My Acting Career

December 13, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

Over the next few nights I’ll be playing the part of an actor. I may not be a great actor but I’m looking forward to taking to the stage.

If you’re in the Perth area I’d love to see you at Road to Bethlehem . We live reasonably close to the venue these days but even when we lived a long way where we are now, and before we got involved as actors, we’d make the effort to travel to experience the performance each year. It really is worth it.

I’m not the only one in my family who’ll be taking part. Our daughter Emily and son James will be members of the acting cast. We play a family in the first scene. The interesting thing is that as Pauline isn’t someone who enjoys performing, I’ll have a stand in wife for the performances over the next few nights.

The Road to Bethlehem is a remarkable portrayal of the Christmas story in the form of a free, interactive, dramatised experience featuring dozens of actors and singers. The script changes each year so even if you’ve been before, it’s worth another visit. In fact, there have been significant changes this time around, so while it contains the elements of favourite scenes from years gone by, there is sure to be much that hasn’t been seen before.

The idea is that you’re taken back in time to witness the events of the first Christmas as they unfold, providing a unique entertainment experience that the whole family enjoys.

Instead of sitting down and watching a show, you walk from scene to scene as you travel to your destination, the stable. Live animals, great humour and some wonderful angelic choirs add to the experience.

Before and after you’ve trod the Road to Bethlehem you can spend time in the welcome area where you’ll be entertained, take part in craft activities or even buy a meal.

Road to Bethlehem is hosted each year by the Livingston SDA Community Church in Canning Vale. It runs for three nights each year. It’s on tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday evenings, the 13th, 14th and 15th of December. It starts at 7 o’clock each night and there’s free parking across the road at Livingston Marketplace Shopping Centre.

I’d love to see you there. If you want to know more about the event just click the play button on the audio player below to hear my radio interview with David Shaw, one of the organisers of Road to Bethlehem. The interview was broadcast a couple of weeks back so we talk about it coming up ‘the week after next’.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR120310_1512.mp3]

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I Still Do

December 12, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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WeddingBW.jpgWe have a very busy day planned for today.

We’ll start with church then on to a picnic, followed by a practice for Road to Bethlehem which starts tomorrow night.

After all that we’ll be back at church for a movie night.

Amongst all that busyness, I’m hoping we’ll still find plenty of time to remember a very significant event that happened 18 years ago today. On a hot December day back in 1992, I married an amazing lady.

Pauline and I met in the January of 1992 and were married on the 12th of December the same year. Once we got engaged, half way through the year, we couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait until ‘next year’ to be husband and wife, so we picked a date in the last month of the year and started planning.

I’m still hopelessly in love with Pauline and plan to stay that way for the rest of my days. It still boggles my mind that such an incredible lady would choose to spend her life with me. She’s clever, intelligent, funny, thoughtful, wise, remarkably beautiful and so much more.

Eighteen years later and my love continues to burn brightly for my incredible bride. On that day I said ‘I do’ and today and every day I still do.

Happy 18th Anniversary to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.



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Bring Back Warnie?

December 9, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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He last played test cricket almost four years ago but some think that putting Shane Warne back into the Australian cricket team will put the side back into winning form.

Bring Back Warne! is a website dedicated to bringing the spin bowler back to the cricketing spotlight. The creators of the site are asking Australians to donate as much money as possible which will be offered to Warnie to give test cricket another go. The push has come in response to Australia’s recent playing history which has been less than ordinary.

I’ve never been a fan of Shane Warne but I do recognise that he was a talented sportsman, however a man who’s been out of the game so long, and is now aged 41, is unlikely to halt Australia’s form slump.

Mind you, if we’re looking to bring back previous players I reckon we reinstate Lillee and Marsh. I know they’re both in their early sixties but they were very, very good in their day. Maybe I should start my own webpage to entice them back to the game. Unfortunately it’s a little late to tempt Donald Bradman to wear the baggy green again.

Seriously, it’s a game. Most of the time the Australian team is more than competitive and we’ve had more than our fair share of wins. While I’d prefer to see our guys bringing the Ashes back to Australia, my life won’t be irrevocably damaged by a series loss. It’s sport. It’s a worthwhile pursuit but in the end there are many things in this life that matter a whole lot more than winning a game of cricket.



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The Ultimate Christmas Mashup

December 8, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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Rudolph meets The Police. Brilliant.



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Memories Crashing Down

December 7, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
8 Comments

It’s the end of an era. If all goes to plan, the place that I created so many memories will come crashing down early next year.

The Perth Entertainment Centre, originally named the Channel 7 Edgley Entertainment Centre, is about to be knocked down. When it was built it was like nothing Perth had ever seen. It was Perth’s primary large concert venue, with seating for over 8000 people, from 1974 until it closed its doors in 2002.

Demolition work will begin on the Perth Entertainment Centre next month after a land swap deal between the building’s owner, Seven Group, and the State Government.

The Entertainment Centre, disused and a growing eyesore since it was closed in August 2002, will be demolished to make way for a new mixed use development likely to include office space and apartments.

Seven Group chief executive Peter Gammell said the company was yet to finalise its plans but at this stage there was no intention to move Channel 7 Perth’s operations from their studios in Dianella. – thewest.com.au

Some of the concerts I remember seeing at the centre included Amy Grant, Australian Crawl, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Cliff Richard , David Bowie,  DC Talk, Dire Straits, Elton John (with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra),  Feargal Sharkey, Gangajang, Genesis,  Hoi Polloi, Hoodoo Gurus, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, Joe Jackson , John Farnham, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Motels,  Olivia Newton-John, Phil Collins, Roxette, Sade, Simple Minds, Spandau Ballet, Split Enz, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, U2, Van Morrison, and Whiteheart.

I’m sure there were other shows I saw there as well. I know that I was at the Entertainment Centre for a conference or two, to watch basketball, and even to see Disney on Ice many, many years ago. I also remember sleeping on the pavement outside the Entertainment Centre to get the best possible tickets to a couple of shows.

If you’re a Perth local I’d love to hear some of your memories of the Perth Entertainment Centre. What shows did you see there? Will you be sad to see the old place knocked down?



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