Finster Finds

There's something so wonderful about seeing a show that not only lives up to the hype but actually exceeds it. I see A LOT of theatre. I can't tell you the number of times a show has been described to me as "awesome" or "amazing" or "incredible"... I've likely overused those words myself... When I went to Betroffenheit I was hopeful for a good solid show, what I saw was awesome, amazing, incredible and so much more than I expected. It's hard to describe as it's really a show about a state of being - the state of being after an incredible loss or trauma - and the cycle of trying to get through that and be normal and perhaps the realization that normal will never be normal again. Capturing that seems like an impossible task but somehow they have. The execution is so incredibly precise you feel like like what you are watching can't possibly be live - but. it. is. And while so precise, the performers are also at all times 100% pre...

I know it may not seem like it, but I actually have seen quite a bit of theatre this past month. However, between the shows and the fact that I have spent the past three weekends at conferences (Women's Directing Intensive with Carey Perloff (Banff), imedia (Edmonton), and Community Theatre Summit (Banff)) that I haven't had much time to blog about it all...  So, this month I saw: Children of God at the Citadel - A musical about the impacts of the residential school system focusing on one family: a daughter lost, a son damaged and a mother who had no choices at the time but who is trying to help them heal. The music was gorgeous and the production honest and heart-breaking and it ended with one of the most magical moments of hope and invitation that I have ever experienced. It's gone now to WCT in Kamloops.  Blood of Our Soil by Pyretic Productions - Built from testimonials and personal investigation, this show told about the history of the Ukraine from the pe...

I had the chance to take in City of Angels at Grant MacEwan University (in the new Triffo Theatre) on Tuesday night. It was World Theatre Day so it seemed appropriate to see a show! City of Angels is one of my favourite shows which has several roles that I would personally love to play (I've aged out of a couple of them... but I could still play Donna/Oolie!!). Anyhow, I love the Cy Coleman score and the concept of the show which plays on film noir and Hollywood tropes.  Set in Hollywood in the 1940’s the show follows Stine (Joshua Travnik), a young novelist attempting a screenplay of his bestselling novel for movie producer Buddy (Austin From). This is  intercut with a film noir enactment of the film in progress which tells the story of detective Stone (Anthony Hurst) and his search for a missing girl. Travnik and Hurst are terrific vocalists and actors and they do an excellent job of capturing the style required for each of their worlds. They both hold their own o...