Wonderland is Taking on a Life of Its Own!

Did you actually read that?

WE HAVE A BAND FOR WONDERLAND AT WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL!

Aaghghghghghghghghghgh!

I cannot believe it is happening – especially in light of the fact that the show itself is indeed about wonderful things happening – but in the past week, I have somehow managed to join forces with a drummer/guitarist, bass guitarist, saxophonist and keyboardist to do some musical comedy numbers AND improvised songs as part of the Wonderland show!

Excuse me while I geek out for a moment.

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!

That these people are blisteringly talented individuals is a godsend. That they are all hilarious and awesome and nice and bloody great to work with PLUS I get to share the show with them AND Betty and the Betties, some of my favourite ladies on earth, well seriously…whatever happens, for me selfishly, THIS SHOW IS A DREAM COME TRUE.

I’ve honestly always wanted a band to do improv and comedy and jamming stuff with onstage but it seemed so “pie in the sky” ish that I never took it seriously enough to make it happen. But now it’s just fallen into place and I’m completely losing my mind about it with excitement.

After brainstorming last night with a couple of the gang after our Betties rehearsal, I was so inspired I stayed up way into the wee hours and wrote and wrote and wrote. It was honestly like I was possessed by some force telling me to not dare stop in case I woke up in the morning and the well was dry. This has NEVER happened to me before. I lost all track of time. I think it must have been three that I finally caved in and slept. I sure feel it now. BUT…I have a show!

Now to tweak, polish, rehearse AND finish writing that one pesky closing number.

I cannot wait to perform it though, and whenever I’ve felt like that about a new song/bit or whatever, like I am literally ITCHING to get up onstage and share it with the world, it’s been a good thing.

Not many sleeps now!

P.S. We have only 6 days left on our pozible campaign and I have the stomach ulcer to show for it. A few folks have told me they’re a bit confused by what this pozible business actually is! Honestly, the easiest way to wrap your head around it is to go to our page on the site, but the Reader’s Digest version is this:

- it’s not a donation site, you don’t “donate” anything (because we aren’t a charity!), rather it’s about pre-buying goods and services (like tickets to our early 2013 shows both in Brissie and Adelaide, DVDs, merch, etc.) so that we can afford to do the project (which in this case, involves us touring Wonderland to Adelaide Fringe!)

- if you go onto the site, you’ll see the different prices of everything you can get. For instance, pledging $30 will get you a DVD, $50 a DVD plus show ticket, right up to a $2000 business package!

- we don’t get ONE CENT of the money pledged unless our campaign is successful. Your pledge is not processed (i.e. your card isn’t charged) until we are successful, which, touch wood, will be in six days time!) We are currently at $3320 of our $5000 goal. If we don’t make it, we get nothing.

Hope that makes sense!
x

A Postcard from the TV Shoot!

Surprise!

So…it turns out shooting an adventure doco around multiple corners of a state is actually pretty damn hectic. I am shocked.

Blogging may be sporadic at best I’m afraid! However I am updating with photos and various attempts at seeming more amusing than I am over at my Facebook page if you care to play along!

In short, I went through a pretty sooky first morning (combo of total exhaustion and missing my babies) but the bizarre fun of the while adventure soon kicked me into gear. Yesterday I had a moment which was worth the entire effort of getting here alone: I surfed. In a tutu. I may just die happy.

Photos will be uploaded as soon as I can pry them off the producers’ cameras!

Lotsa love from the road coming atchya!

xxx

Smiling Through The Overwhelm: IT IS STILL POSSIBLE!

Source: aspinstersguidetodating.blogspot.com via Crosby on Pinterest

So…

Just over four days to go, and the official tally as of tonight is: $3096.50.

Meaning of course: just under 7k to raise in the next four days.

Am I insane to still be thinking it is actually possible?

Of course, it still requires an element of magic – however, with several significant events planned this weekend alone (cabaret, comedy, and a garage sale among them: you can click here if you’re keen on the full details) so long as they perform well & with a bit of luck on the donation side in the coming days (by my calculations I need to muster up another $1k in donations, with the events taking care of the rest): I REALLY DO BELIEVE IT’S STILL POSSIBLE.

Likely? No. Ambitious? Totally. Possible? Yes!

Of course, come Monday morning, even that I have written this in quite a public way puts me out there as either:

a) a believer who got this shizz done!; or

b) a more than mildly embarrassed Pollyanna.

P.S. Donations will be welcomed with warm loving cuddles & metaphorical chocolate muffins straight out of the oven.

P.P.S. Thank you for bearing with me in this overwhelmingly overwhelming time of pleading, hair-tearing and fundraise-speak. Whether you donate or not, for that, I am so terribly grateful!

xo

Source: katiedaisyart.blogspot.com via Jenny on Pinterest

 

Life you crazy minx.

There’s SO much I want to do, that’s part of the problem, knowing how to not get distracted by the next shiny thing that passes through my sight and stay on path to the big picture long-term things I REALLY wanna do.

You?

Exciting TV/Fundraiser Update: It’s A-HAPPENING!

