original again and I looked TERRIFYING in comparison! It's genius technology which gives things that extra edge! Ha ha!!! I'll let you judge for yourselves when you see the new site!!!
Sunday night I watched the X-Factor! I predicted the result correctly and am looking forward to see who wins in the final this weekend!!! Message me or tweet me who you think will win and let's see how many us you are right! - I don't have a favorite!!!
I am really getting into Twitter now!!! Never really invested much time or effort into sussing out how it all works before but I'm quite enjoying using it now - It's really simple, and It's even easier with my iphone4! If you want to sign up then I recommend it - I tweet regularly now so if you wanna follow me, my twitter name is MarkHEvans!!! Tweet me folks!!!
So Monday I got back to the gym which was good then had a couple of things to do in town then bought myself a new laptop - a MACBOOK PRO. I am not using it yet as I'm still backing things up off this one but I will be typing my next blog on my new sexy, shiny, silver beautiful new purchase - which I had decided to buy myself as a 'Well done on a successful tour of Oklahoma' and to 'Celebrate returning to Wicked as Fiyero' and also 'to rejoice being back in London!'
However, having said that, I leave London on Sunday to go to Cardiff! The kids T.V show I will be playing the title role in - 'Marcaroni' begins next week! It will start with a day of choreography on monday then straight in with filming episodes 1 and 5 and part of 6 on the Tuesday! I have been sent pictures of the set and some of the quirky things that have been added! It all looks great and really cute for kids! I am still overwhelmed by the amount of script I have to learn over the next couple of months! 52 episodes, filming at least two if not three a day, every weekday for 7 weeks - hmmmmm slightly anxious but I like a challenge and I'm looking forward to getting into a routine and discovering how long it takes to learn each one! I reckon maximum 45 mins work on each script will do it - I'll let you know! Ha
This morning I was in the Wicked building (Apollo Victoria theatre) shooting the Fiyero pictures for publicity and brochures and the for the theatre - It was great to get in the clothes (again, after about 3 years since I worked there) and good to have a giggle with Louise Dearman who plays Glinda! I think I had more pink lip-gloss on than her after posing for the kiss pictures! Hilarious - how do girls wear it? It's sticky as hell!!! Ha.
Met my old flat mate Grace last night, my friend Matt tonight, meeting my mate Lucie tomorrow night then friends Hollie and Michael and Dom on Friday then seeing my best friend Sal on Saturday then I leave Sunday. So this week will have been great for good catch ups with some very special people who I've missed by being away on tour for so long! Next year is going to be a great year shared with wonderful friends and good times! Can't wait!
Right I'm gonna stop rambling and get me tired carcass to bed!!! Keep in touch folks! Let me know what your doing for christmas, New Year and.........my birthday??? Yup it's January 2nd - how dull right! Everyone always has a hang over, or forgets about my birthday or gives me an unwanted christmas gift they were given which they've then re-wrapped in left over christmas paper turned inside out and handed it over to me with a look of "I hate you for being born on this date of the year" in their eyes!!! But to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way as I don't like a fuss, and won't make a fuss until my 30th which is a good 5 years away so we'll see where we all are by then!!!???!?!
Hope you're all well and happy!!! Love reading your comments and tweets remember - so keep in touch!!!
Mark
PS - I told my mum I was going to be very hands on in helping her make this years christmas lunch so any suggestions for interesting or unusual festive things to do with the veg would be greatly appreciated! I'd rather tell my mum I got the idea from someone reading my blog than "Oh Mum, I just nicked it from Delia"! Cheers
How are ya'll???
All is well with me! Thought I'd write the blog whilst chilling on my sofa, quite disappointed that I got home tonight just after Coronation Street had finished! Ha - I've only had a week and a half of having my evenings free and I'm hooked on Corrie!!! Loving all the drama during this 50th anniversary week! Won't talk too much about it as it'll be boring for all of you who don't watch it - but my god that was a good stunt for a soap and also - didn't that Tram Driver press the emergency stop button with some gusto!!! That actor knows that the clip of it all will be shown for decades now and he put his all into that button - ha, hilarious!!! Well done him!!!
