Finster Finds

So yesterday I wasn't feeling well, so I made the call to stay home and miss the show, and MISS THE SHOW I DID!  What happened was apparently an AMAZING Night of THEATRE!  About 15 minutes from the end of the show, the theatre lost power and the show was stopped.  When the tech determined that it was not coming back on he made the announcement that the space would have to be evacuated into the Lobby.  The audience cried out, "But how will we know who wins?!" and in less than 30 seconds the cast and band moved the show into the Lobby and performed the rest of the show there.  Luckily there was a piano in the lobby and two of the musicians had portable instruments (no drums, but our drummer air-drummed along with the rest of the show).  The audience sat on lobby chairs and stood and some even sat on the floor and they were rapt.  The cast adjusted their choreography and blocking to the new space and just went with it.  They all describe the evening ...

We were returned to the audience last night after our 10 day hiatus and it was a fabulous show.  The emotional energy in the space was the best and other than a few issues with mics, it was another awesome show.  So pleased and proud.  A friend of mine, who has seen almost 50 shows this season, was there and she related the following on FB: "I just had the best experience I've had all season at the theatre. And since I've seen nearly 50 shows, that's saying something.   I laughed a tonne, I wept for the pain of childhood. And I was blown away by the incredible performances - on stage and off.   Congrats, Kristen Finlay and the rest of the 'Bee' participants - you are all T-A-L-E-N-T-E-D!!" She's also someone who wouldn't just say that to be nice, so I was very touched by her post. I hope that people make it out.  It has been selling really well though, so I recommend getting tickets in advance.  But I have lost count of the number of peop...

This day has been up and down for me... mostly because I finally did a few of my personal errands that I have been putting off because of a lack of time.  And these errands/tasks were both very expensive.  The first thing was arranging for Oliver's Orthodontists appointments for him to get his braces.  This will cost us between $8000-9000.00 when all is said and done.  I also had to do a little money moving from long term savings so that I would have it in place to pay for the teeth-work... ugh... It's times like these that I wish I was working for a school board somewhere with a nice dental plan and benefits instead of paying it all out of pocket... Sigh... The second thing I did was book Summer Day Camps for the kids at the U of A.  The four weeks I booked will cost me around $1650 and those are just the sports camps.  I still want to book in a drama camp and an Art Gallery camp and those are generally more expensive. Why do I do Day Camps? I could theo...

It's when I do a show like this that I truly feel spoiled. I felt spoiled at the audition when these amazing people came out and offered themselves up to me for the show.  I feel spoiled whenever I get to work with Sally Hunt, Music Director Extraordinaire. I feel spoiled when I have Kim Stadelmann in the booth calling the show and setting lights with me.  I do not know why I get to work with these amazing people, all I know is that I am eternally glad that I do.  I am glad that they return to work with me more than once.  I hope it never ends... Today we returned to The Bee after a 10 day hiatus.  The show they did for the four of us in the audience showed very little signs of being away that long. They blow my mind... I am so lucky... Have I mentioned that?

Years ago, someone very close to me was driving on a dark winter's night.  She was not driving recklessly or fast, but it was winter and a little icy and dark.  She rounded a corner in a subdivision and a black object flew onto the road in front of her - it looked like a black garbage bag - she braked and tried to avoid hitting it but it came out too fast and she hit it and slid down the road with it under her car for a few metres. It was not a garbage bag.  It was a 10 or 11 year old boy who was tobogganing into the road from a snowbank alongside the subdivision street.  There wasn't anything she could have done other than being psychic to avoid it.  Thankfully, he was ultimately okay, but he did suffer a head injury and was hospitalized for some time until he recovered.  Until he was okay, it was a part of her - a constant piece of her mind was dedicated to worry and a feeling of responsibility and a need to be engaged in active thought towards his r...

Well, we wrapped up From Cradle to Stage for another year.  Overall things went really well.  I think the playwrights were happy with their plays and from the feedback from the rest of the production team everything ran very smoothly.  We finished up with a super fast strike and had a great turnout in terms of audience.  And then today, as a finishing touch to the festival, in conjunction with APN, Walterdale hosted a playwriting workshop facilitated by Tracy Carroll that ran smoothly and was very well received by the participants.  I am also extremely confident that we are well under budget which is never a bad thing! There were several times in the months leading up to this festival that I wondered if I could get it all done. Luckily I had a great team who understood my time situation who rose to the occasion and did the work fabulously. So I am glad that I did not resign months ago, when it could have meant a much less stressful season for me. So, as I dr...

