mostly david ephgrave

I long to establish a clear working structure to my day, so I can keep track of my achievements instead of feeling the goalposts are constantly moving, and avoid feeling chased, panicked or back-footed by the outside influences that inevitably get in my way. This is one of the downsides to self-employment, particularly when the majority of your work is self-generated; it's hard enough to give yourself time to prepare for an acting (or actor / muso) job for an outside company, let alone when you’re working for yourself. I have a musician friend for whom function gigs provide the majority of his income, yet his partner often forgets the gig is just a fraction of the job as he also needs to learn the music. While she understands this work needs to be done in principle, as far as she's concerned, if he’s at home then he’s available; consequently the majority of his preparatory time is spent doing odd-jobs around the house. I know the feeling, though for a completely differ...

It’s surprising how much good having a clear head does for writing. I’ve come into the office this morning to work on some material I’ve been tinkering with, on-and-off, for a few weeks. When I looked at it on Monday, I’d lost hope in its worth. I thought it was devoid of laughs, which is not a good thing for comedy. It didn’t help that I was tired. I couldn’t remember the points I was trying to hit. Talking it through became a memory test, and one I was failing. Every so often I’d look at my wall planner, see the deadlines that are looming, and panic that I’d never get things done. Conversely, today feels a lot better. Having a few days’ space allowed the dust to settle. I think the material has potential, after a little tweaking. I’ve also added a few gags to help it along. Part of the problem was being busy. The end of last week was chock-full of deadlines. I had a sudden unexpected mad dash to get my show info in for the Brighton Fringe by Friday, and to complete m...