Denise's Drama Blog

EI and Rainbows

denisebertrand — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:31:19 +0000

Drama I create it around me – not just through performances but of course in my day to day life. We all do. A life without some kind of dramatic moment maybe some would think is a dull life. Funny when the kids come bursting into the classroom and say “I love Drama!”. Here in I see it as just a pure statement of joy, based on how much fun and creativity they have when in a drama class or rehearsal.

I find email communications can cause such drama between adults. Not sure how many times you reread what you have written before hitting the send button. I think a lot of people don’t. They send their not so well thought out words to someone or a group of people and bingo…guess what, drama is created. I once read somewhere that if you do find fault in another and you are addressing that fault, try to, before closure tell them something that is also really cool about them. I mean everyone has something good brewing inside. Why not toast to the good parts in each other too. To me this would be intelligent or shall I say Emotionally Intelligent (EI). I love these two words together. They just make so much sense to me.

So how can we find time to become more Emotionally Intelligent (EI)?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia here is a brief explanation of EI.

Emotional intelligence (EI) describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups. Different models have been proposed for the definition of EI and disagreement exists as to how the term should be used.[1] Despite these disagreements, which are often highly technical, the ability EI and trait EI models (but not the mixed models) enjoy support in the literature and have successful applications in different domains.

The above partial explanation sounds pretty complicated doesn’t it? Well emotions are. Yet again with children they just feel them and express them so easily . In a drama class or rehearsal, they love ‘pretending’ they are naughty, or are funny , or are sad etc. I have one 12 year old in one of my current classes, who anytime she ‘acts’ that she is sad, she easily cries. ‘I just think of my dog who died not to long ago, she tells her other classmates when they ask her, ‘ how can you cry on the spot?’ A lot of ‘drama kids’ think that crying on the spot is ‘reallyyyyyyyyyyy’ acting and it is way cool. Funny.

You know what I do daily now? I check into my emotional world and I give it a cleaning. What I mean by this is that I meditate and imagine the 7 beautiful colors of the rainbow filling me with brilliant light – light so strong that it pushes out emotions that do not ‘serve’ me…you know …fear, anger, grief …revenge! I color my inner world with tasteful hues and I chose to inhale joy, calmness, gentleness and harmony. Hey I am not a master at what I say I do, but I am trying to paint my rainbow. Next time you are feeling a little down, a little ineffectual why not stop, find a cozy little spot in your home and just tune into your rainbow. We all have one – you will find a pot of gold… I promise.

denise

p.s. I am going to try and write a blog more consistently. If you feel like giving me feedback that would be great!

Love is a four letter word debut

denisebertrand — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:39:17 +0000

Mom Tri’s Kitchen and Andaman Players’ Successful Debut of LOVE Is A Four Letter Word

When people think of Mom Tri’s Kitchen gourmet restaurant they think of stunning sea views, fine wines and excellent food. Well now it will also be known for Love.

// //

Andaman Players’ performance at Mom Tri’s Kitchen, Phuket Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Log (Press Release) – May 01, 2010 – Mom Tri’s Kitchen’s (at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale hotel) latest event was an entertaining dinner theater featuring Love Is A Four Letter Word, the latest production from the Andaman Players theater group based in Phuket.

This was the debut performance that premiered to a full house and did not disappoint with its performance that took the audience through the voyage of love. The musical comedy review had something for everyone including ballads and Shakespearean sonnets, comedy skits, poetry, dance and live music.

Accompanying the performance was a 3 course meal from Mom Tri’s own Maître-Cuisinier de France Chef Jean-Noël Lumineau and what seemed to be a never ending flow of Chilean wines perfectly paired with the mouthwatering dishes. Besides the show itself, the main course was also a hit; a medley of grilled sea scallops, pan roasted monkfish, Thai river prawn and Provençal vegetables with a fine sauce of Merlot.

The original idea and content for the show were due to the creative efforts of Baz Daniel, the late Tony Kelsey-Stead and Director Michael Flynn, but the revue was essentially a collaborative effort of all the Andaman Players.

Act One is firmly rooted in the allure of steadfast love, best conveyed by a recitation of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 by English TV actor Ben Dudley-Foster.

Act Two throws L-O-V-E into full satirical swing with a jaunt into the dark recesses of the human psyche. Laughs come non-stop when blond bombshell Joyce Madbak seduces her music teacher only to be interrupted by an enraged Steve Lawrence.

L-O-V-E offers a Phuketian remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ’Some Enchanted Evening’ about what happens in Patong when an unsuspecting tourist falls for a transvestite.

Act Three attempts to find a conclusion about the impossible topic of love by offering some intellectual clarity as well ageless poetry, modern dance and popular songs. Just when one might be convinced romance is but an illusion, L-O-V-E’s romantic songster collides with the science of love and ultimately prevails in a heartwarming finale that assures us that L-O-V-E is, in fact, all you need.

