Joy of Spring

Spring this year has been an almost uninterrupted rain fall. But yesterday the sun came out and Parukarska park, my local, was suddenly filled with bare bodies. In the evening as I walked the dog, I could hear the sound of live music. When I reached the little room at the top of the hill that calls itself a pub, I found what turned out to be a French band performing on the edge of the hill. The Communist era communications tower is part of the backdrop.
I think the name was Psycho Gros, but they were full of energy and obviously enjoying themselves. The sound was fantastic and the instruments so perfectly suited to the open air. Not a sniff of electricity involved either. Always something interesting happening when the sun comes out. The beer flows like water (cheaper too) and no one gets violent or ugly. Although when an unguided ball, thrown for a dog, knocked a beer out of a woman's hand over 50 yards away the other day there were a few harsh words.
Other things to look at in the park usually include people practicing tight rope walking on a rope strung between two trees a couple of feet off the ground, broad sword practice with beefy blokes wearing shorts and chain mail gloves, and the usual frisbee and badminton. There's also a guy who likes to sit with a home made cover over his laptop so he can see the screen in the sun as he makes use of the free wifi on the hill.

Born to Blog - not!!

I guess blogging is a calling. And I don't seem to have been called. Three months between blogs and there's been a lot to talk about. Thursday was the opening of my first show in a legitimate Czech theatre. And not just any theatre. Divadlo Na Zabradli (Theatre on the Balistrade) is highly respected in the Czech theatre scene due to a history of innovative and ground breaking productions. This production is ground breaking in that it's their first English language production with Czech surtitles
Working in a true state funded Czech theatre was a very different experience to being involved in self funded expat productions. Or even funded productions in Australia. With it's own costume department making and altering costumes, a makeup and wig department where for the first time in my life I had a wig fitting, a printing section that does all its own publicity printing, a cafe and even rooms at the top of the building where visiting actors can stay, it's a sweet little company. With about 150 seats. I find it amazing that in Melbourne with its population of around 4 mill, there would be a couple of theatre companies that would come close to having these facilities, whereas in Prague, with its population of around 1.5 mill, there are approximately 20!!
The whole place is very homely in the Czech style. Dogs running around the office and into the dressing room area, an occasional crew member having the first beer at 9.30am in the kavarna, and a fire bucket just outside the stage area for people to put their cigarette butts into. Rehearsal is from 10 to 2, allowing actors time to work in tv and film outside those hours, and there is a lunch break in there too.

Opening night customs were a little different to what I was used to. With the same reluctance to say 'good luck' the ritual here is to turn you around and give you a soft knee to the bum and say 'toy toy', which is a stylised way of spitting on you. Good thing it's stylised because I would have been drenched in spit otherwise as everyone from the office, all the cast, and a few crew came by with well wishes and little gifts.
We played to a packed house, despite fears that not enough work had gone into telling the expat community about the show. We needn't have worried, the Czechs were obviously well informed and were keen to see how this new concept worked. Also to see how Jiri Madl performed in his first stage performance. Jiri is 24, and with about 10 movies under his belt in the last 3 or 4 years, is the kind of celebrity that turns heads wherever he goes. And a great guy. Not a hint of self importance about him.

At the end of the show there was the customary Czech round of endless curtain calls (surely a good sign) and then we were all (men included) presented with flowers onstage.

Now to wait for the reviews.

Dogs in the cinema

Back in Prague now and one of the first things I've done was to take the dog to the movies. Such a uniquely (to my experience) Czech thing. Dogs get a far better go here than in Australia.

We went to Bio Oko, a cinema in Letna to see The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, the film that Heath Ledger was making when he died. Interesting to see how the producers got over that problem. The dog sat happily through the movie, probably because he had his cushion to sit on. This was a lesson I learned the hard way when I took him to see David Bowie's 'Spiders from Mars' concert video at Kino Aero, another dog friendly cinema in Zizkov where there are cup holders on the backs of the seats to hold your beer.

That was my first outing to the movies with the dog and he wasn't happy with the cold hard floor. Even barked at someone at a quiet moment between films. Fortunately this just raised a laugh from some of the audience. But he wouldn't sit still, and when the movie broke down an hour into the show, it was a relief to get him out.

Dogs are free to use the trams and trains, but for some reason, not the buses. Don't know the reason for that. (Later note - since writing that, I have realised that dogs are allowed on buses, but only from the rear door) They are also tolerated in most pubs and shops but are not admitted to most of the newer venues. Sad to see them being gradually squeezed out by the invasion of Western capitalism and its restrictions.

Heading Back to Prague

I'm currently in Melbourne and just finished narrating 8 Arthur Upfield books for Bolinda Audio.

Upfield was born in the UK but spent most of his life in the outback of Australia and wrote a series of detective stories in the years from the 1930s to the 1960s. The central character was a half caste Aboriginal named Napolean Bonaparte (Boney to his friends). Although the books are extremely dated in their attitudes to the Aboriginal, they are some of Bolinda's best sellers both locally and internationally. Very good sellers among the truck stops of outback Australia. Apparently I'm very big with the truck drivers.

After 5 weeks in Melbourne narrating these books (making more than 50 titles I have narrated for this company), I return to Prague tomorrow. The work situation there is not good for English speaking actors, and in fact is not all that rosy for Czech speaking actors. Plenty of work for them, but not much money. The pay rates are nowhere near the rates we enjoy in Australia, and the cost of living is getting to be pretty similar.

English speaking actors in Prague don't have the luxury of relying on the state to get them through periods of unemployment, so almost all have day jobs. Which means rehearsals mostly have to be in the evening after everyone has put in a day of teaching or whatever. Not an ideal scenario for spontaneity and creativeness. Nevertheless, there is a thriving English language theatre scene which is growing healthier as we move into the new decade.

Beginning

Having been pressured by my son to 'pump up my own tyres', I have decided to succumb to the experience of blogging. This may or may not be a good thing, time will tell. As an Australian actor living at present in Prague, my experiences may be of some use to anyone who is treading a similar path.