The joy is all on the inside, I assure you.

Darling darling people-who-read-this-blog,

While I have no doubt that you are sitting there on the other end of cyberspace, biting your nails off in anticipation of my next utterance on this here website, let me placate you right now with thanks for your patience in my absence this week gone past.

Oh dear Lord. It has just occurred to me that in writing this, I have in fact, turned into the bearer of one of those irritating “your call is important to us” messages, while putting you on hold for 17 hours. Forgive me.

So….since my last post announcing this exciting TV/charity development here at CM headquarters, I have been INUNDATED – truly, I feel like Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio in that little corridor scene right now – with messages of support, ideas on how to actually raise this moolah and shock’n'awe ACTUAL DONATIONS TO THE CAUSE!

Update: just got this message on my fundraising page from a complete stranger:

Just saw info about a gig you are doing, google you, found your bog and voila, here I am. I seriously considered spending $200 on walking shoes today, how the heck can I justify not givng you $50? Such a worthy cause. Good luck. Put a gold-coin collection at your gigs!

Squeeee!!! Thank you!!!!

That was all I needed to make it real in a good way, I feel like this is actually going to happen now, whereas this time last week I was feeling sick every time I thought about it. BRING IT!

So…on the agenda thus far:

Comedy Fundraisers (naturally), one in Adelaide (a coupla nights before the shoot!) and one (thus far, I’m working on it!) in Brissie. Bring the funny for the money! Hmm. Catchy.

A cabaret night in Adelaide, details to come. My wondrous pals and fellow graduates from the Australian Cabaret Summer School have been quick to jump on the bandwagon, so excited to actually enjoy a reunion while supporting the cause. Damn this is making me fall back in love with human beings again.

A radiothon in tandem with the fab Funky Kids Radio – launched and run by one of my favourite peeps on planet Earth, Rachel Cooper. We are currently working out the ins and outs of this, but very very excited to see how it all eventuates!

An AMAZING workshop, incredibly generously donated by one of my dear comedian friends’ partners, with all proceeds going directly to the cause.

A pizza day at my kids’ school, thanks to the generous folks at Eagle Boys, who are donating 20 pizzas for us to raise funds with. Just when I thought I couldn’t love pizza with any more passion…

A giveaway of prizes, products and other services – after asking for feedback from my Facebook crew, I have opted to offer a ticket in this giveaway to EACH and EVERY person who donates to the cause. $1 donation = 1 ticket. $100 = 100 tickets, and so on. I will be drawing these prizes in early October and will record the draw and upload it to youtube to share the excitement and prove it’s an honest draw!

On this note, if you have anything you’d like to donate to the prize giveaway or know somebody who does, please get in touch (either via email or my Facebook page). I would LOVE to hear from you!

That’s it thus far, more ideas are floating around the stratosphere and am just trying to wrap my head around all the possibilities, and specifically, which ideas are going to be the most likely to generate the $$ with a minimum of fuss and really more to the point, TIME.

Thanks all so much already who have supported in whatever way, I hugely hugely appreciate it, as I promise you, do the wonderful folks at Cara!

Viva la tutu! xxx

My official fundraising page is here!

Needed: A Family Friendly Version of Couch Surfing

Just stumbled across this at my local library: 5 Ways to Carry A Goat, a tale of how an Aussie travel blogger embarked on a trek of the globe relying purely on the kindness of cyber-strangers to meet, accommodate and entertain him en route.

Amazeballs.

As somebody with an insatiable travel itch – and one which I certainly hope to keep scratching throughout my life both with my children and without – I find even the thought of somebody doing this pretty damn exciting.

Could/would you do that with kids though?

Makes me think there oughta at least be a family friendly version of Couchsurfing.

Quote of the Week

A man is not old until his regrets take the place of his dreams.
Yiddish Proverb.

What I Believe

Image courtesy of Rachel Awes. Print available by clicking image. 

In my recent call-out for help on the “where the heck is this blog going?” variety, one of the questions I posed was, “if you could sit down with me to talk about anything at all, what would it be?” The responses gave me just about enough material to fill at least a few self-indulgent volumes, however the one that’s really been niggling at me ever since it jumped off the screen at me was this: “What do you believe?”

My initial thought process in response went a little something like this:

“Hmm. I’m not sure I even know what I believe.”
“Is this even a problem?”
“Is it a greater problem that I don’t even know whether it is a problem or not?”
“Okay, settle down, Alice. Drink your tea and stop chasing the damn rabbit.”

The thing is, it is a bloody good question. Here goes.

I believe:

- that life is short. My mum died when I was 5. From that point onwards, I have lived my life under the presumption (perhaps unhealthily so!) that it could be cut short at any time. As such I believe in not over-thinking plans too much, but rather, just doing it. Whatever Nike said.

- in taking the road less travelled. I believe that life is an adventure. I’m much more into accumulating experiences than stuff.

- in telling people you love that you love them. Unless you don’t, in which case they’re not one of the “people that you love” anyway, so why would you? Hmm. I am over thinking. Next.

