KT Dodge

Archive for July, 2007

I don’t know about you but the term D.I.Y. and ‘it comes as a flatpack’, installs fear into me. Armed with an allen key and a set of instructions I always struggle to fit the furniture together so that it looks as perfect as the picture in the advert! I am told by experienced ‘D.I.Y’er’s’ that when you receive your ‘flatpack’, you should count all the parts before you start as well as read the instructions carefully before you touch anything so you can get it straight in your mind of how the whole thing fits together, but how many of us just jump straight in, not fully reading all the instructions as ‘we know how to do it’, then 20 minutes later .. it doesn’t quite fit together. Somehow the holes for the screws are just too small and one leg is slightly shorter than all the rest and it just will not stop wobbling, think of me as I’m trying to fit together my newest purchase, a computer desk which comes unfortunately, ‘flatpacked’!!!!!!

I met with some friends at the weekend for a very nice dinner. During our conversation they told me that the Company they are working for is ‘re-structuring’. This rang alarm bells, as less than a year ago, the company I am about to leave ‘re-structured’ and made all it’s administrative staff ‘redundant’ which enabled them to re-employ the people they wanted to keep and get rid of the people they didn’t. This seems to be the trend these days when Companies want to get rid of ‘difficult’ employees, they ‘re-structure’ so they do not get any comeback. I know how stressful this situation is, especially when everybody is left in limbo to ‘imagine’ what is going to happen to them all.

I hope that my friends manage to maintain their roles in their company because they have all worked really hard and been very loyal. Let’s hope that their Company recognises this and rewards them accordingly.

Organising a wedding is a mammoth task and I never really realised until both Andrew and I did our own. However, I am pleased to announce that my table planning skills worked at our wedding. It seems that two of our ’single’ guests have now started a relationship. So watch this space for developments .. who knows I might have to buy a new hat soon!

Since my hair was nearly down to my waist I decided it was long overdue a cut. I decided to try Toni & Guy in Enfield having lost my old hairdresser to Australia. When you visit a hairdresser’s it should be a pleasant experience even might I add relaxing. Unfortunately, I would not recommend the service here. Firstly, the music was loud and banging, with this in the background I was taken to a moody looking girl to discuss my non-permanent hair colour and unfortunately, she was not in a good mood as her counterpart had called in sick and therefore, she was the only colour technician working and what was supposd to be an ‘easy’ day had turned into non-stop appointments and she felt like just going home!

Don’t get me wrong they all go through the right motions, but in a robotic way, I was asked whether I would like a drink by 3 different trainees who just wandered around the salon looking at themselves in the mirrors, of which there are many.

Finally, my hair colour was ready to be washed off, so I was called to the wash basins … which seemed too high for almost everyone so they had to add booster cushions. I was attended by a young male trainee who then proceeded to pour water not only on my hair but all down the front of my face into my eyes. But it was okay … his words ‘you won’t go blind’!!

Once I had escaped his ’service’, I was then given the pleasure of having my hair cut by Casey .. who also seemed bored and pre-occupied with everybody else apart from me! I said what I wanted and she quickly cut my hair in about 15 minutes preferring just to put heaps and heaps of product on it to make it look curly. She then enlisted another bored employee named James to twirl my strands with her. He was rather perturbed because she had pulled him away from an Arsenal Footballer’s wife who was having her hair done …. and he just had to tell me that too.

Well would I go back? ….. Don’t think so.

I and my husband (Andrew Ian Dodge) like many of our friends dream of having a ‘flexible lifestyle’, no more 9 to 5, no more battling with a hellish commute and no more restrictions on how much or how little holiday you can have. Having had many temporary jobs and even a couple of permanent ones whilst I’ve been resting, I sympathise with this situation.

To minimise their costs many of our friends are moving out of London, now I don’t know whether this is a middle aged thing!! or just a general trend that London is becoming increasingly more expensive and unpleasnt to be in.

Soon I’m going to leave my present job and embark on a mission to make my work more freelance, incorporating writing as well as acting.

I’ve always liked a challenge and feel this is going to be a very big one. Wish me luck.

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Auditions are a peculiar thing. Unlike most interviews they mostly matter on ‘what you look like’ .. or ‘what you can look like’ and whether you fit in with other members of the cast they have already employed (i’m taking that you can act for granted). An actor has to learn early on not to be ‘bitter’ about rejection and cope with it … to get rejected on a regular basis even though you know sometimes you just wasn’t ‘right’ for the part is very undermining.

For me I always find the worst type of audition to do is for ‘adverts’ as 9 times out of 10 you are askd to jump through hoops, on camera for instance .. I was once asked to ‘act like a jelly!! … apart from the numerous times I’ve been asked to kiss a stranger. I once got a commercial for Yellow Pages because the director liked the way I fell back in the audition (I had to fall back onto a bed)!!! It’s just bizarre.

My brother also an actor was asked to audition for a new film this week. It’s always exciting when you get the opportunity to maybe get a part in a new film. However all he was told was it’s about ‘bank robbers’ and to date they do not have a script!! Well having no script is always an actor’s nightmare because it often means they want you to come up with ideas and improvise … and sometimes your ideas creep into their script!! Which is okay if you get the part … but really annoying if you don’t. Where else would you get a whole bunch of people readily offering ideas for no money?????? Hey ho, but as an actor they know and you know that you are still going to go for that audition because that could just be your BIG BREAK. So being the ‘method’ actor that my brother Perry is he decided to go in looking like an armed robber wearing a balaclava … assisted by his dog Beattie also in an eye mask which she readily whipped off as soon as he got there - he being the consummate professional “says .. put it back on they’ll recognise you’ …. (I must add this film was comedy) … he said most of the panel laughed … so who knows watch this space … we may get to Hollywood yet.

Sorry for the lack of posting of late. I have got a few fairly big things happening in life right now. Once they sort themselves out I shall have more time to write this blog…as well as my other writing projects.

This is my very first posting ever and I’m really excited to have my own blog set up by my wonderful new husband Andrew.

Many of you may know me as ‘Kim Benson’, amongst many things I am an actress and have done various TV shows including a sitcom called ‘2.4 Children’ for the BBC. However, acting is a very tough business and work ebbs and flows like any creative pursuit so I’ve also worked in many different temporary jobs.

I enjoy all things ‘psychic’ and actually own my own set of tarot cards which I use from time to time. I like astrology and particularly enjoy a site called astrologyzone which gives you a more in depth idea of the month’s planetary influences ahead of you.

I have recently returned to singing lessons .. and re-found my singing voice (much to the shock of my vocal chords) and am busy writing lyrics for wait for it .. new country music. Who knows I might get to Nashville yet!!