In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines...

Ok, so I'm not in Paris, but as I sit in this gorgeous old house that is indeed covered with vines, with the soundtrack to Amelie playing in the background, I may as well be.

I am house sitting the house of a friend of mine for the next week, and I'm sitting here, looking through two glass panelled doors, out over their beautiful garden and into the bush beyond, feeling a new-found sense of independence and excited for the adventure ahead that will be living by myself in someone else's house for the next seven days.

The closest I've come to this was schoolies at the end of last year, sharing a house with six of my friends, but it is very different when you are by yourself. For starters, I am not at all familiar with buying food for one person - I come from a family of 6, so this is a very odd occurrence for me. On top of that, there is the responsibility of doing everything yourself - all meals, looking after their cat etc - and not having anyone around to check with to see if you're doing something the right way. What is fantastic is getting this experience of independence without having to pay rent or bills, so it's a great and relatively stress-free taster for what is a very real possibility I may have to do next year, or at least some point in the future. 

So I'm very much looking forward to this week and having a whole house to myself - lots of space to learn lines, haha! - and some friends and I have even planned a costume drama party (as the house suits one perfectly!!) which will be heaps of fun.

Hopefully the house won't burn down and the cat will survive...fingers crossed. 

This Time Last Year...

This time last year, I graduated from Year 12. It's insane that it has been a year. An entire year since our farewell assembly, followed by our grade spending the rest of the day in the park by the river and the euphoria and excitement of having finally finished, followed by graduation night where the tears flowed - rather, gushed like a torrential downpour - at the thought of leaving the people we had spent thirteen years of our lives with.

All that was a year ago. Now we're all at uni (or theatre school!) or TAFE or working, and the HSC is a distant memory. But today, as Facebook is flooded with this year's Yr 12's graduation statuses, all those feelings of a year ago are flooding back. Don't get me wrong, there's no way I would ever wish us back to the HSC, but I do miss it. I miss my school, my teachers and my grade. I miss seeing everyone every day and sharing life together. I miss the community. I've been so blessed with my group of friends, and we frequently catch up and make sure we see each other, like I always knew we would. We're too close to just stop seeing each other. But it's the people who are not in my tight knit group of friends who I don't see. I knew it would happen, but it is still weird that I haven't seen so many people in a year that I normally would have seen every day.

It is very weird not feeling like you own the school. I have visited the school to see teachers and students a couple of times over the past year, and it is the oddest feeling going from being the oldest grade in the school and knowing everything about it and feeling like you run the place, to being an outsider. You realise that the school grows and moves on without you. There are new buildings, new teachers and new students.

I must admit, though, I have always been welcomed warmly when I've visited the school. My teachers love to hear what I've been doing and how I'm going and - probably because I want to be an actor - a lot of the students and friends from lower years are really keen to catch up and there's a kind of novelty to being there. I visited just last week to talk to the Yr 12 Drama class about studying drama outside of school, and I walked into our school's cafe to be greeted by a girl screaming "You were on Puberty Blues, weren't you?! You're awesome!!" It was a very odd occurrence, one that I'll admit I liked, but it was made even more amusing by the fact that I've only done extras work so far. I can't wait to visit after I've actually played a role!

So over the past year, we've all grown up a lot, at least I know I have, we've moved on to different and exciting things, and we've forgotten there was ever a thing as horrid as the HSC. I guess what I'm worried about the most is moving further and further away from everyone. Especially for me pursuing acting - I have no idea where that could take me, but I know that I won't be staying in the same place surrounded by the people I've grown up with. And that's exciting, but terrifying. And we adapt. I hardly realise it's happening while it is, especially because I'm so passionate and excited about acting and determined to achieve a career in it, I have little time to think about anything else. It's just days like these that make me stop and think and realise that things aren't going to stay the same forever. And that has pros and cons. I just thank God for my friends because I know that no matter how far away we are, we'll never completely lose touch. And that's something that I think is rare - I know a lot of people who have completely lost touch with their school friends.

Well, hasn't today made me melancholy?! I'm going to the graduation tonight to support my friends in Yr 12, which will no doubt be the culmination of my reminiscing, and then I'll be back to the excitement that is theatre school and seeing where God  takes me over the next twelve months!

Spring...

My default answer to 'what is your favourite season?' is Winter. But that is a lie. Well, it's not a lie, it's just that the question is normally only asking 'what is your favourite season, Summer or Winter?', in which case my answer is, truthfully, Winter. This often shocks people, but as cold as Winter gets and as unbearable as an early morning start during Winter is, I find it infinitely preferable to the revolting humidity and stifling heat of Summer. You can always put another jumper on, or rug up next to a heater (or a fire, if you're lucky enough to have one) in front of a good movie or with a good book, but there's only so many layers you can take off in Summer before you're arrested. Not to mention the fact that I'm as white as they come and would burn under a skylight given half a chance.

I digress.

