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  1. Am I missing something?

    February 9, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    If Will Smith is a Scientologist, and the general understanding of Scientology is that their routes are in alien life forms, why does he spend so many of his films going round and killing them?

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  2. Ewww

    February 3, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    I hate it when I’m not in control of my body, hence why I just can’t stand being ill. This morning I woke around 2am with the shivers, not to be blessed with sleep again until around 5am. One wake up call and one unloading of my tummy later, I found the top of my body to be too heavy to be carried by the bottom half, leading to me crashing back in to bed. After a few hours kip, I woke up feeling a hell of a lot better for it but still wobbly. It seems I have been the latest victim of the Panto Bug. Yes, at least three of my colleagues have suffered the same in the past two weeks, only they had the sense not to do it during show week.

    I will heading up to the theatre this evening and plan on taking to the stage as Urchin #3, but not without a precationary bucket on standby…

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  3. Costumes: Pubs

    December 21, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    This year, one of the New Year party invites came with a theme I’d not experienced before; Pub Names. Fairly obvious when you think about it, but still one I’d not given much thought to. I’ve pretty much figured out what I’m going as now, but for those of you in my earlier predicament, here’s a handy list of ideal pub names.

    All Bar One – paint every number over your top over and over again, except the number 1
    Anchor
    Bat and Ball
    The Black Cap
    The Blind Beggar – host to 10,000 London cabbies, all seemingly present at the Kray shoot out.
    Boathouse
    Bricklayer’s Arms – brickie
    The Bright Star
    The Butcher
    The Castle
    Cat and Fiddle
    Charlie Brown’s
    The Chequers – black and white dress
    Cock and Bull – oh, behave.
    The Compasses
    Cricketers
    Cross Keys
    The Crown – Beefeater
    The Devil’s Punchbowl
    Dirty Dick’s – Dick Turpin
    Dog and Bear
    Dog and Duck
    The English Rose
    The Fisherman’s Arms
    Flame – gay pub in Luton
    The Fox
    Fox and Hounds
    George and the Dragon – think Saint George in his knight phase
    The Globe
    The Grapes
    Green Man – meant to be a spirit of the woods; with modernisation, now the Green Giant who sells sweetcorn
    The Halfway House
    The Highwayman – Dick Turpin
    Hog’s Head
    Hope and Anchor
    The Horseshoe
    Hungry Horse
    The Jolly Sailor
    King’s Arms/Head – choose a king
    Leaky Cauldron
    Lord Nelson
    Man in the Moon – think the Mighty Boosh
    Nag’s Head
    The Phoenix
    Pig and Whistle
    Pink Punters
    Prince of Wales
    The Queen Vic – Queen Victoria
    Queen’s Arms/Head – choose a queen
    The Railway Tavern
    Red Dragon
    Red Lion
    Robin Hood
    Rose and Crown
    Sherlock Holmes – the famous detective
    Slug and Lettuce
    The Smugglers
    Three Broomsticks
    Three Tuns
    Unicorn
    White Bear
    White Hart
    White Horse
    White Lion
    The Winchester – go as Shaun of the Dead
    The Woolpack – sheep

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  4. Whyyyyyyyy?

    November 14, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    …Probably because this month had a Friday 13th in it. Innit.

    So, why the whyyyy? Here’s whyyyy.
    The innocent act of having a little stretch at my desk heralded a little twang from my lower back. Not thinking anything of this, I was somewhat surprised when, at rehearsals, I was unable to bow and later on, unable to get out of my car looking like anything other than a drunken hunchback.
    I was amused at the need to complete an ‘incident a work’ report form for a little stretch, but less amused at how this effectively eliminated me from attending the Rocky Horror blu ray extra auditions in London. To be fair, I’m not in much of a shape to go fainting here and there or doing floorshow bends (for Janet is a bendy little nymph indeed), but I wish I could have gone to document the experience.

    Of course, this does put a spanner in the works for the panto. With two big pratfalls in the mix, not to mention more dance routines than I have ever done in any show ever, I know I need to rest my back this weekend. So it is off to the Osteopath I go this afternoon. I haven’t seen one before, so I’m not sure exactly what to expect. Fingers cross they’ll press a magic button hidden in my spine somewhere to fix everything, then I can repeat the appointment for the next few Saturdays to get me through the show.

    In the meantime, I guess I have plenty of time to update my websites :o)

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  5. October update

    October 18, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    It’s that time again where I realise I’ve not blogged for a month. My bad! So, what’s been going on in my life?

    I’ve been to see a fair few shows: Communicating Doors by Dunstable Rep to see my friend JJ playing a serial killer, The Stripper tto find it was lovely to see Richard O’Brien in something that wasn’t corsetted or gameshow related, and Rocky Horror at Milton Keynes, complete with a backstage tour. I got to see and play with all the props and costumes which was brilliant.

