Phew

I can't believe this crazy year is nearly over. Only ten more days of 2008 already - goodness.

AND WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN.

This time last year I was in Greece, hanging out and being extremely relaxed after the crazy year that was 2007 - the change between Athens-then and Athens-now is sobering and very sad. I kinda think of Athens as a second home, so it's obviously distressing to see what's going on there.

I remember I was extremely ill at the beginning of last year - I spent the first week of January sick in bed when I should have been at rehearsal for Macbeth! The tour took me through much of January and February, before I went to Tokyo in March for a little trip. I managed to see Celine Dion in concert (thank you Mark!) and we also had a fantastic day trip to Nikko (thank you Tomo and Robin!) in what was one of my nicest visits to Japan since I left. While there I got invited to come to UCLA and interview...

...and that's what I did in early April. In the meantime I had the privilege of being part of the first ever Project Brand New (which has since become a global phenomenon, thanks to the awesome ladies in charge of it). Los Angeles was quite lovely in April, not too hot, not too cold. The interviews went well, and I was accepted to the MFA programme! Alas my godfather died while I was here, so I cut short my US trip and cancelled my New York visit to go home for his funeral. RIP, Uncle Dan.

In May, I managed to re-do my US trip, and got to New York at last. I had so much fun! Thanks of course to S and the Scorpion Princess ;)

Thanks to my glorious unemployability, I couldn't get much work over the summer. Instead I spent the time writing a lot, and of course did my regular Greek stint in July. The performances were quite marvellous this year - Fiona Shaw in Happy Days, and Pina Bausch's Orpheus & Eurydice. Talk about spoiled...!

Much of August was spent in preparation for the big works of September; 'Caligula' was invited to be part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, and I moved to California. Somehow - probably with the blessings of a variety of angels and Saint Jude! - we managed to get both of these huge, stressful, wonderful things to happen without anyone getting hurt in the process. Everyone involved in the show - whether in New York, Winchester, or of course Dublin - was incredible. I am very lucky to have had such a posse!

And then I got to this place. They all SAID it was kinda like a guantlet, but I kinda couldn't quite figure what that meant. But I have had the fullest, craziest most rewarding three months here already. Three years here will be the making of me!

Of course this year has not been without its losses, its challenges and its sad news. Perhaps I've had more this year than any other year - but somehow, at the root of it all, it's all part of being alive, isn't it? That's how I'm trying to look at it all.

I can't quite figure out how to end this little post. So I'm going to hand it over to one of the loveliest discoveries I made this year - the poet Hafiz. He's an odd little case, rapturously in love with the idea of rapture. Definitely worth a look, for a different perspective. :)

IT FELT LOVE

How

Did the rose

Open its heart

And give to this world

All its

Beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light

Against its

Being.

Otherwise,

We all remain

Too 

Frightened.

Finally...

Alright. A post.

I'm sorry it's taken so long, but now that I'm in grad school (again) I have nooooo free time. Which is good, but also hard work.

I've been in the USA for exactly four weeks. It feels like several months already!

I have barely done any exploring just yet, since I arrived and went straight into class (and I now start my days at 7.30am at the latest...!)

However I did manage to get to see Tina Turner in concert, and I'm hopefully gonna see the glorious Margaret Cho next weekend. Celebs spotted so far: Magic Johnson, sitting beside me at California Pizza Kitchen; Kristen Chenoweth attending a do in UCLA, Mei Lanfang's son doing some Chinese opera on campus, Samuel L Jackson at Bristol Farms (a photo of which appeared on Perez Hilton! - not taken by me), and the cast and crew of 'Role Models', whose world premiere I walked past on my way home this evening.

It's all a whirl... 

More later. I promise, Leila ;)

In a world without...

I saw this, and thought due attention should be paid, since he has passed away...

Miyavi

I uploaded this image before I realised that it was animated. Yikes.

Oh well, I AM a Miyavi fan.

In my final blogette of the day I'm introducing this cranky, weird but quite awesome Japanese rockstar, whose music is ironic, clever, and (my favourite) desecrates and incorporates elements from a variety of Japan's classics - Noh, Buddhism, even Subway theme tunes, street crossing signals and famous ringtones get woven into his heady mix of rock guitars and attitude.

We like!!!

For those of y'all who might need it...

I found a very cool dictionary website yesterday, which I've been using. It's brilliant!

