Saturday, December 26, 2009

SOBs UP ON YOUTUBE

It's time to report on the results of the BIG VIDEO RECORDING DAY at the Williamstown Little Theatre.
It was ALL GOOD! Everything worked like a dream: the set for the WLT's next show was absolutely perfect for shooting our songs and the cast, pianist and crew all performed quite brilliantly!
And now we have three of the songs up on YouTube ready for the public to have a look at. So far we have: "Fight for your rights, don't let the bastards win", "I'm tired of being old" and "The Computer Song".
My hard-working and over-extended son, Marcus, has promised to use some of his precious Christmas holiday time to do some more editing and should get a few more up 'soon'. (Doesn't editing always take three times as long as one expects?) Until then, go to YouTube and simply search for Silly Old Buggers and the three songs will appear for you.
And if you happen to know any more producers who might be interested, send them along to have a look too.
Happy viewing!

Return to: http://www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au/
or: http://www.gillianmwadds.com.au/

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

STILL LOCKED INTO THOSE "SILLY OLD BUGGERS!"

I've just posted an update on the Silly Old Buggers website (www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au) so now it's time to update this one.
Now that the short season at Chapel Off Chapel has finished - and very successful it was, too - I'm trying to get the show all ready to go on its way commercially. We had a few representatives from Production Companies at the Chapel performances who have expressed interest in its future, so it was decided to get a DVD ready for promotional purposes.
I was a very reluctant 'cameraman' at a number of our public performances - with my long-suffering husband's assistance - and was, by this time, totally convinced that it was NOT my field of expertise! I had also been trying - and failing - to edit two cameras together to produce a DVD which did the show justice but was totally frustrated by incompatible technology. I think the technology was not only incompatible with my computer but also drastically incompatible with ME!!!
THE DVD
So, when one of the cast suggested we have a session dedicated to performing for the camera so we could stop-start shots and get the performances just right, I was VERY reluctant to go through it all again. However, all the other members of the cast seemed to think it was a brilliant idea, so it seemed foolish to let the opportunity go. So - the organisation began: to find a date that suited everyone - four cast members, pianist, director and me - a venue where the recording could take place, two good cameras that WERE COMPATIBLE, and someone who knew what they were doing to operate cameras.
THE PEOPLE
As always, a suitable date for seven people is a nightmare but we eventually decided on a week that was fairly clear for all.
THE VENUE
And then we found the PERFECT VENUE!! My dear and valued old, old, friends at the Williamstown Little Theatre (www.wlt.org.au) were kind enough to make the theatre available for us during the day of Friday 6th November. WITH stage lighting, WITH sound equipment, WITH electronic keyboard and with wonderful co-operation in opening the theatre for us and providing everything to make us feel at home - including tea and bickies. This was extremely generous of them under the circumstances because at that date they were only two weeks away from opening a new show there - with all the accompanying work of set-finishing, theatre cleaning, etc. etc.
So I'm putting on record here and now that this co-operation and assistance has been a godsend to us and if ever the Silly Old Buggers makes lots of money, the WLT will be properly rewarded. Until then, I hope they'll appreciate my heartfelt thanks and that of all the crew.
THE CAMERAMAN/TECHNICIAN
Talk about having good luck!!! Having got most of it all organised, the fates suddenly dropped the perfect cameraman (and technician) into my lap! With three sons, one who is my Web Designer and another who is my Production Manager, my youngest son, Marcus, had always said: "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." Now was his chance!
He has been associated with bands ever since leaving school - either as drummer, singer, song-writer, manager - you name it - and has access to all the sound equipment one could possibly need. And now, recently, he's been videoing and editing with his day-job! In fact, he was telling me about the wonderful, new, editing program he'd been using! Hmm! And he just happened to be on leave on Friday 6th November. Need I say more? Microphones, mixing desk, leads, fold-back speaker, camera - you name it, we had it. And now it's all with him for editing the two cameras together.
I can hardly wait to see the final result!

Back to: www.gillianmwadds.com.au
or www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au

Monday, September 14, 2009

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE FINALE

There aren't any videos on the Silly Old Buggers website as yet so if you'd like to watch - and hear - the finale of the show when it was at the Swiss Club, you can do so on the
Silly Old Buggers update blog, which is:

Once you are there, all you have to do is click on "May" on the listing on the left of the screen.
Then click on:

SILLY OLD BUGGERS - FINALE 24.5.09

If you have a slow connection, start the video and let it run to the end (with any stops and starts) then play it again. It should now run smoothly right through.

