The fabulous Matt Wilde

So, for the past couple of playwrighting classes, we've had a guest lecturer, Matt Wilde, and it only just dawned on me last night that he's...well, bloody brilliant, actually, and I probably should have paid a little more attention. I went to see a show for class last night called "On Tour" which was pretty good, but very violent. It's about a trio of criminals, smugglers and also footy fans who are trying to screw each other out of a bunch of money, but then it turns out that one of 'em was sent to kill another. I won't ruin the ending for you, but let's just say one of the first questions we had for the director was "What did you use for cocaine?"

The director of the show was Matt, which I didn't realise until I bought the programme, and I also found out that he was involved in "His Dark Materials" at the National. I should have known something was up when he casually mentioned that he once told David Hare (or "Sir" David Hare, I should say...) that he was full of shit. Luckily, I haven't seen "His Dark Materials" or I could have really embarassed myself. I did, however, mention that it has a rabid following in Stevens Point WI and he should be looking out for a regional production soon. :)

A bit of good news, I got my first paper back from the teacher. He gave us all a lecture about how British grading is stricter than American grading, and we shouldn't have coronaries if we only got a C. Well, when my turn came, he quietly told me he had no criticism for me and I got an A on my paper. :) A British "A" too, so maybe that means more. I'm glad I caught him in a good mood, since my Hamlet paper apparently decided to not be on my jump drive when I tried to print it out this morning. Oops.

And then tomorrow I'm off to Derby (pronounced "Darby" as all the Brits were good enough to point out to me) to do some interviews. Our next project is to interview people and turn it into a play, and my topic is people who have had or are thinking about having weight loss surgery. It just so happens that the biggest and best group in the UK for info and support are having their yearly meeting this weekend in Derby ("Darby") and I'm going. I won't be getting back until Sunday, so at the very least it will be a nice weekend out for me. I'll be taking my computer as well as my tape recorder. The Muse ("Roger") has been gnawing my ear for the past couple days, and some of the stuff I'm producing has been quite nice. So, while the iron is hot...

Have a good weekend everyone, and I'll talk to you soon.