Private Resistance: Tea & Biscuits

I have a request for one of you he says...'I'll do it!' I shout without a moments' hesitation.

Blog he says? Ah blog...Yeah...I'll give you a bloody blog mate...

Shall we set the scene... DAY ONE!

Monday morning the 16th of January 2012.

Cold noses, rosy cheeks, hearts beating, smiles out, hands shaking, laughs flying, 5 actors, 1 director, a production team and a writer sit hesitantly waiting for the first words to come off the page...Questions, thoughts and feelings scratching around inside everybody in the room as it begins...The first read through... A stumble through might I say...Funny that feeling of always wanting to get it right, perfect and brilliant - the first time...Who are all these people looking at me whilst I attempt a Suffolk accent and try to make them laugh at the right moments...Laugh's? In a WWII play about the German's invading England I hear you gasp? Just you wait...Hitler won't know what's hit him...

Day 6 - Monday 23rd January

My brain is foggy with transitive verbs...To quell, to quash, to chivvy, to bolster...New words I would never consider using in everyday language that happen to be creating the fabric of Private Resistance...My own personal resistance gearing up to avoid asking 'dumb questions' then the next thought arises...'Bishanyia you are not that good an actor that you can just pretend you know what something means and say it in such a fashion that the audiences understands you...' Don't be daft woman, just ask...All the ‘In jokes' are surfacing, I will share them with you in dribs and drabs as they become imbedded in what seems to be possibly the best show Eastern Angles has ever created with what could possibly be the best cast Eastern Angles has ever worked with...It's all very amusing and Tom's (Matt Addis) big feet seem to be featuring in almost every other conversations, not to mention Diane's (Frances Marshall's) constant need to ask ‘what's going on?'...or ‘why is everyone acting so strange?' - I'm hoping that at some point she will realise that the Nazi's have invaded Manningtree and her husband is in a war camp...I have introduced the company to Tetley's Vanilla Rooibos Tea - An alternative to 5 caffeinated actors sitting at a table finding transitive verbs for 8 days...It seems to be taking hold - Perhaps not for long, but I will endeavour to uphold the mantra ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON' (Rallying troops is what I do best.) In fact, we have been called the healthiest and fittest company Eastern Angles have had - Not one smoker amongst us, one of us cycles, two gym goers, swimming, morning yoga sessions on the stage - which will become more useful as the run commences I'm sure...

Friday Week 2

We've been on our feet for 3 days! Not digging trenches but in rehearsals - enjoying blocking all the scenes and working through some of the more awkward scene changes... A great journey of discovery is at hand! On Wednesday we made our first trip in the Eastern Angles Truck! So exciting I almost jumped out of my seat..It reminds me of a Ghostbusters Truck - god knows why - but I feel as the cast embarks on each journey in ‘The Beast' there should be some kind of musical interlude and costume change worthy of the excitement...

Friday Week 3 -

I've eaten a whole packet of swedish ginger thins to myself through the sheer excitement of completing the basic blocking for the whole show! Matt has informed me that I will have to do 4 hours of morning yoga to burn off the carlories consumed. But I only did 45 minutes this morning! Fran has told me to shut up. Naomi and Matt have arrived back from a jaunt to Sainsburys with Chilli Chocolate Cookies..Interesting if not a little odd. It's that Friday feeling - I feel so incredibly blessed to be doing something I love and being paid for it! Hurrah! We are all sitting in the green room on lunch. On the table sits an unopened packet of digestives, two packets of the previously mentioned cookies, a fruit bowl filled with sweets from the Christmas shows, a packet of Sainsburys branded tangy cheese tortilla chips, a bobble, and various pieces of winter clothing mixed with random sheets of script. A true green room if there ever was one! Now back to the beginning for some detail...Exciting stuff!