お茶ー青年期ーカミュー梅暦ー本ー入れ墨ー
温泉ー墨絵ー星ー火蛍ー川端ー勇気

:)

Conor's Loves #478: Miss Direction

Just came across what I hope will become my favourite new blog in the world this year.

Keep 'em coming!

Let's Japanese Film!

As part of my maniacal research for my books, I have been watching a crazy variety of Japanese movies in the past few weeks.

I dunno if they've helped my writing at all, but some of them are totally worth checking out;

Taki no Shiraito
Tokyo March
Kara-Kiri
Zatoichi
Gohatto
Dolls
Hana-Bi
Audition
Ran
Throne of Blood
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
Memoirs of a Geisha (not really Japanese at all, but pretty to look at)
Kill Bill (absolutely not Japanese, but the Tokyo O-ren Ishii bits are fun!)
Kaidan (in its day the most expensive Japanese film ever - it's still fab to look at)
The Black Lizard (I know I blogged about it already but it's sooooo much fun)

and of course, a few films by Miyazaki Hayao -
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Kiki's Delivery Service
My Neighbour Totoro (so cute!)

and maybe the most startling of all, Grave of the Fireflies, which - despite the fact that it's a cartoon, ostensibly for kids - is one of the most affecting anti-war films I've ever seen. Have the tissues handy...!

This is our youth

Click HERE to see a short film with Dublin people doing what they do best.

I don't know whether or not this is a hoax - maybe it's real, and even if it isn't, it sure as shit could be.

Brushstrokes

Hello,
I've been out of contact for most of this month, what with preparations for UCLA and Caligula, not to mention my work on my book!
Here's a pictorial preview of what's in store in its twelve chapters...

Muxtape!

I love this site. You get to upload 12 songs and share them.
So, I've done so.
Enjoy!

http://conoroukla.muxtape.com/


#UPDATE: "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA."

Yet another. Because it's raining and I'm bored.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8.30

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds. Silly question.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Dark Knight.

3B. What funny movie have you seen lately that is worth mentioning? Not sure.

4. What is your favorite TV show(s)? Right now I'm like, the last person in the world to watch Six Feet Under, but it's very good.

5. What did you have for breakfast? Apple juice and toast.

6. What is your middle name? Joseph.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Japanese.

8. What foods do you dislike? I'm getting better at seafood. I fear Vegan cuisine might not be my cup of tea.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Salted

10. What is your favorite CD(s) at the moment? Corelli/Nilsson in Turandot.

11. What type of vehicle do you drive? A Toyota Avensis! Ha!

11B. What is your dream vehicle? A Mercedes. Or a Smart. Or even a Mini coupé.

12. Favorite Sandwich? I prefer to make my own, but in general I hate sandwiches.

13. What characteristics do you despise? Smallness. Cruelty. Laziness.

14. Favorite clothing? Whatever works.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Okinawa.

16. What color is your bathroom? Green.

17. What is your favorite brand of clothes? I have always liked Calvin Klein.

18. Where would you like to retire? A ranch in Northern Japan.

19. Favorite time of the day? Evening.

20. What was your most memorable birthday? I haven't had a big blowout celebration for years.

21. Where were you born? Dublin.

22. Favorite sport to watch? American Football was a hilarious experience.

23. Person you expect to send it back first? This is a blog. How lame.

24. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Leila.

25. What fabric detergent do you use? Dunno. But it's nice.

26. Favorite beverages? Green or mint tea.

26B. Favorite soda(s)? Sprite. But I found out recently it's 30% sugar so I gave it up.

28. What is your shoe size? 10

29. Do you have any pets? I really want a dog.

30. Are you a morning person or night owl? Both. Does this make me an insomniac?

31. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with family & friends? Y'all know it already!

32. What did you want to be when you were a child? An actor.

32B. What do you want to be now? A director.

33. What were you meant to be doing today? Reading.

34. What book are you currently reading? Invisible Cities, Steppenwolf, Le Bal, Spring Snow.

35. What is you favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Bohemian Raspberry.

36. Red or white wine? Depends. Like both.

36B. Favorite Mixed Drink(s) or/& Beer? Gin and tonic.

What’s your best high school memory? Going to Calcutta.

37. What’s your best college memory? A lot of laughter.

38. What’s your biggest regret? Dunno.

Your daily dose.

I love these kids from Tokyo Comedy.

HI-larious.

Heaven!