Andaman Players founder Tony Kelsey-Stead passed away four days before the show however the actors knew Tony would have said “the show must go on”. A tribute was paid to
Kelsey-Stead at the end of the show; it was clear how loved he was by the actors and how much he would be missed.

The show was unanimously declared a great success by all, and as one in-house guest of Mom Tri’s Villa Royale (http://www.villaroyalephuket.com) said, “we didn’t know what to expect but it far exceeded any expectations we had.”

Journalist Malcom Baxter also added, “The Andaman Players were funny, entertaining, professional and I would recommend anyone having the chance to see the show. Of course the dinner setting at Mom Tri’s Kitchen at Villa Royale over looking the sea and menu added an element of sophistication to the quality entertainment.”

Anyone wishing to contact the Andaman Players can email producer Denise Bertrand at dtbertrand@gmail.com or director Michael Flynn malflynn@gmail.com.

-End -

The Andaman Players Do it for L-O-V-E

denisebertrand — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:28:21 +0000

The Andaman Players

Friday 23 April, 7pm – Mom Tri’s Villa Royale, Kata Noi

Mon 19 Apr 2010

The new Andaman Players theatrical production takes us on a musical and comedy voyage through the world of L’Amour.

What happens when you ask a roomful of Phuket residents from around the globe to define the meaning of love? You get Phuket’s very own Andaman Players latest original theatre production ‘L-O-V-E is a Four Letter Word’ making its debut at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale
near Kata Noi Beach, on Friday 23 April.

The musical and comedy revue, just like love itself, promises something for everyone from ballads and Shakespearean sonnets, to cutting edge comedy sketches that will make grown men squirm and their wives raise a knowing eyebrow.

There’s even an advertisement from a well known firm of local lawyers for a prescription to alleviate the common condition known as marriage; namely divorce!

The show was conceived on the heels of the Andaman Player’s hugely successful production of this year’s Boxing Day Pantomime staged in front of a packed house of screaming kiddies and thankful parents.

Baz Daniel, Tony Kelsey-Stead and Director Michael Flynn hatched the original idea and outline and wrote much of the material, but the revue is essentially a collaborative effort with all the Andaman Players and their musical friends such as Sam Wilkinson, Ricky Zen and Toby adding material as the momentum built.

Once they had agreed that a show about ‘Love’ was in development, the Andaman Players could agree on little else about the elusive and intoxicating predicament of love
and its consequences.

The only consensus that could be reached was how to spell the word: L-O-V-E. Thus, the show was given a name and the Players embarked on a collaboration of ballads, poetry, dance, humorous songs and original comedy sketches to tell their story.

Act One explores romantic love, opening with a captivating rendition by well known Phuket personality and musician Ricky Zen singing ‘When I Fall in Love, it will be forever’, a sentiment of long term commitment which in Act Three is demonstrated to be nothing more
than a chemical reaction to hormones.

Still, Act One stays firmly rooted in the allure of steadfast love, best conveyed by a recitation of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 by English TV actor Ben Dudley-Foster.

Act Two throws L-O-V-E into full satirical swing with a jaunt into the dark recesses of the human psyche, traversing the complexities of deviance, cross dressing, homo-erotica, monogamy, polygamy, sex for money and three in a bed romps confessed on a psychiatrist’s
couch. Laughs come non-stop when blond bombshell Joyce Madbak seduces her music teacher only to be interrupted by an enraged Steve Lawrence.

Being staged on the island of the ‘No Money No Honey’ t-shirt, the second act remembers 1966 when The Beatles’ Money Can’t Buy Me Love soared to the top of the charts, only for John Lennon to later correct the Beatles by saying that, “Anyone who says money can’t buy me love isn’t shopping in the right places.”

L-O-V-E offers a Phuketian remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s’Some Enchanted Evening’ about what happens in Patong when an unsuspecting tourist falls for a Lady Boy.

Tickets are available from Mom Tri’s Villa Royale. For bookings call 076-333 568 or email pr@villaroyalephuket.com

Article by the Phuket Post

All the world is a stage…

denisebertrand — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:42:16 +0000

I am often asked how do you do it Denise? I say do what? Keep yourself so busy teaching, directing, writing and producing drama classes, workshops or shows? I usually answer cause I don’t know where else to put my creative ideas and enthusiasm. This is part of the answer, but alas after as many years as I have been at it, going on 26 now, it certainly has become second nature. How did I know at the age of 23 that I would be a freelance educator all these years later? It is now my passion. It doesn’t seem to want to let me go either. Just as soon as one project finishes, I am on to another one, either of my own making, or someone finds out about me and asks me to either, teach, create a workshop, direct, perform or write a play. Most of my work has been centred around children. They are our future. If I can inspire even one child to become a leader who inspires others to be confident, caring, creative and imaginative then I have done my work. The children are my inspiration, truly. To see how they light up, laugh and easily get up and try again is really worth being in the moment with them. I am younger at heart because of the many children I have been blessed to be with as a teacher, friend, drama queen and sometimes for some, a Ma.
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. William Shakespeare
I wonder if I will still be in the world of drama when I am “seven ages”…