Drags Aloud give Melbourne the best laugh she has had in years!

On Friday night Drags Aloud performed the last of their final two Melbourne shows. It was a stressful and difficult night for the performers with technical problems that really disrupted the flow but at the same time caused such riotous laughter in the audience that it was all worth it in the end. Having seen Drags Aloud perform many times it is the only time I have seen technical hiccups on such a scale. But when you have such experienced and confident comic performers anything can happen and it did. Drags Aloud proved that whatever happens they can make the crowd laugh, cringe and love them all at the same time. Fantastic work Drags Aloud. Once again it is a privilege to be making this film with you and about you. Talking about the film it is moving forward and is in the post production phase. Little steps!!

I'm back on Air!!

I can't believe they thought I was a spam blog!! That's Robots for you!!

Now that I am back on air let me tell you what's happening. Tonight anyone who is anyone in Melbourne are going to see Drags Aloud at the Movies at Shell Theatrette 1 Spring Street. It is the 1st of 2 shows to end the Melbourne season before they head off for the UK in early May. I am so looking forward to it as half my friends and family are coming. Will be lots of fun and looking forward to having a drink after. It's been a hard week.
 Late last week met a lovely young assistant editor who is working with me now on getting this documentary into final edit. And finally tonight after much discussion I have the wonderful Sonya talking pictures for the marketing promotional aspect of the film.

ALL GOOD!!

Small minded people are the pond scum of communities

Need to just get down to making this film. It is such a long and arduous process that at times I just want to hide under the doona and not get up. That will never happen as my kids always wake me and then I get out into life and something wakes me up. Like today when I went to school and was told that all of the 100 year old ghost gums are to be cut down to make way for "services" and for "safety" reasons. I haven't been that outraged in a long time. Where I am going with this is that discrimination and small mindedness is so prevalent in our community that people accept that as being ok. Well for me it is not ok to be small minded, passive and colonial in a way that wipes out all that gets in the way of progress. For these underlying reasons I have been committed to the project I am working on with Drags Aloud. They are discriminated against in that "Drag is the pond scum of theater" (quote Amanda) at least in Australia and the performers of Drags Aloud are called the Drag Queens here and the Performers in UK. I want to do my part in confronting the small-mindedness of people and humanize a much maligned sub culture.  Also I want to celebrate and honour some of the funniest and loyal people I have met in years. If you have been reading this blog for a while you may be able to detect that I am still fired up and fighting.

Persistence is 80% of everything - I think!

Fun and games in Melbourne in April. Drags Aloud are here in Melbourne for the last of their Australian shows before they head off to the UK. Check out www.dragsaloud.com for more details. Here in the hub of the film maker news was good yesterday. The planets are aligning and some people of note are now taking an interest in this story. After two years of work and thinking I have put it out there. Yesterday I had a really positive conversation with Steve Warne from Film Vic which encouraged me to keep at it. He was most interested and encouraging. Writing here is a three steps forward two steps backwards process but I know it is heading in the right direction. When I decided I was going to make documentary films some five years ago I didn't realize how much I would have to learn. I now understand more fully the complexity of this art form and feel my intellect and emotions constantly pushed to new places. This in the end is a good thing but while in the midst of it it feels really uncomfortable. Just as well I am a stubborn and persistent Taurus!!

Life is full of new beginnings

www.dragsaloud.com

Happy belated Easter to those celebrating the christian holiday in this part of the world. Thanks to the lovely Kris Del Vase for the Easter wishes. In my world Easter means too many chocolate eggs and the over activity that goes with chocolate consumption. I have taken my over indulged children and let them run wild for a week on the banks of the Edwards river in NSW. There is nothing like a little camping life to bring them back down to earth. Me I have been off line for a week and having some well earned thinking time. Life is so full of doing that for me thinking has become a luxury only indulged in rarely. The thinking time of this past week has enabled me to come home and make further finite changes to my synopsis document. I am working madly away at this pitch document as I will soon be pitching this to ABC and or SBS. This is my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and I am confident in the strength of this wonderful story and stubborn enough to keep working away at it until I have some success. Easter also reminds me that life is full of new beginnings. That is always good to remember.