My dear friend
When I last wrote to you (only two Wednesdays ago), I was happy and filled with energy. I have a clear memory of reflecting on how good I was feeling that day—emotionally, physically, cognitively—all geared up for the final push to get my new show ready for its opening in a couple of weeks.
The very next day, I tested positive for covid. Even the morning I tested I was feeling great. There was just a moment in the afternoon when I had this sense of exhaustion wash through my body and I haven’t had an energy since.
It’s bad timing given I have a new show previewing tomorrow night then opening on Friday night. Have I told you about my new show, I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned it, just in case I haven’t, here’s where you can buy tickets).
it’s photos of me at the tech rehearsal for Stitches, taken by Juha Vanhakartano
Opening of my visual arts show (it’s free!)
In fact—and again I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this—but I’ve got a lovely little trio of shows and one of those shows is Pearls (Unstitched), the unstitching and re-stitching of my wedding dress. If you’d like to come to the opening, it’s on Sunday 25 February 11am at Mrs Harris’ Shop and I’m excited to tell you that Meridy Dunn (groovygreylook on instagram) will be opening it. She’s so much fun, and super-talented, so I’m really looking forward to that.
Back to covid: What I’ve been watching
So the time could be better, but honestly the timing could have been much worse. I mean a few months ago I was travelling around Aotearoa / New Zealand in a campervan with six adults. That would have been way worse!
Covid sucks, there’s no two ways about it. It was much less dramatic for me this time, but nonetheless it’s been a rubbish experience. If there’s a bright side, it’s that I finally watched Deadloch. Holy moly ravioli, WHAT A SHOW. I know you told me I’d love it, but I didn’t know I’d love it as much as I even loved Gavin & Stacey. I loved in that way of, ‘I could go and live in this show and I would never be unhappy again.’ (On which note, BRILLIANT NEWS IN MY INBOX THIS MORNING when I see there’s a new Gavin & Stacey Christmas special on the way).
Then, because I had the new subscription I thought I’d better take full advantage of it and I watched Dance Life and it was wonderful. It’s a year in the life of the Brent Street dance school in Sydney, and it is one hundred percent joyous. They’ve done a perfect shop of developing a narrative that isn’t about villains or about jealousies. It’s about a bunch of talented, hard-working young people who have absolutely inspired me. Hard recommend.
In complete contrast to that I also caught up on Nemesis the ABC doco series about the leadership of the last coalition government. I don’t need to tell you how I felt about that. Quickly, think about Dance Life.
Also covid
The other good thing about still recovering from covid (if there is a good thing, there’s not really a good thing but you know what I mean), is that I only have the energy to focus on my show and doing the writing/performing/directing part of the work. I don’t have the energy for all the hectic hoop-la that accompanies putting on a show during the Adelaide Fringe.
I don’t want to diss too much on the fringe, because I have no doubt that I wouldn’t have been able to put on six solo shows that I’m really proud of if we didn’t have the fringe infrastructure in Adelaide. I’m not a theatre-maker and I’m not an actor. The fringe does allow you to experiment with work when you don’t exactly fit into established creative worlds. It also encourages audiences in a way that nothing else could ever do. But my goodness me, it can also get into your head. There’s so much noise, and everyone else always looks like they’re getting more (and better) reviews; selling more tickets; getting more interviews on more radio shows. I just don’t have the energy at the moment to worry about it, and it’s making for a much less stressed February and March than I would normally have. Oh, and one other thing, I finally worked out how to wean myself off constantly downloading ticket sales reports. Every time I felt the urge to check my ticket sales I made myself go and get a glass of water. I was well and truly hydrated, and now I seem to have kicked that ticket habit.
How I know social media is dead
There’s a lot of chatter about the end of social media and whether this or isn’t it. My friend, I can tell you definitively that it is. The other day, I was scrolling instagram stories and I get a lot of those ‘I made three million dollars selling my courses using this one simple trick’ and one of them came up. It was one of my kid’s best mates from kindy. In my instagram stories telling me how I should be living my life. No surer sign that it’s time for me to get off social media.
What to do
I can’t end without talking about what we’re seeing in Gaza. I know we kind of go about our days, but it feels like we are sleepwalking in a parallel universe knowing that at the same time so many people are living in such present fear, and so many people including so many children are dying. We have to keep writing to our leaders demanding a ceasefire, demanding aid is sent, demanding we do not look away.
Until next time
I might see you at Stitches, or maybe at the opening of Pearls (Unstitched), but otherwise I’ll be back next Wednesday (or maybe the Wednesday after or some other Wednesday in the future).
Until then, I will think of you often and with love
Your friend
Tracy