Finster Finds

Well, as we wrap up one year, it means that we need to think ahead about what we want to see next... don't we? Well, I do... It's good to take this lull and think about what is coming up that interests us and as always, there are a lot of possibilities.  I know I won't make it to all of them, but I am going to try! So let's start with January 2014! There are quite a few shows on in town this January.  I'm gearing up for Clybourne Park and Hawksley Workman's The God That Comes at the Citadel.  Both have been on my radar as things I was looking forward to for awhile.  Clybourne Park because of my Tony-obsession, and The God That Comes because I had heard good things about it from when it was in Calgary last season. I'm also hoping to catch Theatre Yes' The Elevator Project at Canoe Festival this January. I missed it last time because of simply having too many things to do when it was on.  I know it will be new stories but the concept fascinates...

I saw a lot of theatre this year.  I like that.  I have said it before and I will say it again, but I feel so incredibly blessed to live in Edmonton because of the variety and the amount of theatre we get to see.  What I Saw: First of all, this list is not exhaustive because I saw a lot.  I think you'd have to flip through the blog to read about everything.  These are what stayed with me for various reasons.  Other people would have a completely different list... Second of all, there is no real order to this list.  It's not a ranking, more a reflection... My favorite theatre experience of the whole year was Ride the Cyclone at the Citadel.  As I compiled everything it is the one that kept coming back to me.  So fresh, so odd, so Canadian and so well done.  I saw it twice and wished I could have seen it more.  It's not often I want to see a show more than once, but this one I did.  I would see it tomorrow if i...

This was a busy year for me for theatre.  I finished off the second half of my great VUE Weekly Season Grand Prize and also had a few fabulous projects of my own on the go. This is What I Did , and the next post will be What I Saw ... What I Did: I started the year with Auditions for ELOPE's  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee .  It feels so long ago...  I was blown away by the auditions and was thrilled with the cast I was able to assemble. There were new faces and familiar ones and the cast had that incredible kind of synergy that made it a most joyful experience.  The show surprised a lot of people.  I had so many people tell me that they were not expecting much because of the title but then when they came to see it, they both laughed and cried and loved it.  I did too.  So much so that I saw all but 2 of the 8 performances.  Of course, I missed the most incredible one where the power went out and they finished the ...

This weekend was to be a little holiday for me.  My sister came to town on Friday so I took the day off work to go get her from the airport and get some visiting in.  Of course, the weather has been crap so a normally 45 minutes drive to the airport took an hour and a half.  I left plenty early so that was alright and the drive back meant for more visiting so that was all cool. I had, however, woken up with a scratchy throat and low-grade headache which did not bode well for the weekend... Good thing my husband is a pharmacist.  I medicated and hoped adrenalin and positivity would carry me through the weekend! We took in Wannabe (Spice Girls Tribute Band ) at the Citadel Club that night which was so much ridiculous fun.  We were joined by friends Kim and Cliff and enjoyed much chair dancing and singing a long to the tunes we guiltily knew all the lyrics to.  Cliff provided the biggest moment of entertainment however when he and a couple of other guys jump...

We are approaching the end of the run... only two more shows left and the journey that has been Proof will be over.  It's been a great experience. The cast really rose to the challenge of the script and they have consistently delivered engaged, present and compelling performances.  I was blessed with a fabulous design team who delivered pitch perfect details in set, costumes, props, lights and sound.  It was really lovely to just direct and not worry about the details because I had a team that was looking after it.  And my crew... I left the show in their capable hands with no hint of fear that it would be well cared for and looked after. There were disappointments, mostly that we were hit squarely with the cold and snow and that affected attendance.  It descended on opening weekend, receded a bit around our dark day and then came back today.  It's hard to compel people to venture out when police are recommending people stay indoors. Throw in a lack...

This past week was insane!  I had two Openings: Proof on Wednesday and A Christmas Carol on Thursday.  As Director of the first and Marketing Administrator for the second I was very busy!  Fortunately both went very well.  I have been very pleased with Proof and it was great to share it with an audience.  Although the weather kept the turn-out smaller than I would have liked, they were extremely appreciative and I received glowing reviews from audience members at the reception following the show.  I hope that you all can take the time to see it.  I guarantee a great night of theatre worth braving the cold for. It runs until December 14th and the tickets range from $12-$16 so it's really an affordable theatre opportunity. A Christmas Carol also went well.  It is so cool to see the people coming to Opening Night for this show.  Many of them have seen it before and they all look so excited to be back for it.  For many of them i...

