Experiments & Updates

Cult Film Club voting results plus where we're at and where we're headed!

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Hey sweet pals! So wonderful to have you here. I’ve been feeling so invigorated by all the recent community engagement. Thought it was worth sending out a little update/ check-in as we’ve had a wonderful influx of new subscribers and we have some delightful new offerings on the horizon too, of course.

Things feel as though they’re really beginning to fall into place for me on here so wanted to share a little about that. I am working on lots more in the background as well (as ever!) but true to my word (and against my habitual tendency to attempt too much all at once) I am honouring the slow burn and really enjoying phasing things in in a much more gentle way. It’s been a surprising and deeply rewarding time so I wanted to acknowledge that by observing what can happen when you honour your creativity and keep things playful and open.

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EXPERIMENTS

Staying curious

My weekly poetry curation and A Little Night Music readings, both relatively new offerings were borne of simple curiosity. I wanted to engage with poetry a lot more regularly, I also wanted to read more books.

At first it felt a little scary putting those offerings out there because it felt so personal, as in, these are things so deeply attuned to my personal preference and taste that it’s almost an indulgence to share them and expect others to get the same level of enjoyment out of them. But I think that’s sort of why you have to do it — for the joy of it. Engagement was a little tentative at first but I kept going because it felt really good to keep creating these pieces and in allowing myself to trust that process, it’s led (and is leading) to something truly beautiful and cohesive on here. I’ve really found a rhythm now, a consistency. It’s providing me with a fantastic foundation to build on and seemingly an audience too, who share my enthusiasm and enjoyment for such offerings, so seriously thank you again for being here. The synchronicities and alignments are honestly too numerous to mention as well, but I feel mightily reassured that not only am I on the right path but that I am precisely where I need to be on that journey because I let curiosity be my guide.

Freedom within the form

In terms of writing, my personal growth on here has been exponential but not in the overwhelming way that it was during my first few months where I set myself the initial challenge of one long-form piece a week, which I now recognise played directly into the hands of those old over-doing it tendencies. Whilst I managed to pull it off and much more besides for three whole months, it left me pretty depleted. I took a break to recuperate as well as to meditate on how best to restructure my offerings in a way that was more sustainable.

When I returned in earnest with my post Pivot back in late June, I had some creative juice back and lots of ideas including the poetry curation and readings but I honestly wasn’t entirely sure how they were all going to come together. Each element of what I had considered would fall under the ‘Culture Club’ umbrella, was an experiment — and still is. But rather than the deep-end, barely keeping my head above water pressure of producing huge swathes of text, which was truly far too steep a learning curve for someone who’s not in the business of writing but just venturing out, these short-form pieces have forced me to get very specific. And though the pieces are shorter there are a lot more of them so they’re making me a better writer, by which I mean a more confident writer because I have simply had to show up to the page far more regularly. I feel so much more comfortable just putting my words out into the universe now. They’ve made me more concise too, ish, which I’m generally terrible at. They even play to my strengths as an actor — versatile by nature, I thrive in an environment with a lot of variety so sharing so many different styles of offering is also proving to be hugely fulfilling. For those that were fans of the longer form pieces please rest assured that my long-term plan is to return to the long-form in earnest, I just have to get these solid foundations in place first.

I talk a lot about freedom within the form but this is it in practise: in narrowing down my focus, providing a much clearer structure for myself to work within, it has allowed my creativity to flourish.

In the mood for colour

You may have also noticed, I’ve even been experimenting with the colour palette on here on the desktop site just for fun and am currently really enjoying this clay court/ scorched earth vibe with aquamarine buttons, it feels super vibrant and energising! Not what I thought I’d opt for at all but again, it just feels really good. I’ve also genuinely noticed that since making the change to that colour palette, which appears on the back end where I work on all my pieces too, it’s fed into my work and gifted me with some real momentum and vitality. So if you have a Substack, I seriously recommend spending a few minutes playing around with your own design elements just to see what happens! Maybe mine will even change with the seasons, or not, either way, I am staying playful and open.

