Two Very Different Dramatic Productions on a Friday...

So, yesterday afternoon my kids' school presented a very funny and wonderful production along with Trickster Theatre Company.  The company works by coming into the school for a week and working in all the classes to prepare a short (2-3 minute) play with the kids.  Each class has a theme or topic and the kids brainstorm and make up little plays.  Mid week, the school calls in parent volunteers to pull costumes from Trickster's "Bins of Costumes" to support the plays (I was there!).  They have tech rehearsals on Thursday and on Friday afternoon parents are invited to come and watch all the plays put together.  It was wonderful.  I laughed so hard due to intense cuteness as well as real funny stuff.  It was fabulous to see all the kids participating.  As a former drama educator I could see the principles applies and as a parent I was so happy to hear my kids come home all week long talking excitedly about what they were doing. I was so glad that the Parent Council at our school committed the funds to bring something like this in.  I hope that it becomes an ongoing thing as I certainly felt it was exceptionally valuable.

Last night I then returned to my old stomping grounds (and hopefully future stomping grounds) to check out the 2nd Year BFAs final year presentation of a new adaptation of The Seagull by Jason Chinn. I have been looking forward to seeing this class onstage all year.  I was in Drama 257 with Kabriel Lilly and Nikki Hulowski last year and directed Kabriel in New Works, so I was very excited for them when they got in the program and was very pleased to see them onstage. It was clear to me that the program has been good for them and it was nice to see how much they have grown over the course of the school year. I also have a fondness for The Seagull. Chinn's script managed to retain the original flavour and tone of the play while striving to bring it up to modern day.  It is one of those plays you constantly have to work at 'getting', but every time i read it or see it, I think I am closer. In any case, I enjoyed the production.  I think there are exciting things with this class and I am interested to watch them grow over the next two years.

It made for a nice afternoon and evening of theatre - even though both events were miles apart in form and content.  Who knows, maybe someday some of those elementary kids will be in a BFA program?

Getting in the Spirit of the Season With Bells and Snow Globes and a couple of School Concerts!

You would think I would take a rest after a 2 week run, but no, not me.  I had a brief pause on Monday night (which I used to start some baking) and then dived into two nights of School Concerts (my kids are three years apart so I always get to go twice), then I caught With Bells On at The Roxy (Guys in Disguise) and last night I took the boys to Babes in Toyland at C103 (formerly The Catalyst Theatre) as part of The Snow Globe Festival.

I wrote about Snow Globe last year when Impresario Extraordinaire Ellen Chorley created it. I took the boys last year and once the commitments of the season wrapped up we headed off to see what was happening onstage this year. We bundled up and headed out to catch Babes in Toyland and had a great time.  The boys are the target audience so I will translate their responses.  My kids are 8 and 11 so that can give you an idea of the source.  From the first moment the lights when down Gibson (8) was mesmerized and sitting on the edge of his seat.  He is fascinated by anything musical so once the 3 piece band started playing he was hooked in.  Oliver (11) is a little more laid back - he's an almost teenager, and it's killing me - but he was delighted to actually get a cup of water when Jack and Jill entered selling it. I heard many a laugh from both of them throughout the show and they particularly enjoyed the 3 villains - Barnaby (Devin Bruce), Rodrigo (Rebecca Merkley) and Gonzago (Corben Kushneryk) - who were ridiculously silly/stupid.  The best moment was when Merkley did something particularly silly, Gibson pointed at the stage and yelled to me under the applause, "I LIKE that Girl!  She's funny!" (He also kept saying 'Alan' all the way home). As Oliver declared on the ride home, "It is always better when the villains are dumb!". When I asked for particulars about the show, the two boys declared everything "Really good!". Mission Accomplished!  We return this afternoon for another show (Robin Hood) and there is a third show (Birdie on the Wrong Bus). I encourage you to check them out if you can.