So in the midst of all my busy, the Fringe Lottery was held last week.  I couldn't attend because I was knee-deep in a tech rehearsal, but had my iPad on hand for updates and was overwhelmed to get word that Finally Sauces was drawn, not once, but twice.  Round Barn did not get pulled, so we will try again next year if everyone is still up for it. I had decided to let the Fringe gods decide which projects would be on the docket and would have been happy with one, or two and probably stressed with all three so this has worked out.  We (Finally Sauces) will be presenting one of my scripts and one of Anne Marie's.  After Proof gets up and running we will have to have a meeting to figure out roles and responsibilities and discuss possible casting, but it is exciting to know so far in advance that we will be in.  I have done the Wait List before and that is stressful - best when you get in and are ready, but very sad when you are working on being ready and you don't...

I have been working on Proof at Walterdale.  We are a hair's width from Opening so that will mean my schedule will open up and I will be able to post in a more timely manner. I did manage to squeeze in a few shows over the last little while... better late than never! A couple of weekends back I managed to get to Two One Way Tickets to Broadway's Forbidden Broadway at La Cite.  It was a fun night of parody of Broadway musicals.  I think it really worked for people who know musicals.  I am not sure how it would play for people who don't know the shows and performers being mocked.  It was pretty quick and the four performers all sang well and went for it.  My favourite moments were an outrageous Carol Channing performed by Kyle Thulien and almost every time Kristin Johnston was onstage. She has an electric stage presence and is a quadruple threat as you can clearly add comedian to the list of singer, dancer and actor. Last weekend I grabbed the last avail...

This week we hit an important milestone in our rehearsals for Proof .  We finished Blocking the whole show.  We now move into putting the whole thing together and getting the feel of the arc of the show through stumbles and runs of larger chunks of it.  Sunday will see our first Stumble Through of the whole show and we will see where we are at for lines.  Since we did so much text work off the top I am not worried about that.  Already my actors are taking sizable chunks off-book and trusting themselves.  With a cast of four that means that everyone has a lot to get into their brain and body but they are all hard workers and seem to be really trusting the process.  Already I am seeing them trusting the emotional response and on Tuesday night we had a few moments of us tearing up at the table as we watched their work.  Truly lovely moments coming through.  Makes me happy as a director!  Now to put it all together! We are also blessed with ...

The other night I took in Pig Girl at Theatre Network.  I am not one to shy away from shows with difficult and challenging topics, as I like theatre that leaves me with a pang in my heart and thinking for days.  The topic is the abduction and murder of marginalized women in the Vancouver area by Robert Pickton and the impact on their families. Although Pickton's name is never mentioned, it's pretty clear that he is the model for the Killer (Randy Hughson).  It's a tough piece to watch for many reasons. The topic itself is not very palatable.  In real time we watch the Killer assault and prepare to kill Dying Woman (Nadien Chu), this is itself is very hard to watch as it is graphic and unrelenting and ever present.  Side by side with that we watch the frustrated Dying Woman's Sister (Elinor Holt) plead for help from the Police Officer (Brian Dooley) over the many years of her sister's disappearance.   It challenges everyone sitting in the aud...

The trouble with having so much great stuff on your plate is that when you don't have much time to actually blog about it! My incredibly busy spree started last Thursday with the Invited Dress for the Edmonton Opera's Salome .  It was a gorgeous and lush show and I loved Salome's ( Maida Hundeling) soaring high notes, although she was difficult to hear in the lower sections.  They told us that because it was dress the performers might be marking their voices, so I imagine that this did not happen during actual shows. I just wanted to hear! Compared to the last two operas I saw, this one took me a little longer to get into as I felt the opening half was a bit slow and I was a bit distracted by the disembodied voice of John the Baptist (Jakonen).  Once we met all the characters I was much more invested.  I really loved what they did with the Dance of the Seven Veils and Salome's final aria as she cradled the head of John the Baptist was quite lovely....