NOW you can ring Chapel Off Chapel (8290 7000)
and book your tickets for the 5th or 6th October!
OR
Click below to get back to the SOBs website and leave a comment for us.
We hope to see you at the show!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

SENIORS' WEEK COMING UP

Performances of Absolutely Silly Old Buggers for Seniors' Week are coming closer! Here's the information:

CHAPEL OFF CHAPEL
12 Little Chapel St., Prahran. 3181
Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th October
at 10am and 2pm both days.
Tickets $10
Bookings open: 7th September
Phone: 8290 7000
The blog attached to www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au has all the updates of the show as well as videos, pictures and audience comments from the Comedy Festival.
I'm trying to get some new writing done but keep being sidetracked by those Silly Old Buggers as well as family events, the occasional visit to a theatre and SPRING WEATHER! (Very distracting!)

Monday, June 8, 2009

SILLY OLD BUGGERS - STILL ALIVE & KICKING!

It's been a long time between blogs on this site and I have only apologies to make - no real excuses EXCEPT I've been VERY BUSY!!!
Reading the update blog on www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au will fill you in on what I've been doing and now, at last, I'm attempting to get some other writing done.
I'm working on a play that's been around in one form or another for some years. I keep going back to it and re-reading it, rewriting, editing, and then putting it away again. This time I'm determined to do some serious research, put it together properly and send it off to Varuna in the hope that it will be selected for a development process with a dramaturg. The completed scripts has to be ready by the end of June so I'm deep into it right now.
To save a visit to another site, what follows is exactly the same as the update on the silly old buggers blog, with apologies for lack of originality!

We're very happy to report that Chapel off Chapel - a very nice venue in the Melbourne inner suburb of Prahran - has bought three performances of Absolutely Silly Old Buggers! A VERY short season , I know, but it's good to know that while we're waiting for that elusive Production Company to take us on, the show will still be out there in the public eye keeping audiences entertained.
So - if you missed out on the earlier season, or if you want to see it again (and some people have already said they do!), put these dates in your diaries:

Sunday, 4th October - 2.30 pm
Monday, 5th October - 10 am and 2.30 pm.


These are the opening dates of Seniors' Week and I'll post the booking dates and ticket details as soon as I know what they are.
Cast, Director, Musical Director and Production Team are meeting soon to discuss the possibility of doing a slightly extended version. Remember, we had to cut the show to the bone for the 60-minute spot in the Comedy Festival and now there's the possibility of re-inserting a couple of songs and/or some of the dialogue.
It's a great excuse for a reunion and a catch-up of news and gossip, anyway. There was such an enormous amount of energy and fun generated while the show was running, we're all suffering withdrawal symptoms and need to get back together again.
Still getting regular hits on the ASOB website so we know we're not yet forgotten. Those Silly Old Buggers will keep on rockin' for a long time yet!

Back to: http://www.gillianmwadds.com.au/
or: http://www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au/

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

THEATRE UPDATE ON ASOB BLOG....

My time has been totally taken up with the production of Absolutely Silly Old Buggers at the Comedy Festival so keeping this blog even a tiny bit up-to-date has been rather neglected - sorry!
Even the blog about the show is running late. I'm just about to do it now, so will direct any one interested to: www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au and click on the update blog.
There has been other family news but I'll get to that next week.
Back to: www.gillianmwadds.com.au

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Silly Old Buggers are rockin'!!!

Since opening on 14th April - with the first two performances as 'previews' - our show has gone from strength to strength.
Audiences are loving it, ticket sales are increasing daily, and some Very Important People are coming to see us and making very encouraging noises.
I've just put the Age review up on the Comedy Festival website for all the world to see and I'll add the link here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/arts-reviews/absolutely-silly-old-buggers-a-musical-celebration/2009/04/20/1240079576255.html
I have very little time to spend blogging so will simply link to my Absolutely Silly Old Buggers blog. Here's the link: http://asob-latestnews.blogspot.com
Performance photos are being shot tonight and I will get them up on the web ASAP.
I have taken videos of a couple of performances for archive purposes and was going to put an excerpt onto the websites but really, with the available lighting and the distance from the stage, they're just not good enough for that. We'll have to make do with stills.

Back to: www.gillianmwadds.com.au
or www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Update of Absolutely Silly Old Buggers from the Publicity and Marketing Department




I've hardly had time to think logically for the past month or so because I've been very busy trying to get bums on seats - through publicity, direct marketing, emailing, event on Facebook, you name it....

