Yes, a four star review from Three Weeks. Bloody hell. It reads:

“How can you be a double act if you’re only one man? Simple. Create a partner by pre-recording your own voice and perform sketches opposite yourself. That’s what Moz does in this highly original show. Unfortunately things go awry when Shmozle, his eponymous comedic partner, suffers an existential crisis upon realising he is in fact just a voiceover with his every word predetermined by a script. At this point he rebels, forcing Moz into a metaphysical conflict with his own words. The exceptionally clever writing is counter-balanced by enjoyable puerile humour, which consistently amuses without quite hitting the heights of hilarity. Very enjoyable, you have to admire the amount of work which has clearly gone into it”.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Someone “got” it. Someone “understood” it. That’s a brilliant review which I’m incredibly proud of, but leaves me with a massive dilemma; re-write the show for the masses, or continue to appeal to my very niche audience? 

Sod it! This has given me the courage to carry on, to continue, I like shMOZle as a show. Yes I still believe that I’ve made big mistakes with it, and that my slot is wrong and I’ve over-used the voice-over. Basically everything my audience fed back to me, and everything I feel about the show’s faults still stands, but I wanted to be original and different and give the audience something unexpected and that’s what I’ve done. Some love it. Some hate it. In Brighton they loved it, in Edinburgh they hate it, except a handful… who probably come from Brighton. :-)

What an emotional roller-coaster I’m on. I have no idea what to feel or think. I’m massively confused, but also on massive high. I’m meant to be sleeping but can’t. And I realise this is just one person’s opinion, and opinions are like assholes, but like I said before about us writers/performers “we just want to feel loved and appreciated”, and this has made me feel loved and appreciated again. The writer in me is smiling.

I’m just gearing up for a one-star or no-star review tomorrow. Maybe people will throw things at me? It’s all peaks and troughs innit?

More tomorrow.

Mxxx

First, a successful shMOZle which left me very energised, then I did a spot as the Modern Man at supremo promoter Mr Sean Brightman’s fabulous We Love Comedy with the comedic talents of Lenny Peters, Liam C McKay, Hannah Deasy and “dangerous” Chris Dangerfield and expertly MC’d by Jools Constant. Then had a truly amazing night producing Snippets, MC’d by the brilliant Stephen Bailey, with top flight acts such as Catherine Semark, John Rushton, Lawrence Bassett, the amazing Daniel Simonsen and the pure insanity of Doctor Brown. What an amazing night. Standing room only, wall-to-wall laughter and all this on Black Tuesday as we call it. Wow! Phew!

And from almost eighty people I made… about £4. Tight bastards. That was a truly excellent comedy night, and the audience shafted me. Bastards.

Off to sleep now to dream of more days like that. Only with more money.

Slaters.
Mxxx

…two full hour long dress rehearsals done already today; the costume changes are slick, timings are on the ball, all I gotta go is really relax into it. The better I know every line and timing, the more I can mess around with it, add more in, improvise… and the more natural it will look and feel.

But I have a small worry, not about the show, no that’s sorted, it’s the fact I’m not only doing shows at 14:15 every day, but also performing skits at 17:30, 22:00 and 23:45 every day but also full-length performances of shMOZle at 23:45 at weekends. Will my energy hold out? That’s the test for next year. I’ve so many plans forming for next years show; shMOZle 2, a kid’s show, a stage adaptation, my own play (probably just write/direct that) and another showcase amongst others, but if I can’t muster the energy for two performances a day, I might as well quit now.

It’s not the performing which is the hard bit, it’s the chunk in between; the selling of yourself and the show. God it’s a killer. It’s like trying to sell dog-shit to a dog; the dog knows it likes dog-shit, hell if it wanted to it could easily produce its own, but when faced with a field of assholes, which do you poke your nose in?

Hmm, okay, bad analogy.

Come to see shMOZle if you like dog-shit and sticking you nose in arseholes.

More rehearsals tomorrow. Mxxx

…diddly-dee-dee diddle-di-di-dee, diddly-dee, diddle-di-di-dee… etc etc blah blah… we’re heading to Edders (echo Edders), where all is battered, with no hint of salad (echo salad), or fish or a prawn…” and other offensive lyrics.

Yes, the Festival of Festivals is almost amongst us; comedians and performers from across the land are sharpening their gags and are ready to commence battle, not just with their wits, but also with their livers and overall endurance.

The first Edinburgh outing for shMOZle is in just twenty days. Eek! Am I ready? Hmm. I think so. Which is not to say I couldn’t roll out a performance right now. I mean I rehearse three-to-four hours a day, every day, and double that at weekends to get the timing spot on, but then again every day I find something new and exciting in the show, even just a simple shift in phrasing, a different facial expression or even a shrug in place of a nod, nudges the character in a different way.

Even today, I decided to (not rewrite my final scene but) perform it with a smile and a wink instead of a grimace and a grumble, and God was it better, much better. It gave it the sinister edge I was looking for. I guess that’s what happens when you are your own director; every day is a journey of self-discovery and re-invention, you have to keep your eyes and ears open always because no-one is going to do it for you.

One big fat weekend of rehearsals (and coffee) ahead of me.

More later my lovelies.

Mxxx