I've had gorgeous food in Greece before (and my mouth is already watering with the promise of a trip next week to my favourite restaurants in Argolida) but since coming on Sunday I've been lucky enough to have two little foodie moments. The first was on my first night, when my glamorous hostess cracked open a nice bottle of wine and served olives stuffed with almonds. Sounds weird, I know, but they are delicious! Next morning she also produced some fabulous coffee accompanied by little cinnamon-flavoured biscuits - a very winning way to start the day.... Today it was some caramel vanilla tea, which is also nicer than it sounds.

But the piece de resistance goes to the dessert we had yesterday in a little organic cafe near Panepistimiou metro station in the centre of Athens. It was a bowl of light mascarpone cheese, with chocolate chips and strawberries lightly marinaded in balsamic vinegar. This is, I am quite sure, what God has for dessert on his birthday. (And you can bet your ass I'll be using the excuse of mine to head back there in 2 weeks for a second helping!)

Proust Questionnaire

I've been watching (incongruously) Angelina Jolie on Inside the Actor's Studio, and kinda enjoyed the questionnaire at the end. So, in memory of the time when questionnaires were so fun and frequent online!

(The Vanity Fair Questions)

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A sense of accomplishment (a good job having been finished), good company, and a good laugh over a good meal.

What is your greatest fear?
Running out of time. Mediocrity.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being unable to be happy for others. Smallness and pettiness.

Where would you like to live?
Japan.

Which living person do you most admire?
Tough one. People who live and create passionately, resolutely, personally. But that is a very long list.

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Mizoguchi (in Kinkakuji and in Brushstrokes!),

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
The first wives, and that memoir-writing Geisha.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Oh dear lord. I don't know.

Who is/are your favorite painter?
Many.

Who is/are your favorite musician?
Madonna (deal with it)

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Gossip.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Gossip.

What is your favorite journey?
That motherfucker of a flight to Tokyo.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Propriety/restraint.

Which living person do you most despise?
Kinda starting to think that it's not really helpful.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Like....!

What is your favorite occupation?
If I wasn't what I was (or trying to be all these things) I would love to consider being an architect.

What is your greatest regret?
Don't think I have any. I'm too young to call them regrets, for now. Leaving Japan is the closest thing to a regret that I have, but it's not one.

When and where were you happiest?
Japan, I guess. Still I'm happy today anyway.

What is your current state of mind?
Enjoying Angelina on the Actor's Studio. Calm, excited at some new ideas brewing in my head.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My feet.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Dear lord. Let me get back to you on that.

What is your most treasured possession?
A book and cd given to me by someone very special. It's as much for the gifts as for the thought behind them.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Over-analysis? Being a good listener, I hope.

What is the quality you most like in a man/woman?
Kindness/sense of humour.

Who are your favorite writers?
Salman Rushdie, Yukio Mishima, Pablo Neruda, Shakespeare, Federico Garcia Lorca.

What is your motto?
Believe. Keep at it. If it's all an illusion, we might as well laugh at it.

(The Actor's Studio Questions)

What is your favorite word?
Thank you.

What is your least favorite word?
Sweetie.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Individuality, beauty, wabi sabi, gratitude, the ineffable, the ephemeral, laughter.

What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Ego, forced things, affectation, cruelty, jealousy.

What sound or noise do you love?
Music. The welcome announcement at the theatre in Epidaurus, and the strange bird that sings there.

What sound or noise do you hate?
Traffic light indicators in Dublin. Scratches on stone or unglazed clay.

What is your favorite curse word?
C*nt. For emergency use only.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Architecture. Publishing.

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything repetetive or clerical in an office with no natural light.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Do come in, we're celebrating, and there are some people here would love to meet you.

The Black Lizard (Kurotokage)

In my ongoing research into the cultural life of Japan in the late 1960s (which, I hope, will lead to 2 books!) I have been trawling through books, plays, music, history, and - most excitingly - film. And the most fascinating recent treasure to be unearthed must surely be 'The Black Lizard' (黒蜥蝪) by Kinji Fukasaku, made in 1968.

The story is adapted from a piece written by Edogawa Rampo, a crime novelist who flourished before the Second World War. His name is actually a play on words based on the Japanese pronunciation of Edgar Allan Poe (Edogaru Aran Pou). The film is concocted from a stage version by Yukio Mishima, who is himself featured in it as a life-size human doll. The star of the show, however, is Akihiro Miwa, Japan's most famous female impersonator, who plays the eponymous heroine, jewel thief and criminal mastermind 'The Black Lizard'.

The film is wildly over the top, a high-camp celebration of crazy that is silly, hilarious, affected and extremely entertaining. Get your hands on it!!

