Finster Finds

We had a great time chatting with author Wendy McGrath about her novel Santa Rosa on November 17th.  You can follow the discussion with this storify . It was an interesting conversation and we were once again treated to having the author participate in the live discussion! We also talked about the progression of the story started in Santa Rosa and continued into North East and beyond.  I personally found that fascinating - the 'where the story will go and why'. #yegbookclub will be returning in January with a book that caught my eye this summer at the Free Will Shakespeare Festival.  As most people know I am neck deep into the theatre community of Edmonton and this time around I get to combine reading about Edmonton with theatre in Edmonton. We will also be tackling our first mystery novel. We will be doing Janice MacDonald's Roar of the Crowd .  It's set in and around the Edmonton theatre scene, as well as the University fo Alberta English and Drama department...

A quick post to tell you about Elephant Wake currently playing at Catalyst Theatre.  Thankfully they added an Industry Show on Monday night so I was able to see it.  They also had a very funny talk-back with actor and playwright Joey Tremblay and Catalyst Artistic Director Jonathan Christenson facilitated by James MacDonald. The show takes place in a paper filled ditch on the side of the road in Saskatchewan.  We are there to visit Jean-Claude (played by Tremblay).  Jean-Claude may not be the smartest person but he is a wonderful story-teller and during this Grande Visite we hear the story of his life, his town and the many deaths he has experienced.  It is magical and compelling, funny and sad, and simply beautiful. This is one of the best shows I have ever seen.  A good deal of that is due to the absolute completeness of Tremblay's characterization of Jean-Claude combined with a barrel full of stories that overlap and twist wonderfully to tell the stor...

On Tuesday night the whole family headed to the Citadel to take in the wonderfully ridiculous One Man, Two Guvnors .  I had seen it earlier at Dress Rehearsal but was looking forward to seeing it again and having Mark and the boys experience it.  It was great to see it again and even better in that I got to hear Gibson and Oliver laughing hysterically at it.  Once The Craze started up Gibson was glued to the stage.  He's a big music fan and he was really impressed with the group and the variety of instruments on the stage.  He also loved the parts throughout the show when the other members of the cast joined in for their 'special' numbers.  I think his favorite was Jesse Gervais on the bicycle horns, but John Ullyatt on the Xylophone was also up there!  The show was simply terrific.  It's great to go to a show that you can still laugh at even though you've seen it before, even more rewarding when your 13 year old leans over 3/4 of the way thr...

I wish I'd had more time this past weekend to post.  I would have written about Sequence by Arun Lakra, now playing at Shadow Theatre. I saw it last Friday and really liked it.  What I loved the most about it was the extremely clever and smart script.  This was the winner of the 2011 Alberta Play-writing Competition and it's easy to see why it won.  The play is a study of chance and probability, of genetics and mathematics, and of humans dealing with all of them.  Two stories, seemingly unrelated, are told simultaneously, and layer by layer the probabilities add up.  I'm a bit of a weird mash-up of science and drama so this was the perfect piece for me.  My Education degree is a Physical Sciences (Physics and Chemistry) Major with a Minor in English and Math.  I have since taken enough Drama courses that I could have a major in that, as well.  So I really enjoyed the merging of my many worlds.  I loved that the script is smart - not ju...

Last night I took in the Opening Night of The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimbl e by Beth Graham at Theatre Network. On the surface, the play is about children dealing with their aging parent who is struck by early onset Alzheimer's Disease.  More specifically, it is about the middle child, Iris (played by Clarice Eckford), and her struggle to help her mother deal with the disease on her own terms.  To that end, we spend a lot of time with Iris as she tells the story very pointedly from her perspective. She even warns us that the story will be told through her filter as storyteller.  What that results in is vibrant characters in the form of the loud and brassy older sister Sarah (Patricia Zentilli), the withdrawn and tension avoiding younger brother Peter (Jason Chinn) and the warm, beautiful and wise mother Bernice (Susan Gilmour). Iris' filter exaggerates the good and the bad in each of them. There are many wonderful things with this production. Zentilli is terri...