My real favourite season is Spring. Or Autumn. I can't really decide...they're pretty equal in their awesomeness. Yes, the in-between seasons. The best of both worlds. It's really comfortable up here on the fence - care to join?

Well, it is currently Spring, and I'm loving it. It's so great because you can sit in the sun, on a picnic, and not die of the heat, rather, you can enjoy the warmth. There is little I love more than walking through a park, in the warmth of Spring sun, with a breeze blowing, surrounded by friends. Picnics are the best, and Spring means lots of them!! Just last week my church had a big picnic/walk-a-thon to raise money for Operation Christmas Child (a Samaritan's Purse initiative where you pack a shoe box with toys and essentials that are given to children living in poverty all over the world. If you've never heard of it, you should definitely check it out here) and it was such a lovely day. Friends, brilliant weather, food and bringing glory God. Perfect day.

I was sitting in my back yard eating lunch today, after a morning of learning lines for As You Like It, with the perfect combination of sun and wind that for some reason just makes me really happy, and I realised how beautiful my garden had become. Another upside to Spring.

Storms are another thing I love about Spring. That may also sound really odd, but I love storms...just as long as our house doesn't leak, which it has been known to do a bit more frequently than would be preferred. I love the feeling of walking outside and almost being blown over by huge winds - it's probably my dramatic self (which, let's face it, is all of me) reveling in the power of an unseen force.

The one thing that frustrates me about Spring, I'll admit, is the fact that I never know how to dress. It could be really warm in the sun, but then freezing as soon as you step into the shade, or brilliantly sunny but actually cold, or start really warm but turn stormy and cold, or any combination of the above. Yesterday, my sister and I were attending an event and she left the house in a summer dress and I left rugged up in jeans and jacket. We turned to each other and laughed, trying to convince the other that our choice of attire was more appropriate. Yes, it is the one mystery of Spring I will never be able to solve.

And there we go - an entire post about a season. I trust you skimmed through most of that, or more likely just ignored the whole thing all together once you realised that the title wasn't some cleverly cryptic and creative entry point to a much deeper topic. Well, if you did persevere to the end, do tell me - what is your favourite season? And why?

Review: The Talented Mr Ripley

Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and - the selling point for me of any movie - Cate Blanchett. And they're just the names on the cover - Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Jack Davenport also feature in this psychological crime drama thriller. Yes, it's so good it gets four genres! You could also add 'romance' to that list...in a very twisted sort of way.

 Directed by Anthony Minghella (of 'The English Patient' fame), who also wrote the screenplay, and based on the novel of the same title by Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr Ripley takes an intense and unconventional look at identity, relationships, friendship, lies and love in all it's complicated glory. As the tag line asks, how far would you go to become someone else?

 I can't believe it's taken me so long to see this movie - if you haven't, I urge you to as soon as you can. What struck me the most was the quality of the writing. We are presented with a story that on one hand seems so far fetched, and yet on the other is so real. Highsmith and Minghella have captured perfectly the humanity and the truth in each of the characters and in their relationships with each other. These characters are brought to life superbly by the cast - Matt Damon gives an absolute stand out performance as Tom Ripley, conveying the extremely complicated array of thoughts and emotions battling inside this very conflicted character. I found myself completely sympathising with him despite the horrific things he does, and I think this is a testament to the writing and Damon's portrayal of truth in the character - as Tom Ripley says in the movie, "Whatever you do, however terrible, however hurtful - it all makes sense, doesn't it? Inside your head. You never meet anybody who thinks they're a bad person..."

Jude Law exceeded my normally average expectations and delivered a fantastic performance as the manipulative, rich, completely selfish, yet entirely charming Dickie. Even Gwyneth Paltrow, who I normally don't think very much of, impressed me with her portrayal of Dickie's gorgeous and easy-going girlfriend. And Cate Blanchett, who never fails to give an outstanding performance, turned a relatively small role into an extremely memorable character.

I was not aware when I started to watch this film how dark and disturbing it was going to get as Ripley's web of lies entangles him to the point of no escape, but the writing was so brilliant, and each character so truthfully played, that it never for a second felt over the top or unrealistic - something that could easily have happened with the same concept but average writing - and I was captivated from start to finish.

Review: The Tree of Life

This movie is not for everyone. Director Terrance Malick is not for everyone. I am the first to admit that. But I loved it. I truly loved it.

To me, this film was utter poetry. My only regret is that I never saw it at the cinema - I can only imagine what it would have been like to view this on the big screen. The imagery and cinematography is breathtaking, the soundtrack moving and powerful, the acting stunningly subtle and real. Jessica Chastain is perfection as the loving, nurturing mother, living by the ways of grace, and Brad Pitt once again proves he is so much more than a pretty face, as the father struggling to raise three boys through the tough and unforgiving ways of nature.

