More October #yegtheatre adventures - Lenin's Embalmers (Studio Theatre) and Origin of the Species (Northern Light Theatre)

When I was in university, one of my part-time jobs was working front of house and bar-tending at the University of Alberta Studio Theatre shows. As a result, I think I saw pretty much every show there from my second year on. I have always loved the atmosphere and aesthetic of the Studio Theatre shows. The plays chosen are always smart and sharp (and unpredictable) and the design concepts are always complete and specific and imaginative. This is certainly the case for Lenin's Embalmers, currently onstage at the Timms. First of all, I was pleased to see not only a Canadian playwright, but an Edmonton playwright being produced. Vern Thiessen is not only the playwright, but he's also onstage as Lenin in this production, and that gives a little more meta to the whole thing (Lenin observes the world after his death; playwright observes his play from within after he's written it). Directed by MFA Candidate Alexander Donovan, the show is darkly funny and intelligent. The cast is excellent, embracing the stylistic choices effortlessly and managing to convey the danger of Soviet Russia while still creating a very fun show. I particularly enjoyed Chris Pereira as the science driven embalmer Vlad, and Doug Mertz in a menacing but buffoonish performance as Stalin. There're a lot of great things to this show. It's also one of those that kept me in the world while I watched it, but sent me to wikipedia when I got home to look up more about Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky and all of that. I was also weirdly reminded of Eva Peron because of the whole embalming thing, but that's another story...

Lenin's Embalmers runs until October 20th at the Timms Centre for the Arts with shows at 7:30 p.m. Show is dark on Sunday, bit there's a Monday night performance and a Thursday matinee.  Click here for tickets.

This afternoon I took in Origin of the Species presented by Northern Light Theatre. I got there early (because I am always early) and lucked out catching the Director's Circle pre-show chat. Director Trevor Schmidt talked about several of his choices in costumes and casting and in play selection. There were also questions from the group and it made for a nice introduction to the work before seeing the play. I really enjoyed the piece. It tells the story of archaeologist Molly (Holly Turner), who finds a pre-historic woman (Kristin Johnston) on a dig, and decides to bring her home to educate her. It's very funny, with a lot of the humour coming from the elastic faced Johnston, who plays wonderfully with the idea of her character discovering the modern world from the perspective of her past. Johnston's ability to play makes her fiercer and sadder moments believable. Turner's take on Molly is an interesting journey, as she begins with the gentle arrogance of the 'one who thinks she knows best' but grows to understand that eventually as the student learns they must be released to the world, and there's a lot of wistfulness and a touch of sadness in that goodbye. The show made me think of the idea that all the cultural rules of the world are made-up, and that it's not always easy to definitively say which are best or right. As we live in a world with many conflicting cultures, it is often only courtesy and a willingness to be open that allows for civility and exchange of ideas.

Origin of the Species runs to October 27th at the Studio Theatre at the ATB Financial Arts Barns with shows at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Click here for tickets.

Red Light Winter at the U of A - Media Room Show

Last night, Mark and I went to Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp at the University of Alberta.  It was  MFA Directing Candidate Chris Bullough's Media Room show. I had seen a small section of the play a few years ago and had heard about it, but had never seen it before.  The play is dark and gritty and speaks to toxic friendships and people both worthy unworthy of love.  It also touches on themes of depression and looking to people to anchor us to the world.  It's a challenging piece, with nudity and strong themes and language, but I was really impressed with how this production handled it all.  Overall, the tone was very realistic, which I loved.  Feeling that these people might possibly be real made it easier to deal with behaviour that was abhorrent or self-destructive. The nudity and sexual scenes were handled so well.  I usually find myself self-conscious on the part of the actors, but there was just the right amount of discretion and reveal that it never felt gratuitous. I commend the three actors, Ben Stevens, Chris W. Cook and Gabby Bernard as well as director Chris Bullough for their sensitive delivery of this piece.

