Jerome Parisse's Blog, page 25

Playtime

What is Playtime?

Playtime is an initiative of  The Wall with Actors Anonymous, a collaboration of some of Australia's finest theatrical talent has produced a brand new format for presenting theatre in Sydney. A selection of short plays that are pre-rehearsed with directors, then read by trained actors to an audience in the fully licensed World Bar Club Room.

For more information about Playtime visit their Facebook page.

Playtime 5 took place last night, with one of my plays in it, "What if...

It's all about words

I've just been for a swim – twenty laps, my usual. It's winter in Australia at the moment, so I went to the indoor pool near my place. The water always feels a tad too cold there, and it takes me about four laps to warm up. To forget about the cold, I usually focus on a chosen topic and let my mind go free. The choice of topic depends on a variety of factors, ranging from home cooking to books and writing (of course), work (yikes), friends and family, travel, money, colours, printers, trees, ...

Deed to Death

I've just finished this one, Deed to Death, by D.B. Henson. Unfortunately, it's been somewhat spoiled by the last book I read (A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore) which was so beautifully written. It'd be hard to compare. Deed to Death is a mystery / crime novel, easy to read, with a good plot (The plot is actually the best part). I found the characters too black and white, without enough depth, or maybe it was just the way their background was described early on, exposed as mere facts. I w...

The art of flying

I flew from Sydney to Perth and back in the last two days, which meant around ten hours of flying in twenty-four hours, just for a three-hour meeting. Perth is a wonderful city and it's always a pleasure to go there, weren't it for the long flight. On my flight back last night I was sitting next to a giant. So tall that I thought his head was going to go through the ceiling. I watched him sit next to me in his economy seat and try to fold his legs to make them fit between his seat and the...

A Gate at the Stairs

"Are rabbits nocturnal?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Well, why do you see them in the day as well?"

My father was quiet for a long time. "They work in shifts," he said finally.

I love this extract from A Gate at the Stairs By Lorrie Moore, which I have just finished reading. It is a coming of age story, situated in the American Midwest. Tassie accepts a job as a nanny for the African-American adopted baby of a couple, whose dark past we slowly discover. The story is told from Tassie's point of view and...

Twitter: the art of (non) conversation?

I read an interesting article about Twitter and some of its benefits in last weekend's Spectrum (Sydney Morning Herald). The article focussed on the creation of communities and the discussion on art forms Twitter engenders among theatre goers or musical comedy adepts. An increasing number of people tweet their friends during performances, to share with them their excitement or give them a review of the show they're seeing. And this is what production companies are increasingly taking into...

Emotions-Couleurs: an exhibition

Acrylics, watercolours and mixed techniques by Chantal Parisse

La Garde-Adhemar, Provence – 24 July to 1 August – Opening 24 July 6pm

City of Thieves

I've just finished reading City of thieves by David Benioff. I loved it. The topic is not easy: the survival of two children during the Nazi's brutal siege of Lenningrad. Lev and Kolya have been given an unexpected and very dangerous mission: secure a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel's daughter's wedding. The story is gripping, at times tender and funny, at times violent, but always clever and full of suspense. You feel the cold, you feel the harshness of the war, you feel the desperation of t...

Gravity and Drift

For those of you living in Sydney, I recommend a visit to Charles Hewitt Gallery, where an exhibition of Suey McEnnally is currently taking place. Suey's work is powerful, yet subtle and her paintings are full of light and a million nuances. She says, "I have scratched, gauged, scarred and built onto these surfaces to capture the essence of Australian landscapes." And the result is fantastic.

335 South Dowling Street, Darlinghurst, until 19 July 2010

Who says nobody is reading any more?

I take the bus to work every morning – like so many others. Not a long trip, twenty minutes or so, but I usually get a seat and I can read. That's a bonus. As I sat down this morning and took a glance around, I couldn't help notice how many people were actually reading. Books. Not magazines or newspapers. I did a quick calculation and came up with 30% of people in the bus being engrossed in their reading. How fantastic! This cheered me up. Of course I was the only one reading an e-book; here ...