What is the film about? A good question, with many answers. It is about choosing how to live - by grace or by nature - and the consequences of both. It is about struggling with loss and the questioning of God in suffering. It is about growing up and the loss of innocence. It is about the complicated relationships within a family. It is about seeing the beauty in life. It is about the universe and how small we are in comparison. It is about the meaning of life. Interwoven throughout the film is the story of Jack, a young boy, his complicated relationship with his father, mother and two brothers and his loss of innocence as he grows up and struggles to find a place in the modern world (played as an adult by Sean Penn). This is ridiculously simplified as this film is less a narrative and more a representation of life from every angle.

You come out of this movie with many questions, but I'm ok with that. I am able to not fully understand a movie and not be annoyed by that. Most people can't deal with that or find it immensely frustrating, and if you are one of those people, you will find this movie frustrating, perhaps even tedious. You will almost certainly voice the question, "What on earth was with the dinosaur?". Intrigued? You will have to watch the movie. Don't expect a narrative as such, expect to not fully understand, accept that that is ok, do not destroy the mood by playing with your phone or laptop at the same time, just sit back and watch and you will be blown away. I was.

A Learning Experience...

Yes, it has been over 5 months since I last posted anything - and what an incredibly busy 5 months it has been!! Ontop of Sydney Theatre School and the two - almost three - productions I have performed in there, I have been involved in 4 student films (three lead roles and one supporting), a musical (Grease - playing the wonderfully dorky Eugene), extras work on numerous TV shows (mostly the new channel 10 drama Puberty Blues) and general, every day life. And I'm loving it.

I stumbled back across this blog today, after a session of learning my lines for my current STS production of As You Like It (I'm playing Touchstone and I love him - he's so witty and gets some of the best scenes!), and it got me back in the mood for documenting this incredibly long journey to my dream of acting.

Recently I had an audition for an upcoming ABC telemovie - my first audition for a role in a professional production. I was ridiculously excited, as one might expect. The movie is set in WW1 France, and so I spent the day before researching the heck out of Australia's involvement in France during WW1, had my lines learnt and was ready to go. I arrived at the casting director's studio about 15 minutes early - perfect! - and sat down in one of the three comfy couches they had in their waiting area. I was the only actor there. At 11:40, my audition time, Greg (the casting director) came in and said something that I missed entirely as I hurried to put my script that I'd been reading over back in my bag and stand up to shake his hand and make the best impression I could. He looked at me a little oddly and I flushed, realising he was waiting on a response to the thing he had said before. "I beg your pardon?" I asked, a tad breathless from embarrassment.
"How am I going for time?" he repeated.
"Oh, it's 11:40" I said after a quick glance to my watch.
"And your audition is at?"
"11:40" came my awkward response. "But I can wait for as long as I need to" I hurriedly replied, eager to show him I was easy going.
"Oh, no, I like to be on time - I like the word to get out that I stay on time."
I relaxed, sensing this incredibly awkward exchange was coming to a close. If only I'd listened to what he'd said when he first said it! "Oh, I'll definitely make sure to tell everyone how punctual you are!" I replied with a smile that, in my mind, was supposed to break the ice.
The audition went well, however I need to learn to not 'act' the scene, but play it for real. The first time I performed it as a perfectly rehearsed and prepared scene, which is not at all what they want. Greg told me that I had the perfect look and the right age range for the role, he just needed me to show him that I could be real. The second time I think I achieved this, or at least did a lot better. I walked away from the audition feeling confident and, perhaps more importantly, knowing that I had learned something.

I didn't get the role - the chances of getting a role on my first audition are ridiculously slim - but I definitely know that my next audition will be a lot better because of this learning experience. And on top of that I have been seen by another casting director, which is really what it's all about! Now on to my next audition!

Review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

A couple of days ago I realised that I had a movie ticket voucher that expired that same day. Desperate to not let it go to waste, I whisked myself off to the cinema to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - and boy am I glad I did! I enjoyed myself so much during this film that I simply had to tell you all about it and recommend you go and see it for yourself. The exquisite Judi Dench leads an all-star cast including Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel (who you probably remember from Slumdog Millionaire) and, of course, Maggie Smith as the hilariously racist Muriel, in this heartfelt comedy drama. As contradictory as that genre sounds, this film beautifully contrasts and combines humour with pain to create a poignancy underneath the comedy.

John Madden (director of Shakespeare in Love) directs this film about a group of British retirees, from all different walks of life, who travel to India to stay at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...which is, in fact, not quite as 'exotic' as the name or the advertisements would have them believe. We follow the stories of these people, all fascinating in their own right, and their relationships with each other and the people of India as they struggle to fit in to this vastly different culture.

I was very impressed with all the performances - Judi Dench and Maggie Smith being the two stand outs in my opinion, and it was so good to see Dev Patel again in a more lighthearted role.

This isn't a challenging film and I doubt it will change your worldview (two qualities that I tend to like in movies), but it was a lot of fun and a real 'feel-good' flick with some excellent actors and story telling.