There are a few challenges with Rapp's play.  It's very fascinating and Mark and I talked a lot about it afterwards, both about the motivations of the characters and what Rapp was trying to say.  I do think that the character of Davis (Cook) is written a little too ugly.  It's hard to find a reason why Matt (Stevens) would still be friends with him and why Christina (Bernard) would fall for him. But I think that the problems were with the scripts.  I read somewhere that there is an autobiographical component to the script.  Perhaps Rapp didn't want to humanize the real Davis too much as a form of punishment.  It's hard to say and that is my own idle speculation.  I do think, however, that Cook was a good choice as his natural charm seeps through enough to smooth out Davis at least a little bit. Bernard is lovely and luminous and it's easy to see why she would be an object of fascination for Matt. And as Matt, Stevens manages to pull off the intellect and insecurity and the fragility required.  Overall, a great trio onstage.

3 Nights - 3 Shows - Is this a great city for Theatre, or What??!?

I had a great, but crazy week.  The front half was leading up to Opening Night of Mary Poppins.  The week prior to Opening is the busiest in my calendar so it was kind of nice to actually be able to catch the show.  I usually don't as I am a little brain fried, but I think I am getting the hang of it because I felt up to going.  I took Gibson, because it is the kind of show you want to see with a kid. It was fabulous!  I was way up in the back and the sound was crystal clear and the show itself read wonderfully.  I think this is the kind of show that works well from anywhere in the house, but particularly so from a little further back because the dance numbers are so grand. I particularly loved SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC... and Step in Time, but really the whole show is so much fun.  It was wonderful seeing some of my favorites like Susan Gilmour, Kate Ryan and Kendra Connor along with new favorites Blythe Wilson, and Andrew MacDonald-Smith.  The whole cast is a wonderful ensemble and as the piece has a lot of moving parts they seem to work as one being to make it be magical.  It was also kind of cool to hear Gibson singing songs from the show the next morning at breakfast.

Friday I took in something very different.  I have a great husband who is the kind of guy that will say, "Isn't there a show you wanted to go to? Go!" So I headed out to Theatre Network for Little One.  It's a 180 degree turn from Poppins, the story of two adopted siblings who have very different beginnings resulting in very different beginnings.  It's a tangled story of guilt and tragedy.  It also speaks to love not always being enough to heal the wounds from an early traumatic childhood.  A script that leaves us with questions, not necessarily a bad thing, but not necessarily satisfying.  I think it was supposed to stir up stuff. Jesse Gervais, as the normal, good child, is particularly good in the present looking back.  Amber Borotsik is chilling in both present and past.  You can see why this girl grew into this woman. I was reminded of my grandfather telling me once about neighbours who had fostered children over the years and about one boy that they tried hard to help, but that there was something unfixable about him, no matter what they did.  I can't remember what happened to that boy, but I can't imagine it was good. Another thing that struck me was how much responsibility was placed on and felt by the older adopted sibling.  It was a terrible responsibility.  Something that he shouldn't have had to bear.

Finally, Saturday night, I took in the U of A Drama 457 final project, Welcome to Thebes in the Second Playing Space.  A modernized retelling of Greek myths weaving elements from Antigone, Lysistrata and Hippolytus but also commenting on current global situations.  It was cool to see several of my past classmates onstage telling this story and to see how much they have grown as actors.  Although the first act was a little slow due to the exposition required, it was overall a thought-provoking piece, and the second act moved much more quickly and was more satisfying.  I thought about many things - child soldiers, western-world arrogance, economics vs. empathy.  Replace Athens with the U.S. and Sparta with Russia and you have the situation in Syria.  So, despite being rooted in Greek mythology, it was actually very current, making me think more about what it takes to rebuild a country after war.  We are spoiled in our safe little Canadian cities.

Above all, the three shows in three days made me once again think about the depth of the theatre offered within our city.  These were just a few of the shows I could have seen, as there are also shows on at Shadow Theatre (Queen Lear) and Mayfield Dinner Theatre (Death Trap).  The key is having time to go and see them!