Last Friday, as part of my job, I took in the Dress Rehearsal for One Man, Two Guvnors at the Citadel.  I loved it when I read the script.  It was so funny.  I loved the read-thru.  Even more funny. The Dress Rehearsal?! To use my current word of effusion - WOWZERS!   So, so, so, so, so funny! I cannot wait to see it again.  It breaks all sort of rules - propriety, the fourth wall, music but not a musical, crazy accents, skewed logic, prat falls, audience participation, improv - and it's ridiculous!  It's hard to pick a favorite part because you can literally go through the cast one by one and list a favorite moment. Get there early because The Craze (performed by the Be Arthurs) starts entertaining the audience for about 10 minutes before the show starts and they are terrific so you don't really want to miss them.  They also play for part of intermission so run out quickly for your ice cream and get back to see and hear them! For this one, I...

Last week I took in The Barber of Seville at the Edmonton Opera.  It was a bright and energetic production with a cool concept, replanting the story in a 1940's Hollywood Movie Studio Backlot. The costumes, set and make-up was bang-on for transporting us to the world of the play and the titular Figaro ( Phillip A ddis ) seemed perfectly situated in this new location.  Afterall, you need someone to look after all the actor's hair needs on a movie set! Addis was a fireball with great comedic skills to compliment his singing skills. When he's onstage your eyes are always drawn to him.  He's most fun when he and Almaviva ( James McLennan ) are  playing  off each other, but it's also fun to watch him get in the mix with all the characters.  As Rosina ( Sylvia Szadovszki ) is lovely and her voice is bright and sunshiny.  Szadovski is delightfully bratty and she plays the diva film star with a sense of fun. This is the bugs bunny opera.  The music...

Sometimes you get yourself so busy seeing things and doing things that you don't have time to write your blog.  That's what the last two weeks have been like for me. I have caught a couple shows that were well done and great examples of the variety of theatre that you can see in Edmonton.  A week and a half ago I took in Happy Toes by Stewart Lemoine at Teatro La Quindicina.  It was a lovely piece which caught me off guard.  I didn't really know what it was about and my presumption that the happy toes were dancing was totally incorrect.  It was more about friendship, relationships and how our expectation and anticipations affect our personal happiness.  It was a subtle piece, set in familiar places and subtly brought to life by a quintet of actors: Ron Pederson, Jeff Haslam, Julien Arnold, Cathy Derkach and Davina Stewart. It's closed now, but the Varscona is moving into the Shadow Theatre season and there are some great shows on the horizons there! La...

My apologies for not getting this out sooner - a rather densely packed life due to the start of both the school year and the theatre season led to a bit of a delay in choosing a book and finding a date for the club.  First, a brief recap of the last book club.  Mid September, we spoke with Marty Chan about Demon Gate, the first book in his Ehrich Weisz Chronicles.  It was a great chat and although it was mostly Marty and myself chatting, I could tell from the retweets and the favorites that there were others following the discussion.  I was pleased to hear hints about what was to come (but with no spoilers!) and it was great to get the insight on Marty's research and inspiration. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series! Here are some snippets... What book next? For our next #yegbookclub we will be reading and chatting about Santa Rosa by Wendy McGrath.  Her sequel, North East has just been released and I thought it might be nice to rea...

This past summer I directed two shows at Fringe, one of which I wrote ( Little Monster s) and one written by my friend Anne Marie Szucs ( Crack ). Over the last several weeks a few lines from the latter have been rattling in my head, making me think hard about what my time is filled by.      ANGELA: Sometimes I wish there were 2 of me - just to do everything I want to do.      PAM: What you want to do.      ANGELA: Yes. Isn't that what I said?      CHRISTINE: Pam.      PAM: Sometimes I think you do what everyone else wants you to do – Andy, the kids, church.  Where do you fit into the list? I find myself coming back to that question... what is it I want to be doing?  I have many things I 'have' to do.  Some are things I have put in place, some are work or store related, some are volunteer commitments, some are things that people have asked me to do and I couldn't say no to...  I woul...

Tonight Previews for Kim's Convenience started at the Citadel Theatre.  Last night, I got to watch the final Dress Rehearsal. As part of my job, I had read the play and thought it quite a nice story on the page, but it was so lovely to see it realized on the stage.  Beyond the picture-perfect corner convenience store and the sounds of the Toronto street, seeing the story live on the stage really emphasized for me the the play was truly a Canadian story.  So many of us here are from somewhere else and the freedoms and hopes of the immigrant coming to Canada for their children is a story that I certainly understood.  It was also both funny and touching.  I didn't know that I would laugh so much -  in recognition of things in my own world, in the deliberate misunderstandings between people, and in the unique relationships between parents and their children. I also didn't realize, despite reading the play, that I would get a little teary-eyed. Because C...

