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Dr Tom Payne's Blog – May 2010 Archive (29)

Day 77 - Aberystwyth 10 Years on - Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Just got back from a 10 year reunion. 10 years since my year graduated from university. Well actually 10 years since my first uni year graduated. I had an an extra special year which means that I will get to go to another reunion next year as well. I am now in my 9th year of university study. Nine years of university.... hmmmm.... how did that happen? I will have spent 11 years at uni by the time this thing is over.

Its funny how the faces of your friends change so much and…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 15, 2010 at 16:30 — No Comments

Day 70 - Sleeping most of the Day... I wish!! - My Room, Aberystwyth

We didn't get back from Cardiff until 4am and I had to get up and move the car at 10am so didn't get quite as much of a lie in as I might have liked.

I took Poppy to a clay modelling class at the arts centre and then sat in a corner and read Hegel. We then made flapjacks with banana in them.…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 8, 2010 at 12:00 — No Comments

Day 69 - "What!?!?!" - The New Theatre, Cardiff

I had missed all of Carl's emails. So by the time I spoke to him he was a a little frustrated. He had been trying to negotiate our travel plan to the next show in Cardiff, The Devil Inside Him. When I finally spoke to him on the phone at about 2pm my right eye… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 7, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

Day 68 - Election Night - Standing Still on the Edge of a Cliff, Aberystwyth

Sam and I took up residence on the side of the cliff for 30 minutes. A video camera caught our inactivity as the time lapse recording documented a minutes silence, a brief period of inactivity to contemplate the closing of the ballot.

A bat circled overhead and the cliff dropped away behind us revealing the town of Aberystwyth at night. A few feet away to our right, the rocks fell sharply towards the sea a hundred feet below.…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 6, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

Day 67 - The White Model Meeting - Mike Pearson's Office, Aberystwyth

I sat in the far corner of Mike's office observing for the best part of 4 hours as the two Mikes, Simon and Giles, navigated their way through the production details of the Persians. I say far corner... none of the corners are actually very far from each other, so I did my best to sit as out of the way as possible. A set model sat on the far side of the room and miniature pieces of furniture moved their way around as materials and budgets were discussed.

This is…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 5, 2010 at 10:30 — No Comments

Day 66 - Roger Owen - Brecon and Back Again

Tomorrow I will be attending a production meeting for The Persians. Today I spoke to Roger Owen. Roger accompanied Mike on one of the early visits to the military training base in South Wales. He talked of a living hell and his expectation that somehow there would be something profound to be seen there, in this piece of land misappropriated by the military some 70 years ago. Despite his many attempts to find the profound in the remains of farmhouses, he couldn't. He described being… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 4, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Day 65 - Mike Pearson Interview - His Office, Aberystwyth

We spoke for an hour this morning. Cycling around the areas I picked out yesterday. I am looking for a way into this first case study. Does the way forward lie in exploring the relationship between the Persians and Mike's previous work with Brith Gof? Is it about the English language and it's relationship to the the Welsh tongue? I think back to my interview with Eddie Ladd, there is something at play here. Is there an angle exploring the relationship between NTW and the artists… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 2, 2010 at 23:53 — No Comments

Day 64 - Sunday Lunch - Llanbadarn

Fantastic sunday lunch, all the more entertaining as a result of Poppy's insistence on punctuating the meal with musical silence. Like musical statues but with food. I came a close second to last... it seems the unspoken goal was to be the first to finish.

Tomorrow I am meeting with Mike Pearson at 9am. In his office.

I have four areas of interest that I would like him to talk about.

1) National…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 2, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Day 63 - Pool Party - Plas Crug Leisure Centre, Aberystwyth

One of Poppy's school friends had a party at the leisure centre. I chose not to go into the pool for the first part and instead chose to sit upstairs and listen to an audio book on my ipod. I probably should have gone swimming, it has now been over a week since I got any decent exercise. She gave her friend an inflatable Barbie rubber ring and a pair of party shoes. The kind that I won't allow her to wear herself.

I was listening to a book about being organised. I…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 1, 2010 at 7:00 — No Comments