Author: Sam Freeman
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Three weeks later… Eggs, theatre and badminton.
I realised on my drive home today that it’s been a while since I wrote anything, or indeed saw people. For those wondering, I’ve started a new job in lovely North Wales at Theatr Clwyd. I think it’s important to say that as years ago I went off radar for a few weeks and a…
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A final(ish) gig report.
On Friday I did, what will be, my last gig for probably the next 6 – 8 months. I’m taking a break while I get sorted in a new job and have also been struggling with my confidence to apply for gigs so it felt like a break might be good to reinvigorate me too.…
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A new job and a new city
Tomorrow I start my new job in the Marketing department of Theatr Clwyd. It’s been 3 weeks of “changes” to say the least. I’m usually relatively risk and change averse so to find myself living in a new city, starting a new job, where I’ll be driving for an hour each day is pretty galling…
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Clubbing and other inherent evils.
Memories are strange things. They are neither truth nor fact and are all, invariably, tainted by what came before and after. In House of Card’s Frank Underwood’s memories must be very different to the reality (often mistakenly mixing necessity with cold blooded murder). Memories are also, it would seem, Facebook’s new favourite thing to plague…
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The art of the season brochure
Today I signed off Unity Theatre’s season brochure – the last of my six year tenancy as Marketing Manager (I’m going to Theatre Clwyd and am dead excited as you will undoubtedly discover over the next 6 months!) – and I felt a wave of emotions briefly as I said “yes, print it”. The first…
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Rain, driving and hills
Today was an odd day with a smattering of driving pain, driving in rain, new dawns and sunrises. It was my first post interview visit to my new employers in North Wales, a pre visit before I start properly in Wales. I was at Unity in the morning sorting some brochure odds and ends before…
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Review: Batman Vs Superman
***Contains spoilers*** Batman Vs Superman reminds me of going clubbing around 2004. I was living in York, a single man exploring the world within half an hours walking distance of my house and I was giddy with the excitement of life’s seemingly endless possibilities. Or at least I assume I was. I must have been…
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Arts Marketing: Six things I wish I’d known…
I have been given two pieces of rock solid theatrical advice in the past 15 years and both I’ve used when directing shows. The first was from a now-acclaimed performer and creative who said the key to any show was to “get in quick, say what you have to say concisely and get out quick”.…
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Change & Anxiety
I’ve always thought that change is quite a healthy thing when it’s done sensibly. To be constantly evaluating and examining how you can do things in new and better ways and to constantly adjust and improve. I saw a show by Daniel Kitson (who else) a few years ago which motivated change in me. It…
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10 things I unexpectedly like
Hello regular reader, this is Sam. Normally, as you know, I tend to write a lot of excessively ambitious, dream led pieces on either a) the state of theatre and how we make it better or b) the shit gig I’ve had. I appreciate that that they are very different, but they are both also…
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A 21st Century Theatre
There have been two questions that have been in the back of my mind for the last three months. The first, slightly randomly, is what will the new series of the X Files be like? I mean will they recapture the magic? In this digital age of intrustive observation is an FBI agent on the ground still…
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A set of pure, unadulterated terror
This week I had 2 gigs which for me is a lot. I don’t do as many as I used to, I get bored of my material incredibly quickly which is problematic as it’s incredibly unmotivating for doing gigs. A good example might be the storytelling set(s), I know that they work every time, but…
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Forks in the road
Preamble I’ve been thinking a lot recently about where I am in my life. It was all sparked by an invitation to the 10 year university reunion and as I looked at the names and faces on the list I started to ponder, what have I done with my life. Not that this is an…
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The right (& fight) to experiment in arts organisations
The last couple of weeks have been tough for me professionally at work. It’s the classic story, too much happening all at the same time, a feeling of helplessness, being overwhelmed and needing to find some order, some way of making sense of what appears unexplainable and undecipherable chaos. I think this is a pretty…
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Translating the brand (part one)
***These are just a few thoughts I’ve had, you may disagree with them but if you do then please share why at the bottom or tweet me*** I’ve recently started work on the early stages of a capital redevelopment and the re-branding opportunity that accompanies it for my theatre. We’ve a limited budget that needs to…
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Resolutions 2016
For those who know me reasonably well, you’ll know that every year I make a ridiculous list of 10 things I want to achieve in the next year and also mark how I did in the previous year. It’s a reflective process to make sure I do stuff and to motivate me throughout the year…
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A travellers guide to… Bruges
Welcome to Bruge. Or should we call it Brugge? Or perhaps Bruggge?* In this short guide I will give you, the eager reader, travel enthusiast and ornithologist the tools and skills necessary to traverse a short-trip to Belgium’s answer to Bradford, the Venice of the North. We’ll examine money saving tips, great taste experiences and,…
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An Open Letter to FIFA 16
Dear Fifa 16, This is really hard to write down, to put down in words, to articulate, but, I think I may have reached the end. We’ve reached a dark, dark place and, well, I’m not sure there’s any return. That’s not to say there haven’t been good times. I’ve had a long relationship with…