whoops...

Hey everyone, sorry for not posting this earlier - for some reason i thought i had posted something recently, but obviously not....

Anyway, I'm 15 now! Which for many people might not seem like a massive milestone, but it is for me and i don't know why! Every year i get dead excited, because i always think my new age is really important. Oh well, it's now two years until i can drive (which is a very scary thought), so i guess i'm just excited for the future, that's all. :)

For my birthday, I didn't get the guitar as planned... I GOT A BETTER ONE!!! Although this meant that me and my parents had to split the cost, which was a bit of a downer, but it's worth it!

I didn't get much else, except from a 'History Boy's' DVD and a new fencing sword and bodywire. Which reminds me..! The other day, i entered my first fencing competition, and it was such a good experience - even if I came 35th. Out of 40! I'm not saying this to defend myself, but a guy called Tom Exeter (who came 3rd in the whole competition, but should've won) was in my first round, my second round, and if i got through to knock outs, i would've fought him. I was a bit gutted as that was such a freak coincidence, but oh                              
                                                      well...

Here is the score sheet anyway.... http://www.leedsfencing.co.uk/Results/2011/Men's%202011/Yorkshire%20Senior%20Men's%20Foil%202011%20Results.htm

My birthday meal was really good as well - on the 6th February me and a lot of friends went to the 'China Palace' and the food was quite nice (Sweet & Sour Chicken ftw!), although there was  mix of school mates, and friends from drama, and there was an awkwardness in the air, but it was okay in the end :). Oh, and most readers won't understand this, but Guezelkuecuek pulled Larissa, but he doesn't like her, so I told her he's gay! Tee-Hee!

Also, (I'm realising that a lot of stuff has happened since my last post) I have taken up singing lessons! I go every two weeks in this house in Conisbrough, and it's really fun - apparently i'm quite good, which is always a bonus! I'm singing that song I posted a bit ago - 'Bitch of Living' from 'Spring Awakening', and oh gosh, I love it!

On another note, I have decided to do a Favourite Song thing on most posts from now on - everytime i find a really good song, I obsess over it; learn the words, guitar chords etc, so that's what i'll do. :)

Favourite Song - Blackout! from 'In the Heights'

I really like this song, because a) we're doing such a cool dance to it at drama b) it has so many different styles of music, and c) it has overlapping lyrics, which i find awesome! hehe i LOVE IT! :L

sorry for rambling,
thesecretgeek

473354280 seconds..

Well, it's nearly here.. monday 31st January, where I will be 15 years old..

The past 15 years have held a lot of important, both good and bad events -  i'm not even 20, and I've lived through 2 milleniums, 2 centuries, 3 decades, over 20 wars, 7 pandemics, 4 world cups, 3 prime ministers, an economic downturn, 9/11 and 7/7 bombings and many other things i'm sure i have missed out. I would say that my life so far has been full of surprises, full of amazing friends, and i'm sure this will carry on in future.

Now for a not so 'deep' statement; who would like to see what i want for my birthday?

an 'epiphone les paul special ii' electric guitar in wine red :)

this amazing magic trick.. :D

and loads of special magic cards, music and clothes :)

i really can't wait for my birthday meal either, which i'm having at a chinese in town with all my friends; matt, caitlin, jodie, paul, elise, alice, tommy, chris, becky, emma, jane, tanya, paul, beth, bronwyn, emily,  jaz, jess, jo, liam, lucy, megan, and nicola:)

going to be a night to remember:L

before i say goodbye, i'd like to apologise for the delay in writing this post... ill write them more frequently, i promise :D

love you all,
thesecretgeek

a day in the life of a thespian

Yeah yeah, I know 'thespian' means the same as actor, or theatrical person; I just put it because it sounded better. This post is not (as you'd expect from the title) about any particular day, just about my acting, singing, dancing and other miscellaneous thespian activities.

