The Playhouse

So the two year Community Drama was finished up at MaGee University in Derry Ireland.  What happens now?   I thought about this and I have to say that did enjoy the class and you know what?  If I could to do it again I would.  That class was fun and I realized that I also enjoyed performing on stage.  My friend Bernadette from class introduced me a program called EuroCAT at The Playhouse.

EuroCAT stands for Euro because it’s in the European and CAT for Community Arts Training.  I thought that was interesting.  EuroCAT is a 10-week course (1 night a week), that covers a variety of things such as Visual Arts, Improvisations, Community Drama, Dancing, Stage Lighting and a few other areas.  I could only imagine how well EuroCAT had progressed because nobody knew how it was going to turn out.  The time that I attended the EuroCAT program, that was the second season for The Playhouse has been organizing EuroCAT.

We had to do a performance on our 10th week and it could be anything that we wanted to do for our piece for week 10.  My piece was a battle between two lions where later they become friends walking away.  The girl who was my partner of this project backed out because she felt that she couldn’t do it.  I had to figure out what to do with my piece.  I got my friend Angela to participate in my performance as well as another girl.  Now I got some actors I could think about what to do with my performance.  I had to perfect idea and that was about a girl’s fairytale.  Angela played the part of the little girl.  There was the other woman who was the fairy, and of course I was Jack from the Jack In The Box.  The storyline of this fairytale was that the little girl was grounded and was sent to her room.  There she throws a slight fit and then finds herself falling asleep beside the big jumble size Jack in the box.  Of course I played the role of Jack.  She wakes up and discovers a fairy dancing around in her room.  She waves her wand and brings Jack to life where they started dancing around the room.  The three of them were having so much fun when the little girl hears her mother to come down for her dinner.  Jack jumped back into his box, the little girl hugs Jack.  He waves to the little girl, the fairy waves her magic wand into the hair and taps her wand to Jack and switches him back into a toy again.

C'mere

C'mere
I still remember it was yesterday.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with myself after the class was finished.  I had completed five out of six terms (two years).  The class had to travel for a residential weekend that we had to work together to prepare for our show as our final.  The production was divided in three group performances.

There were five of us in our group and we worked on a skit called C'mere, a 25-minute play, a family met up at a hospital's waiting area where their mother collapsed and someone called the ambulance.  It was a big mystery to the family.  They suddenly found themselves into a pile of secrets they didn't know about each other.

I could still hear the announcement in my head. "Arnold McCleary!  Arnold McCleary!  Your mother's condition is deteriorating rapidly, Doctors had diagnosed with a major cerebral thrombosis and they don't hold out much hope...at all.  Will you and your party care to proceed to the Intensive Care Unit where last rights are now being served.  The Mental Health and Social Services board would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your family for having a breavement with us at this hospital. We look forward to hearing from you again.  Thank you and have a nice day."

The story behind C'mere
Our skit was so hysterical that I couldn't believe that we were coming up with these funny ideas.  I had decided extend this 25-minute skit to a full length play because I believe that it has potential.  The script is called Cmere taken place in a waiting room in the hospital where family awaits for their mother's prognosis trying to figure out the mysterious person who called for the ambulance. The caller who happens to be the toyboy of the family's mother finds himself in the middle of the family affairs watching every move that they make. To make things more interesting, Blabber-mouth Bernadette, the wife of oldest son Arnie, continues on complaining.  She is always into everybody's business.   Arnie's sister Caroline just cannot stand Bernadette. Suddenly everything evolves around secrets and Bernadette just had to get to the bottom of them all and gets the shock of her life at the end.

Friends

Great shot of Damien

During my time living in the apartment, I had met two friends Damien and Yukochan who were boyfriend girlfriend.  Damien was from Belfast and Yukochan was from Japan.  Two really nice people and good to talk to.  I would spend some time with them at their place.  They actually lived on the top floor of the building.  I enjoyed their company and had learned a little from Damien as he was pretty smart.

I knew Yukochan was a little sad one time after her friends from Japan came to visit them.  I saw it in her eyes, and I don't blame her for being sad for missing her family and friends in Japan.  I would too.  Japan isn't just across the street.  Damien learned a few Japanese words from what I remembered.  After a few years after I moved into my apartment, they moved out and into a house on Glasgow Terrace.

Damien and I chatted on Facebook in 2010 or something like that and he was mentioning that he left Ireland around 2005 and is now living in Japan.  I think that is great.  Whatever makes him happy.  I had read a few articles written by him about Japan and the radiation and all that and he worries about his two kids. 

Yukochan and their two beautiful kids

First apartment

I had gotten my first apartment which was on Clarendon Street in the town which was across the street from one of the hostels from work.  I lived on the 2nd Floor and it was great.  I got the apartment from my aunt's cousin who owned some property.  He hooked me up with the apartment and I gotten a reduce rate for my apartment since I was unemployed.  It was a great area since I lived in town and very close to everything. Tescos grocery supermarket was just down the street which makes it more handy.

Every year around July or August I would hear riots from my back window in the bedroom.  It sounded like it was coming from the Bogside.  Those times I never went out.  I would spend time with my cousin early evenings who lived right below me.

At work, we would have food coming in from Marks and Spencers which was salvage.  We used to grab some of the foods and take it home with us.  That really helped me with my food and saving money.

Bad news

It was 1996 or 1997, and we had gotten bad news from the family.  My cousin Gary had passed away due to a motorcycle accident.  He died instantly in Sligo.  The whole family got together at my aunt Nora's house.  I was in deep shock and it was really sad time for all of us.

I used to hang out with Gary, going out for drinks and hanging outside in front of what is now called The Venue.  I used to spend nights at my aunt Nora's house, Gary and I spent up late nights playing Yahtzee.  It was memorable.