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UPDATES

Culture Club (almost) Complete

We have one further offering under the Culture Club umbrella coming very soon which will complete the arts offerings set… for now at least. Beyond that you can look forward to much more on the conscious living side incoming but I’ll say no more on that for the time being because that’s a little way off yet! There were a few shifts in the schedule too (thanks for bearing with me on that) but for anyone who’s new or needs an update, here’s how the schedule currently stands:

Tuesdays (on rotation)

Cult Film Club - film title announcement (see more below)

In Case You Missed It - monthly round up of all the excellent things

Cultural Digests - long-form arts & culture commentary and highlights

New offering (coming soon!!)

Saturdays

Poetry is for everyone - weekly poetry curation

Sundays

A Little Night Music - short Book at Bedtime audio reading for grown ups

Cult Film Club - monthly watch parties

Sign up below to keep abreast of all the happenings — get greater access to me, my writing, the full back catalogue and all that Still Space has to offer. You can get yourself on the free list by hitting the button below or subscriptions start from just over £1 a week when you take out an annual membership.

Cult Film Club Voting Results

This latest offering promises to be a bonanza hit as far as fun is concerned. I’m hyped! If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, I’m in the process of launching the Cult Film Club — we’re going to watch movies together and chat and swap notes and revel in them all. Click here for more info, although please note that voting on the clubhouse rules is now closed.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the vote. Here’s where we landed —

Choosing what we watch

This one was nice and decisive: 48% of you voted that we alternate picks (the remaining 52% was split) — I pick a movie, you guys a pick a movie. Okey dokes. Done.

Your ideal way to watch the movie

A whopping 70% of you voted that we have both a scheduled watch party and can watch it in our own time so can still be involved. No probs there. Also, done!

Your ideal discussion group

This one was trickier, super tight, almost evenly split across all three options.

As many of us discussed in the comments section too, I think this aspect of the club might involve a little trial and error — or who knows, could be trial and success! Here’s what I’m going to propose...

A watch party with a LIVE comment thread during the movie and then a Zoom discussion for half an hour afterwards chaired by me - or keep going if we want but I will be present throughout the entire movie and for at least the first half hour afters. If you can’t make the watch party but are already caught up with the film you can obvs jump on to the Zoom or comments at any time, or if you watch the film later on, you can still get involved in the discussion thread.

I feel like this one ticks the most boxes because it provides people with the most flexibility and is also the most inclusive across time zones as well as schedules. It also means that even if you watch the film months down the line, or even if you join the club in three month’s time, you can still participate and not feel left out - that’s a really important aspect for me, no leaving people out here, no thank you! If you think you can improve on this suggestion, obvs jump into the comments :) but otherwise let’s get going and see if it feels… yep you guessed it, good!

(Double header?)

There was an error on this question (soz) which only let people vote for a day but about half of you voted on that first day so still got a decent number of votes… in favour of non-stop movies one after the other: 59%. So… let’s say we’ll do it on special occasions :)

When & What?

Here. We. GO. Original score sample from NOPE below in case you want the finale of this post underscored with an absolute banger (I do).

The Cult Film Club will meet on Sundays once a month, specific dates and times will be posted in advance.

The film title will be announced on the previous Tuesday of the same week.

I will select the first film as per the vote. On the months where you guys are picking the film either we decide as part of our discussions or I can put a shortlist of your suggestions together and we vote, whatever you prefer.

So… LET’S DO THIS.

The first film will be announced next Tuesday, September 5th.

The inaugral Cult Film Club gathering (and watch party, woo!) will take place on the following Sunday, 10th September at 5pm UK Time.

I cannot WAIT. A reminder to those who want to get involved that this is one of my offerings for paid subscribers. You can sign up below. I really hope to see you there :)

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That’s all for now. Sending so much love and appreciation to you all, this community really is the BEST.