And Rain Will Make the Flowers Grow...

This day has been up and down for me... mostly because I finally did a few of my personal errands that I have been putting off because of a lack of time.  And these errands/tasks were both very expensive.  The first thing was arranging for Oliver's Orthodontists appointments for him to get his braces.  This will cost us between $8000-9000.00 when all is said and done.  I also had to do a little money moving from long term savings so that I would have it in place to pay for the teeth-work... ugh... It's times like these that I wish I was working for a school board somewhere with a nice dental plan and benefits instead of paying it all out of pocket... Sigh...

The second thing I did was book Summer Day Camps for the kids at the U of A.  The four weeks I booked will cost me around $1650 and those are just the sports camps.  I still want to book in a drama camp and an Art Gallery camp and those are generally more expensive. Why do I do Day Camps? I could theoretically keep them home, but then I would be fighting for them to go outside and be active and these camps are really good.  The U of A ones were phenomenal last year and I like it when my kids are worn out from a day of doing things. The Art Gallery and Drama camps are generally very good too and add diversity to their summer.

Anyhow, these are good and bad things - good because they are done and will be good for the kids in the long run, but bad because of the cost, so it was up and down.

I will end the day on an up with the Second Opening of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  I have missed the show and look forward to seeing it again tonight with an audience! I know a lot of people coming tonight so I am excited to see what they think of the show!

Photo Credit: Janine Hodder

Learning and Thinking with Discussion...

I have just finished the first week of my new class Drama 103 (Play Analysis). It is off to a great start and already has started me thinking about what kind of theatre I want to be doing and putting out there. The course is definitely aimed at the newly adult, but the instructor knows that I am in there. I think my perspective might add something new to the mix. We have spent most of the first 2 classes talking about what our role as spectator is and it makes you think about how theatres must sell seats and how that need conflicts with the need for 'art' to bring change and push forward instead of stagnating. Not all audience members want to be jarred or challenged. I don't always want to be. However, if you are only playing to the masses(and/or the lowest common denominator), then what contribution are you really making? I often get so annoyed by the amount of money poured into slop like Don't Mess With the Zohan or Deuce Bigalo, Male Gigolo (1 and 2), or Saw (2-4). Any one of those movies could fund hundreds of theatre productions or at least 5 good indie films (and maybe a few bad indie films that at least tried something new). It is one thing to say money is the problem, but there is a lot of money out there. I think the problem is where the money gets spent and what oatmeal people choose to go to rather than going to see something of real quality.

Being More Comfortable in my own Skin...

Today was one of Gibby's Preschool days. While he was in class I sat with a couple of other mothers in the lobby chatting about this and that. They each had a younger child with them (around 6 mo- 9 mo) and the topic came up of 'going back to work'. Both spoke about it as though it was unavoidable and I got the impression that it was for different reasons, none of which were a desire to actually be at work. Both mothers cited financial reasons and one of them also cited the fear of losing seniority. I know this is one of the things that frustrates me. Not that I can't be home. Because I can. It is because it has become a luxury to be able to stay home. A few months ago, my sister sent me an article about daycare funding which summed it up for me... "Fund the Child". If the money follows the child, then people could determine more freely how to provide care for their children. By putting the funding solely into daycare, it leaves little option for those who might be 'on the cusp' of affording to stay home. I want more choice and I want social acceptability to come with all the choices. If, as a society, we only put dollars towards one choice then we are saying that that is the only choice with value. Personally, I think it might even be one of the least valuable choices for the children.

Yesterday at lunch...

One of the actors was telling a story. Apparently a friend of hers is in a theatre company in Germany and his mother went over to see the production and while there the company paid for all of the mother's meals. She felt that this was a reflection of how arts was valued in Germany as opposed to Canada. I'm not sure that's exactly what it means. Hmmmm. I'm thinking on this. I am torn about the whole thing. I personally think there is a lot of accessible art in my life. There is a range of cost for this from FREE (my APN play reading) to EXPENSIVE (The Citadel, Justin Timberlake) but there is always something to do. I find Edmonton to be an Arts Mecca. If I didn't have other conflicts I could probably go to 3-4 arts related events a week.

I know. I do not live the life of the "artist". I am lucky to do the work I do and not have to worry about it being my source of income. I can't imagine living contract to contract and auditioning and hoping for the job because who knows what else will come down the road. I have always thought of Acting as a type of "Lottery" career. It is the same way I think of Hockey Players. Very few will make the "big bucks". Some of it is talent dependent. You need to have the minimum required skills and talents, but some is luck. Some is just being in the right place at the right time. So the average working artist just gets by. They are not rich in money, but perhaps they quality of their lives is enriched by doing what they love. I don't know. Why would you keep doing it otherwise?

I am still thinking about this. I am likely to keep thinking about it for a long time. I was just so thrilled to get money for rehearsing my play. It was something I would have done for free because I got enough of a thrill from just being there.

Busy as a bee...

Whew! Thursdays are busy! I now feel very tired, but it was a good day.

Happy about my expected Income Tax Refund - YAY! Last year I had to pay so getting something back is a joyful thing!

Happy about WW --> down another pound for a total of 16.4 lbs! YAY! All those stroller walks this week have paid off.

Happy about Chanteueses --> Jam packed rehearsal but my independent practice paid off when it came to Popular. I am good for the Mamma Mia stuff for the most part and most of my issues are with words. Overall I am in good shape and now at least I know where I have to put the work in.

Nice dinner with AM at The Blue Plate Diner (Dine out for Life --> 25% of the bill goes to AIDS funding). I love Colonel Mustard's, but this was a nice change for the weekly dinner. Always a good conversation with AM and we talked about those things near and dear to us. Mostly theatre! Ha!