#61 One egg
Issue #61 One egg
10th May 2023
Hello, friend.
Thanks for reading my newsletter.
It's been a quiet week for me. I've watched all six Scream movies, voted, started a diet, tidied my house from top to bottom and walked along the white cliffs of Dover with my lovely friends, Lucy and Radio.
Here's what's been further delighting me.
Rule of three
[TV] We Are Lady Parts
Really loved this sitcom about a female Muslim punk band created by the talented writer/ director Nida Manzoor. It's funny, the music is great and the entire cast is on brilliant form throughout. I also watched Manzoor's new movie Polite Society this week - a genre-defying mix of Pakistani family drama and martial arts flick. I'm so glad stuff like this is getting made.
[Improv] Research-backed benefits
Actual Psychology Today telling us why improv will improve your life. I love articles like this because they back-up what I've seen anecdotally in improv classrooms and theatres for over a decade.
[Food] 90 second keto mug bread
If I'm not being asked for techniques to create grounded, relationship-based scenes, I'm being asked how to make my famous 90 second keto mug bread. If you're looking to cut down on carbs or to go grain-free, it's a great alternative to bread-products like muffins at breakfast time. And it'll give you a good protein hit too. The recipe is:
ONE tablespoon of almond flour
ONE tablespoon of coconut flour
ONE tablespoon of milk (any sort)
ONE tablespoon of olive oil
ONE egg
Half a teaspoon of bicarb and some salt
Mix that all in a mug and put it in the microwave at whatever your highest setting is for 90 secs. Dump it out, cut it into slices and fry it in clarified butter on both sides. I love it.
Spotlight
Improv Cinema Club is back. And it's become Improv WORLD Cinema Club. Love love LOVE this online class SLASH movie discussion group hosted by me and the brilliant film critic and improviser Tara Judah. And this time we have a who's who of improv teachers from around the world to introduce the films that they grew up with.
Check out this list of wonder:
Vinny François (Canada)
Jon Nguyen (UK/ Vietnam)
Vera Chok (Malaysia/ UK)
Luana Proença (Brazil)
Rita Suszek (Poland)
Carlos Moreno (Spain)
Laxmi Priya (India)
You'll get them all (+ one more to be announced shortly) over 8 weeks of cinema, discussion and improv exercises. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this course. We've already released the tickets to our regular members but there's around 8 tickets left for anyone who wants to join the fun.
Check out the Ticket page here and get in contact if you want to chat payment plans or bursaries.
Longform thoughts
All my favourite scenes start with a connection. Now, that can come from playing characters that already know each other well or it can come from characters that find an instant spark when they meet. Great scenes should feel like “a perfect view from a speeding train that aligns momentarily- window frame, angle, perspective, light” - like a portal onto another world. One with real flesh and blood people that think and want and need each other.
I've been looking back on the blog posts I wrote in my late twenties. It's like reading someone else's diary. One particularly angsty entry inspired a thought about improv. Read more in Being someone else.
Radio days
Vote Radio!