I took in the ridiculous and excessive  Fatboy by John Clancy (not to be confused with the author of The Hunt For Red October ) directed with controlled abandon by Dave Horak and presented at Theatre Network by the Edmonton Actor's Theatre. This is not a show for the faint of heart. It's rude, and bawling and lusty and violent and irreverent and full of more curses per minute than any of show I have seen in my life. I will admit, at first I wasn't sure what I was watching.  The show starts with a belligerent bang of a shouting match between Fatboy (Frederick Zbryski) and his extremely buxom wife, Fudgie (Melissa Thingelstad). It's over the top - not in a Broadway musical kind of way - but in a nightmarish, twisted circus of lechery and violence.  Once acclimatized to the phenomenal patter of cursing interspersed with cries for Sausages!! and Pancakes!! I just held on and went for the ride. They are joined by a multitude of characters played brilliantly by Ian Leu...

This Sunday I will be starting a smallish project for Walterdale Theatre.  When I was asked to be Master Painter for the first show of the season way back in the early summer I had to say No.  I knew that I would be too busy with the advent of the new theatre season and my new position at the Citadel.  However, a request from the set designer, former student Brendan Boyd, for help with painting the floor made me do a slight reversal. It's hard to say No to former students, especially those like Brendan. I came in with conditions, because my time is tight, but this Sunday I will go in and start the process.  I have yet to see the set design, so I am hopeful that I will have the right colours in the shop ( it's a wood floor and there were a lot of varied browns in the paint shop ). It should only take a couple days - for me, this month,that means Sundays.  There are a couple of wrenches in the works with the theatre being over-shared and the surprise of finding ou...

Last night a group of readers met on twitter for an hour and chatted about Michael Hingston's The Dilettantes .  This was the first of our two summer reading choices.  It was a lively discussion with many threads and side roads and the hour flew by.  It was a great way to spend a snowy evening in September ( yes, there was snow! ).  The conversation swerved from favorite weird sodas, to student newspapers (comparing U of A's The Gateway to SFU's The Peak) and angst... plenty of angst.  Michael joined in and it was great to have the author chime in and answer questions. If you want to check out the conversation, use the #yegbookclub on twitter to search.  You should be able to pick up most of it. If you want to check out the book, here's a link to find out more. Next week we tackle our second summer reading choice, Marty Chan's The Demon Gate .  I think you have time to get it read and join in! See you on twitter on Monday, September 15th at 7 p.m....

Yesterday was the 1st Annual Northern Light Theatre's BATTLE FOR THE LIMELIGHT - An Amazing Race style fundraising event which took place in the Old Strathcona district. Theatre companies and related organizations across the city were invited to enter a team to up to four competitors to participate in challenges whereby they would earn points to see who was the winner. They would also use the event as an opportunity to fund raise for their particular organization. The winning team was presented with The Golden Handjob (there were silver and bronze handjobs for 2nd and 3rd place finishers, as well).  Northern Light Theatre did all the organizing and the event ended with a BBQ at Queen Alexandra Community Hall and a great party for all involved.  I was unable to participate in the actual event due to Mom-related Obligations (i.e. Piano Lessons) but followed the tweets and FB posts and swung by the BBQ at the end.  The energy was fabulous and it was great to see so many pe...

Sometimes I feel like I am unusual, because I generally wake up very happy to go to my job.  It's a terrific fit for me.  I work at the Citadel Theatre in the Marketing Department, so right off the bat you have me working in a theatre, and I love that. It's also a theatre that produces a wide variety of work and at a very high level so that's a super double bonus.  For the actual work I do, it's a great fit for me in that it uses my organization skills, my people skills, my problem-solving skills and I get to work with a lot of fun people.  It's also busy, and while some people are not as fond of that, I do like a fast pace, and there are periodic lulls to recharge when you need to. Anyhow, I really like my job, but on Friday I had one of those I LOVE MY JOB days.  We had a photo shoot for the upcoming ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS which stars John Ullyatt and for a couple of hours in the afternoon we were entertained my his antics in front of the camera.  He kep...

