Change in TV, Bringing Experience into my Craft & Getting My Throw Back!

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog! This week was filled with a change in new channels (which exhausted not just me, but also Margo as well as seen below), filming a tape to help further my career and also getting back into the swing of things with regards to my darts. So here is what I got up to the week commencing 20th January 2025:

Acting class:

This week was the final week we looked at scenes from Gladiator, using the formula of Practical Aesthetics. This was then followed by a new addition of Buzzy Bees, and then using the formula of practical aesthetics to create scenes. Yes we didn’t record it but it was good to recap on this technique. 

Self-tape:

This week I also managed to film a self tape, using the strategies on Act On This’ First TV Role Fast Track. I feel I’ve done well to get into the habit of it, and with an upcoming storyline on Coronation Street which is set to have a lot of tears, as someone who relates to the topic in question, this opportunity couldn’t be more perfect! So watch this space…

Act On This podcast:

This week I managed to catch up on an Act On This podcast with casting director Simone Pereira Hind. I’ve learnt so much from this lovely human being, and it was also great to see act on this member Michelle Jeram make a lovely guest appearance. And it was great to get an insight from her on what it was like working with Simone herself, so that I can also know what to expect! But all in all it was a great session and once again I’ve learnt so much! 

NYT Collective:

This week was the session where we talked about our pitch we got given as homework. And it actually went really well, and we got some wonderful notes from our course leaders to know what to do next if we ever do something like this again. But now we’ve been given the task to do some more homework for the final session in a few weeks time, and we’ll have our next one to develop it. 

Coronation Street:

On the cobbles this week I watched it from 15th January. It was obvious that Bethany is still jealous of Daisy and Daniel's friendship, but after an incident which sends Daisy to the hospital, Daniel and kit are shocked to find out Daisy's secret. And I do think that Kit's honest answer is exactly how Bernie abandoned him, so if he is the dad he may want to rethink the decision. And Cassie is starting to get more sneaky every episode, with Bertie first finding out what she’s doing to then threatening Daniel and Daisy with their secret. Kevin also has worries of his own after finding a lump, which after seeing spoilers, is the start of a bumpy road for him, but with Abi still having flashbacks and bringing back memories over Seb (which the scene with the flashback is brilliant), I wonder how they’ll get through it together. And even though Lauren is trying to do the right thing, I can understand why max got upset, and her encounter with fellow mum Brie may make things worse after seeing spoilers. Finally Carla seeing Rob for herself may change her mind on getting one of his kidneys, little knowing what he’s really been like in prison. Finally I caught up on the show from 17th January. Leanne’s attitude around Sam when she talked about Nick and Toyah is not how you should behave, and I can see why he decided to lie about leaving early. Lauren also had a tough call on her hands with regards to her trial, but Brie may put a stop to it after a tense encounter after the trial. I also get why Abi declined Roy’s advice for help after thinking about her past, but that along with Kevin’s possible cancer diagnosis (which he did a good job going to see Dr Gaddas and opening up to Tim about it), and flashbacks of Seb following masons attack is pushing her to breaking point. So the sooner she gets any help the better. Daniel is also in a pickle after a threat from Cassie, and Lisa’s kind gesture to Carla is a good thing well deserved. 

Hollyoaks:

Monday: Mondays addition of the show was epic as always. Sienna is literally at breaking point after the revelation of Dilly, but Prince is not convinced by Sienna's lies after Maxine spotted her at the police station. But Sienna has bigger things to worry about when Jeremy may resort to the extreme on Prince again. And you know what I don’t blame Zoe for wanting to leave the street, especially after Prince didn’t take her feelings into consideration after revealing his true feelings for Dilly. But on a brighter note, I’m glad that Lucas and Dillon are putting on a United front for Frankie, who is looking at striking up a new friendship online. I do hope it’s a good thing as well. Finally Rex’s “job” for Jacob to do is now found out by grace, who in turn wants her share of the latter. Tuesdays episode saw Grace reverting to her old self when A, she overhears Freddie talking about her true feelings for him and also when Rex needs to get out of the work he’s doing linking to Jacob. And for once when Dillon came to see him after a grilling from Donny (who at this point I’m getting fed up of the tough approach as after a certain period of time it’ll just push someone further away), Rex actually did the right thing this time. And even though she spared Prince’s life, Sienna did something which of silly were here, both she and Zoe would be fuming with her. And even though he missed saying goodbye to Zoe, Prince had made it just in time to see Mercedes, who it looks like she’s taking a turn for the worse. Finally Wednesdays episode saw Mercedes dog hunt for her life after getting an infection. And I get why she wants the pain to go away, but it wasn’t until Freddie revealed his true feelings for Mercedes and grace grilling her that gave her a reason to go back to hospital. And well done to Cleo for having the courage to report Abe, but something tells me Abe is not backing down as seen at the end of the episode. And I also get why Vicky has decided to keep the baby a secret, but Freddie is in hot water when he discovers the truth.