Here's where we're at right now:
The Melbourne Weekly Magazine’s coverage wasn’t quite as exciting as I’d been led to believe by the journalist. She said, ‘You’ll be on the front page on Monday, 30th' which to me sounded pretty damned exciting. However, it turned out that we were part of the "older audience" target of a number of shows but at least we got quite good coverage in the article – even though no pic! The article also mentioned that we are in the Prime Time Comedy concert on Wednesday, 15th April at the Melbourne Town Hall.
I’ve offered a photo or two to go on the web page for the Prime Time concert on Wednesday, 15th April and it was accepted but it hasn’t appeared there yet.
A great interview on Thursday, 2nd April by Maggie and Roger on 3MBS. I’ve recorded it for posterity – with a few blank spots when my computer lost the signal and I had to log into it again. They played “I lived my life” and “Friends will make us strong” and there were lots of laughs – how surprising!
Titanic Theatre Restaurant has been distributing brochures to their (targeted) tables for the past three or four weeks and will continue until the season is over. There is also a link to our website on the Titanic website. (We have a reciprocal link on ours).
Aaron Joyner of Magnormous (Ozmusic) has the Magnormous Trivia Night at the New Capers on Monday 6th and has our posters and brochures. We will also appear in a Power Point Presentation which is part of the evening. (This is because we have donated two doubles for the second week of the show as prizes.) Aaron is coming on Thursday, 23rd.
Joy-FM has an interview with Maggie and Jan for broadcast on Sunday, 19th between 6-7pm. This will be repeated later in the following week and will be available as a podcast.
I did an interview on ABC-Ballarat – radio – last Friday which went very well.
Beat Magazine has an advert and an article with photo in their Comedy Festival supplement – out April 1st.Good pic and good coverage.

Swiss House has lots of our posters and brochures. I saw them on Friday, 3rd and have given them two doubles for the two preview nights – 14th and 15th.
Ideal Tools website – belonging to a family member – is offering two tickets for anyone who buys goods over $250 and has a big promo about the show on his website and forum page. He’s given some away but as his clients come from all over Australia, we haven’t had any takers yet! Good advertising though!
We are on websites: http://www.citysearch.com.au/ – admittedly on page 7 for April – but we’re there!
http://www.whatsonvictoria.com.au/ Regions: Melbourne, Events: April, and there we are. We’re also listed along the RH side under “events” on the “Melbourne” page: (good article with pic)
and http://my247.com.au/ – “Win a double pass to Absolutely Silly Old Buggers” on the front page!! (3 doubles for each of 14th and 15th).
Mairi Nicolson of ABC Classic FM had organised an interview then went on leave. She passed the info to Julie Howard to do in “The Scene” and it's now organised that Maggie and Roger will do the inteview with Julie for broadcast on the 11th April between 1 and 5pm. Mairi is coming to see the show on Tuesday 21st.
Rachel Fothergill of Chapel off Chapel expressed interest in the show and has now accepted a ticket for Fri. 29th.
Lots of other invitations have gone out courtesy of Maggie’s famous friends – still awaiting acceptances – or not! I have gone overboard on the invitations for 16th (our ‘opening night’) and may have to pay for some of them! I didn’t read the fine print soon enough! So we can’t offer any more freebies for that night.
Jim Murphy, reviewer, coming on Tuesday 14th.
Martin Bedford, agent from Sydney, SAYS he’s coming but hasn’t given me a date yet.
Bill Jeffrey of JOY-FM is coming on Friday, 17th.
I’ve sent heaps of stuff to the major papers, radio stations and TV stations but so far no takers from them. I’ll do a follow up next week and see if we can squeeze in somewhere.
I sent press releases to all the local papers in the areas where all the cast live – Julie Houghton’s suggestion. No replies from them but if they’re interested, they’ll probably just publish it anyway – or not. I'm hoping the cast will see something about themselves in their local paper and let me know.

MOST IMPORTANT NEWS

I saw a rehearsal on Friday night and was totally blown away!!!

The show is in VERY good hands and I can't wait to see the result on opening night.

Friday, March 6, 2009

THE FAMILY UPDATE

FAMILY LIFE:
Since Christmas, we’ve had a first birthday for Lucas, the second of the Senior grandsons. This celebration turned out to be on that ghastly Black Saturday in February when no one in their right mind would drive from Camperdown to McKinnon so we missed out on that. However, another family gathering was held in Point Cook on Saturday, 28th February where we managed to catch up with ALL the grandchildren at once – not always easy!





















The placing of pictures on this blog always seems to cause me incredible angst! They go in strange and unexpected places and when I try to alter them I occasionally lose one or two and have to upload them again. So now that they're all here, I'm NOT trying to change their positions again! They'll just have to stay where they are.
A LITTLE SOCIAL LIFE:
A visit to the Titanic in Williamstown on that night, in the company of 26 of the Camperdown Lions added to the weekend’s excitement and it was great to catch up with old friends there: proprietor Andrew Singer and his second son Michael – who has grown about half a metre! – and some of the waiting staff who were there when I worked there about 6 years ago.
THE GARDEN & FIRES:
The terrible hot weather has kept us indoors a lot of the time with the occasional foray into the garden to try to keep things alive. It’s sad to see things slowly shrivelling up but when you think about how other Victorians have suffered with the fires, you can’t even begin to feel sorry for yourself. We had a biggish fire about 10 kilometres away down at Pomborneit on THAT Saturday and Geoff was down there for a couple of days later on helping, with other Lions, to clear away burnt fencing and help the farmers with their new ones. No loss of life, stock or houses fortunately, so we’re all feeling very relieved.

