Author: piersb

I’m pleased to be able to say that my wee theatre company will be reviving our production of The Just So Stories this Easter.

This production will be at LOST Theatre on the Wandsworth Road, and will feature returning cast from previous productions, so you know you’re getting the good stuff.

Still not convinced? Why not read some of the five-star reviews from our Edinburgh Festival production of the show.

(We made a profit. At Edinburgh. I may never get tired of telling people that.)

The production runs from the 2nd to the 14th of April 2013 at 3pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for concessions (plus booking fees) and are available to buy now online or by calling the Box Office on 0844 847 1680.

If you’re in the UK, odds are it’s been snowing near you for the last day or two.

So yesterday, the lovely Mr James Moran challenged you to make stuff with snow. A short film. Some photography. Whatevs. Because it’s going to make whatever you do look much more expensive and lovelier.

I’m at my parents’ this weekend, so I thought: What can I do with an iPhone and their computer, in a day, with what- and whoever is at hand?

So I made this:

I had a rough idea of the story, and just filmed it in the back and front gardens on the phone.

I didn’t want to do anything difficult, so figured the easiest thing to do was just grab the shots I needed, and then record a voiceover afterwards.

(That’s my niece Jenna, by the way, who happened to be in the kitchen and said yes when I asked for some help. If she hadn’t said yes I’d’ve tried roping my parents in. If that hadn’t worked I’d’ve done something that only needed me to be in it.)

Took about an hour to get the shots, which were then moved across to the computer and slapped together in sequence using iMovie. I then banged some sound effects (also from iMovie) on the top, and wrote the voiceover to fit the length of the edited footage. Jenna then recorded the voiceover on the built-in microphone on the computer. Three takes until we’d got the timing right, and done.

So, there you go. Nothing fancy-schmancy, but a story with a beginning, middle, and end. All done in four hours with what I happened to have lying around.

Two things I regret. But as art is never finished, only abandoned, I’m going to leave them both there.

The first is is that I got the credits mixed up, so for two credits the name is on the left and the role on the right, while on the last credit it’s reversed. That’s going to bug me every time I see it now.

The second is that I think I may have been too ambitious with the monster at the end. Fur CGI like that on a low budget is always going to look a bit unrealistic.

There’s still snow on the ground. It’s still the weekend. Why not look around the house, see what you’ve got, and go and make a short film?

Red Table Theatre are offering a workshop on found-object storytelling.

If you’ve seen any of our children’s shows, you’ll know that a lot of our theatre work has been based on storytelling using common or garden items to create characters, set, and environment. The way in which the objects are used is formed during rehearsals.

Well, m’brother Rafe, who directed said shows, is offering a one-day hands-on workshop based on the techniques we use. Suitable for actors, directors, writers, and teachers who’d like to know more about devising with found objects, and how they can use this in their own work.

If you’re interested, the workshop takes place on Saturday 8 December from 10am to 6pm at Theatre Delicatessen, 35 Marylebone High Street W1U and costs £35.00. It’s a full day of practical devising, and participants will be invited to bring several objects with them to use during the day.

If you’re interested, drop an email to kelly.golding@redtabletheatre.com and she’ll be able to tell you more about what the day involves.

Well, this makes me very happy indeed.

No sooner do I mention that I’m about to be published in a book, than I get published in a book. Only a different one. And faster.

I’ve written a piece for the Actors’ Yearbook 2013, available now, all about Open Book Theatre and why it’s particularly important and useful for Fringe Companies. The Actors’ Yearbook is as important for those working in the theatre as the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is for, well, writers and artists.

Do check it out if you get the chance.

Well, I’ve just heard the fantastic news that the film has been shortlisted, and will be shown in cinemas around the UK for the next year. Which is particularly good, because a) the film is brilliant and b) Tom and Simon are both top blokes who deserve wider exposure.

“But Piers,” I hear you cry “I rarely visit the cinema these days due to the expense! Also, how would I know when it was on?”

Never fear, my made-up friend! If you can’t wait until then, you can watch The Plotters online.

