Now that it's all over... The 39 Steps at Walterdale and my grateful return to the rehearsal room...

This past Saturday we closed the show, The 39 Steps, at Walterdale Theatre. I was director. It's a role I have taken on many times before and one I truly enjoy. This one was extra special for me. 

You may be aware that something happened over the last two years. I refer to it as The Great Pause and for those in theatre it definitely was a pause. For me, as both and artist and audience member it meant a radical shift in what I was doing. Now, I have mostly been doing community theatre for the last few years. I had already shifted away from ambitions of professional theatre for personal reasons, but it didn't really slow my pace. It was rare for me not to be in rehearsal or mentoring other artists at any given moment and my theatre-watching pace was easily 2-4 shows per week. When the Pause happened, I had just finished playing Great Aunt March in Little Women and was mentoring a director whose show was 2 weeks from opening (fortunately we were able to see this onstage only a year and a half later). I'd just been approved to direct a show in the upcoming Walterdale season. And then it all stopped. I felt numb - in limbo - unable to move forward on anything because there was not indication of when or what it could be. 

At the time and in retrospect, I knew that first year could have been a great opportunity. I could have worked on the half dozen unfinished scripts on my lap-top, except I couldn't. In the vacuum too many voices were telling me that my stories were not the ones we needed to hear and inertia set in and I was literally unable to write anything. So I didn't. I did think a lot. And I thought, gee, this lack of 'stuff to do' isn't so bad... maybe I don't ever have to do theatre again... I thought that it was over and that was okay. I was very likely depressed. I don't do stagnation very well. 

But in the second year, something changed. I think I can owe part of it to moving - physically moving in an intentional way  - 5 days a week - as opposed to sitting at the computer all day and then shifting to the couch. And then I found this funny "little" show. I just felt that we needed to be silly. We needed it in the rehearsal hall and we needed it in the audience. I needed a small cast comedy to propose to the Artistic Director and The 39 Steps was perfect! And she liked it and thought it was a good fit. And the Board liked it and thought it was a good fit. So, with very little build up, we were off! 

And here I am at the end of it, so very glad. I did a lot of firsts with this one. Zoom auditions! Would those 6 actors have chemistry? They did! The first month of this very physical show was also on Zoom - would it work? It did! We met in person with the majority of the script off-book - a delight to block with no scripts in hand! And one thing I did more than I ever had before was I let them play! I think I always let my casts play, but I felt I was doing it even more for this one. There were a couple of other firsts on the production side - first time Sound Designer who rose spectacularly to the challenge with this not-so-little show when it came to sound; a first time Costume Designer who game me so much more than the 'hats' I was expecting; a Stage Manager new to Walterdale and me who was an absolute gem; and many more. I also had some trusted returnees on my team who also came to have fun, and we did! I went into the theatre every rehearsal and felt so grateful to be there. Grateful to be creating, but mostly grateful to be creating with those generous and ridiculous people. I love them all!

This post is really for me. To remind me that I love theatre and that this production reawakened for me feelings about creating theatre with a generous group of people and how much I love that and how much I need that. I have made friends for life and strengthened friendships already there. I got to guide the ship and make many people laugh, and unlike I thought a year ago, I will still be making theatre moving forward. I call that a win!

Photo Credit: Scott Henderson, Henderson Images
Featuring: Lucas Anders, Lauren Tamke, Bradley Bishop, Samantha Beck, Rico Pisco and Liam McKinnon

Reviews: 

BWW Review: THE 39 STEPS is A Rollicking Comedy-Thriller

Review: The 39 Steps is good medicine

My Next Next Gig... Directing at Walterdale in the Fall - Proof

Hey Everyone, I have mentioned this earlier, but I am directing Proof by David Auburn at Walterdale Playhouse this fall.  They've just wrapped up the Dracula auditions so it's time to spread the word on the next set of auditions.  I am excited to work on this one as it has been on my list for a few years now.  It's such a nice tight script with complete and compelling characters with interesting and complicated relationships.  It's almost mathematical!

