Finster Finds

The past few days, theatre was taken over by books in my life! Certainly not a bad thing, as anyone who has been to my house could easily tell you that books and reading take up a huge part of my life.  Saturday, I attended a Writer's Corner at the Jasper Place Library facilitated by Jason Lee Norman , EPL's Writer in Residence.  The panelists were the 4 Edmonton Authors whose books were 4/5 of the Current Alberta Readers' Choice Short List.  On hand were Todd Babiak ( Come Barbarians ), Theresa Shea ( The Unfinished Child ), Diana Davidson ( Pilgrimage ), and Michael Hingston ( The Dilettantes ).  Jason Lee Norman moderated the event and the panel answered questions about research, challenges, inspiration and how it feels to have your book nominated for this award. I was invited to speak as a reader of two of the books, Come Barbarians and Pilgrimage , as those were our first two #yegbookclub selections, and there were readers for the other two books to speak ...

Last week I took in The Genius Code at C103.  The Genius Code began in the Summer of 2012, originated by Jonathan Kawchuk and Jon Lachlan Stewart. It stars Jamie Cavanagh, Cole Humeny, and Laura Metcalfe, with design by Cory Sincennes and Matt Schuurman, and choreography by Ainsley Hillyard.  It is a live play where each individual audience member listens through their own set of headphones, choosing which character to follow in a three person love tragedy set in the modern day. I was a bit worried about which headset to choose, as I worried no matter what I chose, I would miss something. But once there, I decided to pick Red and just see what would happen. My friend, @catharooni, chose White and we figured we could compare afterwards.  The story is about a trio - DJ Genius Code, aka Gene Cody, has never been in love, in every sense of the word, but, inspired by a sparked romanc e between two of his best friends, Gyl and Sky, Gene brings the two lovers toget...

Lizard At Home is a new web-series that premiered May 15, 2014 on YouTube.  It's creators are Joel Crichton and Dustin Clark who have come together to write this story of Oliver, a socially frustrated scientist, and Drake, his roomate who happens to be some sort of weird lizard.  Together they are trying to figure out Drake's origin and in the meantime fighting off assassins and other obstacles. The entire 6 episode series was written and conceived and shot over a 12 day period and this first episode suggests it's a quirky, off beat show which pays homage to sci-fi classics. Check it out: There are 5 more episodes coming your way every Thursday.

May is a great month for theatre in Edmonton!  This past week I saw three shows and rehearsed for both of my Fringe shows.  All in all and very theatre filled week! Thursday night was Opening Night for Make Mine Love at the Citadel.  It was great to finally see the show onstage.  I was amazed by how they brought to life all the complicated elements of the show and made them seem like magic.  There's a car chase, a train ride, and a bus crash in addition to the wonderful work with all the Hollywood film projections and all of those are a testament to the skills of the phenomenal technical department at the Citadel. they really did a wonderful job integrating the film with the stage work and it was cool to see it all come together.  The cast of 10 is tremendous and they literally feel like a cast of thousands. I watched the show on Opening Night Thursday and then was back with the family for Sunday evening's performance.  The boys were thrilled to see...

I was lucky enough to catch three shows last weekend.  This week is proving to be equally theatre-steeped, but in a different way.  I started rehearsals for both of my Finally Sauces Fringe shows on Monday and Tuesday night. CRACK by Anne Marie Szucs lifted off on Monday and I started my own script, LITTLE MONSTERS , tonight.  Both rehearsals felt good and it was great to stretch those directing muscles.  Just like riding a bike! The rest of the week is quite saturated with arts - just the way I like it.  Wednesday I will be experiencing Oliver's Grade 7 Band Concert.  I am very excited to see and hear this. It has been very fun for me to watch him apply himself to the Trombone.  He likes it! He really likes it!  All the arts-brainwashing I have done over his life has paid off! Woo hoo!  Thursday is the Opening Night of Make Mine Love at the Citadel.  I feel so much anticipation about finally seeing this show....

This past Friday was the 2013 #Yeggies Awards. The #Yeggies are an award show created to recognize and celebrate outstanding social media content creators in the capital region. I was honored to be nominated in the category of Arts and Culture for this blog and, I assume, for some of the other things I coordinate such as the #yegbookclub. It was very a very fun night, and although I did not win, I did have a great time meeting other people engaged in #yeg social media.  It's flattering to have been nominated because I started this blog as a celebration of the theatre that we are so blessed to have in Edmonton and as a way to encourage people to go and see more.  It's kind of cool to know that it's being noticed. I was nominated with a bunch of other fabulous arts supporters and I thought I would take a little time to draw attention to them. Anyone who is trying to increase participation in the arts is okay in my books and these people are certainly doing that. The Nomi...

May is a great month for theatre in Edmonton!  The only challenge is getting to everything.  There's simply so much on the docket! Thursday I started my theatre binge with Kill Your Television's production of The  Crackwalker by Judith Thompson.  There are some shows I go to to just have fun and there are some shows I go to for a challenge. This was definitely one of those that challenged me.   The Crackwalker is a dark gritty piece about people on the fringes of society - the outcasts, the working poor, the uneducated, the addicted, the discarded.  It's a harsh look at a world that few of us even come close to seeing.  I'd read the play several years ago and even on the page it's a challenge. It's one of those pieces that is like watching a train wreck... you know that things are bad and going to get worse and all you can do is sit and watch and see it unfold before you.  The inevitability of it is frightening. This is a script, however...

Saturday night I made the drive to Spruce Grove to have dinner with AM and catch the latest Horizon Players production, Over the River and Through the Woods .  It was closing night, so you won't be able to catch it, but I did enjoy myself. It was a lovely, charming piece about a grandson dealing with two sets of involved Italian grandparents. It's themes were also about changing times and traditions, how people show love, and having to deal with decisions that might take us away from those who love us. it had many funny moments that I think most people could relate to, even if you weren't Italian.  Like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding or the TV show Little Mosque on the Prairie , it connects us to the universality of the modern world shifting our cultural traditions. The four grandparents were particularly entertaining, and played well. It left us with a little sadness and contemplation about what happens when those older generations pass on. A truly charming evening o...

Last night I took in East of Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch at C103 presented by Punctuate Theatre and East/West Collective. It was simply terrific.  It's hard to say anything but that.  It was one of the best shows I have seen this season, and I have seen a lot of shows and a lot of good shows. It's described as a dark comedy and it is that, though I would rather say I was a dark portrait of life which at times makes you laugh and at times makes you gasp and at times makes you sad ( whether you cry or not will depend on you - but I heard plenty of sniffles ). The play focuses on the legacy of the Holocaust on the children of those involved. The main character is Rudi (Jamie Cavanagh) the son of a Nazi war criminal who grows up in Paraguay. After finding out disturbing details about his father's activities during the war from a friend, Herman (Mathew Hulshof), he eventually travels to Berlin and meets Sarah (Andréa Jorawsky) the daughter of ...