Thursday, March 31, 2011

Funky Old Kadina

Time to shake myself out of that post-Fringe funk and get back into the blog!

its almost a week since our fab gig at Kadina. Three Stuffed Mums and Granny Flaps (aka Lori Bell)had a wonderful time in that town last Friday night with around 300 ladies choosing to spend a night rocking out with us. I also got to do my Yorke Peninsula Medley! One more thing ticked off the bucket list!

It wasn't without its dramas though. Foolishly we took my car which chose to have a flat 15km from Kadina. For anyone unaware of the area, that's roughly in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the mobiles still worked and the RAA was called. Glynn, Kehau's husband was dispatched from Kadina to fetch me while Steven stayed with the car and we managed to have our sound check ok. The downside was that the spare was fine but the other front tyre was also dodgy, so we had to take it slowly back to Adelaide at no more than 80km/h. It took us two and a quarter hours to get home!

However, that didn't dampen the great feelings engendered by a great show. Can't wait to do it again!

In other news, there is no other news. Post Fringe funk had surely set in and its only today its started to lift. I've spent the week ploughing through work, enjoying my lunchtime walks in the autumn sunshine to the beach, and sleeping. Its a time that's made me remember the importance of rest and recovery. After spending a month living on nerves and adrenalin during Fringe, when your body demands rest then that is what it needs, hence my relative silence.

Kadina, you were a blast. Sleep, similarly you are awesome.
Have a nice weekend.

Monday, March 14, 2011

The Power of Three

We had the Adelaide Fringe awards were last night and while the Three Stuffed Mums had a nomination for the People's Choice award, we didn't get a win. However we're still stoked with the nomination - to be up against around 750 shows and get a nomination isn't too shabby at all. If you'd like to read about how our season has gone, get over to our Mum'blings blog at threestuffedmums.com for the full update. (stoopid blogspot won't let me link outside blogspot - sorry)

For me, it's time to relax somewhat. It's a beautiful day and we headed out with the dogs this morning. Took a stroll past my sister's place to say hello/cheerio to my nephew Ben who's on a flying visit from Canberra. Since we've got back the dogs have all collapsed in slumbers and I've been writing on the computer. It's kinda hard to relax as they're building a new house at the back of ours and some sort of power tool is interrupting the hazy buzz of the sunny autumn afternoon. I hope they get a power cut.

Doing the three Stuffed Mums show has been a revelation. Kate, Kehau and I have all known each other for a long time, and we've worked together so well on quite a few projects. We've always been a good team, but when work on this project started it was like the heavens aligned. We all three discovered strengths we could contribute that hadn't been there before and it really did become the power of three - and that includes the fun factor. Cannot wait to see those gals again soon!

The other thing that's happened with this is I've realised that I can't 'retire' from standup. I tried to last May. I'd done the gig at the Stand in Glasgow - a wonderful gig that was my personal 'Everest' and I didn't think I could top that. But when I got pulled in to do the Mums' show I've realised I still have the bug and I've started writing again. Oy vay!

Right, I'm gonna sign off and go enjoy the sunshine while I can, and pray for that power cut for across the back so their whiney screechey power tools stop making that racket!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Let's Enjoy Ourselves!

Just a short update: we're three quarters of the way through the Fringe. There's a show tonight (Saturday) and then Tuesday through Saturday again.

However we look at it, this Fringe has been a huge success for the Three Stuffed Mums. There have been great houses, fantastic audiences and lovely reviews. Even with a week to go we have post-Fringe bookings, some awesome plans in the pipeline and a bundle of songs and sketches awaiting development for the full stage show.

I've been having Thursdays and Fridays off during Fringe to accommodate energy levels and it's worked well. It's been a good balance, with the normal Monday to Wednesday workdays grounding me and stopping me flying off into Fringeland entirely. It pays to remember that Fringe isn't the real world and it's as transient as any of the Tivoli Garden setups in the parklands. It's beautiful and enchanting when it's there, but it's not there for ever. And if you've seen our show, you'll know the Mums are all about keeping it real.

The one thing about the show that has surprised us and blown us away is the sheer joy of it.

We knew we were having fun putting it together, but we didn't bank on it being this much fun night after night. We also didn't bank on the sheer joy of our audiences and the great energy they are feeding back to us.

When we talk to them after the show they say things like 'I'm glad it wasn't just me thinking that', and to hear them talking about how it feels better to just be human and flawed, that they feel happier in themselves because they know they're not alone in feeling how they do and how great it was to see their lives reflected back at them, well it makes your heart swell.

Its exactly what we've had underpinning the project all along - helping that connection set up and continue, to get us talking about parenthood with a laugh rather than a psychiatrist, and to know that none of us need to be alone on this journey through parenthood. I say 'parenthood' rather than 'motherhood' because some of the great feedback has been from the dads who were at first reluctant to come along. Yet,when they did they realised that it is just as applicable to their lives as it is to the mums'.

If you'd like to know more about what the Three Stuffed Mums are about go to www.threestuffedmums.com (silly blogspot won't let me link it!)

Ah, it turns out this hasn't been as short a blog as I thought it would be! So, heading into the final week of Fringe, lets all enjoy ourselves!

Happy Fringing!