September is a traditionally quiet month for theatre in Edmonton.  I think the Fringe has something to do with that.  People need a little time to recover, rehearse and build the next show.  Similarly the audience needs a bit of down time to handle all that happens in the Fall and many are a bit tired out and pocket poor from whatever shenanigans they have participated in over the summer months. There are a couple of shows coming towards the end of September to kick off the 2014-15 Theatre Season.  Kim's Convenience by Ins Choi opens the 2014/15 season at the Citadel Theatre.  This is the Soulpepper Theatre production which started at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.  It's a tight little comedy about a Korean family who runs a convenience store in the rapidly changing Regent Park area of Toronto.  Following it's runaway success at the Toronto Fringe, it was picked up by Soulpepper for an even more successful production ( both commercially and cri...

It feels a little weird to write a wrap-up because technically I am not done.  I have a hold-over show to go to this Saturday so that means it's technically still Fringe, right? I have to say, I was very pleased with the line up for hold-overs this year.  I think they really represent some of the best work that was presented this year - best in that the companies involved worked hard and went the extra mile to produce something that was artistically excellent. It's also very diverse, which I like, as I think it represents the diversity of what Fringe goers want to see. Also, all of the shows held-over made my Word of Mouth posts which tells me that they were the kinds of shows that a Fringe Goer would tell someone to go to! You can find the Hold-Overs here . So, as I look back, here are the shows that resonated the most with me from this year's Fringe Festival.  Bear in mind I did not see everything (I think I saw 27 shows in addition to my own 2): DogFight - This ...

I saw four shows in addition to my own yesterday and in my travels I got from the Fringe site to Scona High School in less than 10 minutes.  I am pretty proud of myself! Here are the highlights from what I saw! Red Wine, French Toast, and the Best Sex you Ever Had - A Sold Out Westbury Theatre for a dance show? WHY?  Because it was so good.  Accessible, complicated, whimsical, & saucy - so many descriptors for this show.  It's held over for good reason and I am so glad to see a piece like this in the mix.  This is one of those fringe gems that makes the Fringe lottery of ticket buying pay off.  You pay $15 and you get to see something worth so much more. Polly, Polly - A really interesting concept and very funny solo piece all about Polly. Sit centre if you can because of the sight-lines in the space, but it's still engaging even from the sides.  It surprised me a little because it wasn't what I was expecting - that's always a good thing. Lot...

A Couple More Word of Mouth Recommendations... I was running a lot yesterday so I didn't get a chance to talk much... 3... 2... 1... The Story of O's McCrackin 2 ( good thing it's held over! ) Daddy Issues Two more days, catch 'em while they're here! As to the running, over the last few days I made it from Holy Trinity to the Garneau Theatre (Metro Cinema) in 6 minutes and from the Fringe Grounds to Scona in less than ten minutes.  For the first feat, Keri Mitchell dubbed me a "Fringe Goddess" so I am going to be getting that on a t-shirt!

Today was our Back to Back Shows day for Crack and Little Monsters .  Both shows went well with healthy audiences for the afternoon and engaged and appreciative audiences.  So wonderful to see familiar faces as well as new faces of people who just came to check us out. We only have one more show left for Crack (Sunday - 8 p.m.) but there are two chances to catch Little Monsters (Friday - 12:30 p.m. and Saturday - 11 p.m.). The response for both has been terrific so I hope you get a chance to catch one or both of them. After the double feature I took in my Janine Hodder Double Feature!  First up was Swordplay by David Belke with music by Darrin Hagen. It's a silly but clever story of royal siblings separated at birth with a prophecy and evil villains and assassins.  The cast was wonderful.  Great voices from pretty much everyone ( although I wished for mics - but it is fringe ) and excellent comic timing and choices.  Mat Busby was delightful as the ...