- that people are generally good. I am sometimes insanely naive when it comes to this. I assume everybody is nice, has their heart in the right place and is going to do the right thing. I really have only been burned a very few number of times, actually, but each time I have been genuinely surprised.

- that if you are one of the privileged folks in the world who has enough to eat and drink without much stress, reliable shelter and safety, then you MUST help others who don’t. No question.

- what goes around comes around. Eventually!

- that magic does happen. Not in a “fairy dropping dust on your pillow” kind of way, but in people, just real human being average people, doing good things.

- that art – music, paintings, cabaret, poetry, writing, dancing, design, comedy… – is important and should be treated as such! Imagine a world without it. Shudder.

- there is always good that can come out of a bad situation. For example, my mum’s very early death. Of COURSE I am not glad that happened, not at all. But…as a result I became extremely close to and maternal towards my little sister in a way that I think only losing a parent can make you, it also hugely influenced my entire life view (i.e. that life is short and you should make the most of it) and I think, also inspired me to treat people better. To say I love you. To apologise. To be kind. Knowing that we’re not all going to be here for long. I think these are all good things that came from an otherwise horrific tragedy. The worst things in life can bring out the best.

- people irritate the living shizz out of each other. It’s just what we do. It seems in direct proportion to the ones we spend the most time with and/or the ones who are in our family. That reason alone is not enough to warrant walking away.

- there will always be reasons not to start that project you’ve been thinking about. Just do it. You’ll work out the details later. Just start.

- in always striving to get better and to be better. I believe in being a lifelong learner.

- that you can still follow pretty wild and crazy adventures with kids. It’s definitely different from how I would have done it solo style, but it’s doable. Hard. Expensive. But doable.

- that travel is one of the best educations and life-transforming experiences ever. For everybody, no matter what their age. I hope to be travelling regularly until I die.

- that living a life is like sewing a giant tapestry quilt, with each patchwork piece representing an adventure/experience/friendship/good thing you did or nurtured during your time here. I imagine myself sometimes as an old lady on her death bed, pulling this gorgeous and amazing quilt over herself and think about what I want it to look like.

- whatever you believe in in terms of spirituality, it’s all pretty crazy. No matter how firm your beliefs (or non-beliefs), at the end of the day, nobody KNOWS. Me? I believe in God, what exactly he/she/it looks like I don’t presume to know. The religious stuff does my head in most of the time. But I am okay with my jury being out. My belief is mine and is held with the full awareness that I KNOW nothing.

- that sometimes when a door shuts or something completely crap-balls happens, something amazing can be right around the corner. Truly. It’s happened to me so many times it feels like a cosmic joke.

- there is no perfect way to parent. I go into this gig knowing that I am going to screw them up somehow, I’m just trying to enjoy them, love them and hope that the rest gets picked up by the mudguards. (Not sure what that means either, but damn I enjoyed writing it.)

- in the power of laughter to heal: people, situations, relationships, hearts.

- the world is a freaking terrifying and horrifying place. But it’s also full of amazingness, wonder, heart, music, love, art and magic, sometimes you just have to seek it out. And make it.

- I believe we can believe very different things and still be friends.

- when in doubt, crank up Boogie Wonderland and dance, baby. It never fails.

Looking for gold and finding the potato.

Image courtesy of Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Throughout the 16th century and even beyond, European explorers trekked through the New World hunting for the mythical land of El Dorado: the Lost City of Gold. The precious metal was supposedly so abundant there that it was even used to make children’s toys. The quest was ultimately futile, although it led the explorers to stumble upon lesser treasures of practical value — the potato, for example. After being brought over to Europe from South America, it became a staple food. I’m foreseeing a comparable progression in your own world during the coming months: You may not locate the gold, but you’ll find the equivalent of the potato.

From The Hoopla Horoscopes.

I don’t mind this at all.

Namely cos I am in awe of the many brilliant uses for the potato. Hot chips. Wedges. Throwing them at the Kardashians.

Dig.

Links of the Week (or WHAT?! You mean there’s more to cyberspace than ME?!)

Thanks so so so much to everybody who has taken the time and effort to give me your thoughts on the blog and where it might go from here. I love you THIIIIIIIIIS much! (PS If you haven’t as yet taken part then please don’t be jealous. I can love you THIIIIIIIIIIS much too! Just click over here.)

So I am way out west these school holidays, visiting with my beautiful bestie from high school who lives on a property just out of Meandarra.  “Mean-where-a?” you say. “Mean-takes-7-hours-to-drive-there-a”.

Wondrous.

So while we are out here, riding 4-wheeler motorbikes in the rain, feeding the chooks and re-enacting scenes from “Australia”, please console yourself with these lil tidbits. I hope they’re helpful like Oprah and tasty like Teevee Snacks.

Nom nom.

Want to get better at applying for grants and funding? Read this!

Advice on creative routines by Henry Miller. Dig.

One of the best posts on “making it” I’ve read in a while. LOVE this blog.

There is such a thing as a family friendly creative residency! Hmmm, I still think the world needs more of these!

If Your Dream Is to Move to NYC. If? Whaddya mean IF?!?!?!