Anyway so the last post of my blog was last Thursday, so here's my week! It's not been that busy to be honest!!! Been trying to make sure I make the most of time to see my friends and learning script for Marcaroni! So Friday evening I visited my friend Aaron who lives near by and we had nice food and a good chill out night. Saturday my brother and his girlfriend ended up staying at my flat as they didn't like the hotel they had booked so took them into London and as they did touristy things I went to watch the best show I have seen in a while - 'End Of The Rainbow' starring Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland. Not gonna preach about it, but if you fancy watching a comedic, emotional, moving, overwhelming performance and have a great time out at the theatre, then catch it while you can at the Trafalgar Studios in central London!
Then I met my brother and his girlfriend in the evening for a few drinks in town before heading back to devour two large take away pizzas from Pizza Hut!!! Mmmmm!!!
They then left on Sunday and I had a spring / winter clean of my flat before heading round to my friend Nathan's house to pick up the edited photos he took of me in the shoot for my new website which will be launched in a couple of weeks!!! I was on Twitter and tweeted about how I'd quite like to be airbrushed every morning the way that Nathan made me look on those pictures! I would look at a picture and think, 'oh I like that and I think I look ok', then once he's finished the editing on it I say, "yeah I really like that, it's great" then he'd show me the original again and I looked TERRIFYING in comparison! It's genius technology which gives things that extra edge! Ha ha!!! I'll let you judge for yourselves when you see the new site!!!
Sunday night I watched the X-Factor! I predicted the result correctly and am looking forward to see who wins in the final this weekend!!! Message me or tweet me who you think will win and let's see how many us you are right! - I don't have a favorite!!!
I am really getting into Twitter now!!! Never really invested much time or effort into sussing out how it all works before but I'm quite enjoying using it now - It's really simple, and It's even easier with my iphone4! If you want to sign up then I recommend it - I tweet regularly now so if you wanna follow me, my twitter name is MarkHEvans!!! Tweet me folks!!!
So Monday I got back to the gym which was good then had a couple of things to do in town then bought myself a new laptop - a MACBOOK PRO. I am not using it yet as I'm still backing things up off this one but I will be typing my next blog on my new sexy, shiny, silver beautiful new purchase - which I had decided to buy myself as a 'Well done on a successful tour of Oklahoma' and to 'Celebrate returning to Wicked as Fiyero' and also 'to rejoice being back in London!'
However, having said that, I leave London on Sunday to go to Cardiff! The kids T.V show I will be playing the title role in - 'Marcaroni' begins next week! It will start with a day of choreography on monday then straight in with filming episodes 1 and 5 and part of 6 on the Tuesday! I have been sent pictures of the set and some of the quirky things that have been added! It all looks great and really cute for kids! I am still overwhelmed by the amount of script I have to learn over the next couple of months! 52 episodes, filming at least two if not three a day, every weekday for 7 weeks - hmmmmm slightly anxious but I like a challenge and I'm looking forward to getting into a routine and discovering how long it takes to learn each one! I reckon maximum 45 mins work on each script will do it - I'll let you know! Ha
This morning I was in the Wicked building (Apollo Victoria theatre) shooting the Fiyero pictures for publicity and brochures and the for the theatre - It was great to get in the clothes (again, after about 3 years since I worked there) and good to have a giggle with Louise Dearman who plays Glinda! I think I had more pink lip-gloss on than her after posing for the kiss pictures! Hilarious - how do girls wear it? It's sticky as hell!!! Ha.
Met my old flat mate Grace last night, my friend Matt tonight, meeting my mate Lucie tomorrow night then friends Hollie and Michael and Dom on Friday then seeing my best friend Sal on Saturday then I leave Sunday. So this week will have been great for good catch ups with some very special people who I've missed by being away on tour for so long! Next year is going to be a great year shared with wonderful friends and good times! Can't wait!
Right I'm gonna stop rambling and get me tired carcass to bed!!! Keep in touch folks! Let me know what your doing for christmas, New Year and.........my birthday??? Yup it's January 2nd - how dull right! Everyone always has a hang over, or forgets about my birthday or gives me an unwanted christmas gift they were given which they've then re-wrapped in left over christmas paper turned inside out and handed it over to me with a look of "I hate you for being born on this date of the year" in their eyes!!! But to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way as I don't like a fuss, and won't make a fuss until my 30th which is a good 5 years away so we'll see where we all are by then!!!???!?!
