Life with the Doctor
Created | Updated May 29, 2007
Like nearly everybody in this country, I am totally into the new 'Dr Who' series, and the original series, for that matter. A fellow Dr Who fan at work likes to refer to me as 'the Doctor', which if I think about it,is funny, because I am an Asian woman, whereas the Doctor is tradtionally a 'white', British male. However, like any devoted fan, I like to think of myself as involved with the series a little more than the average viewer.
As a Science Fiction fan, I've attended my fair share of signings and conventions. I used to visit Pages' Bar, in Westminster as a teenager on a semi regular basis, where I can vaguely recall meeting Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen. It was a regular signing, with a quick hello / goodbye allowed.
However, in the last five years, I've been able to explore the more creative side of Dr Who, on a couple of occasions. The first was 2002 / 2003. I was just finishing my Gap year after University, and had devoted quite a lot of it at a Croydon based Theatre Co operative called EXIT. The first major Production I ever got involved in was VOX DEI, which was based on a Dr Who stage play, written by Ian Wheeler. The new Dr Who series was still two years away, so it was extrememly nostalgic to be exploring the world of Dr Who again, even though it wasn't formally a Dr Who play. I didn't think so at the time, though. I felt as though I had been thrown in at the Deep End. There were so many 'action' scenes, and I had a little trouble with the blocking that it was sometimes hard to truly get into the spirit of the play. It wasn't until the actual performance itself, that I was able to 'switch off' and really enjoy the story.
It was everything that a person could expect from a Dr Who story. The stage was dark with appropriately haunting music. My character gets brutally killed ( offstage) by a monster, so I got to be a 'real Dr Who girl' and scream.
My second encounter with the world of Dr Who was more recent, last year, when script writer Gareth Roberts visited Croydon Clocktower Library. Somewhat, appropriately, I had taken the day off from work and attended the event with a friend. A fellow Science Fiction fan and aspiring writer, she suggested that we take the opportunity to see what wisdom we could gain from a successful writer. I was a little more wary, in case the event organisers wanted to keep the event strictly formal.
I had expected queues of fans, especially young children, tight security
and a brief minute long meeting. It turned out to be the opposite. I was one of the first in the queue and did not want to be seen as taking up too much of the writer's time. However with people drifting in and out of the area, Roberts was only too happy to answer a few questions. My friend and I started the ball rolling and soon aspiring writers were emerging from the woodwork, turning the event from a regular signing into a Writers' Forum. Roberts turned out to be genuinely professional and generous with his time and advice.
Since then I have kept an eye out for his work. I enjoyed the novel 'I am Dalek' and 'The Shakespeare Code' is one of the best episodes of the season so far, I even liked the pilot of 'The Sarah - Jane Smith Adventures' that aired on New Year's Day, which was mainly aimed towards children.
Despite having a degree in English Lit, I have found that journalism is extremely competitive and that personality and confidence are more important. However, it helps that there are websites like this where a person can share their ideas. Of course it also helps to enjoy life as well.
As a Science Fiction fan, I've attended my fair share of signings and conventions. I used to visit Pages' Bar, in Westminster as a teenager on a semi regular basis, where I can vaguely recall meeting Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen. It was a regular signing, with a quick hello / goodbye allowed.
However, in the last five years, I've been able to explore the more creative side of Dr Who, on a couple of occasions. The first was 2002 / 2003. I was just finishing my Gap year after University, and had devoted quite a lot of it at a Croydon based Theatre Co operative called EXIT. The first major Production I ever got involved in was VOX DEI, which was based on a Dr Who stage play, written by Ian Wheeler. The new Dr Who series was still two years away, so it was extrememly nostalgic to be exploring the world of Dr Who again, even though it wasn't formally a Dr Who play. I didn't think so at the time, though. I felt as though I had been thrown in at the Deep End. There were so many 'action' scenes, and I had a little trouble with the blocking that it was sometimes hard to truly get into the spirit of the play. It wasn't until the actual performance itself, that I was able to 'switch off' and really enjoy the story.
It was everything that a person could expect from a Dr Who story. The stage was dark with appropriately haunting music. My character gets brutally killed ( offstage) by a monster, so I got to be a 'real Dr Who girl' and scream.
My second encounter with the world of Dr Who was more recent, last year, when script writer Gareth Roberts visited Croydon Clocktower Library. Somewhat, appropriately, I had taken the day off from work and attended the event with a friend. A fellow Science Fiction fan and aspiring writer, she suggested that we take the opportunity to see what wisdom we could gain from a successful writer. I was a little more wary, in case the event organisers wanted to keep the event strictly formal.
I had expected queues of fans, especially young children, tight security
and a brief minute long meeting. It turned out to be the opposite. I was one of the first in the queue and did not want to be seen as taking up too much of the writer's time. However with people drifting in and out of the area, Roberts was only too happy to answer a few questions. My friend and I started the ball rolling and soon aspiring writers were emerging from the woodwork, turning the event from a regular signing into a Writers' Forum. Roberts turned out to be genuinely professional and generous with his time and advice.
Since then I have kept an eye out for his work. I enjoyed the novel 'I am Dalek' and 'The Shakespeare Code' is one of the best episodes of the season so far, I even liked the pilot of 'The Sarah - Jane Smith Adventures' that aired on New Year's Day, which was mainly aimed towards children.
Despite having a degree in English Lit, I have found that journalism is extremely competitive and that personality and confidence are more important. However, it helps that there are websites like this where a person can share their ideas. Of course it also helps to enjoy life as well.
