Summer is a Terrific Time for Arts Education! Artstrek and Foote Theatre School!

Friday, I got to have one of those incredible experiences that really underscores for me why I volunteer as a Theatre Alberta Board member.  We try to have our board meetings coincide with the programming that we offer: Emerge, Dramaworks, Playworks Ink, Artstrek.  It's a great opportunity to see what we are actually putting the work in for.  Two years ago, we were supposed to attend on one of the Artstrek sharing days, but the flooding that happened made that impossible as there were emerging issues that had to be dealt with and the board meeting was pushed to later in the summer. This summer, however, we were able to be there for Exploration I sharing.  I 'knew' that Artstrek was an awesome program, but I had never seen or felt it.  The energy and the spirit and commitment to practice that I saw on stage made my eyes well up with tears more than once during the one hour sharing.  There was such a phenomenal spirit of respect - from the students to the instructors and back - and from the students towards the art.  Truly wonderful.  I so want my sons to experience this.  I think I will be able to get my younger one to do it, but the older one needs more convincing.  I could tell that this was an incredibly safe place, where he would feel safe and where he would have fun and where he would learn.  Now I just have to figure out how to get him there. You can find out more about Artstrek here. 

How do I know this would be something for him?  Because Friday also was the final day for my kid's camps at the Foote Theatre School.  I worried that the older one was getting too old, but his enthusiasm every day when he came home, talking about the activities and games and how great his teachers were, was wonderful to hear.  The only thing I have heard him talk about with as much enthusiasm is Minecraft so it's great for me to hear him demonstrate a similar passion for something else.  The younger one was similarly engaged and having fun - he's more social so it's more about the other kids - but still he loved what he was doing and I can say honestly that the Foote Theatre School has helped him to feel safe onstage so that he no longer has his terrible stage fright (he used to cry about going onstage - no more!). I am glad I have a few more years with him there!

Foote Theatre School has camps and classes all year long for kids, teens and adults.  You can find more information on it here. 

Theatre Alberta - Theatre in Alberta - A Board Meeting in Calgary and a Trip to The Mountaintop

This past weekend I took a trip to Calgary for one of my quarterly Theatre Alberta Board Meetings.  This was a big one, chock full of great conversation about what Theatre Alberta is and what we want it to be in order to best serve theatre practitioners in the province.  We also had time for strategic planning to look forward into the future.  That's always a challenge because you never know what the future will bring, but the optimism and vision of this Board is inspiring to me.  We have a fabulous mix of people on the Board from a variety of theatre practices and above-all they are all invested in the cultivation of a healthy arts culture within the province. We also have amazing Staff and every Board meeting I leave more impressed with those who do the front line work. I drove done with one of our relatively new Board members and this was not only great company for the drive, but it also gave me the opportunity to get to know her better and she is delightful.

One of the other things we did was take in Theatre Calgary's production of The Mountaintop.  I was very glad to be able to do this.  As you may well have guessed from the contents of this blog, I love to see theatre, and in particular I love to see a great variety of theatre of different types and in different spaces produced by different artists, so this was a great treat!

The play was very well done and it was a fascinating 'what if' story of the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s (Kevin Hanchard) life.  A visitor comes to the room but it becomes clear that she is more than what she seems.  I guessed early on that something was up with Camae (Beryl Bain) as there was a manner to her that seemed a little at odds with what she purported to be.  Both Hanchard and Bain were strong playing off each other and although the piece is overall respectful of King's memory, it also does not forget that he was a real man. I will say I liked the first 75 minutes of the show, but I absolutely LOVED the final 15 minutes. I think the pace could have picked up in some place early on, but that might just be the wanting to get there in retrospect.  The ending very much answered my most important question about any play, "Why this play now?" in a flash and boom!  It made me think and continues to make me think.

I do have to say one thing though.  We were in the second balcony and I thought I was going to pass out from the heat. Heat rises and boy did it ever.  It was a real relief to walk down the stairs to the lobby after the show.  I would have stood for the bows, but with the heat I was a little worried about vertigo hitting since the balcony is so high and steep.  Always cool to be in a new theatre, but I think I would have liked to have been closer to the ground.

In any case, a great night of theatre as a capstone to the excellent Theatre Alberta weekend!

Playworks Ink... A Writing Retreat in the Mountains...

