A Little Delay in Posting due to my Crazy Busy Life... But it's ALL GOOD...

So the past week and a half has been C-R-A-Z-Y busy and C-R-A-Z-Y good so I have not had a chance to write.  I am going to tell you about some things (like Long Days Journey Into Night and some work stuff) now and some other stuff (like Playworks Ink and my trip to Banff) later!

So last week we opened Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Citadel.  Opening nights are a big part of my job.  Although my work was not perfect, the 2 errors I made I was able to fix up quickly and the 3 arising issues were similarly solved with relative ease.  Whew!  I really like the people that I work with at the Citadel.  The box office was fabulous in helping me deal with my ticketing errors, the rest of the marketing people that were there were awesome making sure it ran smoothly and the whole energy was just so good. I am feeling good that I only made two mistakes and that I could handle the other issues on the fly without too much stress.

I knew that I would be too brain buzzed from work to focus on the play on Opening, so I took my mother to the show on the Wednesday night Preview.  I had been impressed at the Invited Dress rehearsal the week before, but was even more so the second time around.  My mom was similarly impressed, saying to me at intermission "Wow!  She's something else!" referring to Brenda Bazinet who plays the unstable mother, Mary Tyrone.  It's definitely not just Brenda, but the whole cast, that works so well creating a tight, yet broken family.  I can't say enough about Tom Wood (James Tyrone Sr.), John Ullyatt (Jamie Tyrone) and David Patrick Flemming (Edmund Tyrone) who make up the rest of the addicted family who clearly love each other but who rail against the years of picking at each other's flaws and faults amidst the destructive addictions they all suffer and deny. Lisa Norton, as the servant Cathleen, contrasts the family with her crackling energy; her relaxed tone showing even more how much tension lives in the house.  The set is gorgeous and has so much depth, and the fog creeps in as the day wears on scored by increasingly fractured music.  It was wonderful to see this, one of my favorite plays of all time, created so well in all ways.

I could go on... But instead I encourage you to see it yourself so we can talk about it.  It's a polarizing piece, which to me says that it's so relevant.  It's the kind of play you react strongly to - a true sign of what theatre is for.

Midsummer (a play with songs) - A Wild, Hilarious Ride!

I have been so busy this week I haven't had much time to reflect on Midsummer (a play with songs), that I saw at the Roxy this past Thursday.  Starring Clinton Carew of the amazing voice and the smart and beautiful Elena Porter as a mismatched couple who tumble through a crazy weekend in Edinburgh on a Midsummer solstice night, it is a belly-laughing show that whizzes by like a roller coaster.  I went in to it knowing nothing about it, really.  It popped up in my radar only a week or so before and I put it on my list because I love to watch Elena onstage (she's so sharp) and I love to hear Clinton speak (Best Voice on the Edmonton theatre scene - I have said this before - AND in this one he has a Scottish accent and sings!).  Anyhow, It was so much fun.  I'd rather you experience like I did, with nothing to prepare you.  It's one of those 'anything can happen' kind of stories and the two actors attack it with gusto and absolute commitment.  It has one of the funniest sex scenes I have ever seen (second only to the one in last year's Let the Light of Day Through) and I have been recalling the music on and off ever since I heard it (I was making up new verses to the hangover song this morning in the shower).  Check it out - it's totally worth it!

I also saw the invited dress rehearsal for Long Day's Journey Into Night.  So, so good. I can't wait to see it again this Wednesday night.  I am blown away by how strong it was in Dress Rehearsal, but with that cast and that script I probably shouldn't be surprised.  It hit me like Death of a Salesman did a few years ago. You could tell that the cast and artistic team was really serving the masterpiece that it is.   A night off tomorrow for me and then I shall see it again!

I Can Tell I am in the Right Job...

Because I like doing it, and even have brought work home not because I had to, but because I really wanted to finish something up.  Today was great.  I was a little worried because part of my job involves the Opening Night invitations of VIPs.  It is complicated and there is not enough information written down about how to do it, but I figured out a system that will work for me and that I can refine on-the-go and for-the-future.  What was so cool was how many people responded with excitement over seeing the show - not any show - but this show.  So many people said that it was one of their favorite plays and that they couldn't wait to see the cast we had doing it.  I knew I was in the "Long Day's Journey" Club, but I didn't realize how big it was!  Even for the declines, there were many mentions of seeing the play later in the run.  Of course, they could have just been polite, but it all felt very sincere to me.  In any case, it made me happy.

I am dying to see some theatre though.  Fringe feels too far away.  Luckily I am going to the new Workshop West/Brad Fraser play, Kill Me Now, this weekend.  I was supposed to go last weekend but I couldn't stop coughing and didn't want to be that person in the audience that everyone wishes was somewhere else.  So I decided to be somewhere else that night.  So I will see it this weekend and I am really looking forward to it.  I have some other things on the calendar (Warhorse, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Daisy Theatre) and on my wish list (Midsummer[a play with songs]) so I am anxious for the rest of the month to get a move on!

Work Takes Over My Life... In a Good Way...

A month ago I started my new job at the Citadel Theatre as the Marketing Administrator.  This shift in my life had some major implication primarily in regards to child care and balancing all the things I do.  I have tried to cut back a bit.  This meant fewer than usual Fringe shows, but still a respectable amount (16!). It also meant more camps for the kids and some crazy driving to pick them up on time and a discovery of being very tired and not being able to stay up to watch the Colbert Report. 

The best news, however, is that I really like my job.  It has a lot of different tasks for me, which I love, because I hate being bored. Right now the learning curve is steep but not insurmountable so I feel engaged and good about my ability to pick things up.  Today I got my first Playbill Proof and it feels good to see it all come together.  I will never look at another Citadel Theatre Playbill in the same way after this.  I never realized the number of people involved, nor the coordination required to make sure it's perfect and complete. I really like the people I am working with.  Everyone has been great with answering questions and helping me figure things out. An added bonus is that I have run into quite a few other friends from long ago that occasionally work in the building. This month is going to get crazier for me.  It has meant that I have had to get really, really organized for the other upcoming things in my life (Proof at Walterdale), and while I am normally really organized for the shows I direct I will have to be a little less flexible on schedules because I simply do not have the room in my life schedule to have more options for rehearsals. I am currently booking auditions and we are up to 48 people for 4 roles.  It's going to be tough to cast this, but in a good way.


Anyhow, it's a great adventure.  I am so looking forward to the first play up on deck, Long Day's Journey Into Night, a script I have loved since I first read it 22 years ago.  Now that I have done more research on it I am amazed that O'Neill managed to write such a perfect script without the benefit of ever seeing it staged (it was published posthumously and he never intended for it to be produced). It is a true testament to his genius. The cast is also terrifically perfect so I couldn't be happier!