Blog 8! The Greatest Show On Earth!

Hey everyone,

Happy Sunday!!

Well, what can i say? I have been on an absolute high all weekend leading on from the best night ever on Friday evening.

The day on Friday started with a nice lie in at home (as i was certain it was going to be a very late finish - those athletes sure know how to party!). Once i was ready to go, i met a few other volunteers at a really nice pub at St. Pancras station. The plan was to have a bite to eat and a few drinks and then head to the Olympic Park via the new Javelin train (its a super fast train that gets you from St. Pancras to Stratford in 6 min's!!!). Why is it that when you have a few drinks, you really get the taste for it and then it's really hard to stop. We ended up having 3 bottles of wine between 4 of us!! It's fair to say that i was slightly tipsy on the way to the stadium.

Whilst i was still at the station, i did a quick interview with the news team at Free Radio (Mercia) and a live interview on the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire drivetime show talking about how i got involved, what people can expect (without giving too much away) and even got asked for a sneaky clue about one of the famous people involved - the clue i gave was James Bond!

You can listen to the BBC interview here:

So, after my slight bit of fame, i arrived at the Stadium which was absolutely MANIC! There were people everywhere.

It seemed like i was only there for a few minutes when we were given our 30 minute call - yikes! In 30 minutes time, i would be performing to 4 billion people worldwide - it doesn't get bigger than this.

Once i was in my starting position, i was continuing to get texts, Facebook and Twitter messages of support and excitement and even some really funny pictures from the Belgrade (Theatre i used to work at) peeps party they were having - see the pictures below! By this point, as you can imagine, i was mega excited. I could hear the 80,000 live audience cheering and the countdown begun.. 10, 9, 8... it was Showtime!!

So, how on earth did we manage to transform this...


... to this?





























1000 x Working Men and Women, 1000 x Drummers, 300 x Green and Pleasant Land, Brunels, Suffragettes including months of intense rehearsals, talent and commitment - that's how!

It was amazing to see everything come together on the night especially as we were kept out of some of the secrets like J.K Rowling and David Beckham appearances, any details to do with the Olympic Cauldron and even the Mr. Bean comic sequence.

The atmosphere throughout the whole evening was fantastic. It's such a great feeling being part of such a worldwide, global event - The Greatest Show On Earth!

I think a lot of the 'Drummers' were actually dreading the Athlete's Parade section (which we were all also part of) as it involved a lot of standing around, dancing, smiling but i have to say that this section was by far my favourite. It was so much fun standing amongst 10,000 athletes, constantly getting high fives, being given country flags from the athletes and breaking into dance every minute. The athletes were all loving the atmosphere and had massive grins on their faces the whole time which was really nice to see - it was their night after all!!

The highlight of my whole night was standing right next to Team GB and even high fiving Tom Daley just before breaking into 'Big Ben', 'Buckingham Palace', 'Rocking The Thames' and 'Union Jack'.

I'm actually really relieved that it is all over and that it went so well. It was an amazing feeling to see the excellent reviews in the papers, over Twitter and Facebook and I'm pretty sure that Danny Boyle is amazed that his 'Isles of Wonder' was a complete and utter... success!

Well, it's no rest for the wicked. I now have a short break (until Wednesday) and then it's two weeks of intense rehearsals for the Closing Ceremony - but that's for the next blog.

I'll leave you some photos, taken throughout my whole Olympic journey right through to the Opening Ceremony.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading,
Craig

Blog 7! 6 days until Show Day!

Hey everyone,

I hope you have all had a great week.

Incase you didn't realise what that yellow thing is in the sky at the minute - it's called the Sun!!! Hooray!

It's been a very busy week for me since I last blogged, with plenty of long rehearsals. I can't believe that this time next week, I'll be heading to the stadium for one of the last times (apart from the evening of the Closing Ceremony). In our flat, we have been doing a countdown on our chalkboard (pic below) and I remember when I first started it... 100 days to go!!

