New Live Lounge video on Youtube!

 

Check out this first in a collection of Live Lounge videos I'm planning for Youtube. 

Fresh from my new little studio in The Clock House!

PEEP

I have written a new screenplay called Peep. This is the third version of the script, which I have been writing for the past two years.

A child trapped in a man's body? A mentally ill human being in need of help? Or just a man with a strange and twisted hobby?

Through the character of Marcus, Peep explores the voyeuristic attitude of reality television in popular media. He is the creeping suspicion that someone might be watching you, the shadow in the corner of your eye.

Could it be true that there is someone like Marcus in us all?

You can read the full version HERE.

RECIPE: BASIC CHICKEN CURRY

For a long time I didn't really see the point in sharing my various kitchen concoctions. I thought, if I came up with them on my own, surely others can too?


Apparently this is not the case, and my girlfriend convinced me to jot a few down. With that in mind, I thought what better than my favourite every-day dinner dish - chicken curry.


It's something I think everyone can cook, it requires very few specialist ingredients and tastes great considering the amount of time and effort it requires.


It originated from a cutting my grandma gave from her local newspaper, and has been slowly adapted to produce what you see before you.

Step One: Ingredients

For this recipe I've tried to keep the ingredients as simple as possible. Hopefully all of these items will be readily available in most kitchens, with maybe some of the spices requiring a trip to the local corner shop.


NOTE: In terms of spices, you can really experiment and just use this recipe as a basis for your own creations. If you don't have one or some of the spices used here, feel free to use whatever you yourself have in the cupboard.


Serves two:
1 or 2 chicken breasts
Half a cup of rice
Two tomatoes
Two onions
One medium sized garlic clove
Milk
Spices (oregano, chives, paprika, chillies, ginger, cumin)
A good, sharp knife
Salt and pepper

Step Two: Chop Onions and Tomato

The onions in this dish are really best chopped as finely as possible. Use a sharp knife to cut them into squares then just go to town on them rolling the blade along the board.


Remember to keep your fingers out of the way though!


When the onions are done, put them in a saucepan on a high heat, then while they fry, chop the tomatoes and garlic.

Step Three: Mix

When the onions are just turning golden, turn the heat down to about half and add the garlic (this is so it doesn't burn). leave for roughly a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes.


Mix and turn the heat back up, if you have a lid, add this now. The tomatoes should soften and create a creamy texture.


At this point you can add boiling water to your rice pot. Make sure it's boiling and on the heat before adding the half a cup of rice.

Step Four: Add Chicken and Spices

Dice your chicken breast(s) into roughly equal squares.


It's up to you how small you make them, I tend to do mine a little larger as this is how they come in curry houses. Going smaller, however, will make your meat stretch further.


I also add spices at this stage as they get a chance to 'fry in'. I find it helps add depth to the flavour later on.


In terms of spices, add:

A lot of paprika. This is a light tasting spice that adds depth and helps give the curry it's red colour. You can afford to use it liberally. 

A small amount of ginger and cumin. These are strong spices that can easily overpower the curry and make it taste horrible. Add small amounts at this stage, you can always add more later. 

A medium amount of oregano and chives. These herbs will add a floral note and help lighten the curry. 

Oregano works great with the chicken and the chives help to add a light onion flavour.
Chillies depending on your taste. With crushed chillies like I use here, a little goes a long way.

Step Five: Mix Together, Add Milk

When adding milk, be sure to only fill to just under the line of the meat. Too much will make a watery curry.


Turn to a low heat and leave the curry to simmer while the rice cooks.

These two images were taken roughly 10-15mins apart

Step Six: Dishing Up

Once the rice has finished and is fluffy, with very little bite, drain the sauce-pan into a colander, pouring hot water over it if it's sticky, and add to plates.

Spoon the curry over the rice and voila, chicken curry.

UPDATE: 'KNOCK' SCRIPT GETS PRODUCED.

A few months ago I was commissioned to write a script for a third year film student. Over the summer it was produced and has recently been edited and released.

A young man with crushing social anxiety finds a way to communicate via Morse code.

When a young girl moves into his apartment complex Patrick is initially very shy, but when he sees a documentary on the television showing how people once communicated without speech, he sees an opportunity to overcome his disability and develop a relationship with the girl of his dreams.

You can read the script here.

The full film is available to watch below:

HOW TO: PUT ON A FESTIVAL IN YOUR BACK GARDEN

Introduction:

Festivals are a great way to bring together friends and family, to participate in your community or just get drunk with your mates somewhere that isn’t the local pisser.

I’m a big fan of them, and I think live music deserves a place to be enjoyed outside. Putting on a festival in your back garden is actually a surprisingly cheap and easy way to make your own entertainment, and if done right can be a great experience for performers and audience members alike.

