Finster Finds

Well, so long to 2008. It has been busy. I started out the year with Crimes of the Heart . A wonderful start to any year. It was certainly one of the most gratifying projects I have ever worked on and I was proud of the product and the work. I zipped into Baby . This project was not as satisfying as the first. I did, however, learn some things about what I will do with my time. I shall trust my instincts about projects. I did enjoy working with Magnolia and Shelby and I worked with a lovely cast and crew, however, I know that I was disappointed with the overall product and that work was not stimulating enough to commit that time to a similar project in future. I squeezed in Assistant Directing Cellar Doors, Secret Gardens at Walterdale for the One Acts. I don't know how much I contributed, but I did what I could with the limited time I had available. Then what? The Fringe. On a whim I auditioned for Cinderella and got the Fairy Godmother role. What fun. I so enjoyed working wi...

This time of year is busy. It was busier still coming out of a show. The craziest is done. I enjoyed a somewhat restrained Christmas Eve at my folks place replete with the traditional oyster stew and iced sugar cookies. On Christmas day the clan came to my place for a big turkey dinner. All went well. This was my second solo on making the meal. I made one security phone call and I figure that next time I shall be able to get through it without the phone call. I feel a great sense of accomplishment at being able to complete this meal without recipe book and with only a single phone call to check on times and procedures. I made far too many mashed potatoes, just the right amount of stuffing (although Mark would eat it for days and days so he might say there wasn't enough), the turkey was juicy and browned perfectly and certainly no one went hungry. On Boxing Day we drove to Olds for a revisit of the Christmas meal. There was ham as well, so I escaped having to overdose on t...

We wrapped up the show on Saturday night. We had a very nice sized house for the close which was a nice way to end it. The general feedback was that the 'theatre snobs' enjoyed themselves, but found the piece full of holes and lacking gravitas (ha ha - it was a melodrama) and that the non-theatre folk had a great time. I think we did what we could with the piece and with the talents and skills available. I did wish that the playwright had been more actively involved in the whole process so that some of the holes could have been sewn up a little. But I think we all committed to selling the piece as is and that worked. Our shows themselves were highly audience dependent. My best show of the run was the first Saturday, but the closing Friday and Saturday were up there. Again, the audience was a big factor and the success of the chair fall. I enjoyed working with the group on this project. I was sick on and off (mostly on) for the majority of the rehearsal period which s...

I had a delightful, shocking surprise the other day. My prof from Drama had sent out an email message to the class saying that the highest mark in the class was a B+. I hoped for a B since I blew the midterm so badly. A B+ was mathematically possible, but only if I'd aced everything afterward. I wasn't holding out hope. THEN, later that week, I got another personal email from the prof telling me that the mark on my mark sheet that had been mailed out to me was B+, BUT she had actually increased the mark to A- because of my marked growth and improvement in the course. She apparently has discretion to bump marks up even if they aren't mathematically supported if she feels it is warranted. I AM IN SHOCK. I am pleased. I have heard that they never give As in Drama 150 as a general rule. I am enjoying this early Christmas present and am again grateful for the group that I worked with on my final project because I know that really helped.

Last night I stared at the mound of unopened Christmas cards that sat on my table and I started to feel the stress of not having started my cards. You have to understand, for years I have been the Christmas Card Queen. Even when I was in University I sent out at least 40 cards. This surged to over 80 in my heyday. Since we moved, or even since we had Gibson, I have faltered and this inability to keep up with the past causes me stress every Christmas. Some years I stalled the activity until January and called it a letter for the New Year. I still felt guilty about it. I know I shouldn't. I know some people send no cards out at all. But I like doing them. I just haven't had time. Anyhow, I stared at those cards and started opening them and reading them and the letters that accompanied them. And the stress that started to well in me cause me to scrabble together my 'year at a glance' and print off 40+ of them. Today, I started with the envelopes and in just 3 hou...