Eastenders:

Mondays episode saw the trial continue, but Reiss’ interference didn’t help. That and the stress Sonia is under led her to make a drastic decision, which in turn has put Reiss under pressure knowing he was the one who put the blame on her in the first place. Cindy is also feeling the pressure after Reiss mentions to look for alternative arrangements (which is probably the only decent thing he’s said so far), and I have a feeling Ian is going to make her life worse than what she’s already going through. Finally, Denise finally told Jack she’s seeing someone (little does he know who it is), and I totally get why Ruby is saying to Martin to avoid overdoing things but I do wonder if it’s a ploy to get him away from Stacey, knowing the history between them? Tuesdays episode saw Ruby take martins place for the meeting to stop turnip road closing, and I don’t know if it’s a ploy to make sure he stays away from Stacey, but she was right in saying he’s taking on too much. But it only went from bad to worse when the chairman has a bad connection with her late dad, and it doesn’t look good at this point. I also know that Nicola was trying to make teddy jealous, and I don’t know if jack knows this either, but she wasn’t expecting a secret between Sharon and jack, which I’ll admit, I find very amusing. Reiss is also in a state when finding out that Sonia is wanting to change her plea, but Bianca mentioned an idea which can get both Sonia and Reiss to raise Sonia’s unborn child stress free, but I wonder what the price will be for her? Finally, after the Knights see Cindy move back in at the Beales, Elaine’s plan to get Ian to confess backfired, as let’s just say Ian’s goads to George unleashed his bad side, and I definitely did not want to get involved if I was Ian. But Ian and elaine may have realised that the attacker may be in their own home after the weapon used was found. Wednesdays episode saw Sharon try to organise something for Phil, but that didn’t even work as he much preferred a night in with Nigel. And I hated that councillor for coming onto Ruby, but she is someone you do not want to mess with, but her plan may have dangerous consequences. Anna is also adamant that she didn’t attack Cindy after Elaine catches her doing something suspicious, but Gina is also acting shifty, especially after a tense encounter with Harry Mitchell. I wonder why that is? Finally, episode showed Reiss being adamant that Bianca will grass him, but some advice from Ruby has given him second thoughts and follow through with biancas plan. But knowing that it’ll push the trial back won’t help Sonia, but Reiss’ last minute attempt may be his only hope. Thursdays episode saw sneaky Reiss betray Bianca, but it’s surely got to come to ahead at some point. Nigel also made it clear to Sharon on Phil’s reaction to going out, concerning her further, and Martin was definitely not impressed with Rubys tactics to help save the market. Finally Anna and Gina may be at breaking point with their relationship after Anna questions her about her whereabouts on the night Cindy was attacked, and seeing her chat to Harry only peaked suspicion. 

Squid Game:

Episode 4 of Squid Game shows that guard 11 was definitely a rebel, and the person in the first game she shot was someone I recognised in the first episode. I also got to see abit if backstory from the front man himself, whether it’s true or not it’s definitely convention. But I did see something on Instagram about a theory between the front man and Jun-ho and even a previous character from last series. We also got to see the captain finally believe Jun-ho’s story about Gi-hun and his journey, and the sooner they find him the better. Thanos is someone who you also don’t want to mess with, and I do feel for poor Min-su. The front man definitely played the hero, and the current game sees more people in one go getting killed by the minute. Let’s just hope the team that involves a transgender woman, a shy girl, a mother and son and a spiritual woman succeed and survive. Episode 5 saw Cho Hyun-ju’s team win and it was closely followed by others. Gi-hun also finally made it, but when it came to the vote, a lot of people, including his friend Kang Dae-ho, opted to stay, and even the frontman’s words didn’t help. But I’ve come to realise that when they say “one more game”, it never is, so the games are like an addiction itself. But some reasons for wanting to stay are deep. Hyun-ju’s reasons for wanting to stay is quite understandable, and a son reveals to his mother his reasons which are the true extent of his gambling. Gi-hun also found out from Dae-ho that he opted to stay due to needing to owe more money than he thought. Little knowing that the front man heard everything, and that he may use it to his advantage! Lee Myung-gi is also having a hard time from Thano’s henchman, and I’m intrigued to see how “Mingle” works. 