We have our first Design/Production Meeting tonight with the team and I am excited to share my vision so that everyone can get started thinking about the show!

Here are the Audition Details:

Performance Dates: Dec 4 – 14, 2013
Audition Dates: Sept 15 & 16, 2013; 7 – 10 p.m.
Walterdale Theatre (10322 83 Avenue)

The Team:
Director: Kristen M. Finlay; Asst Director: Katelyn Arthurs; Stage Manager: Bethany Hughes; Designers: Joan Heys Hawkins (Set), Elaina Bolton (Costumes), Richard Hatfield (Lighting), Erin Foster-O’Riordan (Sound); Master Builder: Pierre Valois; Production Manager: Catherine Wenschlag

Show Description:
Proof explores the link between genius and madness.  Catherine, a troubled young woman has spent years looking after her brilliant but unstable father, Robert.  Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions, her estranged older sister Claire and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father.

Characters:
Catherine – 25
Claire – 29, Catherine’s older sister
Robert – 50s, Catherine and Claire’s father, a mathematician
Hal –28, Robert’s former graduate student

Please note:  ages are as given in the script, and are based more on how old someone reads as opposed to actual physical age.  There will be flexibility in casting as they are also relational based on how two individuals read as siblings and parent and child.

The auditions will comprise of the following:
* A SHORT (1-3 MINUTE) PREPARED CONTEMPORARY MONOLOGUE of your choice
* READINGS FROM THE SCRIPT – These can be emailed out to people in advance of their auditions upon request.
* CALL-BACKS (if required):  TBA

A Rehearsal Schedule will be emailed when you book your audition.  Please bring any potential conflict dates you have to the audition.  Anyone auditioning for the role of Catherine must have a pretty available calendar as she is in almost every scene.

Headshots and résumés are recommended, but not required.

Copies of the script are available for reading at Walterdale Theatre.  Contact the Theatre Administrator at walterph@telus.net to sign one out (not available during Fringe).

To book an audition, contact me, Kristen M. Finlay by e-mail at smeep22003@yahoo.ca or by phone at 780.406.1256

(Drop-ins will be accommodated as time allows)

Walterdale is a volunteer/member organization.  We cannot engage Equity performers.

A New Project on the Not-So-Far Horizon

Today the 55th Season at Walterdale Theatre Associates was announced.  I am pleased to announce Proof, by David Auburn, at Walterdale in the Fall.  The show will have auditions in September, start rehearsing in mid October and go up on deck the first two weeks of December.  Stay tuned for audition information.  I will be looking for 2 women and 2 men of varying ages, stay tuned for more details...
 that I will be directing

I am so excited to be directing this play.  I have an awesome Production team assembled: Joan Hawkins (Set Design), Richard Hatfield (Lighting Design), Elaina Bolton (Costume Design), Erin Foster-O'Riordan (Sound Design), Pierre Valois (Master Builder) and Catherine Wenschlag (Production Manager).  I have a few other roles on the team, so let me know if you'd like to be involved! This a great script, so incredibly well written, and it brings art and science together as it contemplates genius and madness and love and honesty.

More information about Proof and the rest of the 2013-2014 Walterdale Season can be found here.

Introducing the Cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Cast List

 (in no particular order)