To Venice with Prejudice...

One of the results of my taking drama classes at the University a couple of years ago, is that I got to meet quite a few wonderful young actors both in the B.A. and B.F.A. Drama programs.  I will admit, that my favorites were those from my 257 class and this year I have revisited campus for some shows featuring the work of friends from that class.  Earlier I took in Much Ado About Nothing and some of New Works and this past weekend, I watched the 3rd year BFA class in The Merchant of Venice.  It was a stark show, in blacks and creams and hints of red. Pacing was sharp and the ensemble cast did a nice job with the piece. I have only seen the play once before (over 15 years ago in Regina) so had to work hard to remember the story. It took me a couple scenes to realize that the Merchant was changed to a woman, Antonia played with maturity by Bobbi Goddard, which added an interesting layer to the loyalty of Maxwell LeBeuf's Bassanio that probably doesn't exist when the Merchant is a man. LeBeuf makes a lovely suitor to Portia played by the luminous Kabriel Lilly. Lilly was delightful and my personal favorite in the play.  Her scenes with Nerissa (Nikki Hulkowski) are my favorites. The two of them are so comfortable onstage together that those scenes felt very truthful.  There are many moments of fun in the piece.  The first two suitors, played by Hunter Cardinal and Dylan Parsons, are quite funny as their characterizations are of the go-big-or-go-home variety.  Hunter, as Gratiano, and Hulkowski are also scene stealers when they pursue each other quite lustily in contrast to the more restrained courtship of Portia and Bassanio. I also quite enjoyed Zvonimir Rac as Lancelet, his quick energy and wit was brisk and clear.

It was good to have these bits of humour and romance as there are aspects of the play that do not wear well over time. The persecution and treatment of Shylock seems particularly harsh in light of our modern values.  They did not, however, shy away or soften it so it left the audience to deal with it. I also wish that Shylock did not seem so angry off the top.  He was a hard person to like.  Perhaps if he were more likable, if he showed more affection for his daughter, I might have had more sympathy with him.  As it was, he just seemed angry. Of course, when you consider the way he was spoken to, maybe I'd be angry all the time too...

In any case, I am looking forward to seeing this class on the main stage at the Timm's next season. I am not sure what plays will be chosen, but I think there are some really bright lights that will be great to see.

Next up at the Timm's is Blood Wedding by Lorca which is the final production by the 2014 BFA graduating class which will run from March 27 - April 5.

Oldies, But Goodies... A Little Shakespeare and a Little Noel Coward!

I have somehow managed to squeeze in two shows already this week and it's not even Friday!  On Monday, I had a props pull at Walterdale so seeing as how I was already on the South side of the river, I decided to catch the Studio Theatre production of Love's Labour's Lost at the Timm's Centre. The day before I had attended Freewill Shakespeare's Brunch of Love so I was in a Shakespeare kind of mood.  The show was very fun and over the top ridiculous.  It's one of the earlier Shakespeare plays so it's not the best written, but this class made the most of any opportunity for ribaldry and silliness.  I particularly loved Oscar Deryx as Don Adriano de Armado.  He was like some fantastic hybrid of Inigo Montoya, Captain Jack Sparrow and Russell Brand.  The pants and wig alone are worth the price of admission!  But it's not just that, it's that he really sold it.  The rest of the cast is up to the challenge, as well, he was just my favorite.  But this is a very physical and exuberant production.  It's got modern touches and tweaks, so if you're a purist you might not be as happy with it, but it is definitely a lot of fun. Love's Labour's Lost runs to this Saturday (Feb 15th). 