Hope you're all well and happy!!! Love reading your comments and tweets remember - so keep in touch!!!
Mark
PS - I told my mum I was going to be very hands on in helping her make this years christmas lunch so any suggestions for interesting or unusual festive things to do with the veg would be greatly appreciated! I'd rather tell my mum I got the idea from someone reading my blog than "Oh Mum, I just nicked it from Delia"! Cheers
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Blog Number 20!!! London Again!!!
Hi everyone
Hope you're all well
I am actually writing this post from my flat in London - HURRAY!!! how I have longed for this moment to arrive!
Last blog was last Thursday the day it was announced I shall be taking over the role of Fiyero in Wicked from February 7th. So... Thursday night in Trieste we all had a night out and it was very unlike me, but I felt like celebrating my Wicked news and ended up staying out until 5.15am!!! I still got up for breakfast at 9.30am! It was a great night out and I did a lot of laughing! I was a little merry going to the bar at one point and in my slightly drunken mindset I thought I could speak fluent Italian and went to ask the bar man for two glasses of prosecco (sparkling wine) but I said "due prosciutto!" which translates as "two ham!" What an idiot! We laughed about it a lot the next morning!
The last show on Sunday was good! I have never felt relief like I did at the end of the dream ballet of the last performance (end of act one)! The ballet has been hard work this year!!! It's lovely knowing I won't have to even think about trying to point my feet for at least a year. It really has been a challenging yet wonderful experience playing Curly in Oklahoma! and I see it as a real achievement that I managed to get through the whole contract without missing a single show - 236 performances!!!
We finished the show at 7pm on Sunday then went out to a place that served great food and cheap German beer! It was a nice way to finish the tour! Then we all flew back to London Stansted on Monday and said our goodbyes and that was the end of that chapter of my life. It's odd how as an actor your life, to a certain extent revolves around whatever work your doing at the time! It's good to get back to London and back to reality!
Can you believe this weather?!?!?!?!?!!
I arrived back from Italy after our flight was delayed by about an hour and a quarter and it was so cold here! I had scheduled to have a haircut with my friend Wayne who then roped me into helping him pick up a piano from North London in a huge transit van then bringing it back to his flat in south east London - only thing is, he lives on the 4th floor! Yup - we had to lift it up four flights of stairs and then into his lounge! It was so heavy but it was a right laugh too! At one point I had the weight of the whole thing balancing on my face!
Anyway - my point was, I could tell on Monday that it was going to start snowing during the night, but when I woke up on Tuesday, I was in shock at just how much snow there was! I had to get into London to go to the Apollo Victoria theatre (Wicked) for costume fittings etc and I left 2 hours to get there but to my surprise the trains were on time! I'd even been prepared by layering up beyond belief ready to stand on the platform for ages in the cold but then I was sweating buckets cos the train was there on time with it's heating blasting out! But that was the last time any journey went to plan this week! I watched Wicked on Tuesday night (Louise Dearman as Glinda and Rachel Tucker as Elphaba are INCREDIBLE and I can't wait to work with them!) then to get home I had to get 3 tubes and share a taxi with a complete stranger! Then all week it's taken about 2 hours to get in or out of London! Nightmare! How do they cope in Canada with this sort of weather! ANYWAY... that's the end of my moaning!
I was suppose to be going to visit the Rocky Horror Show in Aylesbury tomorrow to see all the cast and company before the tour finishes on Saturday night but due to this weather I am not going because I just wouldn't be able to get back afterwards!!! Any Rocky Horror fans reading this - enjoy the last weekend of shows! I wish I could be there! Give it an extra special Time Warp for me on Saturday and enjoy yourselves!
Was also suppose to be having a reunion of all the staff of the summer school I run (West End In Wales) in central London on Saturday night but not sure we're even going to be able to do it because it's such a hassle getting into central London!!!