Chip Tolentino - Mark Sinongco

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere - Kristin Johnston

Leaf Coneybear - John Evans

William Barfee - Curtis Knecht

Marcy Park - Meredith Honda

Olive Ostrovsky - Nadine Veroba

Rona Lisa Perretti - Amanda Neufeld

Vice Principal Douglas Panch - Joe Garreck

Mitch (Maggie? Michelle? Maxi?) Mahoney - Kate Wylie

Ollive’s Mom Erin Foster-O’Riordan

Olive’s Dad - Stuart McDougall

Carl Grubenniere (Carl Dad) - Dean McQuay

Dan Schwartz (Dan Dad) - Matt Graham

Leaf’s Mom - Kat Evans

Leaf’s Dad - Shawn Wells

Marigold Coneybear - Monica LeBlond-Davison

Brook Coneybear - Alyssa Lightfoot

Pinecone Coneybear - Kelly Webber

Raisin Coneybear - Cleo Halls

Landscape Coneybear - Angela Tran

Paul Coneybear - Rolando Bautisto,

Jesus Christ - Dean McQuay

I am excited to get started on this show with this amazing group of people and the fabulous production team including Sally Hunt as Music Director, Kimberlee Stadelmann as Stage Manager, Jim Draginda as Production Manager and Patti Zeglen as Costume Designer. Tonight is our Read Through and we will start to work on music tomorrow night. I can't wait to hear these voices sing this show!

Living in the Theatre - Painting by Day, Directing by Night!

After all the build up for me in the rest of the season I am solidly up to my neck in Nine at Walterdale.  We are enjoying being spoiled by a set being mostly done much earlier than scheduled.  This has allowed us to do a lot of spacing in the actual theatre with all the architectural elements (except the poles - one comes in today and the other two should be in on the weekend).  It has been wonderful and has actually pushed us ahead of scheduled.  I am hoping this means I can give some nights off here and there.  That will only happen, however, if new conflicts from the cast stop rolling in.  It is hard to say 'no' because everyone has a (ahem) good excuse.  Anyhow, we are in good shape and that makes me happy.  Because of the strength of the cast, there are things I do not have to put a lot of time into (like character work) because they come with their homework done. I like that!

In the day times, since the set has been done, I have been leading the paint crew. I am technically second in command, but I can paint in the daytime and I prefer that happening so that I don't get kicked off the deck in the evenings. We are therefore, ahead of schedule when it comes to paint, too!  Yay!  I have had a nice gang of helpers to keep my company and make the work go so much faster! It does, however, make for long days and I have to watch how much of my time I schedule for the painting so that I do not stress myself out too much. 

As I have gotten older, I find that I cannot handle the long hours as well. I also have a hard time getting to sleep right away in the evenings as I come home wired from rehearsal so I have to watch that.  I need nap time I think.  In any case, I am delighted with how we are progressing!

One Small Step for Theatrekind...

This week the New Works Festival opened at the University of Alberta. I was fortunate to be able to direct one of the pieces which is being presented. I attend the University of Alberta as a Special Student in the Department of Drama and have been doing so for the past four years. I had a show in New Works 2 years ago as a Playwright (Tight Rope) but the completion of my ADship at Walterdale had allowed me to free up a lot of my time so I applied to direct. I was accepted and overjoyed to find out that I would be directing Bevin Dooley's script, The Playmates. It has been a wonderful experience. I loved working with Bevin and the Production Team as well as the Festival Team. So just for experience I have been blessed. I am also very pleased with the show itself - the script, the cast, my crew, the designers - truly wonderful people to work with.

The Festival opened Tuesday Night. I had to wait for Mark to get home so I missed the first piece, a Staged Reading of Fire in their Eyes by Ben Dextraze and directed by MFA Candidate Jessica Carmichael. I hope to catch it later in the Festival. One of my cast members saw it and said she quite liked it. New Works is about development of work and apparently this piece will change throughout the festival as they are treating the festival as a workshop so that might be one to catch on more than one night to get the sense of development of a piece. I know before I started writing I would think of plays being unmalleable once produced, but I have learned that not to be true. The work is not frozen in Amber. A piece can evolve and have more than one incarnation as the playwright crafts it. This has been observable for me with the staged reading on Night B: Murmurations of Starlings by Evan Tsitsias, directed by MFA candidate Donna Marie Baratta. As part of the festival tech week I sat through tech and dress rehearsals and Opening Night and the evolution of the piece in those three days has been incredible. It is really very cool to watch a play evolve from one draft to the next, to the next. Whereas the non-reading plays are basically set for the duration of the festival - these readings are still evolving and it is pretty cool to see. You can only imagine what the script will grow into as the playwright continues with the writing process.