Here are the Word of Mouth Recommendations for Thursday, August 22nd. I had both my shows back to back today and then saw two shows so I didn't get to ask a lot of people... but here you go! Shangri-La - I have to say I have received the most number of recommendations for this show than any other.  It shows up in the list on any given day only once, BUT I actually have had more than one person that day recommend it. I'm hoping to fit it in, if I can.  Eavesdrop - This is also a repeat! Her Mark - Also a repeat! God is a Scottish Drag Queen - Again! 3... 2... 1... - We've seen this one before too! It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman - First day to make the list! AN UPDATE - I keep forgetting to put Crookback on this list.  It came to me from someone via twitter so it wasn't in my notebook, but they wanted me to make sure I got it on the list! I hope you all make it out to some shows - I cannot guarantee the pedig...

I slowed down a bit because having two shows was catching up to me, but I have still seen some good things.  Here are the highlights of Monday to Wednesday: The Deep Blue - Moody, tortured, well-acted and directed. If you like a serious piece and if your fringe show choice doesn't have to be about laughs, this is a solid choice. Her Mark - Atmospheric monologues about a family of women from Newfoundland.  Gorgeous lighting and authentic in look and tone.  I loved hearing the accents ( reminded me of home - Fort McMurray ).  Cheryl Jameson delivers one monologue that nearly broke my heart. Little Miss Understood - Any parent of a teen will relate to this, although the teen onstage seemed far more likable than was implied ( maybe I'm just comparing her to my own ). It's a light comedy and suitable for 10 and up. eleven-oh-four - I CANNOT SAY ANY MORE STRONGLY: SEE THIS SHOW - This is my favorite of the Fringe so far. I am not done, but this is a brilliant ne...

These are from the last two days.  I've had some great conversations with people in line.  Remember, read the program for what kind of shows these are.  They are what people recommended, but you may not like certain types of shows or some kinds of content and they might be on this list!  My favorite is on this list (eleven-oh-four) so I encourage you to check that out! We Glow eleven-oh-four Body of Light Bull's Heart Zanna Don't Fruitcake The Deep Blue Sea Crack* Sundogs Flora and Fawna Little Monsters* Harold of Galactus Newman Mentalism Presents: Mind Games Letters to Laura Her Mark 3... 2... 1... This is Cancer I hope to have some more conversations tomorrow! Enjoy the Fringe! Go see a show! * Yeah, so these are my shows - but those were the recommendations.  I did know the people, but they insisted they were recommending honestly based on what they saw.

Here are a few more Word of Mouth Recommendations: The Legend of White Woman Creek Who Killed Gertrude Crump Eavesdropping Lobster Alice Zanna Don't Her Mark 3... 2... 1... We Glow Shangri-La Fugly McCrackin 2: The Whackining This is Cancer Neon Nightz God is a Scottish Drag Queen There's a variety here! I think it's cool that there are dramas, musicals, comedies, solo-shows and dance shows on this list!

I've managed to rack up a few shows this weekend, in between opening both of my own shows, and trips to the beer tent to visit with friends! Here are some of the highlights: Thom Pain - It's a a cool, challenging piece of theatre excellently performed and directed.  Key word is challenging.  This company has taken a real risk with this play, but isn't that what Fringe is all about? Famished - I laughed so much at this completely inappropriate musical about zombies in Victorian England. Well-sung and it holds no quarter on crossing lines. You have to appreciate the politically incorrect.  If you can't, then this is not for you. Letters and Words  - A Dance Show!? Yes! I haven't seen a dance show in years, but I was so glad to see this.  So wonderful to see such strong, powerful, graceful women in this piece.  I found it so engaging. The music was very cool and sometimes it was whimsical, sometimes sad, and sometimes in-your-face funny. I guess I need...

I took a little time today to talk to some people in lines and at the Beer Tents about what shows they would recommend. Here are the Word of Mouth recommendations for Sunday, August 17th, 2014: Hospital Tales She Tells Daddy Issues Maison de Reves  War  of 1812 Off Book the Musical Kidprovisors  Running in Stilts Fruitcake Flora and Fawna 3... 2... 1...

I only saw one show today, but I'm a little spent!  Of course, I also walked in the parade and worked all day, so maybe my tiredness has something to do with that.  The energy was celebratory at the Fringe site as we visited with the other performers waiting for the Parade to start and I think we were all glad that Fringe was finally here! Huzzah! My first show was the Plain Janes production of  It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman at the Varscona. I really enjoyed Little Fish last year at the Fringe and the offerings from Plain Janes during the season, so I thought this would be a great kick off to the Festival.  It was bubbly and snappy with great singing and dancing.  The script is light-hearted and the cast ran with that.  Sheldon Elter made a perfect Superman/Clark Kent - I loved the contrast to how he played each persona, and Elena Porter was a feisty no-nonsense Lois Lane.  I think my favorite was Ryan Parker as the narcissistic Max Men...

