Spooky and Scary #yegtheatre Options for Halloween 2018!

If you like to embrace all things scary and spooky this time of year, there are a few options in the #yegtheatre scene that you can check out...

The Bone House by Marty Chan is being presented at the Varscona Hotel. Here's the description: For the past 19 years, a shadowy figure has been drifting about, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Nobody has seen his face, and some believe he is only an urban myth. Self proclaimed mind-hunter, Eugene Crowley disagrees. He is going to find him but he needs your help to expose the Midnight Cowboy before he strikes again. He could be anywhere...or anyone.

It's an immersive piece of theatre that explores the nature of fear and imagination. Starring Lew Wetherell, Jason Hardwick, Nicole Grainger, and Murray Farnell, and directed by Jennifer Krezlewicz. I saw The Bone House a few years ago and I remember being terrified. Although the details in my memory are a bit hazy, I often reference the experience as the most scared I have ever been as an audience member. The immersive elements were what really did it for me. So, with great apprehension, I will be taking in this new incarnation, but bringing my husband along... It's definitely a show for those of you who are fans of horror and psychological thrillers.

The Bone House has a pay-what-you-can matinee today (Saturday, October 27th at 2 p.m.) and you can click here for tickets for other nights. It runs until Wednesday, October 31st.

Dead Centre of Town, in it's 11th incarnation, returns to Fort Edmonton Park, this time in the Blatchford Field Air Hanger. It's also an immersive theatre experience that brings to life creepy stories from Edmonton's past. It's tagline for this year is: Who are we to think we can conquer flight? Produced by Catch the Keys Productions it's Edmonton’s only live-action horror show inspired by true history. Dead Centre of Town runs until October 31, 2018 with shows at 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm (no shows on Mondays) at the Blatchford Field Air Hangar at Fort Edmonton Park.

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets. I believe that several performances have Sold Out, so act fast!

Tonight is also your last chance to catch Blood: A Scientific Romance produced by the Maggie Tree at Fringe Theatre Adventures. Here's the description: Twin sisters Poubelle and Angelique are bonded in both biology and shared tragedy after a car accident leaves them orphaned along a prairie highway in a pool of blood. But the young twins are brought home with Dr. Glass after their remarkable recovery, and quickly find themselves the subject of endless experiments.

Today's the last day to catch it, with a matinee and an evening performance. Click here for tickets.




Hope you all find something spooky and scary to see this weekend to get you ready for Halloween!

#yegbookclub Update! Book 2 in Ehrich Weisz Chronicles released this week!

Tomorrow night, June 4 from 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm playwright and author Marty Chan celebrates the launch of his 10th novel with a party. Infinity Coil is the second book of the Ehrich Weisz Chronicles, which features Harry Houdini (a.k.a. Ehrich Weisz) as the title character. The #yegbookclub discussed the first book in the series - Demon Gate - last fall and we are eagerly awaiting the second installment! This steampunk fantasy adventure follows the exploits of the soon-to-be great magician as he works alongside famous inventor Nikola Tesla to protect the citizens of New York from evil forces.

In honour of the series’ title character, magician extraordinaire Sheldon Casavant will take the stage to perform feats of wizardry and mentalism to delight the audiences before Marty unveils his latest novel.

Not only do you get a chance to see a live magician performing, but your ticket price also gets you a copy of Infinity Coil. Join in the celebrations as Marty Chan launches Infinity Coil.

Age restrictions - 5 & Up Only 

Price:
General – $24.15 (Includes Fees & GST)
Friends – $18.90 (Includes Fees & GST)

Doors Open at 7:00pm

To purchase tickets, click here. 

Meanwhile, I am about halfway through A Wake for the Dreamland which is our next #yegbookclub book.  We'll be discussing that one on twitter on June 10th!  Hope to see you then! 

#YegBookClub - Next in the Queue! Santa Rosa by Wendy McGrath!

My apologies for not getting this out sooner - a rather densely packed life due to the start of both the school year and the theatre season led to a bit of a delay in choosing a book and finding a date for the club.  First, a brief recap of the last book club.  Mid September, we spoke with Marty Chan about Demon Gate, the first book in his Ehrich Weisz Chronicles.  It was a great chat and although it was mostly Marty and myself chatting, I could tell from the retweets and the favorites that there were others following the discussion.  I was pleased to hear hints about what was to come (but with no spoilers!) and it was great to get the insight on Marty's research and inspiration. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

Here are some snippets...

