So, if you do it or plan to do it, Eyebrow Writetime is on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/EyebrowWriters

Say hello! Or should that be ‘tweet’? It’s all a bit new to us…

Eyebrow sent out a press release asking for submissions for its newly launched evening of five-minute plays (WriteBites) and little we did know that we had fans all over America! We’ve received scripts by the bag full, from New York, Hawaii, California, Washington, New Jersey…  The US of A loves us!

 There’s 10 days to go before the deadline for submissions for our launch event and let’s hope more little gems of new writing will be winging their way to us by airmail.

 But listen up, you Brits! WriteBites is for you, primarily to showcase British talent and we know there’s bundles of it out there. Don’t let the States take over – SEND US THOSE SCRIPTS!

The Year of Doing

‘This is the Year of Doing!’ the folk of Eyebrow chanted. ‘This is the year to make our mark and take the theatrical world by storm. And boy, do we mean business!’

2009 started with a bang, as we moved into our new, trendy HQ near the Barbican. A beautiful, light and bright space, complete with ducks on the wall, bears in the reception area and jauntily placed mirrors – a rehearsal/ casting/ office space of which to be proud. Check out the link to the Space to see what’s it all about and you too could be using it some time very soon…

And then, as if the rush and panic and elation and sense of achievement from Me and My Girl were not enough, we have decided to do it all over again! Another 48 hours of madness - Crazy for You at the London Palladium on Sunday 18 October 2009 to support Cecily’s Fund, to help educate Zambian children orphaned by AIDS.  Interviews for the creative team are currently taking place and auditions will be taking place in July. The buzz has begun and Showtime Challenge 4 will surely be an even more incredible spectacle than the last.

And let’s not forget Writetime! We are calling forth all you budding writers out there to submit scripts for our newest project, kicking off with WriteBites, an evening of 5-minute plays in May. If you really think about it, it’s actually quite amazing what can happen in such a short space of time and it’s up to you to tell us! The deadline for scripts is the end of April, so put your thinking caps on and get writing. More on this to come very shortly… Watch this space for further information.

‘Yes,’ said Eyebrow. ‘The Year of Doing indeed…  and it’s very, very exciting!’

Eyebrow decided that it would be a good idea to spread a bit of festive cheer to the streets of London with a good old session of classic carol singing – four part harmonies, descants and all. Two years ago, we dragged the entire cast of Sweet Charity up and down Oxford Street to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, whilst belting out the likes of “Hark the Herald Angel” and “Ding Dong Merrily On High”, and it was a huge success. Why not try and recreate that magical experience once again?

This year, our carol-singing bonanza was completely and utterly fabulous for all the wrong reasons!!! Not quite the hoards we remembered from last time, but a solid group of dedicated Eyebrow fans not afraid to attack those high notes and give the grannies and the kiddies in prams something to smile about. Loved the Japanese tourist who almost took a photo of us but then thought better of it! We truly were a spectacle – a sort of peculiar God squad preaching the word of Eyebrow…

Then we camped out in an old man’s pub for the rest of the evening and all was then right again in the world! We analysed X Factor (Hallelujah - How could they!), talked about drunken Christmas party antics and Pap Jonny went photo crazy as per normal. We really did have ourselves a very merry little Christmas indeed.

2009 is set to be a jam-packed year for Eyebrow so watch this space! And a huge thank you to everyone who had been involved in our projects this year – couldn’t do it without you!

Note from Jonny: As promised, here are some photos. Many will be pleased to know that I have shown much restraint with these. Please remember, more power to the paps. A very happy holiday season to you all.

Another note from Jonny: some of these are also from Sheara so send letters of complaint to her. Be glad she gave you all photos for Christmas - all I got was work.

We spent a Weekend at Hareford. We did the Lambeth Walk. And we wowed a packed Palladium. The Evening Standard said: Such was the urgency, enthusiasm and talent that this production managed to inject new life into Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent’s 1984 revision of a 71-year-old warhorse.

Me and My Girl went down a storm and so it only seemed fair that after a jam-packed, crazy 48 hours of structured mayhem, we all trundled down Oxford Street to have a bally old knees-up and several glasses of wine to celebrate. New friends danced the night away and the energy was electric. And here is the evidence:

Showtime’s nearly here… Well, in just under seven hours…

It’s 1am now on the morning of Sunday 26 October. Saturday’s rehearsals started at 8am yesterday. Eyebrow team met at 7am. Rehearsals finished at 11pm.

