Summer Days Thinking Time

Having just come back from our summer holiday and long days of snoozing on sunbeds, it's made me more aware of the fact that we're heading into those three days that here in Britain we call summer.

 I always associate summer with not being a particularly busy time, although in the last few years this has certainly not proved to be the case. Two years ago I spent most of July and the whole of August filming the final series of "Him and Her - The Wedding" and last year I spent several hot days combating the pressure  of fur and velvet in "Wolf Hall" -   more of that in an upcoming column in  The Stage.

 My main feelings about summer though, are that it is a time when one has to find something to do. A time when one has to be inventive, and create work for oneself. I'm expecting a draft of my next book back from my publishers soon, so long summer days will be spent correcting the proof, appalled at my misuse of the comma, and reworking sections. Having moved house last October, there are still new things to explore in darkest south-east London (or Northwest Kent, depending on your point of view.)

Thankfully the free time will give me an opportunity to write some things that otherwise I may not have done, and to invest some time into projects that otherwise may just have remained as good ideas on my to-do list.

The ability to create one's own work is something that is increasingly essential, particularly for young actors in the current climate. And by that, I don't just mean summer.

At a time when most young graduates are preparing to be ejected from the comfort of their drama school out into the real wild world, many of them are probably just praying that the agents they have signed with will come up trumps. For some this may well be the case, although the summer is probably not the busiest casting time of the year. Many will be focused on getting a job just to get some income. For those who are lucky enough not to have to move out of London and back to the parental home, it may be time to start thinking about just what will occupy the hours that aren't taken up by a job to pay the rent.

 Perhaps a project that could develop into a piece of work would not be a bad idea as something to have on the go. Some of the most popular workshops at the Actors Centre  are those concerned with devising your own show, whether it's based on third-party material, or entirely original. It's at this point in the year that many people are sorting out their suitcases, packing their props, and booking their advance purchase rail tickets or EasyJet flights for Edinburgh.

Perhaps next year, some of this year's graduates will be heading north too. Those who have survived their first year out in the real world that is.  I was alarmed to hear from a recent drama graduate that within three months of leaving drama school a couple of years ago, six of his year had already given up the idea of acting. I'm all for knowing when it's time to move on to something else, but I would have thought that having invested a huge amount of money and three years of your time into a career choice, three months was hardly enough time for it to take root.

There are brilliant pieces of work in evidence that have come out of devised projects from actors just getting together and trying something out. "The Play That Goes Wrong", recipient of an Olivier award this year, and a truly hilarious evening in the theatre, was one such endeavour.  They don't all have to be one-man shows based on the experience of a checkout operative in Lidl - although having said that, I think in the right hands that  could yield some very funny material.

 In a couple of weeks I'll be attending the book launch of the first novel of an actress friend of mine- again something that came out of having spare time.

So perhaps an hour or two spent now, as these long summer days stretch out in front of us,  coming up with a few ideas for a personal project that you can invest in,

is not such a bad idea. And the great thing about it is that it can be done from the comfort of a sunbed. 

Me just lying back and thinking of that good idea