    After her death last summer, I finally put Mum’s house on the market. If anyone’s looking for a gorgeous one bedroom bungalow in Hillingdon in a nice area, do let me know.

    I started rehearsals for Jack and the Beanstalk with the Griffin Players in Luton. I’ve gone from a bratty younger sister to a dumb blonde – I’m very happy with that, although wearing lip gloss will be new for me. I’m pleased as I get a big hand in the comedy scenes. As for the slapstick ones, I think I’ve avoided being on the wrong end of a pie but not sure I’ll make it through the show’s run without ending up bumped and bruised. Another test of my abilities!

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  6. Quickie

    September 18, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    I went to see the opening night of the new tour of The Rocky Horror Show last night. Possibly more on that in a later post.

    But for now, I just wanted to share this photo with you. It gives me a sense of relief that someone in charge of the USA is an actual human being who is a bit like me in their geekiness, not just a politics bot.

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  7. September update

    September 13, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    I thought I’d just write a quick update on me, myself and I.

    I still haven’t worked out exactly what this site should be. If it were devoted to costumes, the updates would be sporadic. If it were devoted to me, it would become a job and would rarely be updated with anything interesting. Besides, I’m better at funny stuff in 140 characters or less now than swathes of text. So in the meantime, it’s a mish mash of everything; costume lists, things about me and The Student’s Guide to Rocky Horror Costumes. For now, a bit of an actually-about-Amy post.

    I got me a job! It’s only temporary for now, but I’m working for Bedford Borough Council. It’s really good for me, getting back into the 9-5 way of things and being able to do something I can do well. Fingers crossed it goes permanent.

    I got me some kittens! They’re called Echo and Max, are black and white short hair crossed with Siamese so they’ve very talkative, and they are great fun. I try not to witter on about them, but it’s hard not to.

    I got me a show! After the debacle of Rent (there’s a secret sacred code of am dram that says ‘you go with what you’ve got’), I ran to the welcoming arms of the Griffin Players and am delighted to have been cast in the comedy role of Barbie (Jack’s bratty little sister) in their 2009 pantomime, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. More info on that along in time, I’m sure.

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  8. Frank’s Green Gown

    August 20, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    The fabulous Phil Dunk over at the Timewarp forums has discovered this superb Frank surgeon gown. Notoriously difficult to find, this little beauty is pretty much perfect. Phil suggests that you may wish to snip off the elasticated wrists. Aside from that, this is an incredibly important find, given the difficulty people have had tracking them down. And at just over a tenner each, it’s worth getting a couple! Well done Phil!

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  9. Janet Weiss at half the price

    August 4, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    Since publishing pictures of our lovely Janet Weiss pink dress on AIBM (from the Rocky Horror Picture Show), we’ve had a couple of enquiries regarding budget versions. While that’s not something we can do with this costume, I can instead share my top tip for instant Janets.

    The Jackie O costume is a godsend – pretty good on colour and shape and with a high neck – golddust! All it takes is a gingham collar and belt, white buttons and a bit of white trim, and it’ll look perfect with a white cardigan over the top. Who wants bulky arms under a cardi anyway?
    Always available on Ebay for cheaper than the stores (watch our for p&p), this is a great solution. You should be able to do the entire outfit for ?30.

    I may not maintain the Student’s Guide to Rocky Horror Costumes anymore, but I still keep my eye out for bargains!

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  10. Rent Rent Rent Rent Rent

    July 30, 2009 by Amy Hansford

    As you know, I’ve been auditioning for Rent these past few days. It’s been pretty much cast since Tuesday – it’s been a bit of a long roundabout way of saying “we’re not sure who we want yet, but we know it’s not you” since then. Either way, here are my predictions on casting alongside the actual casting.

    Angel ? ? ??? Nick
    Benny?? ?? ? Mark
    Collins ? ? ? JJ Dale
    Joanne ?? ? Kate J Emma
    Mark ? ? ? ? Dale Matt (the director)
    Maureen? Georgina
    Mimi???????? Caroline
    Roger ? ? ?? Justin
    Chorus???? Everyone else

    Edit: The director has cast himself in the principal role of Mark. Not sure how I feel about this. Will comment further later.

    Later edit: I couldn’t work exactly how I felt about the above circumstances, only that I was a little uncomfortable with the siuation. I decided against taking part in this production but wish it plenty of success. It’s Rent – of course it’ll be a success!

    In the meantime, to keep me busy, I’m on the look out for informal tap classes. I don’t want to pass an exam or get to grading point; I want to learn a routine and have a giggle in the evening! Which such classes being notoriously internet shy, do drop me a line at hello@ this domain name to tell me if you know of one.

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