Naz Osmanoglu is a busy man this August. Not content with performing as part of the sketch comedy group, and Fringe favourites, WitTank, he has also decided to embark on his first stand-up show, modestly entitled “1000% Awesome”. He quickly explains, “I was bragging in a bar that I could do anything and someone dared me to get 1000% Awesome tattooed on my nipple. I sat down on the chair, freaked out and ran away.” However, a tattoo parlour’s loss is comedy’s gain as this title stuck and became the inspiration for his solo debut.
It seems that, much like charity, comedy also begins at home. Osmanoglu’s show is centred around his Father. However, this is not exactly a normal paternal relationship. “I am a prince of Turkey, it’s an empty title so I am a shit prince, I’m not even figure-head but as far as my Dad is concerned it’s his divine right to behave however he wants.” Despite these eccentricities, Osmanoglu speaks with great poignancy about his Father “I want to impress him because he is a big force in my life. If I am ironically a 1000% awesome he is sincerely a million percent awesome.”
Osmanoglu attended Durham University and was initially oblivious to sketch comedy. However, this all changed after seeing the Durham Revue perform. “I auditioned for Ed Gamble (also playing at this year’s Fringe) but he didn’t let me in the fucking revue”, he jokingly teases. So to Plan B and the birth of WitTank. “Slowly over the years the cast have changed but I think we have finally found our identity with the three of us.” Despite the success of WitTank, Osmanoglu still remained terrified of stand-up, “I just didn’t think I could do it.” Yet it was, once again, the influence of Ed Gamble that shifted his attitude. “He is the inspiration for my life”, he laughs. “I saw him do a solo show and though ‘I want to do that now’ and I really enjoyed it. Seeing my peers doing it inspired me.”
It is a daunting step to make from sketch comedy, where you have the reassurance of other people on stage, to the exposing world of stand-up. Is it too much of an adjustment? “Stand-up is you and your personality. The audience have to buy into you before they can like what you are saying.” He continues, “with sketch comedy the material is a bigger part and when the lights go off you reset and can become a different personality. It’s a lot of fun because I am on stage with my best friends in the world.” This touching camaraderie only last so long though as he cheekily admits that “it’s nice not having to share my applause, I am an egomaniac!”
With the prospect of reviews, critics and the dreaded 1-star review, the Fringe can be a nerve-wracking month for a comedian. “In my world it feels like exams. Its the end of the year and everyone judges you and at Edinburgh things tend to feel a bit more important.” Which is why practice certainly makes perfect. Speaking from experience, Osmanoglu advises all keen, young comedians to “do stand up and do it early, I regret not doing it from my first year. Experience is the only thing that makes you good. You have nothing to lose, it’s really fun and it will probably get you laid.” Sage advice indeed.
The title of national treasure gets flung around quite often these days from Brucie to Attenbrough, but a perhaps more overlooked contender is Nicholas Persons. As he sat in the Pleasance Courtyard with the Fringe buzz behind him it was almost as if Parsons was at home. At 87 it is difficult to think of a more hard working performer, involved in three shows at this years Edinburgh Festival alone, his stamina is inspiring but he remains unfazed, “People say ‘oh you are consciousness’ and I reply no, I am just professional and that’s why it’s such a demanding job.”
In his 65 years experience in the media Parsons has chaired one of Britain’s most successful radio series, been the host of an iconic game-show and even tried his hand at stand-up but he remains clear that first and foremost, he is an actor. However, the frustrations that came with his mainstream success is the 1970s are quickly brought up, “It is the strange thing about our society, once you start doing a lot of light entertainment, although it is still a comedy show, people seem a bit suspect towards you and think you can no longer act.” He continues, “When I am appearing on stage I am often described as ‘game-show host Nicholas Parsons shows us he can act’ but it’s the other way round. I always say I am an actor but do different things. Very few people cover a broad spectrum of entertainment. In America this gives you kudos but in Britain they’re suspicious of you.”
