Finster Finds

So last Friday, Metro Cinema kicked off it's Make Mine Hollywood Film Festival in conjunction with the World Premiere show, Make Mine Love at will be opening in a couple weeks at the Citadel.  Make Mine Love is set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, so all the films in the film festival are classics from the 1930s and 40s. We took the boys to the Gala Opening to meet the cast of Make Mine Love and to watch one of my personal favorite films, Singing in the Rain .  It was funny when I told Gibson we were going to see it.  He scrunched up his face and grumbled, "Isn't that an old movie?" as though this were torture I was about subject him too.  I reassured him that, yes, it was an old movie, but that it was a very, very good movie. So, off we went.  There was an unexpected bonus for wee Gibson, too.  As we stood in the lobby waiting for the movie and event to start he looked at the big poster for Make Mine Love and whispered to me, " Does that say Mark Mee...

This past Easter weekend we closed up the store and headed to Jasper for a few days, just the family.  It was really nice.  We stayed at the Sawridge, which was very comfortable, with nice restaurants, and a pool which was a big highlight for the boys.  It was a quick trip, but there is something about the mountain air that recharges me. We got in Friday evening, had a little supper, and then went for a little walk towards the town.  It was a bit rainy so we retreated to the hotel where we settled in and played charades and taboo like games (it's an App on my husband's iPad and it's terrific).  We even got the electronics obsessed 12 year-old involved by playing the video game and Pokémon categories! Then we snuggled in and watched Frozen on the hotel TV.  My older son and husband hadn't seen it before so this seemed like the right time.  I liked it just as much the second time! On Saturday we started with a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel...

This past Monday I was joined on twitter to discuss the latest #yegbookclub selection, Pilgrimage, by Diana Davidson.  It was a lively discussion that grew as more people joined in and we were even visited by the author who shared some answers to questions about the book.  If you haven't had a chance to read it, I recommend, particularly if you are interested in early Alberta history.  The book takes place in the 1890s in and around Lac St. Anne and Fort Edmonton and bravely tells the stories of several women of different social situations and cultural backgrounds. Themes of pregnancy and childbirth and motherhood are strongly woven into the tapestry of the Northern new frontier.  As well, the challenges of clashing cultures is explored from more than one point of view. It has moments of passion and sadness and offers a unique look into our present location as it was. It made me reflect on how things are today and how some things have changed greatly, but other thing...

This past weekend I took a trip to Calgary for one of my quarterly Theatre Alberta Board Meetings.  This was a big one, chock full of great conversation about what Theatre Alberta is and what we want it to be in order to best serve theatre practitioners in the province.  We also had time for strategic planning to look forward into the future.  That's always a challenge because you never know what the future will bring, but the optimism and vision of this Board is inspiring to me.  We have a fabulous mix of people on the Board from a variety of theatre practices and above-all they are all invested in the cultivation of a healthy arts culture within the province. We also have amazing Staff and every Board meeting I leave more impressed with those who do the front line work. I drove done with one of our relatively new Board members and this was not only great company for the drive, but it also gave me the opportunity to get to know her better and she is delightful. ...

Help develop and maintain community theatre in our city! Stage Struck! the Edmonton Regional One Act Festival   is recruiting committee members. Stage Struck! is an adjudicated adult one act play festival scheduled for February 2015 at the Walterdale Theatre .   Positions to be filled include publicity, box office and reception.   The committee meets 3 or 4 times per year and works the Friday night and Saturday of the festival. If you would like to play a role in encouraging community theatre, please contact Mary-Ellen Perley, Committee Chair at mperley@shaw.ca for more information or to send a letter of interest.

Last Thursday I was very lucky to take in the Media Dress for Madama Butterfly with the Edmonton Opera at the Jubilee Auditorium.  I say very lucky because it was truly a wonderful show. I am never sure about how I will connect to Opera because I do not know it  or understand it as well as I do musical theatre, but this one really pulled me in.  The piece rests heavily on the shoulders of Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) played by Anne Sophie Deprels and she is simply marvelous.  Her voice is gorgeous, she looks perfect and she IS Butterfly.  It was truly some of the finest acting I have ever seen in an opera.  Always present and clear in her choices and truly mesmerizing. One of the biggest challenges for any actor is to stay present during long periods of silence, but Duprels manages this exquisitely as she waits for the return of Pinkerton (Luciano Ganci).  It's a long scored section with vocals from an off-stage ensemble ( Coro a bocca chius...