Fuck Lucy - I Love Leila!!

How funny is this lady?!

Eurovision

I love the Eurovision. I always thought it was so exciting growing up looking at other countries and hearing songs in other languages. And all the tacky glitz and 'glamour' etc were fun too, of course. And the whole voting system with the phone-ins - now video calls - etc. A great night in May.

Needless to say I'm less than thrilled with Ireland's entry this year. Although I reckon we'll either win it, or else come last and be permanently disqualified. (Either outcome will be the hilarious, anarchic kind of response that Dustin and his flock are aiming for - and while I'm not stuffy enough to be insulted at their iconoclastic lampooning of such a pan-European-tradition - seriously! who cares that much?! - I don't think the thing is THAT in need of demolition...)

Here's the Israeli entry. A nice song, has a touch of the country's own spirit, nice singer. Written by, of all people, Dana International. Wonder if she'll manage to steal the limelight again?! Perhaps she eats turkey....

Surgical Spirit

I love this show!
New episodes have been really fantastic - with the extra bonus of Addison Sheperd (Kate Walsh, who got a shout-out here before...)

Hurrah!

Still in the Running...

I'm very curious to see who wins Top Model this time around. Each has things that mitigate against them, but each also has their strengths. For the sake of readers in Dublin who'll watch it on Living, I won't mention names, but there's really only one girl I want to win. And I've wanted her to for a long while...

It was remarkable watching the show this week, seeing Paulina modelling for the ladies - she seemed very good at her job! The Model Judges are all there for a reason, I guess...





As has become relatively clear as the season have gone on, there's really only one ACTUAL Top Model. And that, of course, is Tyra.




Doesn't Tyra look like a slightly hotter version of Wilhelmina Slater in this photo?? I wonder if La Banks will end up running her own magazine. I imagine she will - given her beautiful photographs on all sides of the camera, and her apparent desire for world domination! But despite her meteoric post-modelling reinvention and her assault on all global media, I gotta say I really admire her.

A small commemoration

This rambling set of thoughts, lists and impressions is named after The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon (清少納言), written about 1000 years ago this year. I reckon it's all very well (and perhaps unexpected) for me to have a pretty blog with an Asian lady as its frontispiece, but I say give credit where it's due!

In many respects, her book could be considered the world's first blog - a selection of little entries, in various formats, in which she documented her life in the Heian court. She and Murasaki Shikubu, author of The Tale of Genji, are two of the foremost ladies of Japanese literature.

The Pillow Book (枕草子 makura no sōshi) is a lovely thing to have beside one's bed, it's perfect for dipping into, or indeed to read straight through.

Of course there are plenty of other blogs that reference her style, including THIS ONE (a fun literary blog).

For a slightly less sensational read, my other FAVOURITE book at the moment is by Liza Dalby. (Who, in glorious synchronicity, wrote a lovely novel about Murasaki!) It's called East Wind Melts The Ice and it's a compendium of thoughts throughout the seasons - based somewhere between California and Japan. No prizes for guessing why I'm enjoying it so much.

Just lovely.

How talented is this friend of mine??
A lovely song, a lovely singer.
No more commentary required.

Cut it up, turn it loose

How cool is THIS - you can now upload and send 'mixtapes' (well - collections of MP3s) online!

I love it. Thanks to M & J for giving me the nod ;)

My sugar is raw!

News just in - World Tour Autumn/Winter 2008!

She's starting in Cardiff and heading around Europe and the USA. Curiously, a lot of the dates seem VERY close together - does this mean that there won't be an enormous number of extra shows added?

And what about all those promises to go to Australia? I reckon she'll go to Mexico and South America, and certainly Dubai, and perhaps finish in Japan like last time? I'd like that.

Watch this space...

三島由紀夫 の宅急便!

After writing an essay about Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) by Yukio Mishima, back in November, I was recently given a prize by the Japanese Embassy in Dublin. The award was a voucher for Kenny's Bookshop in Galway, who rather wonderfully have hunted down my (very obscure) choices - and the books are on their way as I type!

I think there are few pleasures greater than a new book. Perhaps this might explain why I'm so pathologically loath to crease spines, turn down page-corners, or write on them - I want to keep them as pristine as possible! My bookshelf looks like a bookshop. The only moth-eaten, dog-eared books I have are my rehearsal copies of plays I've directed. And they occupy a whole different category ;)

Put Your Hands Up For Detroit!

I just love the new version of Music mashed with Fedde Le Grand's Put Your Hands Up For Detroit. Awesome!