However, Parsons quickly regained the path of his career and the span of his life in ‘showbiz’ may be hard to comprehend in our culture of overnight successes and even quicker demises (“In my time we had to struggle for a success”). This baffling longevity is brought into quick focus as he explains “There was no television when I started out.” At this point we were interrupted by a young girl telling Parsons she was a huge admirer of his. That’s the thing, although he began to entertain people over six decades ago, his talent and influence spans the generations and age becomes irrelevant when you know your craft as well as Parsons does.
His youthful determination might be the reason, not only for his own success, but for that of his most notable legacy, Just A Minute, although he admits “One doesn’t know what makes it a success.” There is great affection when talking about the show, which began over 44 years ago, “In my role as chairman I try to generate fun, we go out there with the intention of enjoying ourselves.” This extends further than his place in radio however, as fun transforms itself into a life-philosophy for Parsons, a firm believer that “in these time of stress and hardship people do need to laugh more and relieve the pressure of the society which we live today.” There are many reasons to trust his word but perhaps the most important is because it is simplistically and infectiously optimistic, “I’m a great believer that you should have as much fun in life as possible and everything becomes much easier.”
Parsons is a self confessed verbaliser and he speaks with such ease and interest, about almost anything. Show-business clearly inhabits him and his traditional style of comedy may be ‘old school’ but its applicability today still stays the same as it did sixty years ago. Unlike a lot of his piers, Parsons has adapted with the rapid change in media from era to era with the dignity of a true pro. So with such wisdom comes sound advice, “being a professional, you never rest on your laurels which is probably why I am still working. It would all soon disintegrate if I was to take anything for granted.” The enthusiasm with which he still talks about his work is refreshing and poignant and he is yet to be jaded by the industry, “I go out every night and I am anxious but somehow through sheer experience I let my nerves work for me and it pumps your adrenalin.” For him there is no truer expression than you are only as good as your last show, “if it goes well I know I will work again but if it doesn’t, I probably wont be.”
Adam Buxton is on a mission. It’s not to rule the radio world or become a professional jingle writer. It’s to find snacks and lots of them. Unfortunately, the search for a KitKat was fruitless so he settles down in the quiet but sparkly BFI green room. Buxton is revered amongst his dedicated fan base for his over-giggly, over-enthusiastic and generally over-the-top style of expression (which most recently has resurrected the bizarre efforts of Pierce Bronson in the epically naff film, Taffin).
So it came as a bit of a surprise that a far more subdued and self-deprecating side of this Saturday morning man was revealed. The confidence and bravado which sparks on air between himself and his showbiz partner Joe Cornish (which first came to fruition at school) had mellowed during our meeting.
Throughout their 20-ish year career they have worked apart and together so how hard is it to maintain the friendship that started it all? “Very, it changes because it really does become a different thing. As soon as you say ‘this is going to be our job’ it changes forever – that’s the end of us being friends for no reason – it’s a big shift. But then other things come out of it. We’re very different people and we have such different lives so if it wasn’t for our work together we probably wouldn’t get to see each other this often which I am really grateful for.”
Buxton has admitted on many occasions that he is an uncontrollably honest person and his discussions about Joe are refreshingly open as he expresses the universal problems of a long-term friendship. “We’re pretty competitive so we have weird squabbles and passive aggressive moments.” However, he laments that recently things have changed as their focuses shift “Because we’re kind of beyond that now. In fact being on the radio dispelled all that because we could find a nice equilibrium in teasing each other on the air that wasn’t going to end up in resentment and hurt feelings in the way it used to.”
Adam and Joe’s career started on late night TV at the height of the mid 90’s alternative comedy scene and even at that early stage, although things were a lot more structured than their radio show, the duo’s awkward and endearing nuances came through from their make-shift puppetry to their satirical vox pops.
However, the leap from friends to colleagues was one they had to keep an eye on “When we were first friends we used to tease everyone else and be quite obnoxious and then when we started working together we’d try and tease each other but we’d bristle a little bit because the stakes felt like they were higher, we were earning money and all this kind of destructive shit.” So they decided to change mediums and in 2003, radio became their new project. “You are less self-conscious on radio and you are not shackled by anxieties of ratings and getting ahead.”