Following the reading on Night A were Sitter and Felix and Max. The two shows I got to see were quite enjoyable. The first a comedic juxtaposition of two different couples in an unusual situation. The writing was natural and funny with smooth direction. The second dynamic, funny and full of tension with an almost absurd ending. On Night B, just before us, is Laundry Cycle - a fast paced comedy which I absolutely loved. As part of my directorial application involved reading the four produced scripts it was very cool to see what the other directors did with them, as well as see how the script evolved. Since the process is about developing work all four scripts changed from the original submissions. I was really impressed with what their assigned directors did with the pieces and how they used the space. We all share the same set and yet each one of us uses it so differently. It becomes a house, a 2-story apartment, 2 apartments, and a rocky coastline and it works beautifully for all of them. I think the Festival Directors did a great job matching directors to plays because each of the other directors seemed to make choices that totally worked for the scripts they were working with.

Anyhow, I gush. Hard not to when you are in the midst of things and really enjoying the experience. I do, however, highly recommend checking out one or both nights of this Festival. For $10 you can see 3 brand new plays written by future Daniel MacIvors or Judith Thompsons. If you can't make both nights or even a whole night, I highly recommend you check out The Playmates, which goes up on Night B (Fri 9:45 p.m., Sat 4:15 p.m., Sun 9:45 p.m.). I am quite proud of it and would love if you came and checked it out.

http://www.facebook.com/events/255274744545973/

#4 and #5 of my theatre goals for the year.

Feeling Artistically Full... In a Good Way...

Tonight I started learning my Mrs. Peachum music for The Threepenny Opera. It went fast and it's all recorded for practice in the car and it felt so very, very good to sing again. I felt like I was slipping on an old favorite coat that I had stuck in the closet but hadn't worn for a while. It felt good. It's just the learning stage - getting familiar with the notes and the words and the tempos and all that and I have by no means mastered the songs, but it still felt good.

All in all I am having a good week artistically. I am so pleased with Rabbit Hole and where we are at and what I am seeing. We were off book for Act one last night and it was really very good. A month out and off book and even though 'line' was called, it was all present and there was some really powerful emotional stuff happening. I am searching for the balance for my actors of making sure they have enough rehearsal to be ready while not over-working them so that they are emotionally exhausted. We have tread slowly through this script for a reason. It is a big journey for all of them and I have a cast of perfectionists who will beat themselves up. I don't want them to do that. I want to give them the time and the tools so they are ready to handle it. The script requires immense emotional commitment so I need to help them separate so they are not burnt out. I have ideas for that. But I am, for now, happy with where we are at and looking forward to next Monday when we are off book for Act Two and then we just massage this puppy.

This weekend I will be meeting with Anne Marie to discuss the Fringe spot. I need to put some time into seeing what I have to bring as options for us. I have a couple of pieces in progress and some ideas outside my own work and something I have written a lot of *in my head* that I need to get out. I have until Sunday. I should be feeling rushed on this, but I don't. I know that she has some things too, and between the two of us we will find something we want to do.

I just feel blessed to have so much filling me artistically right now. I am lucky.

Bridge

In a couple of days Mark will be done Annie and I commence the next project that I have. I spent this week finally getting all the T4 stuff done for the store. I kept putting it off, and then when I planned to do it, life and sickness and the kids interfered. I made it a priority yesterday and the day before and I got it done. It is all parcelled up and ready to be mailed tomorrow. It has been strange for me to actually be home so much. The boys are a bit of a challenge in the evening because I know they push the boundaries a bit more with me, but I also know that they like that I can usually be conned into reading a few more stories and that I am less likely to get mad at their shenanigans. There is a nice feeling when I realize that although Mark is off rehearsing or showing that I don't have to rush off somewhere in the cold with my car with a burnt out headlight (got to get that fixed!).