So, I have been working on From Cradle to Stage at Walterdale Theatre Associates this year.  One of the cool things we are doing is holding a play writing workshop - facilitated by APN's Tracy Carroll.  It's free to Walterdale Members, so if you aren't a member and would like to take it, it will only cost you the $25 Walterdale membership fee.  A totally amazing deal!  And we provide lunch! That's a steal of a deal.  It's for any level of playwright, so don't be scared.  The Nuts & Bolts of Playwriting – An APN Workshop Sunday, May 26th 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Lunch provided) Walterdale Theatre – Glenfield Rehearsal Hall Facilitator: Tracy Carroll By creating mini-production companies with participants, we’ll look at some of the building blocks of developing a new play from the writing, acting and directing point of view. A fun, hands-on session for all participants of the From Cradle to Stage Festival and members of Walterdal...

Today the 55th Season at Walterdale Theatre Associates was announced.  I am pleased to announce Proof, by David Auburn, at Walterdale in the Fall.  The show will have auditions in September, start rehearsing in mid October and go up on deck the first two weeks of December.  Stay tuned for audition information.  I will be looking for 2 women and 2 men of varying ages, stay tuned for more details...  that I will be directing I am so excited to be directing this play.  I have an awesome Production team assembled: Joan Hawkins (Set Design), Richard Hatfield (Lighting Design), Elaina Bolton (Costume Design), Erin Foster-O'Riordan (Sound Design), Pierre Valois (Master Builder) and Catherine Wenschlag (Production Manager).  I have a few other roles on the team, so let me know if you'd like to be involved! This a great script, so incredibly well written, and it brings art and science together as it contemplates genius and madness and love and honesty. Mo...

Well, I have made it through the toughest part of the month... having both shows Open and up and running.   Spelling Bee is a resounding success so far with audiences leaving with aching ribs from laughing so hard.  I have gotten so many wonderful comments from people on the show.  I hope that you all find the time to make it out to the last part of the run ( May 29th - June 1st ).  It's an extremely high caliber show in terms of the talent onstage and even if you are not a musical theatre fan, I dare you not to enjoy it.  The script itself is so smart and sharp and funny. From what I have heard tickets are going fast for the remainder of the run so I would advise people to pick them up sooner rather than later. For me it's a weird feeling to be in the middle of a run but technically on a break from a show.  I miss them all! Last Night From Cradle to Stage opened on Walterdale's stage.  All the pieces were in place and the shows themselves ran very ...

From Cradle to Stage opens tonight at Walterdale.  I encourage you to come out and see these two lovely new works by emerging Alberta playwrights.  I also designed and painted the sets so I am very excited to show those off! I am quite happy with how the sets turned out and I love how they work with their respective shows! It was a challenge to design two sets - one indoor and one outdoor - for the same space. After the show tonight there is a nice reception upstairs to mix and mingle with the cast and crew and the other members of the audience! It's a great way to round off your holiday weekend.

I had a take a break from the Bee to handle some things at Walterdale as we had our last Dress Rehearsal and Theatre Clean before Preview and Opening for From Cradle to Stage . Things went remarkably smoothly and the only thing I didn't like was that it meant I had to find parking in the area on a Saturday.  For those of you who know the Strathcona Farmer's Market traffic situation you know why this was irksome.  I made it work and it only cost me $4.00! I have been so happy with how things have gone with Cradle this year.  I was upfront with the level of my busyness so I did a tonne of work to try and be super organized and everyone stepped up to the plate and we are in great shape with very low stress! Huzzah!  Today is the Artist's/Director's/Students' Preview and it will be nice to show the work to some people outside the team. Show is at 2 p.m. and students with ID can see it for FREE! We open tomorrow night at 8 p.m. The shows this year are lovely and strange...

I just got home from the second show in the run.  I took Mark to Opening Night yesterday and he was up onstage as one of the audience volunteers.  It was fun to see him up there as he knew very little about the show despite being my husband and because he is very competitive so he REALLY wanted to get the words right.  The show was wonderfully received.  I so enjoy how much the audience laughs.  The best post show comment for me, however, was from a friend who said: " I knew I would be laughing, but I wasn't expecting to cry. "   I felt like I had succeeded because I really wanted it to be more than just another fun musical.  It is that, but I also wanted it to have heart and a sense of realness under the quirky exteriors of the competitors. Tonight I took Oliver, who is almost 12, to see the second performance. I was concerned about the "inappropriate for young children song" ( not it's real name ), but I needn't have worried.  Oliver was ...