Adam and Joe have just finished their successful 12 week return to 6Music and questions about a more permanent stay were being asked before they even came back, so what are the chances? “Oh gosh I really don’t know but I really hope so. Our understanding is whenever we have the time we certainly want to. But everything is getting more unpredictable. My schedule is so very hectic, Joe has a lot of time to kill, and he is dragging his heels as he is very lazy by nature. But if I can fit it in between trips to the shed, hanging out clothes, wiping up poo stains from my daughter’s poo experiments then yes. I really would miss it.”
The ease and enjoyment which evaporates from the speakers on a Saturday morning has been a slow but steady development. “I think it’s the best thing Joe and I have done together. It’s the closest we got to what I always imagined we’d do with our TV show. We only ever did those things with toys and puppets to distance ourselves from the screen because we knew that, left to our own devices, we weren’t very telegenic.”
For Buxton there was a frustrating disconnect between the mental and actual image of their TV style. “In my fantasies we would be this cool, riffing, easy going couple of guys. We really used to try hard but we were still pretty awkward! I have all of these tapes of us talking about things, the way we do on the radio now 15 or 20 years ago. I remember we had a conversation about Waterworld and what it would be like. And the funniest thing in that TWENTY MINUTE conversation was Joe saying ‘Wat-er-world’. It was a barren landscape of unfunniness. I’m not saying that we now have the perfection of comedy alchemy but it’s more entertaining”
Photo taken by Amy McIntosh Ball
The modesty continues. Their loyal (if not cult) following would no doubt reassure them that perfection was made a long time ago. There isn’t much that a ‘Black Squadron’ member won’t do for them and the list is endless; put bread in their pockets, shout STEPHEN! in public and even protest to save 6Music in their honour. Such chemistry has served them well so why does the dynamic work? ”It’s natural that people latch on to double acts because it mirrors your friendships and it’s nice to see chemistry between people. All my favourites like Vic and Bob and The Boosh, you get enjoyment out of watching them talk to each other.”And it becomes clear that he does not take such a long lasting relationship for granted: “It’s weird to be a part of a double act, but nice in a way. It’s a passport to people’s affections that you feel you don’t really deserve. I always think I haven’t done enough work for people to be as enthusiastic towards me as they are” he shyly admits.
Buxton’s drive and passion for what he does creatively becomes evident in the first few minutes of meeting him. Everything is done with a painful attention to detail. His radio shows are under the same scrutiny as he admits to listening back every week for various reasons but one sticks out more than most.” I really like listening to Joe; I think he’s very funny.”
His recent solo project, Adam Buxton’s Big Mixtape, was a little more disorientating “I didn’t really enjoy listening to them so much (apart from the Ken Korda one because it feels like it’s not me).” As he explains that moving from the comfort of having a partner beside you to being sat with your own thoughts was a strange and new challenge. “It’s very different on your own, it’s not the same. It’s satisfying from the point of view of making something. I like to cram them with too much detail. But I am acutely aware that when Joe is around it brings something else much more enjoyable and lighter to the mix. When I am left to my own devices I tend to disappear up my own arse a bit.”
He remains vague as to whether he will return with this show “as it’s so much more work if you want to do it well and you can’t do much else. When Joe’s here its less work, the pressure’s off because we are so comfortable with each other now” It seems to be a recurring theme that work is not really work when Joe is around. However, his other side project, which is perhaps a little more off the radar BUG, is talked about with more affection. It is a bi-monthly insight into the weird and wonderful world of music videos. It might sound a bit retro but projecting these videos onto a full size cinema screen is a unique indulgence and encourages the audience to recognise more fully the art of videos. “It’s something I can be genuinely enthusiastic about.”
The show also manages to avoid complete ponceyness with the simple use of people’s maniacal YouTube comments which opens up a world of crazy (and a land of innumerable grammatical errors). “The joke for me is filtering these anonymous blasts through my mind. My version of the bollocks I read. No one has come after me so far and I hope they don’t.”