I'm actually writing this part from our holding area at the Stadium. I'd just got into my first costume - complete with boots and a waistcoat!! All of our costumes look really impressive.
For a sneaky peek on what they look like, take a look at the following link for some press pictures from yesterday: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175205/London-2012-Opening-Ceremony-View-inside-Olympic-Stadium-provides-glimpse-spectacle-look.html
I've been at the Stadium four times since my last blog and the whole process of getting in, getting through security, collecting meal packs etc is getting more and more tedious by the day. I've now realised that we will never start rehearsing until at least two hours after out scheduled call time - annoying, I know!!

Apologies I didn't get to finish this yesterday, we had our 30 minute call. So, it's now Saturday and I'm writing from the comfort of my bed!

When we are there for so long, we get a lunch and a dinner pack which consists of a choice of Sandwich, Granola Bar and Fruit. I know this sounds really ungrateful but i really cant wait until my day off tomorrow so that i can have something proper - I'm sick of eating a Sandwich for both lunch and dinner!

Yesterday's rehearsal was the first time we ran the whole show, to time (apart from a slight technical problem with the music during the NHS section) and in costume. It actually felt like it was Show Day - apart from the fact there was no audience at all. I keep getting to see sneaky bits from different sections and it really is going to be a fantastic show.

I managed to get a nice lie in the past couple of days as our call time wasn't until 1pm which was nice, so I'm feeling very refreshed today and raring to go!!

It's actually quite daunting that we don't have any rehearsals left (without an audience) as today is the first day we get a full audience of 80,000 in the stadium to watch the show. It is also the first time that we run it to the actual timings of the Opening Ceremony - 20:12 (see what they did there) for the Prologue, with the main show starting at 21:00. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the transport home. We will have all missed the public transport by the time we leave at 00:30 and they have laid on buses for us to get (part way) home. I ticked the option of being dropped at Trafalgar Square - we will see how that pans out!

Well, i best be off to enjoy what is left of this very sunny Saturday before a VERY exciting Dress Rehearsal this evening.

I'll be sure to send an update the night before the Opening Ceremony (Thursday) to reveal where i will be during the Ceremony (so you can try and spot me) and also a sneaky picture of me in one of my costumes.

Have a great week and thanks for reading.

Craig

P.S - SIX days until the Greatest Show On Earth!!



6 days to go!



Blog 6! Standby for a full run!

Hey there,

Sorry, I haven't blogged sooner, I've had an absolute manic week full of work and rehearsals. So, I'm giving up my Saturday evening to post to let you know about the week I've had. Phew!

Last weekend, I went home to Coventry to catch up with friends and family, and it was also one of my best friends birthday night out. It was nice knowing that I could escape the big smoke for a few days and get refreshed ready for a busy few weeks and the countdown to 'Show Day'!

The night out for my friends birthday was on the Saturday and we had a little trip up the M6 to Birmingham. I'm not normally a massive fan of going out in Brum, but I had a really good time. We checked in to the hotel and got straight on it - it'd be rude not to! It was great to spend time with my four closest friends (they are the ones that are in the cover photo above). We always have such a laugh and wake up the next day with smiles on our faces. I'm pretty sure we did our best friend duties and made McCabeee (nickname - her real name is Charlotte) have a fantastic birthday!

Why is it, that the week always drags, and the weekend always flies by? Monday morning came - back to LDN i went!

It seems that this week, we have had the most rain EVER! I think it might be down to the fact that I have been stood out in for what seems like an eternity.

Tuesday's rehearsal was a total washout. As mentioned before, I have two different roles in the Opening Ceremony - one involves mostly being under cover, and the other is on the 'Field of Play' for the whole time. Guess which one we were rehearsing during Tuesday's Tsunami (slight exaggeration there)?

Although we were getting absolutely drenched (I had four layers on, including two waterproof, and i was still soaked right through), it was very much 'on with the show'. It was great to see that everyone was still giving it their all. I'm kind of thinking that the way the weather is going, it might be raining on the actual night. Gulp!

Thursday's rehearsal was also really wet, but at least we were rehearsing the section that involves being under cover for the majority of the time. I actually prefer the section where I am in the middle of the stadium more, so it was just typical that I couldn't enjoy it as much on Tuesday.
At the end of the rehearsal on Thursday, we had a right treat where we got to see something spectacular that involved the Olympic rings - that's all I'm going to say. It really gave me goosebumps and my jaw was touching the ground when i seen it!!

