What I'm up to! 6 Degrees!

You may have noticed that I have not been posting as much as I have in the past. I wanted to let you know my reasons for this and let you know when I should be back to normal!! Fret not though, I still plan to post at least 3 times a week.

Well, the reason is that I am currently acting as Assistant Director for a production of Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare, which is being put on by the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group.

I have not been involved in any sort of dramatics since I was about 13, so it is a little nerve-racking, even if I am behind the scenes. Auditions were held before Christmas and we had an amazing turnout and could have cast a number of the parts a few times over. Myself and the Director (RH) have been meeting over the festive period to try and sort scheduling and costuming etc... which has taken a massive amount of time.

We had our first rehearsal earlier this week and the read through was better than I expected, which has renewed my excitement in the whole process. The play is due to run in April and up to that point I will be manic trying to get everything done. I will certainly keep you posted.

Now for those of you who don't know, or are unfamiliar with Six Degrees of Separation (the concept) then where have you been? Wikipedia classes it as:

"Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer. It was originally set out by Frigyes Karinthy and popularised by a play written by John Guare."

The play is a bit of a dramatic comedy (with some fantastic moments) which was made into a film with Stockard Channing, Will Smith and Donald Sutherland. The outline of the play, again as classed by Wikipedia, is:

"Fifth Avenue socialite Ouisa Kittredge and her purveyor of high-art husband Flan, are pedigree parents of "two at Harvard and one at Groton." But the privileged insular world inhabited by the Kittredge family, as well as their public status as distinguished arbiters of culture, makes them easy prey for Paul, a consummate con-artist. One night, Paul mysteriously shows up at their front door—injured and bleeding—claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son and a close college friend of the Kittredges' Ivy League progeny. Impressing Ouisa and Flan with his articulate literary expositions, Paul proves to be a sharp-witted, learned young man with epicurean taste and surprising culinary skill. His highbrow façade is so charmingly persuasive, Paul soon has the Kittredges lending him money, putting him up for the night and taking satisfaction in his appraisal of their posh lifestyle. Much to the Kittredge's shock, Paul is revealed to be a highly persuasive con-man, who has charmed his way into many upper-crust homes along the Upper East Side with his wit and insider knowledge. As Paul's plot unravels he becomes an urban legend of the upper crust, a witty anecdote to banter about at cocktail parties. However, he has a profound effect on the many individuals who encounter him, linking them in their shared experience."

I have always enjoyed reading plays, and would recommend this to anyone as a great read. I will keep you posted with updates and as I say above, I will still be here, reading and passing on my thoughts to anyone who will listen.