Non-Tech Hobbies

I haven’t posted much here recently. Granted, I’m now working for a certain large tech company, and have a daily commute of 200 miles. But that’s not the entire reason. So what have I been doing?

As I write this, I am on the train back from Harrogate, the location of the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival. Yesterday evening, I performed in the New London Opera Group’s production of Utopia Limited, one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s lesser known works. I had great fun portraying a Utopian maiden who learns to embrace the globalisation of English culture.

A few weeks ago, I performed in Grosvenor Light Opera Company’s production of Ruddigore. We had previously done a week’s run of Ruddigore in London, and we reprised the show for the festival. As well as being a member of the chorus, I helped with the lighting tech, which for this show is very important, depicting the crucial plot point of some paintings coming to life.

I’ve been spending at least one night a week (and many Sundays) rehearsing for these shows for the last four or five months. It’s sometimes a shame to consider all the effort that goes into putting a show together, which is over and gone in just a couple of performances (or in the case of Utopia, just one!). But there’s always another show to do, a new idea, a new concept, and a new audience to delight.

So, while I am still engaged with the tech industry (it is, after all, my day job), I’ve been filling up my free time with other creative pursuits. Light opera is not my only hobby, and I’ll hopefully post in more detail soon about it and about the other things I do. 

Finally, I throw things open to you. Does anyone have a cool and interesting hobby or side project they want to share? Let me know, or better still, write your own blog post about it!