One of the things that you will notice about Fringe is there are A LOT of Solo Shows.  There's a good reason for this, particularly with regards to touring, but it's important to think about what show you want to see.  I have seen some fabulous Solo Shows over the years ( Jake's Gift, Shimmer ) and some I'd rather not name... I tend to like ones that feel more like a play than a story, but I also know that there are incredibly gifted story-tellers on the Fringe circuit. Anyhow, I took a trip through the Program and thought I would highlight some solo shows that look like they will be good to catch ( remember this is sight unseen, based on program descriptions and some research on my part ), so if you are a fan of the one-person show, here are some suggestions: No Tweed Too Tight: Another Grant Canyon Mystery by Vancouver based Ryan Gladstone at Walterdale Playhouse.  This show had a sold out run in 2012. He's also one half of the duo from last year's Hockey...

I couldn't wait to get my artist's package so I went and spent the $10 for the Fringe Program.  It's beautiful this year!  A real souvenir of the festival and very pretty!  What I flipped to first, of course, were the pages for our venue, Walterdale Playhouse. I wanted to see if I knew any of the companies that we were sharing the space with.  Having 2 shows we are going to be in the building every day of the festival and sometimes we have two shows in one day.  I was excited to see some familiar faces from the local arts scene and am looking forward to meeting those out-of-town performers! Here's who's in the neighborhood: From Near: One sick puppy theatricals presents Scrap Paper written and directed by Gerald Osborn. The ultimate stage mother, her reluctant playwright son, sparkling repartee, head-cracking slapstick, and a finale of EXPLOSIVE proportions! Fringe favourite Ruby Swekla reprises the role she created 25 years ago. I'm looking forwar...

I am not the only one in my family who is involved in a Fringe show.  My husband, Mark, is also part of a show that you should check out.  He's lucky in that although you can see him in the show, he doesn't have to be there every night.  How's that work? Well, a couple of months ago he shot a few scenes with Accidental Humour for their production, McCrackin 2: The Whackining .  I know little about his actual role, other than it's funny and he's a lumberjack.  I'm excited to see this show, as the first of the series, Happy Whackin Jim McCrackin was hilarious and I am always so impressed with how well this company merges film and theatre. You can check out the trailer here.  If you watch closely you will catch a glimpse of Mark at around 00:46!

Summer is interesting when you are producing a Fringe show.  July becomes all about prep and then when August hits it feels like an hour glass has been tipped over and started and away you go!  This is exaggerated even more when you are producing and directing TWO Fringe shows (one of which you are also Playwright for).  It's a Fringe show, so I am also set designer, props mistress, costume designer ( well, of a sort - they are both pull-shows, as is pull from your closets, but this is what I want... ), marketer and media rep. I'm so lucky to have a fabulous Sound Designer in Erin Foster-O'Riordan ( who is also acting in one of the shows)  because she always takes sound design as a challenge and gives me more than I can even imagine. I'm also blessed with fabulous Casts and wonderful Stage Management teams who work hard and bring their own special talents to the projects.  AND I am not only getting to see another one of my scripts realized onstage, but also a ...

It's July in Edmonton, that means it's time for the Freewill Shakespeare Festival.  Thanks to a ripped canopy at Hawreluk Park, the entertainment has moved to a new, temporary, location and the presentation of a single production but let that not dissuade you from attending, as they serve up an excellently delivered, fun-filled night. This year the performance of Taming of the Shrew is held at the Myer Horowitz Theatre in the University of Alberta Student's Union Building.  Your best bet for parking is in Stadium and they have thoughtfully provided signage to guide you to the theatre around the construction. The company has done their best to retain those familiar things that could be easily transported from the park to this new theatre space - the 50/50 Sellers and FOH staff all looked very familiar. Although Taming of the Shrew is far from my favorite Shakespeare play, there are so many things that made this a delightful evening of theatre.  First of all, the...