Introducing Spine Hygiene!
Welcome to the Spinegiene, we have fun and games
INTRO TO SPINEGIENE
Spine Hygiene (Spinegiene) is my third show, coming after my debut She Festers and most recently Wretched. The theme came about, honestly, drunk on my friend’s sofa. I was gigging on my birthday in London, at the glorious Quantum Leopard, where I was encouraged to drink freely on My Special Day. I’d also had an appointment with a physiotherapist the previous day telling me that my severe lumbar pain wasn’t because I was overweight or weak or lazy- there was something wrong, really wrong, and I needed an MRI and maybe surgery. I’d been given physio resources in the meantime and had inhaled them on the coach down. Cut to approx 4am on a sofa in Shepherd’s Bush thinking-huh, I could get a show out of this.
Both She Festers and Wretched had darker themes, and I think She Festers handled its subject of suicidal ideation better than Wretched for a) being more healed and b) having a cohesive creation period. She Festers was written over an academic year, Wretched was pulled about for two and a half years with breaks for Best In Class (the wonderful working class showcase I was selected for) and working full-time- I already feel the benefit of Spinegiene being written in such a short period. But I also wanted to move away from the dark end and just make something silly, all the way through.
Upcoming Shows:
Spine Hygiene supporting my fave lil guy, SAM SEE
8th December, Square Hole, Sheffield tickets tba, check my linktr.ee when tickets go liveSpine Hygiene, Leicester Comedy Festival, 16th February
17:00, Phoenix- The Nest - this show is right before Club Wormhole so do see both together for an incredibly silly Sunday Night
https://comedy-festival.co.uk/events/katie-mitchell-spine-hygiene-wip/Spine Hygiene, Saturday 15th March - 7pm-8.30pm, Glasgow Comedy Festival.
Check my linktr.ee when tickets go live
Knitting
Everyone’s favourite bit! I’m nearly finished making this dinosaur neck warmer/cowl/ as a less bulky alternative to my infamous MASSIVE SCARF.
The pink and yellow sunsetty yarn is one I got on holiday in France last year and I’ve lost the ball band. I know it’s mostly wool, and the grey yarn is a Novita sample I was given when I worked at Knit Nottingham, finally being used. It looks a lot less gaudy in real life, I will say.
It’s been ages since I’ve done colourwork, and I wanted to do something small to stash-bust some odd balls. Learning about yarn dominance- how the position you catch the strands effects the over all look- has been so interesting and this is some of the neatest colourwork I’ve ever done. Next, a fairisle jumper or some sort of extravagant yoke. Maybe both?
Spinegiene debut: Nottingham Comedy Festival - Show Analysis
Spinegiene debut: Nottingham Comedy Festival - Show Analysis
The first outing on Saturday was incredible for a first outing. Most first outings are blobby and weird and some of the material will work and you might make out a heavy-handed theme. Spinegiene(NCF) had plenty of this, but it feels much more like it needs tweaks and tightening than hard action. It’s like I was expecting a baby and then I gave birth to an eight-year-old who knows how stories and frogs and transformers work. It’s like the show emerged already on it’s feet and ready to run, like horses are. I’m baffled and pleased.
There are definite areas of tightening:
I’ve never told the story of being trapped in the toilet onstage before, but it’s in the conversation repertoire.
I like the PowerPoint style, there’s definitely more jokes there
I meant to draw a diagram of what Bertilotti’s Syndrome looks like but ran out of time
General tightening, especially in the medical bits
LEARN THE LIPSYNC VALENTINA