The Ladies Who first amuse, then terrify...

I scored a date for The Ladies Who Lynch at Canoe Festival this evening. It was a mix of hysterical and terrifying and overall meant for a good theatrical adventure. Some things worked better than others for me. I was very impressed with Candace Berlinguette as Judith and Nadien Chu as Maureen and the other two ladies on stage held their own. Hard to know if it is the characters as written that are more compelling or the actors playing them. In any case, there weren't any weak links in that regard. It was also the right choice of a play to see to connect to the work I am doing in my Drama 409 class. I spent the last two days researching Split Britches, a Lesbian-Feminist theatre company out of New York, and although this was not a Feminist-Lesbian piece, it did challenge certain societal and cultural expectations. It was also post modern in that it did not track as 'real' and the arc was not traditional. Even off the top there was a self-awareness that underscored the piece.

I like to see things like this, but not all the time. I think that, for me, I enjoy this type of production more in contrast to other things. I wonder at those who only go for one type of theatre experience. I certainly find my experiences enriched by occasionally challenging them. I don't always 'get it' or 'connect' to every piece, but if I only see the same things I get very, very bored and it becomes more about the glass of wine at intermission than the actual show. That can't be good.

#2 of my projected 40 theatrical events for the year

Back in the Rehearsal Hall

I spent this last week re-acclimatizing to University and sorting out exactly what I would be taking. I decided that I would stick to Drama 409 (Contemporary Theatre) and dropped Drama 240 (Oral Communication and Interpretation). I quite liked 240, but could quickly see that 409 was going to take a lot of time for homework and the steepness of the learning curve as we dived into Phillip Glass and Hamletmachine and the like was going to require I scale back. After two classes my brain is hurting (a good thing) and I am excited about what the course will bring. I feel like this exploration into contemporary and post-modern theatre will enrich my play writing as it might encourage me to play with structure and language. I know that I am fairly traditional in my writing, but I am excited to push myself.

I also got back into rehearsals of Playmates for New Works. We did a bit of exploration and text work before the break and Bevin came back with a tighter and even more effective script. I think she finds my process helpful to the writing for which I am glad. I really feel that new work is a type of theatre that I am a good Director for. The piece is nicely challenging and I have to work to keep the tensions and engagement up through a lot of silences and pauses (intentional) and I like that. We started some initial blocking yesterday and got through about a 1/4 of the script and I like the initial shape.

I am also looking into fulfilling my obligation to theatre-going this month. I saw a youtube clip of Ghost River Theatre's The Highest Step in the World, that is playing at The Arden in St. Albert January 27-28 and I really want to check it out. I want to take my oldest son, as well, as I think he will be amazed by it. Here's the link to the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4eEQChOs18

That's all I have on the radar. If I can make it to Big Shot at the Roxy I will. I am also hoping to check out more of the Canoe Festival, especially since some of it is at the University.