What is your role in this show?  I play Chip Tolentino, last year's winner of the Putnam County Spelling Bee. All he wants is to win again this year … However, puberty has some other plans for him. What is your background in theatre?  I was first introduced to Theatre at M.E LaZerte under the instruction of Pamela Schmunk. After graduating, I moved to Victoria, BC and trained at the Canadian College of Performing Arts, receiving a Diploma in Performing Arts. In those years, some of my favourite roles include Ren ( Footloose: The Musical ), Reverend Hightower ( Bat Boy: The Musical ), and Prince Amir ( The Ash Girl ). What is your favourite word to spell, and why?  ICUP Definition: A lame joke told by 3rd Graders, and apparently recent college graduates. Sentence use: Hey man, how do you spell ICUP? Photo Credit: Janine Hodder Kate Wylie as Mitch and Mark Sinongco as Chip Tolentino

What a fun night!  We had the ELOPE Board of Directors come and watch the show tonight and some of them participated as audience volunteers so we would have a practice run before Opening and it was so much fun.  The energy give and take from them allowed me to see the show through new eyes, which is not easy to do after living with it for so long. I spent a bit of time tweaking light cues so that they were as good as what was happening onstage, but for the most part I just enjoyed it.  It was great to have four volunteers onstage who didn't know what was coming and a good 8-10 people in the house enjoying the Bee!  It's why you do Previews.  I think it was really good for the actors to hear the laughs and feel what that felt like before we face our first ticketed audience tomorrow night. TOMORROW... Goodbye! Goodbye! I have wisely left myself time tomorrow to rest and get ready.  I do have to do a little shopping.  For those of you who kn...

I have been so knee deep in Spelling Bee this last little while that I feel bad that I haven't taken a moment until now to write about Catalyst Theatre's production of The Soul Collector .  As it was, I was very fortunate to find a night when I could actually take in the show.  I actually booked the tickets over a month prior as I missed Frankenstein due to it's being Sold Out and I vowed that would not happen this time ( especially after I heard so much about what I had missed from all my friends! ).  So, on Friday night I met up with AM and we took in a bite and a show.  We had great fun at the lobby Photo Booth. Very cool to try on the show inspired costume pieces and since we are both theatre performers we could not resist the tickle trunk! It is good to be able to just be silly! It was also cool to run into a few people from Spelling Bee there that night.  I guess we all had the night off! The show, the show, the show... First I have to talk about...

Matt Graham - Carl Dad What role do you play in the show? I play Carl Dad- one of Schwartzy's two fathers. He is an extremely competitive coach, and will stop at nothing to see his daughter take the Putnam Bee! What is your background in theatre?  I did a few shows for my high schools drama club, but some recent highlights include playing Horton in festival place's "Seussical the Musical" as well as getting the chance to work as assistant music director on the Walterdale Playhouse's production of "Nine" last summer! This is my first production with ELOPE, and I'm SO excited to be involved in this show! What is your favourite word to spell? Mamihlapinatapai- "a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves". So wonderfully succinct! Matt Graham and Dean McQuay as Carl Dad and Dan Dad in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling B...

The ensemble cleaning arms for I Speak Six Languages  (featured in picture: Kelly Webber and Meredith Honda)  So, there are only two more rehearsals for Spelling Bee before we install in the space on Monday.  We have Sitz Probe tonight.  This is where we add the other instruments to the music with the cast.  It can be complicated because very often a note played on piano will sound very different played on a Cello and it is nice to have a rehearsal solely devoted to the music at this stage.  We know all the parts, we need to put them together.  I am excited to hear the sound with the orchestra! Usually I do a theme night for Sitz Probe because it is a great cast/orchestra bonding time.  I like Pyjama day, but it is too warm for my Snuggie, so we are going with "Beach Party"! Then on Sunday night we have a run through and then we are in the space! A big shift for me after doing Walterdale shows.  My fabulous Stage Manager, Kim, and I h...