On Tuesday, I put in my habitual Coffee Bar Shift for Walterdale's Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward.  Now, I'll be honest, I am not a huge Noel Coward fan so I had to work a bit to get into it, but this production has good acting all around from the cast and they all seem to manage the verbose Coward handily and with the right spirit for the script.  There are some stellar special effects and a terrific séance scene (after it closes I am asking how they did the doors - I think I know how they did the table - they rest I will leave not knowing because I like a little mystery) and I really liked how they handled creating the ghostliness of Elvira.  I'm glad I went in not having read the script, because some key moments in the second act totally caught me off guard. I think if you are a Noel Coward fan you will totally love this production.  The audience I was with were certainly laughing a lot.  I think I just have a hard time with the casualness of the script with regards to spousal abuse and the general unkindness hidden in the clever language. My problem, not anyone else's. Blithe Spirit runs until February 15th (Saturday).

Both are suitable for a Valentine's Day date - lots of laughs and lots of love!

So, it has already been a theatre filled week.  This Saturday I will be taking in Catalyst Theatre's Nevermore, and I think there is another lobby photo taking area! Yippee!

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.

Sifting Through the Rubble - (un)earthed presented by Undercurrent Theatre - A Theatre Preview

This week Undercurrent Theatre presents (un)earthed, premiering at the Arts-Based Research Studio (4-104 Education North, University of Alberta) on April 25, 26, and 27 at 7:30 PM. Undercurrent Theatre is an artist-run company dedicated to the critical exploration of society through the development of new theatrical works and community-engaged artistic projects. Tickets are by donation, and a talk-back follows each presentation. 

About the Piece:

Sifting, digging, burying; planting, seeding, uprooting. A group of five women from various pockets of time and space are brought together. In defying materiality and temporality, they uncover a sense of place. (un)earthed investigates the nature of agency, power, and (second) chances.

Facilitated and Directed by Nikki Shaffeeullah 

Stage Management by Emily St Aubin 

Featuring Saima Butt, Neelam Chattoo, Aliya Jamal, Rebecca John, and Natalia Knowlton

The play (un)earthed is the final installment of the Staging Diversity project, a year-long series of theatre-based workshops and performances that explore themes of gender and race, and the practical component of Director Nikki Shaffeeullah's MFA Theatre Practice thesis.  Excessively current, it stems from research into questions about internal and external racism, Islamophobia, patriarch, xenoracist pseudo-feminism and the decolonizing of public cultural space.

About the development and creation of the piece:

"We worked on our feet, in conversation, and on paper. We found that we wanted to tell typically untold stories in ways that were accessible and dialogic. We want to tell stories that have universal resonance, without universalizing or appropriating the social particularities in which these stories originate. The result is (un)earthed: a play that collapses time and space to explore agency, opportunity, community, and what it means to be at “home” in a post colonial world."

                                                 - Nikki Shaffeeullah, Director

Love and Whispers...

Hard to believe, but after spending so much time this week in a theatre shepherding my son, I still managed to see two more shows this weekend. I was tired, but glad to catch more of the fabulous theatre we are fortunate to have in Edmonton.

Friday night I worked coffee bar at Walterdale for their current production The Love of the Nightingale directed by Alex Hawkins. The play is a dramatization of the story of sisters Procne and Philomele. I enjoyed reading the script and it was interesting seeing it brought to life onstage. The production is carefully directed and the subtle sound design by Erin Foster-O'Riordan gives it momentum in it's silences. The costumes by Geri Dittrich are wonderful and lush and bare skin abounds! Rachel Kent, as Philomele, is luminous and in the first act my favorite scenes are between her and the doomed ship's captain, Kevin Oulette. In the second act, however, it is the fiery Procne, played by Marsha Amanova, who pulled me in. Justin Deveau also delivers a solid performance as her husband, Tereus. If the idea of a piece of Greek theatre scares you, it shouldn't. The story is clearly told and has humour to offset the tragedy.

