A Wrap Up to the Week

I like my Canadian Drama class. I have to admit, that we mostly just talk and I wish we were in a smaller room because of the format of the course, but we always seem to have interesting discussions. I think we could have studied 2-3 more scripts in the time, but we have gotten to cover quite a few and that has been good. Next week we talk about Arts Funding in Canada and I am excited about that. Today (and this week in general) we talked about Michael Healey and his play Courageous (and a little about The Drawer Boy). I recommend Courageous to anyone. It's at the Citadel until Sunday. I am glad to have read The Drawer Boy. I had heard it was good and man-oh-man was it ever. I have put it on my list of shows I would like to direct some day.

I now have acquired the rights for 3 of the 4 shows in the season next year that require them. Not bad for one week. I am waiting on the 4th, which is unfortunately the first show of the season. I don't anticipate any problems as they sounded positive on the phone, but it was the only one that was not an automated system, so I think the 'people part' of the rights equation is slowing things down. If I don't hear by Monday I will be calling. It would be nice to be ahead of things and my estimated deadline was Friday next week (most places say 7-14 days for a response).

I worked out last night. It reminded me that I shouldn't let myself stop working out because it is so much more painful to restart. Here's hoping I maintain the momentum.

Troubled

I have a issues that is bothering me and I have written 3 Blog posts and not posted them because I realized I wasn't really sure if I wanted to 'air the dirty laundry' that way. So it may seem that I haven't posted for a while.

There's a lot that has happened since the last posted post. I now have my 2010-2011 Season approved and I am working on the rights. I am very early compared to last year and because I have been through it all once before and I was determined to feel ahead of the game. It should feel better for the rest of the season too because I know what has to happen with media and feel better about understanding that process and what I should expect. Last year that whole process was so new to me that I didn't really know what to expect. This year I expect more and I think we have a system/plan in place to get that. The whole Season thing is agonizing. I don't think people realize that. It is like casting a show but on a grander scale. You know that most people are not going to be 100% happy with whatever you choose. You have to strive for balance that serves as many as you can. I think I did that. You also have to provide opportunities for new directors, and old directors and find directors that can service the work appropriately. There are a lot of judgement calls involved and reference hunting and the like and again, like casting, there are people that you will leave out... not fun.

I have also started working with the entire team on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (TBLWIT). I had worked with individuals on the team (design meetings, etc...) one on one as early as September but now it feels like we are almost there. Yee Haw!

I also took on directing/dramatuging a staged reading for the One Acts. I had another person in mind for this, but she was unable to commit to the time and my back-up had similar issues because she got cast in a show, so I took on the task myself. I feel strongly about not putting the wrong person in place just to put them in place, especially with the new works so I felt I had to step in. It is a staged reading and we are likely to have only 5-6 rehearsals prior to handing it over to the techies so it isn't a major time commitment. The important thing to me is to have someone the playwright can trust to work with their script. Since this one was an addition and didn't have the benefit of one of the professional dramaturges and I have been through this process (both as playwright and dramaturge) I felt the best solution was to take it on myself. I am happy that next season I have a plan for mentoring the directors for One Acts. I would have had it for this year, but there were a lot of new things for me this year and I wanted to get one year under my belt before instituting changes. Now to find Director Mentors! Oh, I can wait a little on that...

Auditions for TBLWIT are coming up in April! Yay! I do need more men, but I anticipate once the other two shows in the town are cast I will hear from some people. Also, some people wait until the last minute. I have had several tell me they are planning on auditioning, but they just haven't booked a time so I will gently nudge them closer to the date.

As to the issue bothering me, I have determined to not let it bother me. One part of this job is that people will criticize you, however unfairly, I will just keep working as hard as I have been and know that I am not going to make everyone happy and that it not necessarily the best way to do this job, in any case. We are here to make good theatre as a community and that is what I will focus on.