So my view on this weather is - it looks lovely and feels very festive but it's a right pain in the backside when life needs to carry on! I hope none of you reading this have suffered in anyway because of the cold or the ice and snow! Please be careful!
So this weekend has gone from being pretty busy with seeing friends to having no plans at all really! So I am going to relax and enjoy my flat and probably just watch the x-factor! Ha!
Keep your messages and comments coming - I read them all and love to hear from you! Also if you're on twitter, follow me - MarkHEvans! I have been on it for quite a while now but only now am I really starting to understand it and use it!
Stay safe folks and keep smiling!!!
Love your lives
Mark
Hope you're all well
I am actually writing this post from my flat in London - HURRAY!!! how I have longed for this moment to arrive!
Last blog was last Thursday the day it was announced I shall be taking over the role of Fiyero in Wicked from February 7th. So... Thursday night in Trieste we all had a night out and it was very unlike me, but I felt like celebrating my Wicked news and ended up staying out until 5.15am!!! I still got up for breakfast at 9.30am! It was a great night out and I did a lot of laughing! I was a little merry going to the bar at one point and in my slightly drunken mindset I thought I could speak fluent Italian and went to ask the bar man for two glasses of prosecco (sparkling wine) but I said "due prosciutto!" which translates as "two ham!" What an idiot! We laughed about it a lot the next morning!
The last show on Sunday was good! I have never felt relief like I did at the end of the dream ballet of the last performance (end of act one)! The ballet has been hard work this year!!! It's lovely knowing I won't have to even think about trying to point my feet for at least a year. It really has been a challenging yet wonderful experience playing Curly in Oklahoma! and I see it as a real achievement that I managed to get through the whole contract without missing a single show - 236 performances!!!
We finished the show at 7pm on Sunday then went out to a place that served great food and cheap German beer! It was a nice way to finish the tour! Then we all flew back to London Stansted on Monday and said our goodbyes and that was the end of that chapter of my life. It's odd how as an actor your life, to a certain extent revolves around whatever work your doing at the time! It's good to get back to London and back to reality!
Can you believe this weather?!?!?!?!?!!
I arrived back from Italy after our flight was delayed by about an hour and a quarter and it was so cold here! I had scheduled to have a haircut with my friend Wayne who then roped me into helping him pick up a piano from North London in a huge transit van then bringing it back to his flat in south east London - only thing is, he lives on the 4th floor! Yup - we had to lift it up four flights of stairs and then into his lounge! It was so heavy but it was a right laugh too! At one point I had the weight of the whole thing balancing on my face!
Anyway - my point was, I could tell on Monday that it was going to start snowing during the night, but when I woke up on Tuesday, I was in shock at just how much snow there was! I had to get into London to go to the Apollo Victoria theatre (Wicked) for costume fittings etc and I left 2 hours to get there but to my surprise the trains were on time! I'd even been prepared by layering up beyond belief ready to stand on the platform for ages in the cold but then I was sweating buckets cos the train was there on time with it's heating blasting out! But that was the last time any journey went to plan this week! I watched Wicked on Tuesday night (Louise Dearman as Glinda and Rachel Tucker as Elphaba are INCREDIBLE and I can't wait to work with them!) then to get home I had to get 3 tubes and share a taxi with a complete stranger! Then all week it's taken about 2 hours to get in or out of London! Nightmare! How do they cope in Canada with this sort of weather! ANYWAY... that's the end of my moaning!
I was suppose to be going to visit the Rocky Horror Show in Aylesbury tomorrow to see all the cast and company before the tour finishes on Saturday night but due to this weather I am not going because I just wouldn't be able to get back afterwards!!! Any Rocky Horror fans reading this - enjoy the last weekend of shows! I wish I could be there! Give it an extra special Time Warp for me on Saturday and enjoy yourselves!
Was also suppose to be having a reunion of all the staff of the summer school I run (West End In Wales) in central London on Saturday night but not sure we're even going to be able to do it because it's such a hassle getting into central London!!!
So my view on this weather is - it looks lovely and feels very festive but it's a right pain in the backside when life needs to carry on! I hope none of you reading this have suffered in anyway because of the cold or the ice and snow! Please be careful!