Last week I managed to take in three shows!  That's with rehearsing and having to go to Red Deer for an APN Board Retreat!  I feel like a rock star for getting to three shows!  So, I am also very tired... Anyhow, I took in Opening Night of Dracula at Walterdale.  I am not a big horror fan, so it's not the kind of piece I expect to connect with, but I did appreciate the gusto and expertise with which everything was attacked.  Everything looked and sounded perfect so I am sure for those Vampire Aficionados it hit the spot.  The tech/designer in me was fairly blown away by the detail in all the designs.  From the pitch perfect costumes to the Special FX and props, to the sound, to the make-up and the blood, oh the blood - you could see that hours upon hours were put into the show.  The set design was elegant and supported by a fabulous lighting design so that the multiple locations were clear and functional.  Well done! It's selling terr...

Theatre Yes presents the National Elevator Project What can happen in an elevator? Absolutely anything! OCTOBER 16 - 27, 2013 At Various Downtown Edmonton Locations Starting @ Tix on the Square, Sir Winston Churchill Square, 9930 – 102 Ave Theatre Yes’s National Elevator Project features short plays written for and performed in working elevators. Theatre Yes has arranged commissions for noted Canadian Playwrights from across the country to write very short plays (5 minutes and under) that explore the ritual of the elevator ride. The plays require audiences to enter elevators with the actors for one-of-a-kind, unforgettable performance experiences. Theatres and Arts Organizations involved: Eastern Front Theatre (NS), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (NL), Mulgrave Road Theatre (NS), Playwright’s Atlantic Resource Centre (NS), Magnetic North Theatre Festival (ON), Imago Theatre (QC), Nightswimming Theatre (ON), Persephone Theatre (SK), L’Unithéâtre (AB), Ghost River Thea...

A few weekends ago I spent the weekend in Banff at the Banff Centre for the Arts participating in Playworks Ink .  It was glorious.  Playworks Ink is offered every two years in the fall in coordinated by  Theatre Alberta and Alberta Playwright's Network .  It is similar to Dramaworks, which is held in alternate years in the summer.  Playworks Ink, however, has a little more focus on play writing with staged readings and more play writing based workshops.  I took Facing the Re-Write with Robert O'Hara which I felt would be a good fit since I have so many scripts on the go in various drafts. I decided to bring a scene from Little Monsters , which I started two years previously at Playworks Ink in a session facilitated by Daniel MacIvor .  I had been feeling a little stalled with it, so I thought this would be a chance to kick it into gear. To some degree, it was the right workshop.  I was exhausted, however, after my long and busy September so...

It's time to think about Stage Struck, the Annual Adult One-Act Festival.  This is your opportunity o test-fly a new work, produce that short play you always wanted to, and meet others in the community who are doing the same. There is also the opportunity for Adjudication to offer feedback so you can develop your play and grow in your artistic endeavors. Edmonton Zone   CALL FOR ENTRANTS Stage Struck! 2014   Edmonton’s winter drama festival   What:      A regional adult one-act play festival When:      February 21 & 22, 2014 Where:    Walterdale Theatre Is there a one-act play you always wanted to produce?   Need an outlet for your own new play?   Would you like a first run of your Fringe show?   We’ll provide the venue, the audience and the adjudication, you provide the talent! Winning play goes to the provincials in Grande Prairie   May 2 & 3, 2014 .   Entran...

  So there is this fabulous contest in conjunction with 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Citadel.  You can win a piano.  Check it out.  Enter . I can't because I work here, but if you win and you are my friend it will make me happy.

So the past week and a half has been C-R-A-Z-Y busy and C-R-A-Z-Y good so I have not had a chance to write.  I am going to tell you about some things (like Long Days Journey Into Night and some work stuff) now and some other stuff (like Playworks Ink and my trip to Banff) later! So last week we opened Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Citadel.  Opening nights are a big part of my job.  Although my work was not perfect, the 2 errors I made I was able to fix up quickly and the 3 arising issues were similarly solved with relative ease.  Whew!  I really like the people that I work with at the Citadel.  The box office was fabulous in helping me deal with my ticketing errors, the rest of the marketing people that were there were awesome making sure it ran smoothly and the whole energy was just so good. I am feeling good that I only made two mistakes and that I could handle the other issues on the fly without too much stress. I knew that I wou...