If you particularly like it, you can even vote for it on the Virgin Media Shorts facebook page or by tweeting “The Plotters #VMShortsVote” on your Twitter account, which will help determine the runner-up prize.

Not that they’re not going to win the grand prize anyway, but, well, it couldn’t hurt now, could it?

Other shortlisted films are available.

I’ve got a piece published in Outside In, a new book edited by Robert Smith?. This is actually going to be the first time something I’ve written’s been in a book, so I’m rather chuffed about this.

(Yes, Robert Smith? is indeed he of the standard SIZR model of Zombie Infection fame.)

Outside In aims to give new perspectives on all of the classic stories, each by a different writer. And in all sorts of different ways. To give you an idea, here’s a flavour from the press release: “I’ve had mock-angry letters to the BBC, transcripts of council meetings, even a recipe. There are flow charts, maps, TV scripts, timelines, Shakespearean plays… and, of course, intensely passionate and vocal opinions about the entirety of Doctor Who.”

Pre-orders should be available from the end of September. More details to follow!

So you might have noticed that I use Twitter a lot.

For those of you who don’t, it’s a way of staying in touch while on the move. Bite-sized chunks of content, 140 characters per tweet.

Originally, there was no way to “call out” to another user, and your messages would just be broadcast to everyone following you. If you wanted to speak to someone privately, you’d send a Direct Message (DM) – so if you tweet “D piersb Hello Piers!” then only you and I will be able to see that message.

What a DM doesn’t allow, of course, is for you to speak about me to everyone in a way that identifies me as the person in the conversation in a unique way. People soon picked up on this, though, and invented a solution: the @ tag (pronounced at tag).

An @ tag is basically your Twitter username with an ampersat in front of it. Thus, @piersb is my @ tag. So if I was speaking about you, I’d use your @ tag, naming you as a unique individual (because each Twitter username is unique), and meaning that everyone following my twitterstream would know who I was talking about.

@ tags caught on because they’re unique identifiers. Soon they became so useful that Twitter upgraded its clients in order to pull out your @ tags into a mention stream. So when anyone is speaking about or to you in public, you’d know about it and be able to join in the conversation.

Now, the problem with this is if I want to talk about you without it necessarily popping up in your mention stream. This happens a lot on Twitter with people working in TV. If you want to say that my show is terrible, then you might say “I hate @piersb’s writing! It sucks and he is the suckinator!” The @ tag uniquely identifies me, but unfortunately also brings it to my attention by dropping it straight into my mention stream.

It’s the equivalent of every pub conversation about you anywhere in the world suddenly being piped into your living room through a giant set of speakers. Uncomfortable, and not very nice.

So I’d like to propose a solution. The & tag (pronounced and tag). It’s exactly the same as an @ tag – it uniquely identifies you in the conversation, but doesn’t automatically announce the fact that you’re being talked about. Because you’re uniquely identified, anyone who wants to go and check out your twitterstream can, but without you being automatically notified of anyone talking about you.

The @ tag keeps its original purpose of alerting you to a conversation involving you, while the & tag means that people can speak about you behind your back. (Obviously, if you want to hear what people are saying about you, you’d simply search on your & tag – but you wouldn’t have to be told about it if you didn’t want to.)

So if you want to talk about me on Twitter, I’ll be there at &piersb.

I’m not going to Edinburgh this year, but several friends are. You should go and see them. They’re very good.

Under Your Feet, 2:05pm, 4-25 August, Venue 148.

Elise Harris tells you about the things under your feet. Some of what she tells you may even be true.

Sex, Lyres and Audiotape, 8:35pm, 13-18 August, Venue 39.

Clare Goodall brings the past to life using Harps, Lyres and other ancient instruments including the Battle Shawm (!). Directed by m’brother Rafe Beckley and produced by Kelly Golding.

Well look’ee here! It’s only a preview of Mel’s Persona!

Why not watch the trailer before putting on a DVD in order to get the full cinema experience? You may also want to watch ten minutes of adverts, and pay well over the odds for some soda and popcorn.

The new season of Persona starts on iPhones and Android handsets next Monday, 6 August.

Download the app for Android phones, or the app for iPhones in order to watch.