This weekend my sis is coming home for a quick and dirty visit. I also have the first read-through for the Staged reading I am Directing/Dramaturging for From Cradle to Stage. I have a nice cast - all newbies to Walterdale's stage though not without skills. I like working with new people. I also will get to work with Magnolia as she is the playwright and I am looking forward to that. It seems we have not seen each other for quite some time and that must be remedied!

So, the shift starts. Mark is done with his frolics and will be the one home on Sundays with the boys and I will be the one out and about again. I have posted the Audition Notice for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and have 22 people signed up already (only 2 men, though - that must change!) in just 10 days! I have some work to do for that and the songs have been running through my head non-stop in preparation! Yee Haw!

The Decade in Theatre... First half anyhow...

I did a lot of theatre in the last 10 years. The most significant shift was that I started to write and actually got some plays produced (I have had 4 plays produced - the first in 2003). For me, the playwriting has been the absolute coolest development.

It's funny to think where I started off in the decade. 2000 was a tough year at work. I had shifted into sharing the drama position. It wasn't the sharing that was hard it was working with someone who was clearly unhappy about having to share. I dealt with so many behind the scenes digs and jabs to my self-esteem. They were always delivered behind the scenes and one-on-one and thankfully I had wonderful friends to help me through that year. I also had wonderful students and a great show to direct. I guess The Wiz and One Acts saved that year. Those and the fact I was finally pregnant. Now, 10 years later, it is strange to look back on that year and where I was emotionally with regards to theatre. Dealing with that situation has taught me a lot about how to deal with where I am now, so I guess it wasn't all bad. I also did Jesus Christ Superstar at Keyano. Mark was also in the show playing Pilate so that was nice. JCS was one of those amazing shows where you know it is phenomenal (even if you are dog tired from being pregnant).

You might think that the second half of 2001 would have been a slow year because I had a baby and all that, but being on maternity leave and running a drama program at a busy high school allowed me to get back onstage at Keyano. I played Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense, directed by Glenda Stirling and it was wonderful. First of all, I never thought I'd get that part, but it was the one I really wanted and second of all, that was such a wonderful group of women to work with (and Mike Eddy - Musical Director Extraordinaire!). A truly fabulous experience!

I returned to work in the fall of 2002 worried about my place in the department. I stuck to the One Acts and directed 3 shows, one of which (One Beautiful Evening) we took to Interplay as a fundraiser for the theatre department. The next year (2003) I stuck to the one acts at school, but I also wrote my first play, There's a Better Way, which was an anti-vandalism musical that toured all the grade 4-9s in the Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Very cool. It went up in early 2004. I also played Doreen in Girls in the Gang. It was performed in the Recital Theatre and replaced the small ensemble course at the college that year. Directed by Laura Glover. It was a bit uneven but wonderful music and the first time I really got to act with Russell Thomas. We had been in shows together before but never in any scenes together. He was a delight to act with. He was always very present. In the summer, 7 months pregnant, I stage managed and designed Jewel for Interplay, featuring Anne Marie Szucs, after her return from all her work in Vancouver. Designing was fun and confirmed for me that I could do it.

Gibson was born in the Fall of 2004, so instead of doing anything myself, I let Mark audition for the first Interplay Dinnerplay show and even took a six week old Gibson to the show. He nursed and slept through the whole thing. In the Spring of 2005 I got my chance to direct the Interplay dinner theatre, The Owl and the Pussycat, and worked with the fabulous Lisa Ruelling and Charissa Tremblay as designers. My cast, Anne Marie Szucs and John Gaunce, were great to work with and as this was my last show in Fort McMurray before the move to Edmonton, it was a good one to go out on.

Next ---> The second half of the decade - Hello Edmonton!

Policies and Procedures... a.k.a. Best Practices...

