2012-A YEAR IN RETROSPECT
The good, the bad, the ugly
The end of 2011
and the start of 2012 saw me returning to the motherland, Australia, where
visiting and catching up with friends was a complete delight. I decided whilst
sitting on the top deck of the Manly Ferry with the wind in my hair and sea
spray on my face I would volunteer my services for either the elderly or the
destitute from now on at Christmas and this year I did just that. Joining my
dear friends Tim and Christopher I was one of many volunteer hosts for the
‘Pensioners Alone At Christmas’ luncheon in Chiswick. With no singing involved
I chatted to them, cut up their food, took drink orders, hung up coats and made
sure they could get to and from the toilets without much trouble. It is a task I
know all too well organising little people and supervising children with their
school dinners for infants in primary.
SHOWS,
AUDITIONS AND OTHER BITS
I have had many
positive experiences this year but as many if not more disappointments. Some
dear friends both in Australia and London have gone off the radar which has
been upsetting and I am none the wiser as to why? This year also only yielded 2
shows of 3 weeks each: Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music and a return to the International tour of
Chicago. I managed 13
show knock backs which entailed getting to the end of the audition process
(usually up to 4 rounds) sometimes having to learn 10 pages of script and as
many pages of music, 24 hours before the finals only to not get the job. I will keep trying in 2013 and hope for a big
show to get ahead financially as the day to day school teaching, whilst
difficult and stressful, means that I live hand to mouth, constantly in
financial catch up, because the amount of school holidays in the UK is nearly 2
months more than Sydney.
GRADUATION
In January I
graduated with a Masters Degree in Musical Theatre, pathway producing which I
am absolutely thrilled about and so grateful for the assistance and advice given to me by
so many people in my research, work experience and essay writing. Without them
I could not have achieved it. So it’s Wendy-Lee Purdy BME, MA (I don’t get to
write it anywhere else but here-ha!)
MY BREAD AND
BUTTER, SUPPLY SCHOOL TEACHING
I am thankful and
fortunate to have school teaching as a career which goes hand in hand with performing because other
actors tend not to have a two careers running simultaneously. I have currently taught in 102 London
schools with 2 of those schools being private and the majority of the State and
Church schools (which are State education) difficult, challenging but
rewarding. The disadvantage of teaching in so many schools is that I am sick
with colds/infections all the time because the pupils are sick with different
strains of everything. Ah, the life of a supply teacher.
2012 LONDON
OLYMPICS
Being able to
attend 13 events including the opening ceremony rehearsal, beach volleyball,
men’s and women’s gymnastics, diving, water polo, boxing, weightlifting,
volleyball, fencing, judo and athletics was a feat in itself considering the
ticketing nightmare but what a joy it was. It didn’t compare to my 21 events,
costing approximately $250, at the sunny Sydney Olympics in 2000 but I managed
to squeeze the London events, 2 of those being free, into a week at a financial
cost of £655 (AUD $1,018.74). Unlike Sydney where I was able to attend every
event I wanted to, in London, I had to settle for events that I wouldn’t
normally see such as weightlifting, judo etc. It was great though, to see the
Torch relay up close and personal, the best athletes in the world complete at a
top-level meet and support teams Australia and GB in state of the art venues.
It was also interesting to note the difference in venues and how the sports
have evolved between 2000 and 2012, which was quite remarkable.
THEATRE,
CONCERTS AND CINEMA
Being a member of
the Audience Club allows me to attend quite a bit of theatre and concerts at a
minimal cost. I could attend theatre every night of the week if I chose but
most of these venues are fringe and some theatre productions can be a hit or a
miss. As a result of the Audience Club and being a member of Greenwich Picture House
(I also get free previews) I have started to write little reviews about
everything I see because I see so much, which I put on a public Facebook page,
a Tumblr and my Blog page, the Audience club and Stage Status reviews. Some of
the theatre and concerts I see are full priced and out of that list the play Chariots
of Fire, was a standout
production with incredibly clever staging that took my breath away. In the New
Year I will need to catch the new musical productions Matilda, Book of
Mormon, Bodyguard and A Chorus Line.
LODGINGS
Arriving back in
London after my visit home I moved to beautiful downtown Greenwich, the home of
the National Maritime Museum and Observatory where the Greenwich Mean Time
clock and line is. Living like a 52 year old student can be difficult when I
have a perfectly lovely flat in Sydney. I often move around because of touring
which means that I have to uproot often and living out of a suitcase
can be really hard work especially after 24 years. I will devote another blog
page about the disasters of digs, which are many (the good ones are few).
Suffice to say awful digs can be challenging or what I democratically describe
as ‘character building’. I think though, I am now done living in other
people’s homes, with crazy landlords and landladies!
THE
HIGHLIGHTS!
The highlights
this year were attending the Scottish family wedding in Glasgow and the Diamond
Jubilee Celebrations. I attended the Thames River Pageant, the Diamond
exhibition at Buckingham Palace and the procession of ‘The Most Noble Order of
the Garter’ at Windsor Castle and what a glorious day it was too! I have
managed to attend a few seminars run by the Actors Guild, an engagement,
wedding drinks, retirement party of my favourite head teacher at my favourite
school, graduating class reunion, afternoon and high teas, the Ball Gown and Hollywood Costume exhibitions at my favourite museum the
V&A and had a lovely 52nd Birthday dinner thrown for me by dear
friend John. For my birthday, as a treat, I had a spa day at the Sanctuary Spa
in Covent Garden and also the Thermae Bath Spa in Bath, which boasts a top
floor, outside heated pool with bubbles. I swear I could sit there all
day!
WHAT NEXT?
Plans to get to
NY are still afoot but I need a NY theatrical agent. I also need to get a show
and voice reel up and running as well as my one-woman-show and recorded albums
on iTunes but it all costs money. I will be starting out pretty much the same
in 2013, school teaching and auditioning with the hopes that a big show will
come along to get me out of London. Touring on the road is where I am far
happier and relaxed. I adore cities such as Bath, Cambridge and York which are my favourites but
above all I need to find some sun because there has been very little here this
year. There is no doubt that I suffer from ‘Season Affective Disorder’ by lack
of sun with these endless grey skies but if this list of ‘things to do’ doesn’t
happen this year I will head home to Sydney at the end of August/ September and
move back into my flat for a few years for my soul, my health, sun, recharging
of the batteries and a better quality of life.
BLESSED
Fingers crossed,
things change for the better in 2013 for not only me but a whole lot of people
I know who have struggled in many ways this year. I am ready for a big move
upwards instead of sideways or backwards. I am also blessed to have a great,
exciting yet challenging life and whilst I have the ability to stand and walk,
not be riddled with disease as some people I know, I am truly grateful and
thankful. It only takes one look at a Paralympic athlete to see the courage it
takes to lead their lives and be the best they can be, to remind me of what I
have, not what I don’t have. I need to ‘take heed lest you fall’ and remind
myself that I am blessed and ask what can I do for others and what sort of role
model am I for young and old alike?