Showtime supporter Dame Judi Dench says of the process: ‘There’s no time for fright, there’s no time for nerves.’

I’ll add in that there’s no time to write, and no time to sleep. Sorry for not adding more of an update, but it’s insane!

This evening we had the dress rehearsal. Yes, the dress after only 24 hours of rehearsing. All I can say is, if that much can be accomplished in just one day, not only must we have the most talented, most wonderful, most enthusiastic cast in the world, but that really, anything is possible when everyone is focused on working together for the bigger picture.

Of course, it needs tweaking, of course scenes will be worked on tomorrow, of course props will still need to be obtained, but honestly, and I’m not just saying this because I’m biased (far from it, I’m a severe critic), the dress rehearsal was an incredible promise of what is to come for the show.

The weekend has not been without it’s mishaps - we lost half an hour at the start when the building’s doors decided to automatically lock. Subsequently, the company management team went into overdrive as they tried to get doors open and find rehearsal space outside of rooms, not to mention keep a firm eye on where every member of the cast and team were - and we’re talking more than 150 people here in total.

A very generous sponsorship from Red Bull in the form of literally hundreds of can of beverages meant the cast were wide awake, thankfully, and raring to go when the rehearsals finally kicked off.

At any one point there would be three choreography sessions, several acting rooms, an orchestra rehearsal, singing groups, a singing surgery for those wishing to get some additional vocal support, a costume, hair and make-up room ready to deal with an influx of cast members, an Eyebrow room HQ where organisation, team meetings and producing were going on, lighting design plotting and set assembling, not to mention many, many, many more activities.

Tomorrow we move into the London Palladium for the first time. This means all props, costumes, set and instruments must be brought over from our rehearsal venue at King’s College, London on the Strand at 7am and while we’re doing that there, at the theatre, all dressing rooms will be allocated. The cast meet at 8am for notes of the dress rehearsal, and kick off rehearsals at 9am. A large amount of the cast will also travel to Covent Garden to perform in the Piazza around midday to do a special performance - meanwhile at the theatre the tech run will be on its way. There’s lots to do and we’re not yet there - but Showtime Challenge 3’s production of Me and My Girl looks set to be the most spectacular event yet.

I’d like to thank all those involved in the run-up to the show over the past 18 months, and to all those behind the scenes who have prepared so efficiently for such a challenge.

And on behalf of all of Eyebrow, I’d like to wish the cast the very best show possible, and thank them for the extraordinary amount of work they have put in. You have already made us proud, guys.

See you at the after-party! xxx

Oh. Boy.

So, who on earth thought this 48 hour rehearsal thing was a good idea?!

It’s been an insane week - well, insane month - no, wait, insane year - for most people involved in Me and My Girl. It’s a strange feeling when suddenly a year’s worth of work catches up with you and all points to just one night. The expectation, the excitement, the passion is immense. 

From a producing perspective, it’s a strange thing - all the planning, marketing, advertising, press, cast liaison etc doesn’t quite stop over the weekend, but to a degree you’re left to watch what goes on - surrender an element of control - and see theatre at its best, by watching director and actor turn songs and words on a page into something real. For a project like this, when the cast have never worked together on the show until now - for this jam-packed 48 hour rehearsal period - the energy will be electric. Excuse the lame pun, but there will be no time for leaning against the wall, huffing and puffing out of boredom, frustration or having a diva-ish moment - there just isn’t time. It is all hands of deck - from every single cast member knowing their lines and where they should be to every member of Eyebrow utilising every moment to help make things run smoothly. We have to help each other. If the director, John, wants a coffee pronto, I might just get it for him (as long as he’s nice…).

It’s going to be tough for John and his directing team, Kat, Kate, Jules, Alex and Mel, the musical director Leigh and AMD Joe, and choreographers Lou, Racky, Seb and George - they’ll barely have a free moment to sleep  over the weekend - I’ve seen the schedule, it’s a formidable piece of Excel artistry. Not to mention that Sheara has to costume every single actor, too, and consult on hair and make-up.

