Cheers to the Year.

Christmas felicitations to all in blog land. I trust you are well.

The original idea at the start of the year was simple: Pack the first half of 2011 with shows, design, teaching and jackanapes then have a baby in June and take it nice and slow in the second half. 

Well, the best laid plans of Lliam and Men...

There was a "10 years in the Biz" celebration at the Day Job and a nice certificate to go with it, some corporate work from the delightful Nikki Parry and some illustration/poster work for an old friend Mr Chris Thompson.

Illustration for CT @ Jigsaw Theatre

 Then it was back up to Sydney to film a new tv show for Ten called Micro-Nation. I'll let TV Tonight explain:

"Micro Nation is described as “the tale of Pullamawang, a forgotten island nation lying off the Australian coast. Home to a cast of larger-than-life characters, their absurd but comfortable lives are thrown into disarray with the discovery of diamonds.”

The ensemble cast also includes Lliam Amor, Kit Brookman, David Collins, Dan Cordeaux, Rebecca De Unamuno, Harriet Dyer, Roz Hammond, John Leary, James Mackay, and Jon Williams.

TEN chief programming officer, David Mott, said: “Micro Nation is yet another step towards developing new opportunities in digital television for the network, and for Australia’s commercial television landscape. We’re excited to bring such a funny and original Australian project to the ELEVEN audience.”

John Leary and I before getting into costume.

Producer, Linda Ujuk, added: “Micro Nation is a smart and completely absurd comedy that cleverly reflects current Australia and how it finds its place in the world. We’re extremely proud to be collaborating with Boomball, a team of six up-and-coming writers with backgrounds in stand up and sketch comedy, who have created some serious funny.”

I play the villain (misunderstood, of course): Menzies McFadden. Not one bit of scenery was left unchewed by the time I got through shooting. Keep your eyes peeled on Channel 11 for this one.

All through this year my lovely family have been amazing and a constant source of wonder and encouragement. 

Now as the year begins to wind down, the baby winds up and I'm just windy... I say "thank you 2011 - you've been grand".