First, before I get into any of it, may I say that I LOVE drama :) any aspect of it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside - you know the feeling - so please don't judge me... each to their own :')

I suppose my fondness of acting has always been there; I'm not going to begin with some cliché about how it all kicked off after I saw some fantastical production, because it just didn't. I've always loved performing, but joining a drama group (CATS - Carr-nival* Academy of Theatre Skills) really put me in the right direction for love of theatre. I joined, I think, when I was 8 or 9, so 6 or 7 years ago - and that was a major point in my life. My first proper show was Alice in Wonderland, a musical, when I was 10. I played the King, and for the first time, I experienced the buzz, the adrenaline rush of performing to the hundreds, the fear of hoping you don't fluff your lines, forget words to a song, mixed with the feel of a weight being lifted off your shoulders: no more lines to learn, no more rehearsals.

I perform with CATS to this day, 7 years of musicals, plays and cabaret shows - acing and singing in all levels of importance; from singing in the chorus, to getting parts, to getting title roles (just the other day, I played Old Mother Hubbard, the panto dame, in the play of the same name). Drama gave me confidence, and I know this sounds weird, but t gives me a purpose - I have no idea what I would do without the stage.

August 2009: This was a special month, as it was the first time i ever stepped into the 2act rehearsal room - a church hall in Barnsley - but little did I know that this hall would feel like home for months and years to come. 2act is run, produced and directed by the same guy who runs CATS (Simon Carr, whom I would compare to my father, as he is such a big influence on my life), and one day after Saturday morning CATS rehearsals, I overheard Simon and Tommy (Tommy Roberts, one of my best friends, and one of the nicest people I have ever met) talking about a play 2act were due to produce in October 09. They needed a guy, as there was only one male - Tommy. They noticed I was there, and asked whether i would be available to do it. I agreed, and although I was never meant to stay on at 2act, the next show, was a milestone in 2act - they had obtained the licence to perform Les Miserable (google it), and once again, were short of guys. 

I auditioned, and got a part in the chorus. I was not downhearted, I just wanted to be in this fabulous show. After we successfully performed it in February '10, I kept turning up to Friday 2act rehearsals, and it was agreed with Simon that I could stay in 2act. Many shows later, I had the opportunity in August 2010 to join a "scare attraction" company with my fellow '2act'ers. Scare Attractions are walkthrough areas, usually themed with live actors, lights, sound, smoke and smells. The whole point of a Scare Attraction is, you guessed it, to scare the customers. GNG Entertainment was needing actors for an up and coming scare attraction; Titled 'Deranged', the theme was phobias, and it was containing childhood fears, from Gas Masked Strangers, to Evil Clowns, Grotesque Dolls, Insanity, and the fear of the unknown. I played the clown, and in a Circus themed room, containing hay bales, and 'severed' limbs hung from balloons, mine was one of the most talked about areas.


Following the success of Deranged came HybridX. This was another scare attraction, set in the main hall of MAGNA, and running for 11 days solid, 10am to 8pm. HybridX, or just simply Hybrid as we affectionately called it was mindblowing. At the end of a busy day (500+ people a day), you never knew whether you were going to laugh or cry. The hours were gruelling, the temperature varying from below to just above 0, and the sheer "headacheness" (I was working in a room topless - i was a zombie - so I was freezing, three strobe lights, pounding techno music, and more disco smoke than air) could make you thankful for the invention of beds. Home was MAGNA, or the "Dominions Genetic Modifications and Research Facility" as it was called in the storyline. It was amazing, although the experience made me hate one word. Reset. This code word was to tell actors that another group or batch of customers was coming through, and you had to reset positions. The word was hell, and I never want to hear it again! Hybrid was a time full of both joy and excitement, but also of cold, tiredness, and aspirin.


After Hybrid, I had 5 performances of 3 shows in the run up to Christmas: 1 performance of the Wizard of Oz with 2act, 1 performance of What the Dickens! with 2act, and 3 performances of Old Mother Hubbard with CATS. Being a middle aged, overweight, welsh woman for 3 days was, well, an experience! I had to improvise (as many people, including myself, forgot lines), and most of the time they were funnier than scripted lines, I had to control the audience (Oh no you didn't! Shut up.), and I had to wear make-up, tights, fake boobs, wigs, and a couple of dresses. You'll not find me wearing make-up again...! It was so hard to get on, and harder to get off... I was in the bathroom, at home for about an hour, trying in vain to get the tonne of mascara, lippy, and foundation off. That annoyed me muchly, but it was worth it! 