Part One, The Leg Work:

Acts:

First things first, no festival is going to be a success without a decent rostra of acts. I would suggest finding out where your local open mics are; go down and listen to the artists, see what you think might work for the sort of festival you’re putting on.

Who will work for the beginning of the day when everyone’s arriving and want to ease into the experience? Who’s going to get the crowd going after? Who do you want for the end of the evening when everyone’s had a few beers and want something loud to dance to?


It’s really important that you get to know your local scene, write down the acts names and a brief description of their sound, then start making lists of a rough running order.

Setting a date:

Once you’re confident that you have an idea of the sort of acts you want to put on, it’s time to set a date.

Leave yourself at least three months to get it done, as although this may seem like a long time, things will go wrong and people will drop out. Plan for the unexpected, so that when it happens you will be prepared.

Putting together your team:


Running the festival will be incredibly difficult without a dedicated team to help out.

You can take on one or more of these roles, but the more you do, the more work it will take, and the less likely you’ll be available for emergencies. Remember as well, that you're there to have a good time, not just to work!

The main people you will need are:

An Artist liaison:
Someone to keep an eye on when the acts are arriving and when they need to go on stage. This is important to stop acts running over and sets having to be cut short. To this person the running order is king.

A Sound Man:
This doesn’t have to be a professional, especially if you’re just putting on acoustic artists, but should be someone with a working knowledge of sound. Having someone with an ear at the desk will improve the experience immeasurably for everyone involved.

A compare:
Having someone on stage to introduce acts and keep the audience warm in-between will really increase the energy of your festival.
This is the perfect job to give to your wise-cracking, outgoing, oft drunk friend. If he’s up for getting in front of a microphone and making a fool of himself, then he’s the perfect guy (or gal) for the job.

Litter picker/runner/general dogsbody:
It’s always good to have a few mates at hand who are willing to help out in any way they can. Having someone like this when an emergency happens can be a lifesaver.

NOTE: Make sure you delegate as much as possible. Many hands make light work, and it will be far more fun if you're not running around every five minutes!

Part Two: Acquisition of Equipment:

Once you have everyone on board, you’re going to need to acquire some items:

Items you will need:

• A PA System
• Microphones and stands
• Gazebo (something to cover the electronics)
• Lights
• Leads (Electric plugs, XLR’s)

PA System:
This is by far the most important part of any successful festival, but is the most commonly ignored/overlooked. A decent sound system will boost the entertainment value massively and will create the atmosphere and sense of ‘festivity’ that we’re looking to create. If you’re going to invest money anywhere, let it be here!

For Hydefest I used my own pair of Stagepas 400i’s. They set me back about £600 and came with their own cables and amplifier (very useful!). You, however, may not want to buy your own system, and should be able to hire a PA for around £50.

Go for the best quality you can afford, I’d advise not to go for anything over the power of 300watts; you’d have to be very careful not to blow people’s heads off with anything higher, especially if catering for a small garden.


Microphones, stands and cables:
I’m sure there are services that will hire these out, if not you can pick up some sets for around £100. In my experience an expensive microphone means nothing if it’s being put through bad amplification, so don’t worry about spending the mega bucks if you’ve got a good PA.

Gazebo (something to cover electronics):
When putting on live music you’re going to be working with electricity, it is therefore important to make sure nothing meets with water, and (especially in England) you can’t guarantee that it wont rain.

I just used a simple gazebo loaned to me from my parent’s garage, using electrical tape to keep things off the grass and a plastic groundsheet wherever there was no choice but to have them running along the floor.

If you have more money/resources/space you might consider putting up a large canvas tent or even hiring an inflatable stage.

Electrical leads:
Make sure you have enough leads to connect everything together, and if you’re not sure, get extra!


Lights:
If you’re planning your festival to go on into the evening then you’re going to need some way of lighting the garden when it gets dark. I was lucky enough to have a good friend who lent me some of his up-lighters, these were attached to the top of the Gazebo with cable ties.

Part Three, Dressing Up Your Festival:

Now you’ve put in the leg work you can begin having some fun with your festival.

Think what themes you enjoy or imagine your community will enjoy, what sorts of images do your community usually go for, do they go for a pirate type thing? Maybe something a little more space-age? Or perhaps a hippy look?

The street the house I held the festival in was called Hyde Abbey Road, and so I decided to call mine Hydefest. Going along with this idea I went for a Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde theme, with one being the person we are at work and the other who we are at play.

With this in mind I got in touch with an illustrator friend of mine and commissioned her to do a painting based on this idea. What she came back with was excellent, I then sent that image to another friend of mine who is a graphic designer and ended up with a large high-quality, professional image.

This was the festival’s brand, and what I used to promote it to the guests. You can see the finished image above.