This innocent skip through the internet isn’t as easy as it sounds. “I spend a LONG TIME on the YouTube comments because it becomes obsessional, you sort of think oh they’re might be a good one out there but your heart sinks when you find a video with thousands of comments. And I go through allll of them. If you get to the Rebecca Black stage it gets a tad ridiculous! It would be the like Jorge Luis Borges story [Map of Empire] which explores the idea of mapping the world at one to one scale. You would end up reading Rebecca Black comments on her three minute song which would stretch throughout your whole life. It would be an existential nightmare!” It seems that such a unique twist on the world of art would slot well into a TV format, with Buxton’s DIY approach being an easy presence. “We have had lots of approaches but when it comes down to it we might realise the fun of it is in the live aspect, but who knows! I’m not that excited about trying to do TV again as it’s a fucking pain in the arse most of the time!” We’ll leave it at that for now.
This year Joe has also branched out from the home-grown partnership to fulfill a lifelong dream of directing and writing his own film, Attack the Block. With a generally pleasing response from the critics, the film seems to have set the wheels in motion for a long running career but will this cause rifts with Buxton? If it was me, I would be consumed with an internal bitterness but the way he so affectionately remarks on this new venture assures me that where there once may have been resentment, there is now respect and pride “I really enjoyed it; it’s very weird because I felt like I could hear lots of conversations we had when we were younger. I am so familiar with his intellectual rhythms it was odd seeing them in the context of a big film. It was amazingly slick, I was knocked out. Especially considering it was his first film.”
But these ambitions are shared as he claims “I would certainly love to make my own film. He went to film school and took it seriously from day one where as I was always more of an art school boy so I liked fooling about.” As time has moved on, a more serious drive has appeared, “I guess I have made a lot more short films than he has – if you can call them that – but I have never done something narrative which would be a new challenge and my plan is to try and I am getting there.” We can only hope that a feature length Country Man will be appearing at an Odeon soon.
“I want people to be saying poems out loud as naturally as they would sing a song.” Liz Lochhead is certainly on a mission to de-mystify poetry and promote its accessibility to anyone and everyone. It has been just over a month since Lochhead was appointed as the new Scottish Makar, with the equivalence of Britain’s poet laureate, this is a role which she never intended or expected to achieve “It was very scary and I thought about the fact that I didn’t deserve it.” As modest as she is gifted, Lochhead has been an established poet and playwright for over 30 years, producing poetry which has entered the consciousness of English students and fans alike.
The role of Makar is a fairly recent one with Glasgow born Edwin Morgan being named the first of the laureates in 2004. In the same year, Morgan wrote a poem to celebrate the opening of the Scottish Parliament which was fittingly read aloud by Lochhead herself. Sadly Morgan dies last year leaving “a legacy that is impossible to fill, I think the point is to not even try.”
As well as gaining notoriety for her poetry, Lochhead is also a successful dramatist with plays such as Mary Queen of Scot’s Got Her Head Chopped Off and Perfect Days being received with high acclaim. However there is still only one true love for Lochhead. “There is something very pure about writing a poem as it isn’t for anything its just for itself and that’s the best pleasure of all.” She continues “best of all I would like to be a poet in the theatre.”
Becoming laureate comes the responsibility of being asked to write poems for important occasions, however, Lochhead remains persistent that the role will not compromise the quality of her work. “Well you can ask but I will only do it if I can. You can usually write something but whether or not it is a poem is very iffy.” Despite such an attitude, Lochhead regards poetry as a vocation as she strongly confirms “I have not made a career out of poetry, being “a poet” is something I needed to do.”
Lochhead’s style of writing is recognised for its unpretentious yet eloquent style which often self consciously mimics and recreates idioms of speech. Not unlike Scotland’s own poetic hero Robert Burns, Lochhead is able to adopts many different voices and persona’s in order to reflect the diversity of the world around her. It seems appropriate then that her first official duty as Makar was to commence the opening of Ayrshire’s new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Lochhead acknowledges the importance of Burns to the Scottish identity and to Scottish poets in particular as “he is built in to what our idea of a poet is.” She adds “I don’t like the idea of making a Saint out of him but we can’t get him out of our psyche really. It was essential for him to do what he did and in turn he is essential for us.”