This weekend the Walterdale Theatre Board of Directors will be meeting to work on our policies and procedures. This is something we have been loosely working on for the past 3 years and in the last year we became much more focused and directed in terms of getting it all together. My hope is that we will produce a document that can be a good guide for the various teams that come through the building and that it will offer assistance but will still be flexible to allow for a variety of personalities. Because this is the challenge. Every team that comes through the theatre is unique and has it's own style of communication and ways of doing things. There are some people that might be the same from team to team, but change one designer, one ASM and you get a slightly different dynamics. And I have noticed that because these teams come from different levels of training and experience there are plenty of people who break the rules. Here are two extremes that I have seen that make me cringe and make me wish for a usable document.

1. The "Director is God" school of thought - in this dynamic the Director dictates everything. This Director confuses design with concept and dictates ever element of the show to all their designers instead of letting them design. This Director often steps outside their areas of concern, dictating set/costume design, the sound design, the program design, the media for the show and how the theatre as a whole is run and operated. Sometimes this Director will interfere in the middle of the construction process because the set/costumes do not look like they want and they will throw tantrums and yell. I get scared of this type of process as an actor and an AD. Where is the collaboration? Have you ever been in a show where the director literally tells you to say this line, take 3 steps and on the word shampoo, turn and wink? If this happens, it can really obliterate anything organic within the production. Everything feels orchestrated. What bothers me about this model is that all those other people who have something to bring to the production are stifled. It becomes about one opinion, one point of view, and the discoveries that could be made by listening and sharing are lost.

2. The other extreme - "Everyone Can Have a Say' school of thought - In this model everyone offers their opinions willy-nilly to everyone else. There is no guiding concept, but rather every decision is based on a discussion that everyone can chime in on. I have been in shows as Director where it was clear to me that I was working with people (actors, stage managers, musical directors, production managers) who thought that it was perfectly appropriate to give me note a about things that were part of my artistic vision. These same people would think nothing about giving actors notes and directing the costume designer to change their design. This drives me crazy. I am sure to them I looked like a real diva when I excused myself to calm down, but that is the only way I know how to deal with that other than yelling at them for insulting me and the process. The majority of people like this, but not exclusively so, have come from a less formal training background. They often do have valuable input, but by sharing it inappropriately it adds to frustration and distress within the production. They may not always understand the layers of process going on. As a director I am hardly going to give line notes the first week of rehearsal, nor am I going to be a stickler about blocking when we are working on the relationships. I will give those notes when it is the right time, and sometimes the actors just needs time to figure it out and own it themselves. There are very good reasons for Assigned Roles with dictated areas of responsibilities. First it means someone is looking after a specific area and you shouldn't have to worry about it and second it means that if everyone knows what is going on, no body's toes are going to be stepped on. Now wait you say, what about collaboration? Didn't you just say that was a good thing? Of course, but there are lines of responsibility and it is not the Stage Manager's job to design the costumes, nor the actor's job to pick the chairs for the set. There is a time and place for discussion and sharing, just make sure you are not over-stepping your boundaries.

Anyhow, those are two of the extremes that make me hungry for this document to be finished and hopefully used. I know I cannot break other people's bad habits for them, but I just hope that people in the theatre take it for what it is meant to be - a helpful tool that will hopefully make it easier and less stressful to get things done.

Switching Hats

I am currently Assistant Directing one of the One Acts at Walterdale Theatre. I am fitting in the time commitment 'when I can' so I shall miss a few rehearsals. It is hard to do two shows at once, and with Cinderella starting up in mid June I will be going straight from 2 shows to 2 shows. I think I only have about a week of overlap until I am done to just the one Fringe show so late June shall feel like a bit of a relief, I think. I am also hopeful that my director will work around my hectic schedule with the knowledge that after July 12th I am hers and hers alone. It is strange to switch from show to show and keep the focus. Acting and Directing are different and you have to be in a different place and you have different permissions for sharing ideas in each role. I like doing both, but I really have to separate the different projects.