Both of the productions that I am working on are getting close.  I like this time, for the most part, especially when things are running smoothly. This afternoon, I watched the rehearsal for both of the One Acts in Walterdale's From Cradle to Stage today so I could see what the set looked like under the lights to check on colours and such and I was delighted on more than one front.  First, the way lighting designer, Brad Melrose, has lit both shows really works to transform the space into two distinct environments.  This is not easy when one place takes place outside in a wooded ravine and the other is inside a mental health facility.  I was very happy with what he did.  I was also so pleased to see where each of the shows were at in terms of the acting and such.  I think that the playwrights will be pleased with how the directors have served their work.  I haven't had any contact with the shows since the first read through, although I have spoken to...

Sally Hunt:  Music Director What is your role on this show? I am responsible for the music in this show.  This one is particularly fun -- the lyrics are really fantastic.  How many shows rhyme "exuberance" with "protuberance".  So much fun! Tell us about you experience with ELOPE: My first outing with ELOPE was their production of South Pacific , circa 1988.  I was a singing and dancing nurse.  My most recent project with ELOPE was music director for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change .  And I'll be back as music director for next season's A Tale of Two Cities . What is you favourite word to spell? Favourite word to spell:   loquacious .  It's a great word, and is a more grown-up way of saying "chatterbox" (which I definitely am!) photo credit: Janine Hodder

So, despite my desire to slow down this season, I did not... clearly... I am directing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for ELOPE which runs May 16 - June 1 at La Cite Francophone and I am Coordinating and am Production Manager ( and set-designing and painting ) for Walterdale's Annual From Cradle to Stage festival of new one act plays which runs May 20 - 25 at Walterdale with a Playwright Workshop on the 26th.  So if you look at those dates you can probably figure out why I might get cranky over the next few weeks... So far so good. I think I have managed to hold myself together despite numerous hiccups primarily concerning ridiculous arising scheduling conflicts with the first one and some minor communication issues with the second.  Everything is delightfully on track and barring any further complications I should survive May! With my set painting I am ahead of schedule due to some terrific volunteers who came out to help me and that is very nice as it meant I c...

This Saturday Night I will joining friends and community members at the annual JTMF Artists for Life event.  This will be the third year I've gone (I missed the first year because I was in a show) and I am looking forward to it.  It is the brainchild of Top 40 Under 40 Joyce LaBriola who formed the satellite organization as a offshoot from the original JTMF that she was a founding member of years before in New Jersey. Anyhow, it's a great cause and a GREAT PARTY!  This year the event has moved to the Citadel Club and I am looking forward to celebrating and raising money for a good cause in the new digs! JTMF West is a local arts organization, created with the mandate of raising funds for HIV/AIDS and LGBT youth support services. 2013 Artists for Life raises funds for HIV Edmonton , Camp fYrefly and YESS . This year  Wil is the featured artist. Named 2005 WCMA Entertainer of the Year and selected as the songwriter for Travel Alberta’s “Remember to Breathe” cam...

Rolando Bautista What is your role in this show?  I play Paul Coneybear, one of Leafs siblings. What is your background in theatre?  When I was in high school I did Pippin, Urinetown, and Babes in Arms. But that was kind of it, haha. I’ve never taken any singing lessons, most of the techniques that I use now (which isn’t very much) when I sing is mostly self-taught, but I think I’ve gotten pretty far considering! This is my very first ELOPE production, actually my very first production outside of high school and I’m extremely happy to be a part it! What is your favourite word to spell?  My favourite word to spell  is Awkward because it just has a weird vibe to it when you’re spelling it as compared to saying it, not quite sure how to explain it but it’s a weird word to spell but I like it. Erin Foster-O'Riordan What is your role in this show?  Olive's mother, or more precisely, Olive's dream version of her mother--a dream where her mom is longing ...

Introducing Curtis Knecht What is your role in this show?  I play William Barfée, a spelling competitor.   William was tragically forced to forfeit the Bee last year and is back to win it all... at any cost. What is your background in theatre? I've been involved in theatre for over 35 years both onstage and as a director.  I also have a Master of Music degree in voice and pedagogy, so music has also been a large part of my life.  Some of my favorite roles have been Bottom ( A Midsummer Night's Dream ), Sancho ( Man of La Mancha ) and the voice of the plant - Audrey II ( Little Shop of Horrors ).  This is my first show with ELOPE and I'm very excited to be a part of the Bee. What is your favourite word to spell, and why?  Hasenpfeffer - a rabbit stew often served with sour cream.  There's just something... magical about the word. Photo Credit: Janine Hodder