The Baxter | Megan's Head

Heather Mac magic

On April 8, 2011

In Cape Town, inspiration, muse ik, theatre stuff

Picture this. It is 1983. I have jumped down the stairs into the cavern basement smoke of The Mix. I am in first year at ‘varsity and my Cape Town is a triangle between main campus, Drama school in Gardens, and Shortmarket Street, where The Mix is. It is a Friday or Saturday night and Ella Mental are playing live. I can barely contain myself. The band starts up and a new wave/spidergirl/chameleon/warpainted/cousin of Adam Ant/jerky dancing magician arrives on stage. And then there is the voice. That voice.

Ella Mental sang out my youth, my South Africa, my creative passions. Ella Mental was the band version of what I wanted to do on stage. was exactly who I wanted to be.Â

Today I have just come back from a rehearsal with Heather Mac and her new band as they put final touches to the show that launches her new album, Within, tomorrow night at The Baxter. And, I was standing in a doorway, listening to them, and I got that feeling again. I can only describe it as sheer inspiration connection. Â Obviously, the songs are much more grown up, the mood has shifted, some stuff is mellower, more layered, more loaded. But, there was a moment, with even her back to me, I was transported. I went straight to that magic, Heather Mac of my youngness, and I fell in love all over again.

Join me when I celebrate tomorrow night at The Baxter!

I’m gonna be a Crack!

By megan

On March 23, 2011

In Cape Town, me on stage, theatre stuff

I am so looking forward to this Friday. It’s my birthday, and I am performing with an all girl improv team from TheatreSports at the monthly Cracks Only show at The Baxter! I think that it’s a great way to celebrate my femaleness and agedness. It also counts as work, which I love doing on any celebration day.

Cracks Only is wickedly funny Marianne Thamm, delicious, quirky comedienne Anne Hirsch (one of our TS team too), clever, physical character comedy actor Shimmy Isaacs and brilliant actor Anthea Thompson (who is in Broken Glass at The Fugard at the moment so won’t be being a crack on Friday). Cracks Only normally have guests at their monthly performances and this Friday we are them! Tandi Buchan, Candice D’Arcy, Yve Pelser and I will be jumping into some testosterone free improv as the final act of the evening. Anything could happen.

I can’t wait! Tickets cost R100 and can be booked through Computicket. The show starts at 2130. I’d love to see you there.

TheatreSports FUNdraiser for Natalie

By megan

On February 25, 2011

In Cape Town, deeply personal, me on stage, theatre stuff

Firstly, a bit of housekeeping. Within hours of Simon laying down the challenge, his R50 000 ceiling was capped! How awesome is that? We still need to raise much, much more though. So, is there anyone out there with a similar deal for the next R50 000? I am beyond proud of meganshead readers who have been human angels.

Then, the rest of this post is my press release. Please come. Please spread the word. We have exactly a week to sell 638 seats.

Natalieâ€™s Circle of Love TheatreSports FUNdraiser

Where: The Baxter Theatre Concert Hall

When: Fri 4 March @20h00

How much: R100 a ticket

TheatreSports, Cape Townâ€™s longest running and most favourite live theatre show, has been delighting audiences with their special brand of creative, interactive hilariousness since 1993.

If there is one thing that this team of improvisers know, itâ€™s that laughter is the best medicine. Thatâ€™s why, when we, the members of TheatreSports Cape Town heard about 10 year old Natalie Cohenâ€™s rare cancer Chordoma, and the huge and expensive treatment she was going to need overseas, we decided to put on a FUNdraiser.

So, on Friday the 4 March, at 20h00, at The Baxter Theatre Concert Hall you can come and laugh and play with us for an hour and ten minutes. Itâ€™s going to be improvisation like youâ€™ve never seen it before! Teams of players will compete against each other by playing improvised games based on suggestions from the audience, and scored by judges in the audience. Itâ€™s crazy, unpredictable and completely hilarious.

Natalie and her whole family will be there. Itâ€™s their last night before Natalie and her mom Shirley and dad Jonny fly off to Regensberg in Germany for huge surgery.

While so many generous people have pledged and donated money towards this unbelievably expensive undertaking to get Natalie treatment, there were many who felt unsure about what they could do, or intimidated by how small and insignificant their offering would be. This is a chance for all of you to contribute! R100 buys you a ticket. The Concert Hall has 638 seats! Our goal is to sell out the show. The show is suitable for everybody and is especially loved by young people of all ages. Buy a ticket. Bring your family and friends. Buy a ticket for someone else! Share in the laughter and become part of Natalieâ€™s Circle of Love.

