Why Artistic Directors choose the plays they choose...

Tonight I will be attending and to some degree participating in the following event:

YEG Reading & Panel Discussion - July 4, 2015 - (7 pm)The Space - Casavant Productions - 6776 - 99th Street - Edmonton

Come and join us for our final event of the inaugural APN RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship Program.

The event features a panel discussion with Edmonton Artistic Directors entitled "What Was I Thinking?". Panelists John Hudson(AD - Shadow Theatre), Heather Inglis (AD - Theatre YES) & Bradley Moss (AD - Theatre Network) will be discussing what goes into the selection of works for presentation at their theatre.

Following the panel discussion there will be staged readings of excerpts from the plays that were created as part of the mentorship program. Readings from Sarah C. Louise, Alison Neuman, & Kristen M. Finlay.

This event is open to the public, but seating is limited. To RSVP please email: trevor@albertaplaywrights.com

Despite being incredibly busy (perhaps too busy) I participated in the APN RBC Emerging Artist Mentorship Program this spring.  I was mentored by Kim McCaw and we had terrific conversations that I've taken as jumping off points for two scripts and hopefully many more to come.  There were fabulous tips and suggestions that made me think differently about what I was writing.  I'm having a section from my script The Water Beneath Her Feet read, and although I have a long way to go on that script, it was good to get back into it. I have a feeling that this is one of those scripts that will take me many years to finish.  It was great to have someone else look at what I had and ask me the right questions to get me moving on it again. We also talked about The Easy Road and I am so excited about what I want to do with that script now.  I have worked a lot on that script and it is probably the closest to production, but it is amazing what having a different set of eyes look at it can do (someone outside the workshop experience). When you are knee deep in something it can be hard to see it in a different way.  Kim's questions have energized me on this and as soon as Fringe is done I will be jumping back into it with both feet! 

Anyhow, feel free to come by tonight.  I am looking forward to the panel and am a little nervous about the reading, but it would be good to see you there!

Setting My Skirt On Fire! Great Women Telling Stories!

This past weekend was the culmination of the work I have been doing on my script, The Easy Road.  I first wrote the piece in the first annual Play in a Day, 24 Hours Playwriting Contest held at the Edmonton International Fringe in the summer of 2012.  I submitted it that fall to Skirts Afire, a brand new festival celebrating women artists, for Peep Show and was selected to share a 20 minute selection at the inaugural HerArts Festival.  A couple of firsts and I was lucky to be a part of both.  Getting into Peep Show was the start of dramaturgical support from APN with Tracy Carroll and the evolution and growth of The Easy Road. Like any good journey, it wasn't over then.  The script was selected once again to be further dramaturged and presented as a complete piece in a staged reading at this year's Skirts Afire HerArts Festival.  What I got was three fabulous days of workshop with 8 amazing women artists and my script grew by leaps and bounds.  The first day of workshop was way back in January with Tracy Carroll acting as Dramaturge/Director and Stephanie Wolfe, Michele Fleiger, April Banigan, Jenny McKillop and Lora Brovold playing the five women in the script.  This past week Amy DeFelice stepped in for Tracy as Director and Sharla Matkin for Lora and we continued to workshop it and I wrote two drafts and made many, many, many notes to take away for another new draft.  It was wonderful.  I love process and this experience was all about process.  The wisdom of the women I was working with was so valuable.  It was great to have them ask questions of me and of the script so I could go back to it and decide what I needed to be answered.  The reading was a delight - how lucky was I to have such actors who emotionally committed to the journey despite scripts in hand with no set or costumes. I am excited about where I am at with it and where I see it going. 

The next day, I went back to the festival to hear four other women playwright's stories at this year's Peep Show. I saw intriguing pieces by Nicole Moeller, Katherine Koller, Holly Turner and Michele Vance Hehir. It was a great afternoon hearing four distinct voices in the scripts - nothing specifically female - but all completely human.  Some were darker than others, some humorous, some an intriguing mix of dark and light. I thought what I have been thinking a lot lately.  Why aren't more women's scripts on our stages?  Why aren't more women directors working on our professional stages. 

And I decided, I no longer want to be 'happy' with one or two women being allowed to tell their stories.  I like that Skirts Afire is addressing the imbalance.  I love that the audiences were full of women and men. 

And So It's Happening... Workshopping THE EASY ROAD for Skirts AFire...

This Thursday I will be working with a fabulous dramaturge (Tracy Carroll) and 5 amazing actors (Michele Fleiger, Lora Brovold, April Banigan, Stephanie Wolfe and Jenny McKillop) to workshop my script The Easy Road in preparation for Skirts Afire in March.  I am nervous, but so excited.  A workshop opportunity, especially one a month and a bit ahead of the presentation is an incredible opportunity.  I can read my play to myself and make adjustments and changes, but until I hear it aloud, it's hard to really get what shape it's in.  I am in a great position.  I will get to hear it, definitely more than once, possibly with different actors reading different roles, and I will get to have fabulous discussions with someone who knows a lot more about play construction than I do.  And then, blessing upon blessing, I will be able to go away and rewrite.  And I will have time to make changes and more changes before the first week of March when we go back into workshop preparing to present it.