So this weekend has gone from being pretty busy with seeing friends to having no plans at all really! So I am going to relax and enjoy my flat and probably just watch the x-factor! Ha!
Keep your messages and comments coming - I read them all and love to hear from you! Also if you're on twitter, follow me - MarkHEvans! I have been on it for quite a while now but only now am I really starting to understand it and use it!
Stay safe folks and keep smiling!!!
Love your lives
Mark
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Blog 19! Wicked, Wicked, Wicked!!!
Hi Everyone!!!
Well who’d have thought that Blog 19 would hold such exciting news!
February 7th 2011 will be my opening night as FIYERO in the West End production of WICKED!
As some of you are aware I was in the show as an ensemble member over 3 years ago and now I shall be heading back to the Apollo Victoria theatre in Victoria to play Fiyero, so there will be plenty of opportunities for all you people who have supported me and followed anything I’ve done in my career to come and see what I can only describe as an incredibly spectacular West End smash hit which I consider myself very lucky and very proud to be returning to, to play a role that has been a huge ambition of mine since I heard the original Broadway cast soundtrack over 6 years ago.
I am thrilled that I shall be working with the wonderfully talented ladies who are playing the two lead roles, Louise Dearman as Glinda the good and Rachel Tucker as the green girl Elphaba! I’m looking forward to watching them in the show next week.
I shall still be recording my album at some point next year but it will no longer be in February as I will be busy with the show, but it will still happen and hopefully still be released next year! I’ll keep you up to date with any news on it!
So… the last time I blogged was on Saturday before what was our unofficial ‘last matinee’ of the contract and it was our last day in Derry. There were some funny subtle jokes made between the cast which made it a very fun day! My favourite, was during the smokehouse scene where I sing the song ‘Poor Judd Is Dead’ and during the song a little toy mouse was very slowly moving across the front of the stage! The audience wouldn’t have seen it (as it was behind a wooden block we have to hold all the sound cables) - just myself and Pete who I’m on stage with at that point. It was the genius work of Leon Kay in the ensemble who set it all up before the show had even started with a mouse on one side of the stage attached to a very long wire which Leon was pulling from the opposite side of stage! VERY CLEVER! We found it very amusing!
Then we finished Saturday night and said farewell to 5 company members who weren’t coming to Italy, we all had a drink in the pub then I got an early night before flying back to London early Sunday and had a productive paper work day and watched bits of Telly just chilling.
Monday I went to meet my friend Wayne for a coffee and then I found out I got the offer for Wicked so headed over to my best friends house to have a celebratory dinner!
Tuesday was a 6.45am wake up call to head to Stansted for our flight to Italy (Trieste) which was pain free travelling – although can we just all appreciate the fanfare that is played on a Ryanair flight if it arrives on time! Hilarious! If you’ve not experienced it, fly Ryan air just for the comedy value!
Trieste is absolutely stunning! We all went for a big company meal on Tuesday night which was great fun! I am throwing caution to the wind this week and eating whatever I want, and also drinking whatever I want! It feels great! Love Italian food!
The audience were lovely last night it - was a full house and this auditorium is incredible, however they were completely silent as it’s all being translated and the subtitles are projected on a number of screens around the stage! It is bizarre not to get any reaction at and sometimes they laugh before the funny line has been delivered because they read it on the screen! It’s quite challenging and took a while to get used to but we’re all just very grateful to have come here this wonderful city!
I think that’s all for today’s update! While I have been typing I’ve received more than 25 text messages from friends who have heard about Wicked via the press release (little did they know I’m in Italy and it’ll cost them more to send a text here – mwahahahaha!!!)– Thanks to anyone who is reading this who has sent a message too. I am thrilled and to receive your words of congratulations means a lot!!!
So this may be the last Blog before I perform the last show of Oklahoma!!! It’s been an incredible tour! I shall let you know how the last weekend goes and all I can say is, keeping reading if you want to follow me through Marcaroni and Christmas all the way through to Wicked where my life will become green once more! Any Wicked fans – look forward to seeing you soon!
Keep safe and keep smiling everyone!
Mark!!!
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