Finster Finds

Back in the spring of this year, I got a phone call from Elizabeth Bowering.  I had heard of Elizabeth because she had been quite busy at Walterdale over the years, but I had never met her. She explained to me that we had a mutual friend, David Kirshner Sr., and that she and David suffered from the same illness, MSA (Multiple System Atrophy).  I remembered when David was diagnosed and this terrible illness swept into his and his family's life.  A once vibrant and active man was suddenly stilled. Elizabeth was in the same boat. She went on to explain that she wanted to produce one of her plays, Wind in Her Sails, as a fundraiser and awareness project for MSA and she wondered if I might consider directing it. So I asked her to send me the script so that I might read it.  I read it and I was immediately in. It's a beautiful piece in tribute to her grandmother telling a story on a trip on a 60 ft. schooner in the early 1900s full of East Coast music. Well, now it's ...

Like last summer, I picked two #yegbookclub books to read other the summer and then we discussed them on twitter over two consecutive weeks in September.  So this was a 2 #yegbookclub month! I worked hard to get the books read (or at least started) early so that I wouldn't be caught up after the crazy Fringe-filled summer I had. First up, on September 14th, we talked about Every Blade of Grass by Thomas Wharton.  The novel follows, primarily through the exchange of letters, a relationship between Martha and James.  It was my first foray into Eco-fiction (except, someone said that Atwood's Oryx & Crake is eco-fiction, but I through that was more speculative fiction... I don't know the categories... ). This book took place in the past moving up to the early 2000s. A romance, but a subtle one, with environmental topics woven through the letters, along with a growing intimacy as their relationship evolves. Themes of death, loss and friendship are also explored. Here ar...

September has been a bit of a blur for me.  We've been working extra hard to get ready for the Opening of the Citadel's 50th Anniversary Season,  It's been very cool looking back through the archive photos over the last 50 years and seeing who has been on the various Citadel Stages.  These will be coming out on throwback Thursday throughout the season.  I've by no means planned all of them so... if you have a favorite show you'd like to see pictures from, let me know! Most of what we've been working hard on in terms of events this month happened this last week.  We opened the season on Thursday night with BOOM. Prior to the show, we we treated to speeches from various dignitaries, including the Lt. Governor, representatives from Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments, sponsors, the Board, Penny Ritco, Bob Baker and Kayla and Marshall Shoctor. I think Kayla Shoctor's speech was my favorite as there was something about it that spoke to the magic of t...