i know, i know. i've been in newcastle since the first of oct, and this is the first you hear from me. fat lot of good i'm doing as a festy blogger, aren't i?
first, the important stuff - the weather. i am sitting inside at octapod typing away on the one day that the sun has decided to come out so far. not to say that the weather has been dismal or anything - it's been pleasantly cool here. ideal weather for all the walking. newcastle is a pretty place, and everyone here has been really friendly.
now, the festival.
i can now say that a) i've hosted a panel, b) i've hosted a reading, and c) i did a reading. the latter two happened yesterday, which was a little full-on for me, but it was excellent. i finally read my yarra jelly story out loud, though i wish i were a little less nervous at the time. the standout performance of the whole festival so far for me was ray kelly jr., who also did a reading at salar on thursday afternoon. his poetry was moving, his rap was clever, and when he played his didgereedoo, he brought the house down.
the panel i participated in on comedy and ethnicity was on thursday, and it went really well. i was a bit nervous to start with, but once we got up there and got talking, the discussion took off. the crowd asked some excellent questions, and the panel lasted for about an hour and a half. then mandy and i got interviewed by alchemy radio in a live crossover! that was a surprise.
another surprise was re-connecting with christie after that one tute we did together at monash six years ago. to top it all off, she wrote the play 'call me komachi' which i really wanted to see but couldn't because it was sold out.
am collecting zines, badges, stories and stickers with people from everywhere.
lovin' it!