A few weekends ago I spent the weekend in Banff at the Banff Centre for the Arts participating in Playworks Ink.  It was glorious.  Playworks Ink is offered every two years in the fall in coordinated by Theatre Alberta and Alberta Playwright's Network.  It is similar to Dramaworks, which is held in alternate years in the summer.  Playworks Ink, however, has a little more focus on play writing with staged readings and more play writing based workshops.  I took Facing the Re-Write with Robert O'Hara which I felt would be a good fit since I have so many scripts on the go in various drafts. I decided to bring a scene from Little Monsters, which I started two years previously at Playworks Ink in a session facilitated by Daniel MacIvor.  I had been feeling a little stalled with it, so I thought this would be a chance to kick it into gear. To some degree, it was the right workshop.  I was exhausted, however, after my long and busy September so what this weekend actually did for me was point out where I need to go and why I was stalled.  So while I didn't get a terrific about of writing done, I got some important writing done.  I also got a list of about 20 things I can do to jump start the process if I am stuck.  I can also use these with other people when I am helping them.  Some fabulous tools

I wish I had been able to write more, but that's okay.  I did feel that the move to Banff was perfect.  There were also so many other things that made the weekend work well.  With all of us in the same place, we didn't all scatter at night to go for supper with just those people we knew.  We all ate together and my roomie AM and I made an effort to sit with different people at different tables for each meal so that we would meet more people. That was pretty cool.  There was a real feeling of us all being at the same level, so while the people stretched from Newbie to Professional, there were no lines. It was also the best food.  I could probably write a whole blog post about the bacon... It was also beautiful and I love that mountain air!  Other events were great for us to share in - We got two experiences with Christopher Plummer (my new boyfriend) - one was a smaller group interview about his life and career and the other was a Gala evening with him doing Shakespeare off set by an orchestra playing music that had been inspired by Shakespeare.  They were both wonderful events, but I was so happy for the interview as I felt we really got to meet Mr. Plummer and he even seemed to be flirting with us a little. Another terrific event was a Trivia Contest and I had so much fun with that.  It was theatre based with a special focus on Alberta and Canadian theatre with a chunk of musical theatre thrown in.  How could I not love that? Our team came in second and I am good with that, although I think other people on my team felt we should've won.  It was all for fun so it is alright with me.

I really hope that Playworks Ink returns to Banff.  It felt ideal and I would love to go back with a calmer brain and a little more rested.  I could see me writing a lot there!

Theatre Alberta Invites you to a party at the Fringe!

This Monday Night, Theatre Alberta is having a party/fundraiser at the Edmonton International Fringe.  It's a great opportunity to have a drink, celebrate with others and support a good cause. Join us for an evening of lively discussion, entertainment and door prizes in support of Theatre Alberta, Artstrek, and the Alberta Arts Flood Relief Fund.

All proceeds from this event will be split between Theatre Alberta (in support of our recent expansion of Artstrek) and the Alberta Arts Flood Relief Fund....

If you can't make the event, consider donating online or by phone at 1-888-422-8160.

Theatre Alberta's Fringe Forum:
The Patron, The Theatre and The Artistic Creator – Who Will Our Champions Be?
It’s a municipal election year in Alberta. The arts community is rallying to find and engage our champions as we lobby for a thriving arts industry in the province. How do we foster a culture of meaningful dialogue and decisive action between patrons, funders, community and business leaders, politicians, and artists? Join some of our province’s most vocal and successful Arts Champions to discuss advocacy and partnership strategies on both micro and macro levels.

Monday, August 19th
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
ATB Community Patio at the Edmonton Fringe: corner of 104th Street and 85th Avenue
 On Monday, August 19th, 7:30 p.m., in the ATB Community Patio (corner of 104th Street and 85th Avenue) at the 2013 Edmonton Fringe, you’re invited to Theatre Alberta’s Fringe Forum:
A little More about the Forum:

The Patron, The Theatre and The Artistic Creator – Who Will Our Champions Be? 

Moderated by Megan Dart and featuring a panel of local Arts Champions, we explore new ways to foster a culture of meaningful dialogue and decisive action between patrons, funders, community and business leaders, politicians, and artists.

If you don’t already know Megan Dart, you probably should! Making waves in Edmonton’s theatre community, we’re pleased that she has agreed to lead this important discussion!

Alongside her sister Beth, Megan is the co-artistic producer of Catch the Keys Productions, as well as a playwright, poet, and freelance arts publicist. From curating arts events and managing arts-specific production and promotions on behalf of other organizations, to creating and producing experiential multidisciplinary new works, Catch the Keys is proud to bring evolutionary art to Edmonton audiences.

Megan is a curator with and the artist liaison and publicity manager for Nextfest; the publicity manager for The Expanse Festival; a Street Team member with the Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta; an active board member with The Good Women Dance Collective and artsScene Edmonton; and a steering committee member with the Theatre Edmonton Project. Megan is also a Communications Consultant with Focus Communications, and has experience in corporate and not-for-profit communications, public affairs, event management and local and national media relations. Working with a variety of clients from small startup entrepreneurships to large government and academic institutions, Megan has managed upward of 200 events per year, coordinated national lobbying campaigns involving more than 2 million Canadians, changed provincial and federal legislation, unveiled city landmarks, and helped coordinate media for the largest minor hockey tournament in North America.

