Double Header Saturday - Saint Albert and Calvin Berger!

On a day like today, it was quite delightful to spent the afternoon and the evening in air conditioned theatres, particularly since my van's AC has crapped out (great timing...).  Anyhow, it's even better when the theatrical fare is entertaining and well done!

I took in Teatro la Quindicina's newest offering, Saint Albert, in the afternoon.  A last minute cancellation of my original date combined with great timing on behalf of my husband meant for a surprise afternoon date.  He'd never seen a Teatro show before so it was nice to finally introduce him. He had fun and I think he'd go again. The show is a bit hard to describe without spoilers, but provided quite a few laughs especially from Jeff Haslam as the mysterious Magnus.  There's also a terrific song, Onion Bun, evidence of the Europop success of Desi played by the bright and perky Rachel Bowron. I am hoping that we might be able to download it eventually.  It was super-catchy in the spirit of ABBA and Aqua! Following the show, my husband and I had a terrific chat about various historic Alberts and we felt a sequel with Albert Einstein could be a lot of fun! Saint Albert runs until July 4th at the Backstage Theatre. 

Then we went home, had a great steak dinner off the BBQ and gathered the boys and took them to see Threeform Theatre's Calvin Berger, a modernized musical version of Cyrano set in high school. The boys are getting to the age where real children's theatre is too young for them and I was pleased to take them to this.  They both had a great time and Oliver in particular found it hilarious.  He's almost 14 so the activities and emotions of high school students was particularly compelling.  All four of the actors (Matt Graham, Mackenzie Reurink, Sydney Williams and Kirkland Doiron) in this show were terrific. The score demands big, competent voices that soar and there was no problem with that.  We really have some talent in this city.  These are young up and comers that I expect we'll see more of in years to come.  They were also quite funny and worked well as an ensemble.  It closed tonight, but keep an eye out for more Threeform Theatre work as I have been impressed with everything of theirs that I have seen. 

Tomorrow I am back at rehearsal for both my Fringe shows, SHOUT! and Double Double.  I'm pretty sure that part of me will be wishing I was back in an air conditioned theatre, but the rehearsing is going very well and I get  bit of a break from Canada Day through the weekend. It's summer folks! 

Last Week's Theatre Re-cap - Much Ado about Dracula on an Ordinary Day!

Last week I managed to take in three shows!  That's with rehearsing and having to go to Red Deer for an APN Board Retreat!  I feel like a rock star for getting to three shows!  So, I am also very tired...

Anyhow, I took in Opening Night of Dracula at Walterdale.  I am not a big horror fan, so it's not the kind of piece I expect to connect with, but I did appreciate the gusto and expertise with which everything was attacked.  Everything looked and sounded perfect so I am sure for those Vampire Aficionados it hit the spot.  The tech/designer in me was fairly blown away by the detail in all the designs.  From the pitch perfect costumes to the Special FX and props, to the sound, to the make-up and the blood, oh the blood - you could see that hours upon hours were put into the show.  The set design was elegant and supported by a fabulous lighting design so that the multiple locations were clear and functional.  Well done! It's selling terrifically well so I would advise getting tickets early to avoid disappointment.

I spent the week rehearsing for Proof and then was off to my APN Board Retreat on Saturday in Red Deer.  It was a great day and I think we really got a lot of work done towards directing the organization into the future.  It was also really great to meet in person with the board as we primarily have phone meetings and it is so good to actually see who you are talking to.

And then I drove home quickly (but not too quickly) and did so well that I managed to make it back into town early enough to catch Three Form Theatre's Ordinary Days.  I was very excited to be able to catch this as I had intended to see it the night before but an hitherto unplanned volleyball game for my 12 year old pre-empted my going.  I am glad Red Deer was not farther away and the roads were clear.  The show was delightful.  It's a song cycle, but unlike many of those, the songs were clear and told a story with real characters.  I was unfamiliar with it, but I liked the music - it wasn't easy but the four singer/actors (played by Adrianne Salmon, Kristin Johnston, Mark Sinongco, and Brian McDougall) handled it well and they were all very strong singers.  It was simply staged and they all made us care about each of the characters  and I even teared up a little bit. I'm excited to see what this little company does next.  I think they are smart in the choices they are making.  Small cast shows that they can stage simply and really do a good job of.