I'm so glad its the weekend. Hope you are all enjoying yours. Guess what I'm doing....?!

Today's rehearsal was the longest rehearsal we have actually had - 9 hours!! The work has begun 'teching' our section and making sure that everyone is in time, the audio is the right level, the lights are in the right place... can you believe that there is a 1 million watt sound system? Try standing right underneath a speaker! Today was also the day that some of the animals became our new best friends - literally.

It really is coming along, and i know i keep saying this, but it's going to quite spectacular. We really are giving Beijing a run for their money.

That's all for this week, but I'll leave you with a few pictures, as always! I'm off to bed now - need to get nice and refreshed for another busy day of rehearsals.

Have a great week and thanks for reading.

Craig



McCabeee's Birthday




Official Performer T-Shirt



Blog 5! An e-mail from Danny Boyle!

Hey Everyone,

Happy Thursday!

I am actually writing today's blog from the comfort of my bed. I don't know if it's me just being very lazy or whether the rehearsals (along with work of course) have finally caught up with me! Anyway, I'm comfortable and that's all that matters.

I've just finished reading a blog that I follow every week by a guy called Mark Evans. Mark is an actor from London and is currently appearing as the lead in Ghost the Musical. It follows his daily life, what he gets up to and his experiences with being on the West End. It's a really interesting read - check it out (as long as you promise to still visit my blog too) - http://markevansonline.blogspot.co.uk/.

Anyway, back to me!

I cant believe I am actually going to say this, but the rehearsal on Saturday in Daggers (my nickname for Dagenham) was actually really pointless (although I did manage to take some more sneaky shots. See below). It was a five hour rehearsal call, but by the time they get everyone in, seated, and then out on to the field of play, it turns in to a considerably shorter rehearsal.

My section also includes an additional role, that lasts about an hour and a half, and involves me getting quite close to all of the athletes from all of the different countries. Jealous? That's all I'm giving away. This is the part we were rehearsing on Saturday. Quite a lot of what we had previously been taught about this section has changed, so they were teaching us all of the new bits. I don't want to sound negative but the guy's teaching us were different and they didn't really have much of a clue what was going on. Actually, that's not fair, they just weren't as prepared and organised as our normal choreographers. But hey, I'm sure it will be alright on the night!

The rehearsal on Sunday was back at the stadium and was the total opposite... Amazing! As revealed in Danny Boyle's press interviews, there are going to be a good few animals in the 'Green and Pleasant Land'. As we were waiting to start, six horses were led on to the field of play, to an uproar of cheering and applause. I think they are trying to get them used to the noise, but really, us 1,000 will be nothing compared to the 80,000 cheering on the night. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

We did a good few run throughs of the whole section, which was great to see how everyone had improved since we did it over a week ago - and the rain held off too which was an added bonus!

On the final run through, they flew in the five rings and explained how they would 'work'. I'm excited about that bit... like, really excited!!

It's actually been nice that we have had a break from rehearsals this week which has allowed me to concentrate on work, catch up on sleep and not hear anymore cues for 'John Travolta' or 'Freddie Mercury'.

Today, I was surprised to see Danny Boyle pop up in my e-mail inbox. I have had the odd 'High Five' with Danny (I'm definitely on first name terms with him) but I wouldn't say we were e-mail buddies (not yet, anyway). He had sent an e-mail out to all 10,000 of the cast thanking them for all their hard work and to not become disheartened by the press who are trying to ruin the surprise. Nice touch! Oh, and the subtle hints I'm revealing in my blog posts, please keep these to yourself :).

I'm heading back home to Coventry this weekend for a well deserved night out with friends (and to see family of course) for my best friends birthday before the start of a busy two weeks. Roll on the 13 hour days of rehearsals - Yippee!

Three weeks to go! Eleven rehearsals to go! The Olympics are coming!

Have a great weekend and thank you for reading.

Craig


P.S - It wouldn't be a good blog post without some sneaky pics - enjoy!




Cast Badge

 







837: Craig Nolan

 



 




Daggers 'Field of Play'