Upcoming productions include: Jekyll and Hyde, Clockwork Orange, Barricade and Beyond, Metamorphosis, and Spring Awakening. I am looking forward to all, but mostly spring awakening!!

I'll leave you with some clips, but otherwise...

thanks for reading
thesecretgeek

my fav song from spring awakening<3

hybrid x promo video

hybrid x preshow video

deranged promo video

enjoy:')<3

forgive me?

Hey all.. I'm very sorry I didn't ask whether anyone had a happy new year, or a groovy christmas; I have been quite busy recently, what with school, christmas, and the new year :')

Hope everyone had a groovylicious christmas, and a fandabydocious new year!

Love you lots like jelly tots!
thesecretgeek

Wales, not Whales....

It was yesterday, the first Sunday of the year, and we realised we hadn't seen Oliver, Jamie and Nik in a long time (my nephew, my half brother and his girlfriend), so we took a drive to Anglesey and said hello.

It was really nice seeing Oliver; the 3 year old had developed quite a strong welsh accent and was cuter than ever. I've not seen Jamie or Nik in ages either, so it was really fun catching up with them! We went to their half finished house (Jamie's a builder) and opened late christmas prezzies - I got inception dvd finally! - and whilst dad mum Jamie and Nik were chatting, me, alice (sister), George (brother) and Oliver went to his bedroom, and built a mini trampoline he got for xmas! He loved it, but as they say, time flies when you're having fun, so at about 3pm we went to get some much needed food.


We went to this REALLY groovy restaurant which cooked beautiful food, but hunger took over from adventure, and I just chose a burger (which was still very tasty), and a chocolate tart for afters. Whilst everyone was eating, I was showing off magic to the table, and not one trick was found out! Oliver's new crocodile toy knocked over a vase on the table, but that was okay, as crocodiles don't know manners - but that was the only thing wrong with the meal. When we were leaving, everyone except me and dad went to the loo, so he ushered me to show this waitress a trick (I'll post it on youtube later today!), and she was amazed, so that made me really happy.

We then (at about 5 or 6) went to this freezing cold beach when it was getting dark, and splashed around, took really nice photo's, and skimmed stones (I GOT A 9!). We realised this was the moment to head off home, so we hugged and kissed goodbye, then left.

Not much happened after that, except on the way home, I ran my iPod battery down, and when i got home, I settled down and watched Inception - which is now on my top 10 films list:)

Hope you all had a fandabydocious new year!
thesecretgeek

oliver, alice and george with his dinosaur

oliver and george after he had just been on the trampoline

oliver falling off :')

magic: what makes it so fascinating?

Well, as you may have found out in my last post, I am a keen magician, and just the other day I was showing a couple of tricks to my good friends Elise and Caitlin over coffee. I got off to a slow start, but I remember one of the tricks really impressed them, and that has inspired this post; What makes magic so impressive to see or do?

As a spectator, it can be so exciting to see David Blaine levitate, or Copperfield vanish the Statue of Liberty vanish on live TV, but as a street magician such as myself, all I can really do at a table is a couple of coin vanishes, or at best, some impressive card tricks! I think it is enjoyable as it lets people see other ordinary people supposedly 'bend' reality. Everyone knows it is not real, and is just a clever gimmick, or practised-to-perfection sleight-of-hand, but everyone just accepts it, and for a split second, believes that it is real.

As a magician however, I love seeing spectators faces light up in bewilderment, it is a great confidence booster and is a fun hobby.

Oh, and it's great in creating WTF moments that will stay in spectators minds forever:D
thesecretgeek

quite fun learning :D

skip to about 20 secs - its just me shuffling :S

the first of (hopefully) many

Hello world (:

My good friend "mynameisCAITLIN" persuaded me to start writing a blog (please click the link and read her blog - it's really interesting), and I guess here I am. I promise I'll try and keep it up - a new years resolution of mine is to write a post at least twice a month - and that's it for now.

Actually no... I suppose I'll tell you a bit about me; My name is Joe, I enjoy acting, I swordfight, and I am an amateur magician (this is me!). I would not be able to live without singing, entertaining or music - I play guitar, drums, bass, a bit of piano, and vocals - and I LOVE MY FRIENDS. 


Thanks for reading, and I promise, next time I'll do a more meaningful post ... about magic maybe :D

love you all
thesecretgeek