I then got friends to throw drapes over the walls, bought some fairy lights and candles in jars for when it got dark and a few incense to give off a pleasant smell.

Do you have any friends who are artists? Maybe you know someone who owns a print shop? This is a great way to get a community of people together working for a common non-for-profit cause. Have fun with your own ideas and use the resources you have available to give your festival its own special flavour.

Part Four, Bringing Everything Together:

A month Before:
A month or so before your festival send out letters to your neighbours letting them know what you’re planning.

Tell them the exact time when things are happening, and crucially when they will end, and invite them along. This will foster a community feeling and help to avoid any trouble.

A Week Before:
A week before the event, send out messages to all of the artists with the following information:

1. The exact time when they are playing.
2. The exact specifications of the equipment you have available and what you expect them to bring.
3. How long their set is.
4. How long before they play you expect them to arrive (I usually say about 30 mins).
5. Who to find and talk to when they arrive, and what that person looks like (yellow shirt perhaps).
6. A thank you for agreeing to play, some idea of what you expect the weather to be like and how much you are looking forward to seeing them on the day.

Make sure you also get in touch with your team. This is the time when people may drop out, doing it a week before will give you plenty of time to find a replacement.

On The Day:
Some things to bear in mind on the day:

1. Buy a few crates of beers for your artists and anyone else who’s helping out. They’ll really appreciate the effort and it’s an easy way to say thanks.
2. Print out the running order and put it in places where people will see it, it’ll help the guests to get an idea of who they’re listening to and the artists gain publicity.
3. Put bin-bags out where they’re easily accessible, it will help cut down on the cleaning the day after!

Part Five, D-Day

Everything’s ready to go, now go and enjoy it!

Hydefest was a great festival, and everyone had a fantastic time. If you follow some or all of the advice I've posted I'm sure you could easily do something just the same.

Get a few mates together, put on some great music, sit back and relax!

Cheers!

If you've enjoyed this guide to putting on a back garden festival please feel free to share on social media/tell your friends.



If you do take the plunge, or have any questions, feel free to contact me at:

thomasdulieu@googlemail.com

Happy festivaling!

The Snail Collector (Short Play)

It is night-time, a man is hunched, walking and scanning the floor. He has a small, dirty brown bucket.

JULES: Hmm, mmm.

He picks something off the floor and drops it into the bucket.

JULES: What beautiful, wonderful specimens. Oh, look here!

He rushes to the other side of the stage and picks up something else, admires it in his hand and carefully places it in the bucket.

JULES: Oh, how lovely. Slimy, hmm.

He licks his lips.

GICQUEL enters stage right, he has a flash-light and is dressed in a railway workers uniform. He watches JULES. JULES shuffles across the stage and picks up another.

GICQUEL clears his throat. JULES is startled.

JULES: Oh, my! Oh, hello there young man, what a wonderful night for a stroll don't you think?

GICQUEL: I'm... not sure you're meant to be in here. It's not open to the public.

JULES: Oh, I wouldn't worry about that my boy. Us gentlemen can enjoy a nights stroll on an evening with such sweet charms can we not? With such wonderful sweet charms.

GICQUEL: I'm... I'm with the railway, I'm meant to be guarding the tracks, I think you need to leave.

JULES: Oh, nonsense, nonsense. Come, come, see these wonderful specimens, these wonderful slimy treats.

He gestures for GICQUEL to come closer.

JULES: Oh, don't be shy my boy, don't be so silly, come here and see my treats, look into my wonderful bucket.

GICQUEL comes closer, he looks into the bucket.

GICQUEL: There's lots of snails.

JULES: Yes, wonderful snails. Don't you love the way the wriggle and slime? Isn't it just a wonder of nature, and oh the smell. The wonderful smell of stinky snails, in my lovely snails bucket. Would you like to hold one?

GICQUEL: Look sir, I really think you ought to leave.

JULES: Come on my boy! Hold one of my sweet snails in your dainty manly palm.

GICQUEL: No. It's time for you to leave, this is... private property.

JULES: Just a little touch. Come, they're so smooth and squidgy, fluffy even. Come, let me put my snail on your cheek.

GICQUEL: Hmm

JULES: On your palm then. Here, hold your hand out... There we are my wonderful boy, not so difficult now was it?

CURTAIN

Brock Cain

Near the end of 2013, around Christmas time, I wrote a short radio play in a free-writing session about a big butch man who turns out underneath to be a softie.

The play lay dormant on my desktop for some time, until a few months ago when a good friend of mine told me their group desperately needed a script for a production they had to film imminently. I searched my mind for something suitable and, well, a radio play is very easily adaptable to screen.

It's slapdash, it's rough, it was filmed in about three hours, but it's mine.

I actually ended up performing in it as well, and if you like it, we can probably make more.

So, without further ado. I present to you, Brock!