I have been so busy this week I haven't had much time to reflect on Midsummer (a play with songs), that I saw at the Roxy this past Thursday.  Starring Clinton Carew of the amazing voice and the smart and beautiful Elena Porter as a mismatched couple who tumble through a crazy weekend in Edinburgh on a Midsummer solstice night, it is a belly-laughing show that whizzes by like a roller coaster.  I went in to it knowing nothing about it, really.  It popped up in my radar only a week or so before and I put it on my list because I love to watch Elena onstage (she's so sharp) and I love to hear Clinton speak (Best Voice on the Edmonton theatre scene - I have said this before - AND in this one he has a Scottish accent and sings!).  Anyhow, It was so much fun.  I'd rather you experience like I did, with nothing to prepare you.  It's one of those 'anything can happen' kind of stories and the two actors attack it with gusto and absolute commitment.  I...

On Friday night I finally made it to Workshop West's Kill Me Now , the new Brad Fraser play (he wrote and directed it). I was supposed to go to Opening Night with a  friend but I was suffering an incessant cough and really didn't want to be that person in the audience, so I was extremely fortunate when my friend Catherine asked me to go on Friday.  The play, like most of the Brad Fraser plays I am familiar with, is one that addresses a hard-to-deal-with topic, or two.  This play deals with the challenge of caring for a child who has severe health issues that require a great deal of care, and the challenges that occur with that child maturing into an adult with physical (sexual) needs as well as the concept of what happens when it becomes difficult to provide the level of care needed.  I can't talk too much about details of the plot, because I want to avoid spoilers.  What was very interesting and engaging for me was that being that I haven't had to th...

Because I like doing it , and even have brought work home not because I had to, but because I really wanted to finish something up.  Today was great.  I was a little worried because part of my job involves the Opening Night invitations of VIPs.  It is complicated and there is not enough information written down about how to do it, but I figured out a system that will work for me and that I can refine on-the-go and for-the-future.  What was so cool was how many people responded with excitement over seeing the show - not any show - but this show.  So many people said that it was one of their favorite plays and that they couldn't wait to see the cast we had doing it.  I knew I was in the " Long Day's Journey " Club, but I didn't realize how big it was!  Even for the declines, there were many mentions of seeing the play later in the run.  Of course, they could have just been polite, but it all felt very sincere to me.  In any case, it made me...

I am not exactly sure why I never got into Doctor Who when younger.  Maybe it was because when the series reboot happened I was up to my elbows in diapers and play-school and lego and it wasn't on the radar of the other people I was hanging around with.  Plus I moved in 2005 and got myself so involved in theatre in Edmonton that it just didn't happen for me.  The old series wasn't really accessible when I was waaaaay younger... so anyways... I have a lot of friends who I can tell are really into Doctor Who .  Some of them recommended Sherlock to me a few months back and I loved that series and I thought I would see what the big deal was.  Maybe I'd like it, maybe not, but it didn't hurt to check it out.  So I bought Series One with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and dug in, and I discovered that I liked it.  Of course nowadays I watch TV with my iPad in hand, looking up things on the net and when Captain Jack ...

A month ago I started my new job at the Citadel Theatre as the Marketing Administrator.  This shift in my life had some major implication primarily in regards to child care and balancing all the things I do.  I have tried to cut back a bit.  This meant fewer than usual Fringe shows, but still a respectable amount (16!). It also meant more camps for the kids and some crazy driving to pick them up on time and a discovery of being very tired and not being able to stay up to watch the Colbert Report.  The best news, however, is that I really like my job.  It has a lot of different tasks for me, which I love, because I hate being bored. Right now the learning curve is steep but not insurmountable so I feel engaged and good about my ability to pick things up.  Today I got my first Playbill Proof and it feels good to see it all come together.  I will never look at another Citadel Theatre Playbill in the same way after this.  I never realized the num...