Live or Rehearsed? – Megan Rix / Ruth Symes

wardenshat-welwynSome people prefer to rehearse a lot before they give a performance and some are more comfortable just ‘winging’ it. The first way can lead to a polished professional performance, or not. The second way to a natural and friendly one, or not.

I think live and rehearsed performances are a bit like writers who plan out their stories meticulously before they start writing them and those that just dive in and write where their character’s lead them as fast as they can.

Writing-wise I think that I’m in the middle as I like to write both ways. Although most of all I love it when the ideas are flowing and the characters bursting with life and I’m writing as fast as I can to keep up with them.
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Aud with performing I guess I’m the same. My Megan Rix school talks are carefully planned out so that thewbd3 Powerpoint slides and content lasts for 45 minutes with 15 minutes for questions at the end. And the story and character workshops and make-and-do picture book events, as Ruth Symes, for younger children, are the same – planned and rehearsed, costumes and props ordered and packed.

But when I’m being interviewed either for the TV (I used to be on TV as a writing coach) or the radio I prefer it to be unrehearsed as it feels more natural.

I had no idea what questions  Dan from Fun Kids radio would ask last  Wednesday afternoon which made it lots of fun and Dan was so friendly I wasn’t scared at all.

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Dan and I talked about my new Megan Rix book ‘The Great Fire Dogs’ as well as about which dog would win which event at the Dog Olympics, if there was a Dog Olympics.  The link is here: http://www.funkidslive.com/radio/dan/

How about you? Are you a planner writer or does your pen just go with the flow? And do you prefer to rehearse or perform live?

Sent from my iPad