I Want to Be in A Play... Where Can I find Auditions?

A little over a week ago I was listening to my messages on the phone when the caller says something pretty close to the following:

Hi, I'm ________.  I got your name from a friend of mine.  I just moved back to 

Edmonton from ______ and I live in the Whyte Avenue area and I really want to 

get into acting again.  My friend said that you know everything about auditions and 

stuff, so I was hoping you could help me out. 

I probably don't know everything, but I do like to keep my ear to the ground so to speak, so I called back and left a message but haven't heard back from him. This is not the first time I have gotten a request for this kind of information and while I don't think I know everything, I do think that I am pretty good at getting back to people with useful tips and point them in the right direction.   Since I get these questions, it got me thinking.  I do know where to look for auditions and maybe some people don't know the resources that are out there so I thought I would provide some useful links and tips for finding auditions at a variety of levels.

The first place I would go for general audition information is the Theatre Alberta Classifieds.  These not only have auditions information, but also information on jobs, submissions, workshops, etc... It can be searched by type of ad and by location.  I go there a couple of times a month minimum to see what is new.  You can also like Theatre Alberta's FB page and you will get new notices from classifieds in your feed. Now, I am not just saying this because I am on the theatre Alberta Board - i was using these resources long before I joined the Board, in fact, it is because of these kinds of services that I was drawn to Theatre Alberta to begin with.  I personally don't know how you can do theatre n Alberta (professional, community, education) and not be a member - I know that it has provided me with many resources over the years.

Another place you can check out is the FB Group Edmonton Auditions.  It's manager collates auditions notices from the area and you might not have to search as much if you go there. If you join, you can also post your own auditions in the group to share with it's members.

Next you can go directly to theatres to check out what they have coming up.  People who know me know that I have a major connection with Walterdale Playhouse.  Currently they are booking people for Anything Goes, which goes up in July. They have auditions six times a year for a variety of different shows and they update their current auditions page to feature whatever is coming up next. Walterdale is a community theatre but has a very high quality of production and welcomes new and returning members.

There are many other community and independent theatres that you can check out in the Edmonton Area: ELOPE, Two One Way Tickets to Broadway, Sherard Musical Theatre Association, Festival Players, Horizon Players, and many more.  Most of these groups have FB Pages and will also advertise in Theatre Alberta's Classifieds. A note - Two One Way is currently booking auditions for The Full Monty so click that link if you want to check that out.

If you want to check out the professional theatre opportunities in town, many of them will start having generals in the spring.  What I find best is to find the theatres in town you are interested in and follow thems on FB or Twitter and watch the feeds.  Check out their websites.  There are many theatres in town and each has their own aesthetic and feel.  I encourage you to sample widely to see what you connect to most strongly and then investigate those for their generals.  Currently The Citadel is accepting submissions for their Generals, but you might have to act fast on those.

There are many other ways - this is just a starting point - the best thing to do is just start looking.  I generally find there are more things I want to go out for than I am able to and once you get involved you will make connections for the next project.

Finding Out How It All Works...

I'm a bit tired this morning.  I drove to Calgary Saturday afternoon and drove back late last night.  I was there for my second Theatre Alberta Board meeting.  The first meeting was immediately following the AGM this past summer and it was a wee introduction, but this longer meeting was a much better introduction and orientation to what I will be doing on the Board.  I am now Chair of the Governance Committee and I think that will be a good fit for me.  This is the committee that checks in on how we are doing with our very comprehensive 3 Year Plan.  The foresight and scope of the Board and Organization as a whole was very impressive to me.  I have been a fan and member of Theatre Alberta for a long time, but seeing behind the scenes made me more fully realize why the programs and services are so good. The Quality was linked to the amount of work put in to make it that good.

I enjoyed meeting and talking with the rest of the Board Members.  Everyone seems very invested in Theatre and both passionate and sensible.  There were lots of great ideas and sharings going on around the table.  I think this is going to be a great experience for me and I hope that I will be able to contribute in a valuable way!

After the meeting I squeezed in a quick bite to eat with my friend Wanda.  Always good to see and visit with but too short.  I wish I got to Calgary more often so I could see her more.  It was a quick and dirty share about kids and life and all that.  I am hoping that we get a longer visit in November and that we can share some wine (we didn't last night as we both had some driving to do!).

Dramaworks - Working on a New Play with Vern Thiessen... sort of...