Thursday Night I took a friend to With Bells On at The Roxy.  It was fabulous!  A drag show that was more about conquering loneliness and finding friendship in an usual place and person and while that sounds kind of mushy, it was also HILARIOUS!  I had so many big belly laughs.  I was impressed with both actors (Paul Welch and James Hamilton) as they each brought so much depth to what easily could be stereo-typical roles. They also both have great comic timing.  Darrin Hagen's script is sharp and witty and although there are the prerequisite sparkles, tinsel and 6 inch heels needed for every drag show, it also had a lot of substance behind the flash.

A Thank You is always a Welcome Surprise!

For those who know me, the idea that I volunteer a lot is not a surprise.  I spend most of that time volunteering in theatre areas, but I have also volunteered at my sons' school for 6 years.  Recognizing the immense value of casinos, I have done those for organizations who put the word out (again, mostly theatre organizations - I kind of have a niche).  In my theatre roles, I do a variety of things, directing, acting, painting, Board work, whatever fits that I think I have the skills for. I get rewarded with enjoying the tasks, meeting great people, developing skills. For the school, I primarily do Child Check.  Child Check is a system in place to phone all the absent kids who have not been formally excused by a parent phone call.  This is to ensure that they are somewhere - not lost, injured or snatched on the way to school.  99.9% of the time the parent has forgotten to call or they are on their way.  It's a good system for a city school.  I have been doing this, as I said, for 6 years.  I also do field trips, casinos, and all that sort of stuff for the school.  I don't feel like I do a whole lot.  It's one day a week and the occasional extra day, BUT, when I went in on Friday I was presented with a certificate for Volunteer of the Year for the school!  Woot! Woot!  It's nice to get a thank you and to be noticed.  I will enjoy my certificate and the window sticker for my van and feel good about the last 3 days of Child Check for the school year!

Dear Parents and Care-Givers of Dunluce School

Re: Traffic Issues – Dunluce School

2011-2012 School Year

I have been growing more and more upset by the way parents and caregivers have been behaving when they come to pick up their children after school this year. I have never seen it this bad and I have been picking my kids up after school for the last 4 ½ years (I did take one year off where they rode the bus – so 3 ½ of the last 4 ½ years).

I have observed rampant jaywalking, with and without children, often done by darting out between parked cars (when visibility is poor) or by making oncoming traffic stop. Remember, because of where the crosswalks are located this means people had less than ½ a block to walk to a marked crosswalk no matter where they were. So not only are these people acting unsafe and illegal, but they are also lazy.

The driving and parking habits that I have observed also concern me. Every single day there are people parking in the no parking areas surrounding the crosswalk. I fear for the crossing guards and pedestrians as your car being in those non-parking spots means that you have greatly reduced their visibility to oncoming traffic. Your being there means they have to step out further into the road to stop the traffic. You put them at higher risk. You endanger the life of those children. I have seen reckless u-turns, high speed pulling out of parking spots, lack of signaling, pulling out into the crosswalk (because, of course, that’s where you were parked). All of those things are unsafe for our children. Yesterday, I saw one van driven by a school parent that thought to go around the line of vehicles stopped at the crosswalk. Why were they stopped? They were stopped BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE CROSSING THE ROAD. She (the driver) looked puzzled that I would honk frantically at her to stop (at this point she was driving on the wrong side of the road in order to get around those pesky stopped cars).

I wrote to Mrs. Busby (our School Principal) about these issues. She informed me that the school is very concerned but unless there are police out there ticketing people will say to the staff members who tell those of you who break theses rules that they could get a ticket that “They will take their chances.” I wonder, are you going to take your chances with a child’s life? Because that’s what it’s about – those children’s lives. It is not about whether you get ‘caught’ and get a ticket, it is about the message you send to our children. The message you send is that it is okay to break rules as long as you don’t get caught. The message you send is that safety is second to convenience. The message you send is that what they are taught in school does not matter. You send a terrible, terrible example to your children and to mine. My fear is that one day one of our children is going to pay for it.

Please stop taking chances.