When I first started writing plays, I didn't really know about this process.  I was lucky enough to encounter it on a smaller scale through the APN Playwright's Circles, once at 10 Days of Madness before it was cancelled, and in courses at the University and then applying that to my rehearsal process for my fringe shows.  I rarely have had the opportunity to have a dramaturge like Tracy Carroll there to shepherd the process.  And to have this group of women reading for me.  I have seen them onstage and been blown away by them all, so to have them read my work and help me write a better play is just amazing.  We think that playwrights work alone, in a vacuum, and for some of the time, we do, but better writing happens with this kind of collaboration.  I promise to make it count!

Whirlwind Weekend! ... Next!

Had a great time this weekend rushing from thing to thing.  The boys took up a significant portion as they usually do, but with one organizing a play date for Friday evening and the other having a bowling party on Saturday afternoon it meant that I couldn't see as much as I wanted. Oh well, it happens and I can't really complain because I do get out to a lot of things. Plus I was happy to see them both engaging positively with their peers and since I didn't have to do much more than be there it was all good.

It did make for a bit of running around.  After Mark got home from work on Saturday I scooted off to catch some of the Skirts AFire Festival. I was treated to a magic show by Billy Kidd and then a reading of a work under development (Her Story) by Annette Loiselle and Nadien Chu.  It might be the playwright in me, but I really love play readings.  I also have a very strong visual imagination so I am not bothered by not having a full set and all the blocking.  Plus with the strength of the local talent for actors, I have rarely been disappointed with the presentation. The reading was compelling and I am curious to see its future development.  I know, as a playwright, that the opportunity to hear your work read in front of an audience can tell you a lot about where it needs to go next so I hope that these two ladies got what they needed from it.

Sunday was it's usual madness.  I took the boys to piano then met Mark for lunch and did the switch so I could head off to Peep Show and my play reading. I was ever so pleased with the reception of my piece and have so many idea of where to go next with it.  I was also delighted with the line up of work. It was wonderful to hear five strong and varied pieces by all the writers.  Some of the pieces were comedies, some were dramas, all five had a strong individual voice.  I am thankful to the actors - Karyn Mott, Lora Brovold, Alison Wells, and John Ullyat - for their great work in bringing the text alive.  And I am also thankful to Tracy Carroll who acted as both dramaturge and director and was a wonderful resource int he process.  As well, I am so happy to hear that Skirts AFire will definitely be on the go next year.  It was a great opportunity and based on the turn-out at the events I attended, it is a festival that people want to go to! Following Peep Show was a Closing Concert by Colleen Brown.  She was delightful and the final song of Bird on A Wire was simply beautiful.  A nice end.

Then off to my rehearsal and finally, several hours later, home to bed!  A busy time!

I also heard about the following upcoming events and encourage you to check out one or more of them:

Finally Writing... Feels Good...

It is no secret - I write to deadlines and from feedback.  So, luckily I have had both to motivate me in the past few weeks.  I was happy to hear that one of the scripts that I submitted for the First Annual Skirts AFire - herArts Festival - Peep Show was selected.  The selection of The Easy Road (which I wrote at last Fringe's Play in a Day) led to a great meeting with Dramaturge Tracy Carroll and gave me the impetus to write a new draft to get ready to submit to the APC (Alberta Playwriting Competition). This was a bit of a challenge as the deadline of March 1st means that I am torn between getting T4s done and working on my writing!  Every year the same thing happens and one of those things I kind of have to do or else Canada Revenue and our employees would be ticked off at me!  Anyhow, I managed to finish a new draft and send it off.

In preparation for Peep Show, we are using the original submitted draft because some of the structural changes would make the new draft a challenge.  I get to sit in on the rehearsal this Thursday and will hear three fabulous local actresses bring it to life on Sunday afternoon.  There are a few other scripts in Peep Show which showcase some of the fabulous female playwrights in Edmonton.  I think it will be a great afternoon of theatrical teasers!

Here are the details on the event:

PEEP SHOW!

A PARTNERSHIP OF THE INAUGURAL SkirtsAFire, herArts FESTIVAL and ALBERTA PLAYWRIGHTS’ NETWORK

March 10, 2013 2:00pm

Alberta Avenue Community League- 9210-118 Ave.

Glimpse into the future of SkirtsAFire and the Edmonton arts scene through a tease of new plays presented in partnership with Alberta Playwrights Network.

Five exciting new plays by five fantastic female playwrights:

Marathon/Sprint by Heather Morrow

Going, Going, Gone by Jana O’Connor

Secrets by Jacqueline Dumas
Last Chance Leduc by Katherine Koller

The Easy Road by Kristen Finlay

Our ensemble of actors:
John Ullyat
Lora Brovold
Karyn Mott
Alison Wells

For more information check out the website: http://skirtsafire.wordpress.com/

Excited to be a Part of Skirts AFire! Peep Show!

I found out this last week that one of the two scripts I submitted to Skirts AFire - Peep Show was selected.  The Easy Road, which I wrote during the Play in a Day competition during the 2012 Edmonton Fringe was selected, and an excerpt of it will be presented along with three other scripts at Peep Show on March 10th as part of the first ever Skirts AFire Festival.  I am thrilled as this is providing the necessary motivation for me to spend more time on my writing.  Too many other things in my life have caused me to shove my writing to the back-burner so my plans to write more this year have not come to fruition.  I will also get to hear a section of my play read by some of Edmonton's top actresses.  It is always so thrilling to hear your work interpreted by other people.  I find that is when I discover the most about where the play must go.  The filter of collaboration tends to clarify the direction of the piece. So, stay tuned and I will provide more information about this event as it comes to me!