THOUGHT FOR THE DAY… OR ANY OTHER DAY

This morning, I took my grandson along to the open day at the professional football club we support. That’s Association Football, not any other kind!

We were allowed to wander around behind the scenes. On the walls of the corridors near the changing rooms, there was a selection of large pictures recording action from some of the games, overprinted with what might be described as inspirational quotes.

One of the quotes was I considered, not only relevant to sport, but also to activities of a thespian nature.

Unfortunately, I didn’t write it down, but it was something along the lines of… “Success is not being better than someone else, it's being better than you were yesterday.”

Take heed those of you for whom acting is an ego trip. This is why we rehearse.

Here endeth the lesson!                                    

AND THERE’S MORE...

Following hard on the heels… or maybe that should be the Cuban heels… of ‘Yankee Doodle’ – A Wild West Panto’, G. Wizz’s latest full-length pantomime... I can now announce that there’s a pint-sized panto on offer.

My grandson’s school asked if I could write them a version of ‘Dick Whittington’ that would last around an hour, and I duly obliged.

Initially, my plan was to condense the full-length script I have written, but when I though seriously about it, I realised that I might end up with a dog’s breakfast… something that was neither fish, fowl, or good red herring! Also, I didn’t like the idea of using the same material in different scripts. So… I started from scratch.

Though I says it that shouldn’t, whichever way your funny bone works, I reckon I have assembled a notable collection of smiles, grins and chuckles for your enjoyment… but then what do I know?

The resulting short and sweet script would obviously be suitable for school use. The staging, costumes, songs and dances are all quite easy to achieve, and there are lots of opportunities for a good number of people to get involved.

Adults might like to try it as well, since it’s guaranteed to be almost as much fun as a three- legged skating race, and should appeal to people of all ages… from five to quarter past six.

CLASS ACT #8

The duo is Red and Struggie, strutting their stuff in the Vitaphone short, ‘Don Redman & His Orchestra’, made in 1934.

They were a 1930s nightclub act and, this short subject, a brief appearance in the 1936 Vitaphone reel ‘Red Nichols & His World Famous Five Pennies’, for the ‘Troublesome Trumpet’ number, and a few fleeting steps at the end of the Cab Calloway sequence for ‘Just Wanna Make Rhythm’ in the Biograph Studios’ ‘Manhattan Merry-Go-Round ‘(1937), are currently the only chances to see these guys.

Someone on t’Intenet claims, “… the short man is my great uncle walter scruggs…” I presume he means Walter Scruggs.  

Someone else states that their claim to fame in the history of dance comes from their origination in 1935 of the popular dance, ‘The Truck’.

I couldn't find any reference to 'The Truck', but on the streetswing.com website, they state, Some historians have traced the ‘Truckin' Dance’ way back to the old Minstrel Shows of the 1830's in Louisville, Kentucky.

The 'Joe Louis Truck' was reported to be a new dance in the 1930's, when the ‘Amsterdam News’ reportedly said that Don Redman's Orchestra created a new dance called the ‘Joe Louis Truck’. However Don Redman says when he first saw the newspaper clipping he knew nothing about the song or the dance, so he wrote one, which he says was “before the "Truckin' dance became popular." He also says "nothing became of the song."

Apart from these brief mentions, the rest is silence!

Aren’t they loose? I love the outfits, the great band, and the scat singing... but then I was spoon-fed jazz from an early age.

“Nagasaki” dates from 1928, and was the work of Tin Pan Alley stalwarts Harry Warren and Mort Dixon. The song was covered by the Benny Goodman Quartet, Fats Waller, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, Chet Atkins, and many others.

One of the verses includes the following:

“They sit you upon the floor
No wonder your pants get sore
Back in Nagasaki
Where the fellers chew tobaccy
And the women wicky-wacky
Woo.”

Yowsah! Yowsah! Yowsah!

PROPER PROPS

A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set decoration and a prop is use. If the item is not touched by a performer for any reason it is simply a set decoration. If it is touched by the actor in accordance with script requirements, or as deemed by the director, it is a prop.

In pantomime hand props should, wherever possible, be big, bold, bright, colourful, and very visual. But then of course, you all know that, don’t you? Apparently not!

In my version of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ there is a scene where the Dame, her son, Billy, and Mayor Perkins, are trying to build a boat to escape from the desert island on which they have been shipwrecked.

It involves them putting ‘glue’ on a ‘plank’, and includes comedy business with the plank being swung around etc, and the ‘glue’, which I recommend is ‘custard pie’ foam, either hand-mixed or from a spray can, being slapped on people with a brush. Water could be funny, but it is not as visual as foam, unless a large quantity is sloshed around, which then presents the problem of having to clean up quite a mess.

I went along to see the initial production and lo and behold, the supposedly experienced company didn’t know that in pantomime, hand props should, wherever possible be big, bold, bright, colourful, and very visual.

The ‘plank’ was obviously a spare bit of wood from someone’s workshop, about 4 ins. (10 cms.) wide by some 5 ft. (150 cms.) long. The bucket containing the ‘glue’ was what you might call pint size. Some kind person had obviously given them an empty, 1kg. plastic tub, that at one time probably contained DIY adhesive. The brush was 3ins (7.5 cms.). wide.

The plank should have been at least 10 feet (300 cms.) long, and 9 inches (23 cms.) wide. It could have be made from a thin frame covered in painted hardboard or paper, so that it was easy to carry and manoeuvrable, but didn’t deliver too much of a punch when it hit people.

I’ll never understand metric, if I live to be a gross!

The bucket should be a full-size one, with the words ‘STICKY STUFF’ painted on it in large letters. The brush should be a large paste brush.

It goes without saying… so why do people need to be told?

peacheykeene.com have some fun clown props.

CLASS ACT # 7

Are these guys funny, or are they funny?

You can bet your sweet tooth that they have rehearsed this routine.