Despite Burns’ dominating presence in the poetry world, Lochhead recognises that people are still hesitant and reluctant to embrace poetry, perhaps because of the teaching we receive as children with “a lot of teachers becoming very afraid of poems because they don’t know what the right answer is.” Whatever the reason, it is evident that today’s society prefer to read a novel, particularly with the rise of the e-reader, or go and see a play. So is there a future in poetry? For Lochhead the answer is of course yes. She argues that it is integral to society as it “asks us to examine the truth of something”, a skill which we learn as a child in nursery rhymes and carry with us for the rest of our lives. She admits that the future poems won’t all be completely valuable but it will always remain “a very basic instinct … that is why there is a need for a Laureate role”
Therefore it may seem odd that Lochhead’s initial intention was never to become a poet. Instead, she attended Glasgow School of Art in the 1970′s with all the aspirations and hopes of becoming a successful artist. Yet, despite a deep admiration for the abstract painters of this time, the transition to poetry came out of missing the human in the things she was painting. She is, therefore, no stranger to education. “I loved being a student, you don’t realise at the time how lucky you are.” After Art School, she decided to teach fine art for eight years before making the definite transition to becoming a professional writer.
From these direct experiences, Lochhead is very conscious and aware of the recent rise in tuition fees that were announced late last year and she does not shy away from her opinions. “I thinks it’s terrible, we really are entering into a scary time where we don’t know when it will end.” The passion which resonates in her poems becomes very evident as she becomes increasingly agitated by the “short sightedness of government.” Yet, the drastic hike in fees does have one upside for Lochhead, the proud images of students protesting and standing up for their rights, a sight which had been missing for so long. She sincerely claims that “If I had my time again I would protest for against these tuition fees in order to help the next generation be educated.”
However, the rise in tuition fees is not the only governmental change which has riled Lochhead. The recent announcement to cut one in five British libraries came as a shock and severe disappointment to her. She states confidently “I wouldn’t be a poet if it wasn’t for libraries.” Lochhead argues that going to a library is not simply about borrowing books, what becomes important is the “wandering through open shelves when I was thirteen” she continues “I couldn’t wait till I got home to read them so I’d go to a café for a sausage roll and read.” She has no doubt that libraries shaped who she is today and the sadness at seeing them slowly evaporate is strikingly clear.
Lochhead is following in the footsteps of her life long friend, Carol Ann Duffy (Britian’s Poet Laureate), in becoming a popular female authority within poetry. By bridging the gap between poetry and real life, it is easy to see how Lochhead is fast becoming Scotland’s new literary icon. She admits that she considered not taking the role of Makar but believed it would have been a waste of an “amazing opportunity”. Whilst in the post, her aim in simple “ to fly the flag for poetry and for poetry to come in at the centre of everyday life where I think it belongs.” She may not have “always known what I was doing” but from the age of 18 she knew it would be to do with poetry. “It was an excitement that hasn’t happened often enough in my life but when it has, I love doing it.”
It’s big, Teaandtoastblog’s first interview. And we couldn’t have asked for a more interesting one. Known most fondly in the UK for his role as Will Bailey in The West Wing, he has now moved on to an exciting project called BACKWASH which features a few (very) familiar faces. He may be modest but there is no shying away from his presence on screen. So kick back and enjoy the wise words of Mr Malina …
1/ Do you have a favourite acting genre? Is there a particular genre that you feel brings out a better performance?
If you mean do I have a favorite as a performer, I guess I would say comedy. Though it hasn’t necessarily been the focus of my career, it’s certainly the arena in which I’m most comfortable. For some reason I’ve been cast largely in dramas, or dramas with comedic elements. I had anticipated working more as a comic actor than I have. I’d love to do an out-and-out comedy onstage. I love the immediate feedback of laughs, and honing a live comic performance over the course of a run. I hope I’ll get that chance again.