While most of the weekend has been planned for, there are always things that suddenly crop up. I don’t know what they’ll be - I hope it’s nothing bad, but I’ll keep you posted on the process.

One thing I’ve noticed, and I wonder if it’s a sign of these credit crunch times, is that it’s tough to sell out a venue like the awe-inspiring Palladium. If you’re reading this, but haven’t got your ticket, please, please do! There are some still left, and everything goes to the Anthony Nolan Trust. So go on, do something fun on Sunday night - see Me and My Girl.

Right, as there’ll be no sleep over the weekend I should probably get some now. But for some reason, (though I can probably think of a few), I can’t sleep and opted to write this over cleaning my kitchen floor (which I might still do). I’m listening to Elvis on the radio. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I’m enjoying it. I’ll get told this is a random way to end a blog entry, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Will write more tomorrow. x

It’s 3:10am. Amy, Joe and I are sat around the computer putting the final touches to the Me and My Girl programme before it has to go to print. We feel bizarrely awake even though we know that there is still quite a bit to do before we are allowed to head to our beds.

I think part of our enthusiasm is due to the fabulous time we all had over the weekend in Covent Garden with some 80 members of the Showtime cast and the fact that we keep bursting into songs from the repertoire and humming the same lines from Till We Reach That Day over and over again (The other part is down to our high levels of caffeine and the fact that we keep laughing at Amy’s burbling stomach. If you were here, you’d find it hilarious too. It’s the small things…)

The Press Weekend really was a huge success, helped immensely by the glorious Autumn sunshine. Starting the day at St Thomas’ Hospital singing to the children, the energy was electric and the cast sounded so beautiful that All My Trials actually brought tears to my eyes. Then in Covent Garden, crowds of people gathered round to listen and, as members of the production team handed out flyers and talked the Showtime talk, a real buzz was being created about Me and My Girl. The sound reverberating around the piazza was just incredible and only a taster of what we can expect in two weeks time – if that performance was anything to go by, the show itself is surely something not to be missed.

It was the perfect opportunity for cast and crew to bond before the craziness of the 48 hour challenge sets in and I am now even more raring to go and excited to see what this talented bunch of individuals will bring to the Palladium on Sunday 26th October.

A huge thank you to all who contributed to the weekend and voluntarily gave up yet more time for Eyebrow. What would we do without you? Showtime Challenge hopes to raise so much money for the Anthony Nolan Trust and we couldn’t do it without the input of all the cast and crew – it really is such a rewarding project to be a part of and also the opportunity to save lives and spread word of the good work that Anthony Nolan do.

And while we’re on the subject, another huge thank you to all those people at the Press Weekend who attended the Anthony Nolan clinic on the Saturday and signed up to their bone marrow register. I am really proud of you all - and it brings home all the more the reasons why we are doing this show.

Another Eyebrow social down.  And what a fabulous group of people we have involved in Me and My Girl. Every time I looked around the room, I saw a face that I wanted to talk to, but there were just too many people to get around to see and not enough time.

The general feeling is of excitement.  Even though there is just so much to do and not enough time to do it in, everyone seems raring to go and prepared to put 100% effort into it.  And why wouldn’t they?  It’s such a great challenge – Me and My Girl at the London Palladium in 48 hours to a sell-out audience – why wouldn’t you want to be a part of it?

Unlike Amy at the last social, I was not told stories of axe-wielding mad men in Wood Green.  But I was introduced to Carola’s dog (who is playing the Duchess.  Carola that is.  Not the dog…) who is possibly the cutest pup I have ever seen.  And while beer was downed and introductions were made, I talked tweed, twin sets, tennis and tailcoats till my wine glass was empty and the Northern line beckoned.

The long and short of it is that a once stressed and nervous Sheara who couldn’t sleep at night as a result of all the thoughts going round in her head is slowly starting to relax.  Not too much mind.  Still lots of people to liaise with, costumes to source, drawings to sketch, people to schmooze, meetings to attend.

But I can honestly say that I can’t wait to see everyone again – cast and crew alike.  Roll on the Palladium.  We’re ready for you!

Me and My Girl has just made the front page of The Stage website.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/21631/one-off-me-and-my-girl-fundraising-show-to-be