Roll on the tour!

My little tribute...

If you wanna see some little shots and snippets of Ninagawa's Caligula, click here.
It's gonna be out on DVD during the summer, I can't wait.
Funny that that play is still on my mind - I ain't free of it yet!
(The カリギュラ chapter is underway at the moment... argh!)

City of Angels

In case any of y'all are ostriches...

I'm going to LA! Come September, I'll be relocating to sunny California.

And yes, you're welcome to come visit. Yes, I'll be driving.
No, I'm not getting a perma-tan. Or plastic surgery.

Re-appraisal

I know everybody is sucking and chewing on her 'Hard Candy' at the moment (and for the record my fave trax are 'Give It 2 Me', 'Miles Away' and 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You'), I had a lovely moment of re-finding one of the less flashy tracks from 'Music' this morning.

Check out 'Gone', the album's final track (for those who didn't get American Pie or Cyber-raga thrown on for good measure....)

The woman manages to get it right just about every time!

Selling out
Is not my thing
Walk away
I won't be broken again
I'm not
I'm not what you think

Dream away your life
Someone else's dream
Nothing equals nothing

Letting go
Is not my thing
Walk away
Won't let it happen again
I'm not
I'm not very smart

Why should I feel sad
For what I never had
Nothing equals nothing

Turn to stone
Lose my faith
I'll be gone
Before it happens

Selling out
Is not my thing
Walk away
I won't be broken again
I won't
I won't fall apart

Dream away your life
Dream away your dream
Nothing equals nothing


Turn to stone
Lose my faith
I'll be gone
Before it happens

Turn to stone
Lose my faith
I'll be gone

Spring forward...

...now that I have a fall back!

I've been offline and hibernating for much of this winter, it was pretty hard for several reasons.

BUT things are looking up!

I have decided to spend the next few months writing, it's high time that I got my stuff together and finished several projects. Might even list them here sometime soon ;)

So welcome back, I'll be here much more often from now on.

Ake Ome!!!

That's Happy New Year in Japanese, kids...

How are y'all doing???

I'm so excited that it's 2008. This year that just ended was pretty rough, pretty hard work, and I'm glad to have gotten through it.

Whistlestop review of 2007!
(Funny, remember my previous reviews of the year in here? all luscious and fun and wholesome? not so much for this past year. Bullet points are all y'all are gonna get... No real value judgements or particularly rich commentary...)

January
Working on Othello with Second Age.
Workshops for the SEEDS showcase production.

February
Working on Don Carlos with Rough Magic.

March
National Theatre Studio Directors' Course in London. (Amazing! Haha - cracked already...)

April
Japan - a little catchup trip.
Athens - a week of translating and development.
London - Ninagawa's Coriolanus. 4.5 hours long. TWICE.

May
Berlin - SEEDS trip.
Auditions for Caligula.

June
London - a lil' trip for some catchups and an Asian theatre research day.
Milan - trip to visit Sofia and La Scala. Dahlink.

July
Greece. As ever.

August
Spent an intense awesome time building the costumes for Caligula (our SEEDS show) in the empty Rough Magic office with La Tilly. Who rocks la World.
Rehearsals for aforementioned Caligula began.
Also spent a lot of time translating La Marea, for the Theatre Festival.

September
Caligula was performed. My mom was diagnosed with Cancer.
Started work on Philadelphia Here I Come, with Second Age.

October
Philadelphia (and Letterkenny, Ennis, Dublin, Cork and Dun Laoghaire) here we came.

November
Back to Tokyo. For three whole fabulous weeks. Much of which I spent working on a paper for....

December
...a conference I came back to Tokyo for in early December. This was awesome.
Athens - back to Greece for some serious R&R and to finish the translation.
Christmas - hard work.

and then I got sick New Year's Eve. Although the tricky shitty details of the year are not listed here, but if felt with this infection that 2007 was saying "Ha! You may be rid of me, but you damn won't forget me!"

And that's hella true.

Things I'm excited for in 2008:

A whole new range of projects. Not just theatre! Conor goes multi-media!
This will be the year I buy a mac. A hot one.
The US Presidential Election
The SATC movie
New Madonna, Cyndi and others. Maybe a Madonna tour?
Travel to new places. And loved ones, too.

It's funny, I love New Year's Day infinitely more than New Year's eve. If I had my way I'd have the big celebration on Jan 1st, and have a really nice dinner party to welcome the possibilities of what the year will bring :)