The next day, Sunday, I was back to rehearsing for Proof and then rushed off to the U of A to catch a slightly truncated Much Ado About Nothing in the Media room.  It was so good. I was worried because I have seen much Ado a lot recently, but it remains my favorite Shakespeare of the moment. This production was fun and light and was staged beautifully.  Everyone was up to the challenge of the language and it was delightfully physical and modern without being present day.  The cuts were judicious and worked well and made for a brisk show where you got everything you needed and they could leave you wanting more.  Favorite moments include text exchanges, the funeral scene that redeemed Claudio (Scott Shpeley) and made me believe Hero (Sophie Gareau-Brenna) would take him back, Benedict (Kris Joseph) hiding in the audience, Beatrice (Alana Hawley) explaining why men without beards and with beards are not for her, and Margaret's (Mary Hulbert) ability to make everything saucy. But really, everyone was up to the challenge and Director Megan Watson did a fine job staging this.

A Musical Beginning to 2013!

Last night I caught Three Form Theatre's Songs for a New World at La Cite. Tonight is their last show - it start at 7:30 p.m.  It was an admirable undertaking for the young theatre company.  They handled the challenging music of Jason Robert Brown's song cycle well and I had an entertaining evening.  I think we shall see more of these four performers in years to come.  MacKenzie Reurink, in particular, has a good sense of comic timing combined with a strong singing voice that I think will serve her well in her career.  All four (the other three being Chris Scott, Steven Angove and Robin Kumish) have nice voices and a good sense of story-telling.  The balance is a little off, so I would recommend sitting on House Right at least four or five rows up.  Sometimes the band is just a little too hot for the vocals and it's best a bit further back and to the side.

So after that delightful night of song, I took in my boy's piano recital this afternoon. Gibson started his solo well but got flustered and felt a little bad afterwards. He's playing a tough piece for his age and gets very nervous playing in front of people.  Oliver's solo went well and the duet they played was near perfect.  I am really hoping for not too many duets because it's a bit torturous to supervise them, but this time we survived. I have been told I am NOT allowed to post the video (by Gibson) else I'd pop it up.

Anyhow, thank you all for the music to start this year!

A New Year - Filling in the Calendar!

In the spirit of getting out of holiday mode I spent time yesterday and today filling in my calendar.  I am pretty booked up already for January with Spelling Bee and a workshop for one of the From Cradle to Stage new plays.  I booked tickets to Free-man on the Land at Theatre Network and Evie's Waltz at Shadow Theatre.  I have tickets to a couple of music events at the Arden Theatre and to Tania Alvarado/Mile Zero Dance.  Throw in rehearsals and basketball and I am a busy girl. I am trying to hit Sunday matinees for shows because they are a little easier to manage in my schedule. The cool thing about the ticket prize that I won is that I am going to shows I might not have gone to, and although not all of them are my cup of tea, I feel more engaged and challenged as a theatre goer. Case in Point: I am pretty sure that I have no idea what is coming my way with Free-man on the Land.  I am prepared for an adventure! Evie's Waltz sounds like it will explore some of the same themes of three of the scripts I am currently working on and has the phenomenal Coralie Cairns in it so it's a little more up my alley.

Tonight I will kick off my theatre year by seeing Three Form Theatre's Songs for a New World at La Cite. It's one of my favorite musicals - a song cycle - with fabulous music and I am interested in seeing what this young group has done with it.  

What's going to be your first play of the new year?  What are you looking most forward to seeing?  I'm curious to know...