Info about TheatreSports www.theatresports.co.za

Info about Natalieâ€™s Circle of Love and the human angels who are helping Â www.nataliescircleoflove.org

Natalieâ€™s story and some of the amazing people who have helped on my blog meganshead.co.za

To reserve tickets please email or call me on 0834403961

Memory of How It Feels

By megan

On February 20, 2011

In Cape Town, show reviews

I took my friend V with me to last evening’s opening of Neo Muyanga’s Memory of How It Feels at The Baxter because she loves music a lot. This live performance is directed by Ina Wichterich, withÂ Apollo Ntshoko, Chuma Sopotela, Andile Vellem,Â and musicansÂ Galina Juritz, Thandi Ntuli, Candice Martin, Benjamin Jephta,Â Anna Telford, Natalie Mason, Nicola du Toit. Obviously Neo wrote the script, composed the music and was there with the musicians, playing, singing and conducting.

My writing about this piece is definitely going to be all over the place and will probably make little complete sense. This is probably because it’s exactly how I received the piece. There were things I absolutely loved, and thought I ‘got’, things I loved without having a clue, things I ‘got’ which I found a bit boring, things that I totally didn’t understand and didn’t enjoy.

The piece is sort of in three stories, but it’s hard to tell how they are that. They have weird, non-verbal, dance-move links. I love the language of the stories, and the words. They are strange and the language is manipulated in a totally different, clever and sexy way. It is delicious and surprising. The three performers are quite fantastic. Apollo does most of the speaking, and it’s a tough job with the kind of words he is given to use. He is successful for the most part. And he is an amazing performer. Chuma is so wonderful to watch. She manages to be totally invested in what she does, and it feels so right, and natural, and real. And she has the most beautiful back. Andile is gorgeous too. He is deaf, and his sign language gives the whole thing a different dimension.

It was a treat to have the musicians live, on stage and to watch and listen to how they linked up with the action to become part of a whole. And I enjoyed the music itself, which was original and exciting. And the dancing/moving was beautiful too, if not quite repetitive. You see, I don’t actually get a lot of the dancing/moving stuff, especially if it has a lot of unexplained emotion with it.

And that is the thing, I think. A lot of unexplained emotional stuff. When that happens we, the audience, watch and enjoy but don’t feel. We are watching others feel. And I wanted to feel, but didn’t.

I think Ina, as director, did a wonderful job with the areas that she is an expert in; all the physical, dance, movement stuff was fantastic. The phrasing of the magic words though, needed better sculpting.

Memory of How It Feels is an interesting, sometimes magical, very strange performance. It is not for theatre sissies though. You need to have confident theatre opinion to get your head around it. It might make non theatre people scared.

My friend V didn’t say much, but on the way home she said the experience was a bit like watching cricket when you don’t know how the game works, and you don’t really understand the why of it.

The funny thing is, I’m still thinking about it. And remembering how it feels.

Voice Class

By megan

On January 25, 2011

In Cape Town, inspiration, theatre stuff

I have just come back from The Baxter completely excited and invigorated. I went to my first voice class for professional actors more or less since I left drama school 27 years ago! The amazing thing is that it was with my drama school voice teacher, the amazing Liz Mills. What a privilege; spending the hour working with Liz in a gentle, thorough and expert way, getting in touch with my performing voice. I am beyond excited to get back to this kind of work, and am so looking forward to the next session next week. In the meantime I will be thinking about how Liz gently jogged my memory and led me to my shoulder blades (dripping like oil is a phrase I remember from the deep past) and my pelvic floor, and even my tummy which has tripled in size since the last time it was in a class like that.

I cannot imagine how there isn’t a waiting list with the names of every actor in Cape Town fighting to be there. But we know Cape Town; a bit slow on the uptake. Here are the details. Every Tuesday from 1pm to 2pm at The Baxter. Liz will be working in month blocks, and that’s how you pay. Ridiculously cheap for master classes. Message me if you want to contact her.

I am off to breathe. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The Fugard Theatre fall

By megan

On December 13, 2010

In Cape Town, complaints dept, me on stage, theatre stuff

Brent Meersman writes an interesting expose on the Fugard Theatre. It offers a good explanation of what happened. I’d just like to add my two cents worth about what I think the problem is. How do we get black and coloured audiences to theatre? There was absolutely nothing at The Fugard or with Mark Dornford-May’s Isango Portabelo company that offered anything to a black or coloured audience. Mark Dornford-May’s complaint about white South Africans not attending his black work is hilarious; they were his only audience, regardless how small. How, when and with what means were black audiences supposed to access this kind of theatre; expensive, far and with totally inaccessible content? Puhleez. It is hard enough getting anyone in Cape Town to the theatre, but to have a ‘we will make it larney, shmooze British celebs at the expense of local support, and then still expect the usual white suspects to fill the seats’ attitude is beyond just a little arrogant and ironic.

I go back to my favourite bug bear. Create a theatre audience, who have a hungry desire for live performance and then create the spaces to house them. Not the other way around. Know your audience. Look at Joe Barber. They made an audience. And now they come; to The Baxter, or anywhere they perform. This is a coloured audience who totally support theatre that they feel has been made for them. What a great lesson to learn.

Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Tag: The Baxter (Page 3 of 4)

Heather Mac magic

I’m gonna be a Crack!

TheatreSports FUNdraiser for Natalie

Memory of How It Feels

Voice Class

The Fugard Theatre fall

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