Kin:

Episode 5 of Kin saw Eric make a dangerous decision which is sure to leave him with PTSD of some kind. But Kems girlfriend Jess is keen to bring him to justice. But it wouldn’t surprise me if after this whole thing was set up by Bren, he was the one who put Nikki in the frame. And speaking of Bren, his mission to get Jimmy away from Amanda has finally worked after she discovered the truth about where Anthony was, and Michael’s fate with pharmacist Molly may be the thing he needed. But I doubt she’ll see him again after seeing his protective vest. Finally I can’t believe birdy is letting Bren get away with his ideas for Frank. Finally, Amanda and Michael may have discovered from Amanda’s henchman that the Eddie Lucas may be in cahoots with the batuks. So I’m intrigued to see from the photos what the plan is next. And the mother of the son who killed Jamie really has her heart set on destroying the kinsellas. Episode 6 saw Nikki really struggling in the interview. But been wasn’t messing about with her solicitor, and if he isn’t careful, then it won’t be Nikki who’s in trouble. I also think Amanda is a little bit jealous of Michael, but I can also get why she mentions that seeing someone new may cause some trouble. And I think a iffy spending time with Frank did birdy some good as well, and they may have plans to go away for good. And I don’t blame birdy when Bren sees Anna, sparking more concern for what he did to birdy. 

Patience:

Episode 4 of this groundbreaking drama saw Patience look into the truth of the murder of of favourite writer. I know that Elliot didn’t mean to be horrible to patience when she noticed something at the crime scene (as I know there are rules to it), but as an autistic person, I get Patience upset). I also liked how Billy talked about self doubt as an autistic individual and where it came from. And I think that’s something a lot of people don’t understand to this day. But after noticing stuff from a glass of lemonade to a piece of the writers original transcript, the mystery was solved, with it being none other than a friend of the writers! But I wonder if Bea was right about patience getting in getting touch with her mum after noticing a puzzle linked to her memory. 

Personal:

Exercise:

This weeks exercise included doing 10km in 17mins and 22secs on Monday followed by another good bike ride, where you can see the results of it below. That along with going to the gym made me feel really hyped up during the week, knowing I really challenged myself this week and it’s paid off. 

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

This week I watched the filming this classic musical, starting Donny Osmand as the brilliant Joseph himself. Whilst this is also an industry thing, it was also brilliant to watch it as a reminder of those memories where I was in this brilliant show itself! And it was a brilliant form of self care which I never knew I needed! 

Darts:

This week I managed to catch up on some darts and also throw a few legs myself. It’s been a while since I played again, but I’m proud of my progress so far, as I’m starting to hit doubles and trebles again! I know I’m not professional ready yet, but I’m glad to get some arrows throwing once again. 

Online Business Mastery:

This week I managed to make a draft of what I am going to say to promote a potential new business, helping those like myself find their voice in the world. Yes it may not be perfect, but the important part is that I made a start. And quite often that's the most challenging part!

Hard Times:

I guess the main hard time would be that now that I’m on a different tv setting it means it’s changed the way I view stuff. Yes it may seem minor to some but for me you can imagine why it’s made my brain go all wonky. But at the same time, once I settle into it, it’ll work better not just for me, but the whole family. And all I can say is thank god for catch up! So I guess that’s something.

I guess another hard moment this week would be that I made the decision to cut out something and re tweak it for my passion show. Yes it’s not the ideal situation I want to be in, but at the same time I don’t want to stress myself out. But I then had an idea to use the segement for the passion show in an upcoming event, so maybe that could be on the cards! 

What have I learnt this week? Change in the long term will be better. I know it sounds unbelievable coming from an autistic individual, but it’s how we deal with those changes. 

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off