Dramaworks is upon us!  Hooray!  I am taking the One Weekend, One Play course with Vern Thiessen.  I had to wrangle some creative childcare to make it happen, but happening it is.  We started last night and continued today and we still have two more days to work on our plays.  The first evening was a refresher, but a welcome one.  Too often we only think of the abstract artistic part of writing - the ideas and themes and poetry of it all - and we forget the crafting and the nuts and bolts of it.  Thursday evening we reviewed and learned some techniques for that aspect.  This was very good for me.  I often have 'things I want to write about' but I have a hard time figuring out the best structure to tell the story, so a mechanics lesson was well received!

Today we applied those techniques to the plays we had percolating in our brains.  We had to pitch three of them and then choose one to go with.  I finally started working on Pitchfork, which I first thought about while driving over a year ago.  Sometime tonight I need to do a little more writing on it as we are to assemble 10 pages or so by lunch tomorrow! I have 2 done after today, that's a good start, I think... I am glad to actually be writing as it always feels so good to get something done, and this idea has not left me since I had it last summer so I think it is one of those ones I need to write.

There were some added benefits.  I know that I can apply some of the work from the past two days to Little Monsters and The Water Beneath Her Feet and Girls in White Dresses (the latter will require a total reworking after I get on it!). I am excited because I can see the techniques helping with all three of these.  I would like to finish some of these works on the shelf. A fresh start and new eyes and all that will help!

Tomorrow I will probably miss the afternoon of the session as I have good hopes of being elected to the Theatre Alberta Board.  Cross your fingers and vote for me! I am excited at the idea of joining this Board.  I have been a member of Theatre Alberta for many years and I love their mandate and the work they do. It will be cool to be on the other side of the equation!

Check out some Dramaworks...

Every second summer Theatre Alberta puts on Dramaworks in Edmonton.  The workshops offered are in different areas of dramatic discipline and cater to people at a variety of levels in their theatre career.  There are workshops targeted to the beginner, the enthusiast, the teacher, the intermediate and the professional.  I will be participating in Dramaworks this summer - taking a course from Vern Thiessen in Playwriting - and I encourage you to take one as well.  I believe there are some sessions that are already full, but there are others that have space.  Check it out.

For those of you who are musical theatre performers, this is one I highly recommend: Kim Mattice Wanat's Unleashing the Expressive Voice.   I was fortunate enough to take a workshop with Kim a few years ago and as a singer/performer I found it very valuable.  The instruction had some general components, but it also addressed specific issues of each of the participants.  I found that it released me some from very bad habits and gave me a confidence I never knew I had.

I think that Theatre Alberta and their programs like Dramaworks and Playworks Ink and Artstrek do a phenomenal job of providing ongoing training for every level of theatre artist in Alberta.  Check it out.  I was glad I did many, many years ago! I hope to see you there.

Recharging the Creative Battery - Playworks Ink

This past weekend I had the wonderful experience of partaking in Playworks Ink, a drama conference with a particular focus on playwrighting as well as other theatre related skills. There were sessions directly related to playwrighting as well as movement, breath control, directing, and (from what I heard) a phenomenal workshop where you could learn the Catalyst Theatre process from the inside. This conference is run by Theatre Alberta and Alberta Playwright's Network and they managed to bring in world-class instructors who worked with the many participants of backgrounds ranging from enthusiasts, to drama educators, to emerging professionals to full-fledged professionals. I cannot speak to anyone else's experience but mine was fantastic and everything I needed to get me recharged.

My first session was with Karen Hines and in a jam-packed session on Friday afternoon I discovered 2 major things that will help me with my in-process script Girls in White Dresses. The activities she taught us are also ones that I can take and use again with the same script and others. Very valuable.

I spent all of Saturday with Daniel MacIvor. His session, Play Finding, was individualized. He worked with the 11 of us to pull out the best of what we had and push us on to the next step and for me, the next 2 or 3 steps. I have a new play to work on now from that. This session has me desperately trying to figure out how I can do his 3 day workshop in Banff in February. I'll be talking more about MacIvor this week. I got to interview him for this Blog about his upcoming show, This is What Happens Next, that opens at the Citadel this weekend. He also delivered a Keynote that spoke to theatre in a way that was refreshing and enlightening. A generous instructor, a charismatic speaker, and a thoughtful thinker - I cannot wait to see his show.

Sunday was the last of my three sessions. I got the low-down on how to market my work from Ken Cameron. For me this was the most scary workshop and perhaps the most valuable. I am not scared to delve deep for my work, but have me talk about it to a potential producer and I freeze up. I have a plan now and hopefully this will help me face me fears.

A wonderful weekend. It's every 2 years - which is a financial necessity for the organization, but I could go twice a year if it was possible!