Hi Everyone,
Happy Thursday.
I am spending a lovely day with my bestie Sally today. We're gonna have a nice breakfast and then go and see GHOST the musical. I have my tissues ready for a good cry! Ha.
So it's been a funny old week really. Very different to how I had planned it because low and behold, Evans here got a stinking cold over the weekend and that messed up lots of plans.
So I'll start by taking you back, as I do, way way back…… to last Thursday (which does seem a long time ago actually). I had posted my blog early as I was heading into work to have a rehearsal with the choreographer of WICKED, Wayne Cilento and then a rehearsal with our director Joe Mantello. Now I deliberately arrived a little early as I knew Wayne was working on a lot of stuff with the ensemble of the company and I love watching Wayne's rehearsals because he's amazing! And when I say amazing, that is possibly the biggest understatement ever. His physicality is incredible and when you see him bust out even two moves from the show you see exactly how he wants it to look and he's completely inspiring. It kind of made me want to dance all the ensemble choreography I used to dance way back when three years ago!
Then, we rehearsed my first number, Dancing Through Life just to tighten up a few things and I'll be honest, it felt lovely to be wearing clothes that are easy to move in - Anyone who has seen the show will know which trousers I mean when I talk about the 'tight pants'. Basically Fiyero rocks up to this new school wearing light coloured riding jodhpurs which are literally skin tight, so to be in some baggy jogging bottoms for the rehearsal was great! I really enjoyed working on it. Then I had an hours break so did some work in my dressing room on WEST END IN WALES the summer school I run in North Wales before heading to have a notes/rehearsal session with our incredibly talented director Joe.
When a show runs as long as WICKED has done (we celebrate 5 years in September) it is good to have sessions with the director every now and then to get the focus and intention in the right place. I have to admit, even after an hour of hearing him talk and asking him questions and suggesting things to discuss, I felt I had a whole new, fresh view of who Fiyero is in my head and that was an incredible feeling because I have so many new ideas now and when working opposite actors as good and as trustworthy as Rachel Tucker and Louise Dearman then it's so easy to try different things with a character and know that whatever happens there will always be a truth on stage which is the only thing needed to keep a performance fresh, alive and exciting when you're a part of a long run of a show, as we are.
So Thursday night's show was wonderful. I had a cracking time and was actually sorry to see the Americans go. The WICKED creative team, no matter which department, have a unique way of filling you with all the knowledge you need to play the characters and tell the story in the way that they want, because they've invested so much in setting this show up initially in the very early stages and the workshops, and that's the exact reason it is standing the test of time and will continue to be around globally for many many years to come!
I LOVE MY JOB!
So Friday morning I woke and knuckled down doing lots of work on the summer school. I was uninspired thinking of what numbers to include in the end of week showcase that the students perform and so I did what I always do when I need inspiration - look on YouTube, at the performances from the Tony Awards over the years! My god there are some incredible shows and incredible talent on this planet and watching things like that make me rejoice that I work in the entertainment industry and can be a part of that whole lifestyle and be able to do what I love for a living!
So basically - if you're coming to WEST END IN WALES two weeks on Monday, you are in for a treat because Evans here is gonna be dragging every ounce of talent you have inside of you out and letting it be seen on the stage! INSPIRED.COM! hahaha
I was a little stressed heading into town on Friday afternoon, as on the train I made a list in my head of all the stuff I need to get done for all the different projects I have going on and it was a little overwhelming, even for me! So I knew what I needed to do….call my mother! She is usually the one who hears any moaning, worrying or negativity that occasionally emerges from within me. She is amazing and I have so much to thank her for.
After a good chat with mother Evans, I hit the gym and then had to do some filming at WICKED which I think will possibly be a part of the next Ozmopolitan newsletter, so if you ain't signed up to the monthly newsletter for all things Wicked, visit the website and you simply get it emailed to you monthly.
Talking of which, if you type your email address into the little black box on the left of this blog which says Mailing List & Download then you'll receive a free song and all news updates on what I'm up to and there might just be another little free download heading your way soon too…. ;)
Then I went to do Friday night's show which was good before heading to stay with my mate Sally - (who i'm with now) because we were both doing some teaching on Saturday morning together.
Before heading to bed I could feel a real sore throat starting so drank lots of water, then when I woke up early Saturday morning, I couldn't speak. I went along to the place we were teaching but Sally did all the talking for me and I just tried to gradually warm my voice up for the matinee.
The two shows were hard work on Saturday. When you feel under the weather it's the only time the job becomes really difficult - It's part of your responsibility as an actor to not let the audience know you're not well - it was a hard day.
And so that unfortunately resulted in me having to pull out of doing the Magic FM open air concert that I told you about in my last BLOG because I knew all I needed was to rest my voice, not talk, dose myself up and get better for the show Monday night. And so that's exactly what happened for me on Sunday. I reckon I boiled my kettle about 30 times during the day so that I was constantly steaming my throat. I had many remedy suggestions for colds from my faithful Twitter followers so did a huge food shop and ate great food all day!
I have to admit, I was shocked at how quickly I got better because by Saturday night I felt like death!
Monday was a day of working on summer school stuff and then i had a meeting with my agent for a couple of hours before heading into work.
The audiences for WICKED astound me. The show is selling better than it ever has done which is amazing considering it's been going so long. I tried to get a ticket for a friend this week - just one ticket and there wasn't a single seat available at all - that is the case for most shows. It's incredible to perform to nearly 2500 people every show - And to all you fans who keep coming back, we think your'e bloody brilliant! The end!
So Tuesday I had a great day working even more on the summer school as well as a few other things, then I met my friend Haley for a quick catch up before heading to the gym and then to work!
Now I have some exciting news on my album which I have decided to tell you about in this weeks Video Blog (VLOG) - I was originally going to VLOG from the Magic FM gig so because that didn't happen for me, I didn't want to not put a VLOG out so take a look! Excited to be able to tell you finally!
So Wednesday morning (yesterday) I headed into the theatre early to film an interview for a Welsh T.V show called WEDI 7 which is a magazine style programme with all news and recent stories, it's part of the new CD promotion. Lots more of that sort of thing coming up!
Then after the matinee I met Sally and her parents for food before they came in to watch the evening show and then we all travelled back to Sally's together which is where I stayed last night and obviously why I am here this morning!
So that's this week. Was a bit dreary being ill but you know me, I have a knack of turning everything into a positive and I made a very speedy recovery so I reckon it was better to get ill this week than during West End In Wales or the weeks I'm promoting my CDs.
Keep smiling and if you need a little help to think positive, I recommend the book THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne which I've probably mentioned in a blog in the past, but I've also started reading the sequel which is called THE POWER! I like it!
Love your lives and love yourselves cause you are brilliant!
Sh-boom!!!
Mark
COPY AND PASTE FOR MY VLOG: http://vimeo.com/26712269