In the vegy garden, some of the early tomatoes were cooked on the plants and the later ones have produced VERY few eatable fruit. The plants are green but there’s not much on them. The only things that have done reasonably well are the continental cucumbers and I’ve been picking two or three a week for about four weeks. The butternut pumpkins have produced a great quantity of fruit but they are all small and round – nothing like the shape or size they should be, and the Jap pumpkins are producing male flowers by the dozen and so far, only one female. Not looking good.

Some trips to the city to catch up with friends, sisters and a Williamstown Little Theatre show have been fitted in between ASOB work and that’s about it. There doesn't seem to have been a lit of time for anything apart from the work on Absolutely Silly Old Buggers and I'm desperately looking forward to the time when I can relax and start thinking about ANYTHING else! (But, of course, I wouldn't want it not to be happening! No way!)

SILLY OLD BUGGERS - MARCH UPDATE


WHY did I think I’d need something I called “A two-headed blog”? I haven’t had time to write even one entry since Christmas – much less two!
But now the time has come to at least try to bring things up to date – in the theatre world and in the family world.

THEATRE UPDATE:
Absolutely Silly Old Buggers
has kept me on my toes almost continuously. Apart from being Producer, I’m also (through lack of budget) Publicity, Marketing, Liaison, and general dogsbody for any and all tasks that need doing.
That is, apart from the actual production. Fortunately that’s in the capable hands of four wonderful actors and a Director and Musical Director who are all dedicated to getting the show on successfully. (see the website: http://www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au/ for all the details about the crew).

NO SPONSORS BUT ….
For two weeks from about mid-January I tried for sponsorship – to no avail!
There WERE a couple of companies who said they were interested and who MIGHT be able to help – but in the end they regretfully declined. The pressure of the ‘economic downturn’, they had ‘no marketing budget this year’, and ‘try us again next year’ were the closest I got to getting some real money.
I have had terrific support from friends and theatre associates though:
Rob & Terttu Mancini of Evergreen Design for the design of logo, brochures and poster;
Andrew Singer of Titanic Entertainments (http://www.titanic.com.au/) for distribution of brochures to his audiences every week;
Conrad Wadds, who’s been updating the website when necessary (apart from setting it up originally) and has recently added the latest photos and some other 'thank-yous'.
Ideal Tools (family member Anthony) who is including a couple of tickets to ASOBs as a special bonus give-away for big purchases, thereby giving us quite a lot of internet coverage by putting us on his website (http://www.idealtools.com.au/) and linking to our SOB website.
All members and committee of the Williamstown Little Theatre (http://www.wlt.org.au/) have been wonderfully supportive, too by offering to print and distribute my brochures during their recent season when the professionally printed ones weren’t available, and by offering furniture for the set and support with a social-club block booking.

REHEARSALS:
While our MD is overseas, Mike Downes from the earlier workshops has been assisting us as rehearsal pianist and the cast have spent a couple of weeks working on the music. Production rehearsals are to begin very soon.

PUBLICITY:
We’ve recently had new photos done and uploaded onto the website and had a studio recording session to put down four of the songs so we can promote the show to radio stations, TV shows, etc.


Print Media: We’ve already had coverage in The Senior Newspaper and COTA News – both papers aimed at the ‘more mature’ person who we expect will be our major audience. Local papers in districts where each of the team live will be the next targets.

Radio: An interview with two of our actors has been arranged on “The Score” a music program on Thursday, 2nd April from 9 to 10 am. on 3MBS-Classic Radio (103.5 FM). It’s only just getting close enough to organise these things and I’m hoping to get some coverage on the ABC and commercial radio as well.

Posters and brochures are arriving early next week so I’m aiming to hit the phones and have a chat to social organisers at retirement villages. Then I can send some out by post as a follow up.

BOOKINGS:
Bookings have started and a couple of block bookings have already been made by social clubs. I’m currently chasing a few more of those.

But I still wake up in the middle of the night and say: What if nobody comes?????

NEXT WEEK:
MORE sitting at the computer and sending publicity and marketing stuff off occasionally broken by getting on the phone and selling the idea of group bookings to retirement villages.
I'm also about to make lots of phone calls to VIPs who might be persuaded to come along and see the show and pick it up as a commercial proposition.

If Menopause the Musical can do it - so can those four Silly Old Buggers!

Return to http://www.gillianmwadds.com.au/ http://www.sillyoldbuggers.com.au/