2/ Tell us about your new project BACKWASH as there are some very impressive names in there?
BACKWASH is a piece of material I’ve been playing around with as a writer for a long time, probably 12 or 13 years. I started writing two ridiculous characters for my pal Michael Panes and me to play, and though I wrote and re-wrote the material over the years, we never actually did anything with it. I could never quite puzzle out what form it should take. I wrote it as a play, a sitcom pilot, and a screenplay. Meanwhile, the material sat pristinely in my drawer, while I aged — sort of a reverse Dorian Gray thing. Finally a friend suggested the internet and — cue epiphany — I knew where it belonged.
I re-wrote the piece yet again and took it to SONY’s Crackle.com. They responded to the concept and liked my scripts. I knew part of the sell would be to put together an impressive cast. I assembled a personal wish-list of people I’ve always wanted to work with, many of whom I knew, some of whom I did not. Almost everyone whose schedule permitted participated. One of the most touching things about making BACKWASH was that my friends came through for me in such a big way. I don’t want to give away every star involved, but they include Jon Hamm, Sarah Silverman, Michael Ian Black, John Cho, John Stamos, Hank Azaria, and my West Wing peeps Allison Janney and Dulé Hill. Shooting the series was a bit of a dream come true.
3/ People perhaps best know you for West Wing. Was it intimidating walking into an already established cast?
At the risk of appearing self-congratulatory, I will tell you that I wasn’t really intimidated. I did a table read of my first episode with the cast, and everybody was as warm and welcoming as I could have wished. My memory is that the West Wing experience was pure fun from the start. I was psyched to be working with such a classy cast. I did have some nerves my first day of shooting, but I was basically working alone. I had a press conference scene to shoot and it was a whole lot of dialogue. I wanted to make a good impression. It helped that the episode was directed by Alex Graves, my old friend from the Sports Night days.
4/ What was it that attracted you to the role of Will and do you have a particularly fond memory of this character or generally working on WW?
The foremost thing that attracted me to the role was my intense need for gainful employment at the time the job was offered! Second only to that was my desire to work for and with Aaron Sorkin again. His dialogue is so good, so much fun to speak, that I would take any role of any size in any project if it were written by him.
I have so many good memories of those years, it’s hard to pick one. We had a lot of laughs, working crazy hours, playing stupid tricks on each other. I miss all the laughs.
5/ You have worked with Aaron Sorkin on many projects, do you think you would work with him again in the future? And what is it about Aaron that draws you together?
I think we’re just a good match. Aaron will tell you that he hears his dialogue like music when he writes it, and for some reason or other, I naturally speak his lines the way he intends them to be spoken. Maybe it’s just because we’ve known each other for so long. I’m not sure. The truth is, his stuff is so damn good that I think any actor who speaks the lines accurately and clearly comes off looking pretty great.
As far as working together again, the ball’s in his court! I am very confident that it’ll happen.
6/ What are your top three films and TV shows of all time and why?
TV
1. THE WIRE — This series blows me away. I think it is the single best television show ever made. The writing, directing, and acting are exquisite. The amount of artistry and forethought that went into it is unreal. There are plot points that pay off a season or two after they’re set up. The fact that the show was not awash in Emmys is a crime.
2. THE HONEYMOONERS — I haven’t watched the show in a long time, but I grew up on it. My family used to watch together. I love the impeccable comic timing of the cast.
3. PERFECT STRANGERS — No, not that one (though I did enjoy Balki and Cousin Larry)! This was an amazing British series written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It’s an epic family saga with kick-ass writing and acting. Like THE WIRE, the breadth and depth of the story will take your breath away. While you’re at it, watch anything by Poliakoff.
FILM
1. NETWORK — I believe this was the first R rated movie I ever saw. Amazing writing by Paddy Chayefsky — trenchant and funny, but still dramatic and compelling. Dear Hollywood, please don’t remake this; it’s perfect.
