Why Artistic Directors choose the plays they choose...

Tonight I will be attending and to some degree participating in the following event:
YEG Reading & Panel Discussion - July 4, 2015 - (7 pm)The Space - Casavant Productions - 6776 - 99th Street - Edmonton
Come and join us for our final event of the inaugural APN RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship Program.
The event features a panel discussion with Edmonton Artistic Directors entitled "What Was I Thinking?". Panelists John Hudson(AD - Shadow Theatre), Heather Inglis (AD - Theatre YES) & Bradley Moss (AD - Theatre Network) will be discussing what goes into the selection of works for presentation at their theatre.
Following the panel discussion there will be staged readings of excerpts from the plays that were created as part of the mentorship program. Readings from Sarah C. Louise, Alison Neuman, & Kristen M. Finlay.
This event is open to the public, but seating is limited. To RSVP please email: trevor@albertaplaywrights.com
Despite being incredibly busy (perhaps too busy) I participated in the APN RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship Program this spring.  I was mentored by Kim McCaw and we had terrific conversations that I've taken as jumping off points for two scripts and hopefully many more to come.  There were fabulous tips and suggestions that made me think differently about what I was writing.  I'm having a section from my script The Water Beneath Her Feet read, and although I have a long way to go on that script, it was good to get back into it. I have a feeling that this is one of those scripts that will take me many years to finish.  It was great to have someone else look at what I had and ask me the right questions to get me moving on it again. We also talked about The Easy Road and I am so excited about what I want to do with that script now.  I have worked a lot on that script and it is probably the closest to production, but it is amazing what having a different set of eyes look at it can do (someone outside the workshop experience). When you are knee deep in something it can be hard to see it in a different way.  Kim's questions have energized me on this and as soon as Fringe is done I will be jumping back into it with both feet! 
Anyhow, feel free to come by tonight.  I am looking forward to the panel and am a little nervous about the reading, but it would be good to see you there!

Comments

Finster said…
Post Script: The reading went really well. I loved hearing the other two plays - both very different, but engaging - kudos to Sarah and Alison! The actors, Lora Brovole, Jenny McKillop, Vincent Fortier and Trevor Rueger really did a terrific job serving the scripts! I was very pleased with how mine sounded and it is nice to have the 'voices' as it will help me move forward.

I also really found the panel discussion from the 3 ADs valuable. They talked very candidly about their process for choosing scripts. I'm not sure if I am closer to having one of my plays on their stages, but the insight is appreciated... who knows?
7/06/2015 10:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fringe 2024 - Friday, August 16th - A Terrific Afternoon of Shows!

Image
I caught three shows yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time! Bright Lights - So funny and so well done! This script is hilarious but it only works because the acting and directing is so excellent! I mean, you have to figure those that attend a group for Alien Abduction "experiencers" are going to provide opportunity for huour but I was laughing so much! Great to see some of our finest local actors in this piece and some in roles you wouldn't expect to hilarious effect! See it! ROB AND CHRIS (BOBBY+TINA)-A NEW MUSICAL - Another excellent show. This one a new musical based on Collin Doyle's Let the Light of Day Through ( perhaps the best new script I have seen ever and I think of it often... ). The musical is the same but different, as it is a musical. But it is excellent. Doyle worked with Matt Graham to adapt the piece and it still has it's humour and heart break, but now with wonderful songs. I would avoid spoilers if you haven't seen the play as I th
Read more

Sometimes it's hard to be nice... Lessons Learned with Donna Orbits the Moon and Spinsters in #yegtheatre this week...

Image
I caught two thought-provoking (and funny) shows this weekend.  Patricia Darbasie in Donna Orbits the Moon , Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography The first, Donna Orbits the Moon presented by Northern Light Theatre, was a one-woman show with the impressive Patricia Darbasie as Donna, a woman finding herself reacting with intense rage to inconveniences in her life. We are not exactly sure at the beginning why these moments are provoking such anger and violence, but there's something in the way that Donna tells the story that we are totally on her side. Indeed when I read a description online before seeing the show, I immediately connected. Too often we are expected to smile and be accommodating and the desire to say " No! " is often very strong with me. I see you, Donna! But there's something more to Donna's rage. There's a concrete reason she's suppressing and the reveal is deftly revealed in a touching and emotionally moving way (Directed by Trevor Sch
Read more

Fringe 2024 - Saturday, August 24th - Young Wives and The Bells!

Image
I saw two shows on Saturday. I'm pacing myself this Fringe so I might not hit my usual 30+ total! But despite the slightly overcast weather, it was a nice day - not too hot and my feet could handle the walk to Sugar Swing and back to the main grounds! What a Young Wife Ought to Know - This was a very well done production of Hannah Moscovitch's script. I had not seen the show when it was done in the city in 2018 but was glad to catch it here at the Fringe. It deals with the challenges and trials of a young (a very young) wife in 1920s Ottawa dealing with managing her fertility despite a lack of support both socially and medically. This is pre-birth control pill times; this is back alley abortion and throw yourself down the stairs to end a pregnancy time; this is the time when women frequently dies in childbirth. This is the time when you are looked at with disgust and judged when you ask for help for how to prevent a pregnancy. Anyhow, the show was very well done. The cast of
Read more