What book next? For our next #yegbookclub we will be reading and chatting about Santa Rosa by Wendy McGrath.  Her sequel, North East has just been released and I thought it might be nice to read the first one before I dive into the second.  I've bought both so I might just read the second as well and see where that goes. 

When: Monday, November 17th, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Where: On Twitter - use the tags #yegbookclub and #SantaRosa to tag and follow posts.  

Who: Everyone is welcome to join in the discussion! The more, the merrier!

A Terrific #yegbookclub with Michael Hingston's The Dilletantes

Last night a group of readers met on twitter for an hour and chatted about Michael Hingston's The Dilettantes.  This was the first of our two summer reading choices.  It was a lively discussion with many threads and side roads and the hour flew by.  It was a great way to spend a snowy evening in September (yes, there was snow!).  The conversation swerved from favorite weird sodas, to student newspapers (comparing U of A's The Gateway to SFU's The Peak) and angst... plenty of angst.  Michael joined in and it was great to have the author chime in and answer questions. If you want to check out the conversation, use the #yegbookclub on twitter to search.  You should be able to pick up most of it.

If you want to check out the book, here's a link to find out more.

Next week we tackle our second summer reading choice, Marty Chan's The Demon Gate.  I think you have time to get it read and join in! See you on twitter on Monday, September 15th at 7 p.m.!

SUMMER READING! #yegbookclub

On May 26th we had a lively chat on twitter with author Thomas Trofmiuk about Waiting for Columbus.  It was wonderful to be able to ask questions about the characters and their possible paths and has the author answer them.  It was very clear that they all continued to live outside the book.  We begged for a Consuela sequel as she was a favorite of many of us readers. It was also great to learnt hat there is a Waiting for Columbus movie in the works.  When I read the book I was struck by how cinematic it was and, like The English Patient, I thought it would lend itself to film.

Following the discussion I indicated that there would be some Summer Reading Choice(s) for the next #yegbookclub.  I don't know about you, but I am always hard to pin down for the summer.  With holidays and day camps for the kids and, for this year, directing two Fringe Shows I thought we could have 2 selections to read over the summer and then in September we could take two evenings to chat about those books.

So (drumroll, please) the two Summer Reading Selections are:

The Dilettantes by Michael Hingston
I was inspired by the Alberta Reads panel and thought a humourous choice would make for a great summer choice.  The description and topic and the feedback from the reader made me think this would be a great book to sit on the deck and read while sipping my wine!

We'll have our #yegbookclub chat for The Dilettantes on Monday, September 8th, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. I hope Michael Hingston will be able to join us!

AND

Demon Gate: Ehrich Weisz Chronicles By Marty Chan
Perhaps this is a reaction to a recent article circulating about grown-ups reading fiction written for younger audiences, but I feel a compulsion to do so and I like the genre.  I think for summer it might be nice to check out this dimension hopping series.  Also, I have an almost 13 year old and I wanted to pick something we could both read.  He's not on twitter, but I am going to get his questions and feedback!

We'll have our #yegbookclub chat for Demon Gate on Monday, September 15th, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. I hope Marty Chan will be able to join us!

So happy reading! We'll chat in September!

A Little Radio Play...

I went to see/hear/participate in Fulcrum of Evil at Walterdale Theatre tonight. Usually Walterdale does not rent to anyone other than the ADFA and Fringe, but CBC Radio was looking for a place to tape a Radio Play written by Marty Chan and they wanted an audience for reaction, etc... So anyhow, Walterdale made a special arrangement. It was a lot of fun. My mom looked after the boys, so Mark and I both got to go and I was quite glad that I bought tickets today during the afternoon, because there was a waiting list to get in. Jam packed it was! The highlight was definitely Jeff Haslam as Faz Rool (sic). He was tres hilaire! I have read a lot about him in the Journal but this was the first time I had actually seen (and heard) him on stage. He was channelling Jack Benny and I quite enjoyed it. I also got to see Davina Stewart and Mark Meer and I had never seen them before. They are worth the hype they get. Script, hmmm? It was good, but the actors made it better than it was. It was a cool little night out and I was glad that I got to see/hear it.