This weekend my sister came to visit. It was a quick one, but it was good to see her and chat since we have been playing telephone tag for the last 2 months and we actually resorted to emails just to catch up. I know she reads my blog so I am sure she had some information on me, but I needed my Annie-fix! The visit coincided with my show, so she and Mom came Saturday. The cast requested that she be invited every night since her laugh is (like mine) very loud and spontaneous. There were other loud laughs that night, but I could definitely hear hers. I am blessed with close relationships with my siblings. I know that not everyone has that. Sure, there are the things that drive us crazy because we know them so well, but as distance and time interferes with seeing them on a more regular basis, those little quirks actually become more endearing. I was just thinking about that today. Thanks for the visit, Sis!

Well, we are 5 shows down and 5 to go. Things are going well. The strength of the show really rests strongly on the character and size of the audience. Opening, Thursday and Saturday nights we had larger and more enthusiastic audiences so those shows seemed to have more energy. I think, for me, Saturday was my strongest show. Everything worked and maybe it was because my sister and Mom were in the audience because I was just feeling it and I think it played on stage. Friday and Sunday we had smaller and more subdued houses. On Friday almost all of the theatre jokes fell flat so we had to re-gear for making the rest of the jokes work. In any case, it is a lesson in how you have to keep the energy even if it isn't coming from the house. I am glad for the day off to recuperate.

So yesterday evening before the show I got there early. As I was getting my make-up on I overheard the other two 'early arriving actors' talking about doing an radio interview about the show. I was excited about the idea that we would get more press so I piped up " Oh! Are you guys doing some kind of interview?". The two of them suddenly looked very nervous and sad for me and they averted their eyes as one of them said, " Uh, yeah, uh, Scott set it up, but, uh, they only wanted the ghosts... uh, sorry, but, uh, I guess the ghosts sell.". I replied with a chipper " That's cool. Great to get more press for the show!" - because that's what I thought. But later, I felt insulted. NOT because I was not invited to the interview, but because they were keeping it a big secret (not just from me, but from the rest of the cast) because they think we are all a bunch of babies who would be more upset that we weren't in the interview rather...

I can't believe how many shows I have done since moving to Edmonton. I remember, before we moved, feeling anxious about what the opportunities would be. I could not have predicted the amount of projects I have worked on in the last 3 1/2 years. I tallied them when I was updating my resume for a position I was applying for (I have an interview on Dec 21st - cross your fingers!). I am up to 12 shows (ranging from set painting, to acting, to directing, to writing). This does not include the University course and the additional writing I have done when I can fit it in ! I might have accumulated that many shows in twice the time in Fort McMurray... it's hard to call, because I would have likely had more kids had I stayed there. So, last night we opened Black Hearts in the Green Room at Walterdale Playhouse . It went off swimmingly! The Opening Night audience was full of those appreciative of the melodrama. They booed and hissed and oohed and aahed at all the appropriate t...

Tonight is our first 'Tech Dress' for Black Hearts in the Green Room . We open on Wednesday, December 10th, but we have our first audience on Monday night for the director's Preview. We are ready, I think. Well, I know I am. It is a funny little show. Nothing earth-shaking or anything and it really blends melodrama and farce. There are times we break the 4th wall and times we don't. So there is a bit of inconsistency of form, but I just play it all with conviction and intention and I hope it sails out the right way. I think I thought that the playwright would be more involved in the process of mounting his show, but he has been very hands off. There are places I would have liked him to be there to maybe tighten up the writing. It you come and see it, we can chat about that! In any case, it is time to get focused. My drama class is blessedly done so other than 'family life' I only have the show to worry about. That's a good thing.

Right now I feel sick to stomach over the proposed Coalition government for Canada. To me, I see this as a total disregard for democracy in Canada. If this was really in the best interest for Canadians and respecting of their desires, then ethically, the three parties in question would have joined together prior to the election (held only 6 weeks ago) and let the population make their decision then. If the Canadian people were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction the current government was going, then the minority government would have been smaller, not larger. It is clear to me that Canadians do not have confidence in Stephane Dion as the leader of our country. Perhaps in another time, but not now, or else the election would have had a much different result. I write to you as someone who affiliates with no particular party, as none of them meet my personal beliefs exactly. I do, however, vote in every election. When the elections come I weigh my choice carefully. I l...