Dale and Rumple, Good times Dale would love a magic touch to do the trick!
Hello my fellow ramblers, I want to celebrate my wonderful mind and its randomness as it has created some of my most famous characters for the stage and I want to share a few of them with you all and we only imagine how I got the inspiration for each. But first I must thank the place I get to become these fine characters and the folks that give me endless chances to bring these to life in front of a paying audience. GBMTC (Great Barr Musical Theatre Company) has been going for over 20 years and has produced some amazing, fresh, professional performances to rock the amateur world in Birmingham. Please come and see one of there shows it will be the finest £12 you will spend all year!
Firstly is Dale from Reality the Musical 2009 GBMTC. He was the most camp game show host I have ever had the pleasure to encounter, he started of with my infatuation with the most skill full and talented presenters of the American total wipe out, I do love those two. They are everything a fantastic presenter should be, WITTY, QUICK AND EXTREMELY FUNNY. I naturally developed the voice of Dale first and tried to dumber more vain version of the two presenters from Total Wipe out. Next was the most annoying physical gesture, the hands on the hips, I couldn't stop doing this for about a month after the production and gained some very interesting looks to say the least. The finished article could be completed unit his famous spandex vest, dicky bow and the most unflattering tight trousers but the jacket really helped me encapsulate Dale and bring him to life, with this jacket I felt transformed into this confident presenting machine its amazing how much a costume can enhance your performance and the right costume can really become the character, there wasn't a point when I became Dale that I slipped back into James, the only time that happened was when i took the costume off! I present to you, drum roll.......... Dale, enjoy this one in a lifetime buffoon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRtC9JxMQNM
and his final bow.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCOK1Ol8w7A
Enough of Dale for now. Next is one of my finest characters I have ever created, the most evil, creepy and easy to slip into. Introducing Rumpelstiltskin, he was my 2009 creation for my final student production for my degree. I found with Rumple is with the voice came the gesture which dictated his movement, the pace and tone of this voice really helped me to craft the way this character reacts to others and the environment around him.Again I have found as with most of my characters that my wonderful mind creates is that once the character is born then instantly I know which costume I want to create, I knew exactly that Rumple had to have a top hat, long flowing jacket and pointy shoes. This really encapsulated my image and feeling for him. I must admit the laughs I had whilst playing this charecter were immense, one of my lines at the end is the queen tries to guess my name "is it TOM?, no, is it Dick?, no, is it Harry?, YES!, really, NO....bollocks. So please meet my only evil character to date, the one and only Rumpelstiltskin!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k77ESS_1Hs
and his grimm end....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkqHggtNmU4
After completing my secondary education in 2003 and spending some time in full time employment, I decided to take a leap into performing arts by approaching a local amateur musical theatre company, where I realised not only a talent for performing on stage but also a passion to entertain people. During my time with the company I have performed in 5 shows, 2 of which I played a principal role; "Reality: The Musical," where I played the male lead of Dale, and "The Wedding Singer," in which I took on the role of Sammy and also assistant director. I am currently co-director of my 6th show with the company, "Boogie Nights."
In 2006 my membership in the company motivated me to take this passion for performing further by enrolling on the University of Wolverhampton's Drama and Performance degree program, where I received a 2:1 BA (Hons) in 2009. During my degree I took part in a number of student productions, including a dance theatre performance called "Fractal" and in 2009 I played the title role of Rumpelstiltskin in "Grimm Tales" at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton. Not only did my degree give me performance experience, but also allowed me to gain skills and knowledge in popular performance, physical theatre, dance theatre, commedia dell'arte and devised theatre. It also gave me the confidence and increased passion towards the world of performance.
Well I must log out now and unfortunately resume life in the real world where my mind has to embrace real life questions as to weather to have a nap or clean the house...... Decisions