2. BRAZIL — I dig dystopian satire, particularly Gilliam-style.
3. THE PRODUCERS — The original Mel Brooks film, that is. Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder…comedy heaven.
7/ If you were to play any character in TV or Film (past or present) what would it be and why?
That’s a tough one. It could be any of a long list of comedy roles (not that I could outdo any of the actors who played them). I love great, graceful physical comedians. If I had to pick one role I’d go with Charlie Chaplin. I love Chaplin’s work, and always dreamed of playing him in a movie. That said, Robert Downey Jr. did a fantastic job.
8/ Are you an ambitious person? What are your plans for the future?
I think I am ambitious, but I am much more so about being a good father than I am about being a good or successful actor. That is no doubt one of the reasons I’m not a better and more successful actor. That said, I have recently gotten a bit more motivated about pursuing some of my professional goals, which leads me to your next question.
9/ Apart from acting is there anything else you are keen to do?
I have always written, but never really tried to get anything done with the results. Only recently have I gotten a bit more driven. A writing partner and I sold a sitcom pilot to CBS last year, and I have others I am trying to peddle. Making BACKWASH was an eye-opener. I loved being involved in the entire process, and I want to write and produce more work. And I created a role for myself that Hollywood would probably not have cast me in. Turns out there actually is something to the old clichés about “making things happen” and “doing it yourself.” Who knew? I should have listened to my mother sooner.
10/ You are a big tweeter (@JoshMalina), what is it about twitter that keeps you committed to it and who would you recommend we follow?
I enjoy Twitter on a few levels. It’s fun to follow people of note and see what they have to say. I follow a lot of very funny writers, actors, and comedians, and get a lot of laughs out of it. Quite a few people that I admire and follow are from the U.K. — Simon Blackwell (@Simonblackwell), Peter Serafinowicz (@serafinowicz), Graham Linehan (@Glinner), and others. Then there are just random people I’ve “met” on Twitter whom I enjoy.
As for my own tweeting, it’s largely random, absurd attempts to be funny. I like the enforced brevity of Twitter, trying to craft 140-character jokes. I actually think tweeting helped me as I re-wrote BACKWASH.
I also enjoy Twitter as a place to keep in touch with fans (to the extent that I have any). People tend to be very kind, and it’s fun to get immediate feedback to the thing I’m working on.
11/ Finally, have you learnt any pearls of wisdom from being an actor and if so what would they be?
For the aspiring actor, the first — perhaps disappointingly — is that if there’s something else you love doing, do it! Acting is a joy, but doing it professionally is a difficult, draining, low-odds endeavour. It’s an uninspiring message, I know, but that’s the best advice I have for anyone considering a career in the field. Weigh your options and take a deep, long look at what probably lies in store for you. That said…
If you are intent on going for it, don’t hold back. Act everywhere, in everything, with anyone. Take what you can get: community theatre, student films, play readings, etc. It’s all good experience. And the people you meet doing this type of thing will go on to be directors, casting people, and other colleagues with whom you will have established working connections.
If you mean general pearls of wisdom, yes, I have many. Here are two: Change your smoke detector batteries every six months; and, Microwave your sponges for two minutes every now and then. Good bye and good luck!
Naz Osmanoglu is a busy man this August. Not content with performing as part of the sketch comedy group, and Fringe favourites, WitTank, he has also decided to embark on his first stand-up show, modestly entitled “1000% Awesome”. He quickly explains, “I was bragging in a bar that I could do anything and someone dared me to get 1000% Awesome tattooed on my nipple. I sat down on the chair, freaked out and ran away.” However, a tattoo parlour’s loss is comedy’s gain as this title stuck and became the inspiration for his solo debut.
for anything its just for itself and that’s the best pleasure of all.” She continues “best of all I would like to be a poet in the theatre.”
en shelves when I was thirteen” she continues “I couldn’t wait till I got home to read them so I’d go to a café for a sausage roll and read.” She has no doubt that libraries shaped who she is today and the sadness at seeing them slowly evaporate is strikingly clear.
