Newsletter November 2010

www.clever-pants.come-mail: james@clever-pants.com

Quotes from the Great and Good!

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.Charles M. Schulz

Fashions have done more harm than revolutions.Victor Hugo

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.Groucho Marx

If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style.Quentin Crisp

Well hello there!The clocks have changed, the evenings are drawingin and we’re packing our bags and preparing for thestart of our 2010/11 tour. It must be November already!Our actors are kicking off this year in Galicia beforegoing to the beautiful Balearic Islands and then comingto mainland Spain, Portugal and Italy over the nextsix months.

We’re really excited about this years shows, andrehearsals have been a lot of fun.

This month you’ll find our regular jokes, quotes andrecipe, plus the lowdown on Guy Fawkes night, someinformation on the new language of txt spk and thewonder that is sleeveface. Enjoy!

Brad, Nancy and Mattrehearsing School’s Out!

Remember remember the fifth of November!

On the 5th of November in the U.K. we celebrateGuy Fawkes Night. In 1605, Guy Fawkes (great nameisn't it?) was caught as he was trying to blow up thehouses of Parliament.A team of Catholics had decided to try to assassinatethe king and restore Catholicism to England. But theydidn't get away with it and Fawkes was caught in thecellars of the houses of Parliament with matches andhuge barrels of gunpowder hidden underneath firewood.Fawkes and his co-conspirators were tortured andexecuted - their heads were put on spikes outside thehouses of Parliament as an example to other would-beplotters.These days, the failure of "The Gunpowder Plot"is marked by bonfires and fireworks every year.A "Guy" - a model of guy Fawkes - is usually made outof old clothes and stuffing and burned on the fire.

This month’s jokes

Remember, remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot.I see no reason, why gunpowder treasonShould ever be forgot. Guy, guy, guy

Poke him in the eye,Put him on the bonfire,And there let him die!

Q. What travels around the world and stays in a corner?A. A stamp.

Q. What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?A. Juan on Juan.

Q. How do you stop a fish from smelling?

A. Cut its nose off.

Q. Why do demons and ghouls hang out together?A. Because demons are a ghouls best friend.

Q. What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup?

A. Anyone can roast beef.

Here at Clever Pants HQ we find many ways to entertainourselves when we’re not working on our shows. Recentlywe decided to try our hand at the new internet craze thatis sweeping the... well, the internet.What is this craze? Why, it’s sleevefacing! The sleevefacewebsite (www.sleeveface.com) contains hundreds ofpictures of people sleevefacing. People sleevefacingalone, in pairs, and even in groups! Some peoplesleeveface in their bedroom, some people sleevefacein a record shop or even at work!

“Sleeveface!”

sleeveface (verb): one or more persons obscuring oraugmenting any part of their body or bodies with recordsleeve(s) causing an illusion.

We got out our record collection and sleevefaced thenight away. Here’s what we came up with... Apologiesto 1. Elvis Presley, 2. Sonny and Cher, 3. Suzanne Vega,4. Marvin Gaye, 5. Jaques Brel, 6. Tom Waits.

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You may know him by a variety of names, as over theyears he’s played more Clever Pants characters thanyou can shake a stick at. He’s unforgettable, andeverywhere we go we get asked what he’s up to now.So we decided to tell you!

We caught up with Stuart to see what’s keeping himbusy these days at Clever Pants.

Stuart!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? how did youcome to be a part of clever pants?I worked with Terry and James in another theatrecompany. We went our separate ways. I worked fora year directing and writing and sweating with anothertheatre company in Valencia then came to work forthem as they started up. They liked my trousers. Andpants are important in Pants.I tried to get them to callit Clever Breeks but they only looked at me funny.

What are you doing now?I'm artistic director of Pants. I co-write and direct theshows, making sure actors know not so much whatto do but how to do it. Anyone can learn lines. Butcan you make 250 teenagers understand you, makethem laugh, improvise and do it all in a language thatthey don't even like or want to listen to? I also do asolo show around Catalunya. Same thing. Just me.And 60 kids. In a room. Alone... I used to do ads forTV but the crisis stopped that. I also write books forkids.

What was the best thing about acting for clever pants?There's this moment when you're leaving a schooland the shows were great, the kids had fun, theteachers loved it and you're heading towards thatDish of the Day in some local restaurant in thecountryside on a sunny day. Bliss.As for the work itself, Pants give you freedom topersonalise the shows rather than saying the samething every day for months on end. That way it staysfresh and they're more fun. I couldn't do a job whereI did the same thing over and over again.

Do you miss it?Of course. I miss going around Spain and Portugal,meeting different people, and the buzz from the shows.

What do you think about the shows this year?We're getting better and better. This year we've morescenery, something we've tried to do for a while butnever had the time. And the songs are great. Theolder show (4º ESO + Bach) is our most sophisticatedyet. People may think it's easy writing a play but it'sdifficult coming up with different ideas year after yearwith a linguistic roof hanging over your head. Thisyear we decided to challenge the older kids with moresophisticated humour, more subtle.

Which five words best describe you?Tall, dancing, funny-looking, tenacious... cuddly.

If you could do any job in the world what would it be?A travel writing-dancing-dj-film maker.

When was the last time you were extremely happy?Dancing to LCD Soundsystem. Any meal sitting ona terrace with my friends on a hot but not too hot day.

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

A-CETThis year we will once again be working with theAfrican Children's Educational Trust, donating moneyfor every show we do to helping develop educationalprojects in Africa.For more information visit their website atwww.a-cet.org

Top eco-tip: if you print the newsletter out, do it in blackand white at low resolution to reduce your use of ink.

© Clever Pants 2010

www.clever-pants.com

MethodIn mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, ginger,cinnamon, and flour. Add eggs; mix well. Add evaporatedmilk, water and vanilla; mix well. Pour pumpkin piemixture into a 9-inch pastry lined pie pan. Preheatoven to 425°. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduceheat to 350° and bake pumpkin pie for about 35 minuteslonger, until pumpkin pie is set.

Ingredients1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree3/4 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 teaspoon all-purpose flour2 eggs, lightly beaten1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted2 tablespoons water1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract9-inch pie crust, unbaked

Pumpkins are rather topicl at the moment, what withall the Halloweenyness of them. But did you know thatthe big pumpkins we use to make perfect HalloweenJack-o-lanterns are actually not very good to eat?This is the time of year for pumpkins though, so thesmaller, sweeter ones are genrally very available fromno until Christmas.

To celebrate the general availablity of pumpkins, we’vedecided to share with you our recipe for pumpkin pie.It’s delicious, and it’s orange, which are both excellentqualities! It takes about an hour, so give it a try!You’ll be impressed!