Tonight, my sister and brother and I managed to catch Whisper, the final Studio Theatre production for the current U of A BFA graduating class. The project was a collaboration between Catalyst Theatre's Jonathon Christensen and Bretta Gerecke and the class itself. Titled Whisper, the text came from the students and were whispered to each other in translation through a classmate counterpart to the audience. A significant portion of the piece dealt with the recent death of a classmate and it is this portion which has the most impact. The production is skillfully delivered and conceptually complex with amazing lighting and score, however, a lack of variance in delivering the stories and remembrances made it feel a bit too long. As well, no matter how gorgeous the stage images were I never quite got the purpose of the deer like creatures and hunters in the woods. It is clear that this is a class with talent and a team with strong vision, but some more thought to story arc and playing more with the whispers themselves might have created more engagement, especially for those in the audience who were not familiar with the class itself and it's recent history. Personally, I felt that if they had either focussed more on their classmate (by cutting some of the script) or less on their clasmate (by shifting weight to a more defined arc to show growth or change) then the piece would have been stronger. Alternatively, they could have found different ways than just standing and whispering to relay the story. When the background was supported by action/dance/images it was stronger, as the pauses in relaying the stories slowed the pace in an already long show.

In any case, I feel full of theatre. It's a nice feeling. Tomorrow I have auditions for Nine at Walterdale. I am excited to see who is coming out. Soon we will be in rehearsal!

* These are #15 and #16 in my 2012 Theatre Goal!

One Small Step for Theatrekind...

This week the New Works Festival opened at the University of Alberta. I was fortunate to be able to direct one of the pieces which is being presented. I attend the University of Alberta as a Special Student in the Department of Drama and have been doing so for the past four years. I had a show in New Works 2 years ago as a Playwright (Tight Rope) but the completion of my ADship at Walterdale had allowed me to free up a lot of my time so I applied to direct. I was accepted and overjoyed to find out that I would be directing Bevin Dooley's script, The Playmates. It has been a wonderful experience. I loved working with Bevin and the Production Team as well as the Festival Team. So just for experience I have been blessed. I am also very pleased with the show itself - the script, the cast, my crew, the designers - truly wonderful people to work with.

The Festival opened Tuesday Night. I had to wait for Mark to get home so I missed the first piece, a Staged Reading of Fire in their Eyes by Ben Dextraze and directed by MFA Candidate Jessica Carmichael. I hope to catch it later in the Festival. One of my cast members saw it and said she quite liked it. New Works is about development of work and apparently this piece will change throughout the festival as they are treating the festival as a workshop so that might be one to catch on more than one night to get the sense of development of a piece. I know before I started writing I would think of plays being unmalleable once produced, but I have learned that not to be true. The work is not frozen in Amber. A piece can evolve and have more than one incarnation as the playwright crafts it. This has been observable for me with the staged reading on Night B: Murmurations of Starlings by Evan Tsitsias, directed by MFA candidate Donna Marie Baratta. As part of the festival tech week I sat through tech and dress rehearsals and Opening Night and the evolution of the piece in those three days has been incredible. It is really very cool to watch a play evolve from one draft to the next, to the next. Whereas the non-reading plays are basically set for the duration of the festival - these readings are still evolving and it is pretty cool to see. You can only imagine what the script will grow into as the playwright continues with the writing process.

Following the reading on Night A were Sitter and Felix and Max. The two shows I got to see were quite enjoyable. The first a comedic juxtaposition of two different couples in an unusual situation. The writing was natural and funny with smooth direction. The second dynamic, funny and full of tension with an almost absurd ending. On Night B, just before us, is Laundry Cycle - a fast paced comedy which I absolutely loved. As part of my directorial application involved reading the four produced scripts it was very cool to see what the other directors did with them, as well as see how the script evolved. Since the process is about developing work all four scripts changed from the original submissions. I was really impressed with what their assigned directors did with the pieces and how they used the space. We all share the same set and yet each one of us uses it so differently. It becomes a house, a 2-story apartment, 2 apartments, and a rocky coastline and it works beautifully for all of them. I think the Festival Directors did a great job matching directors to plays because each of the other directors seemed to make choices that totally worked for the scripts they were working with.

Anyhow, I gush. Hard not to when you are in the midst of things and really enjoying the experience. I do, however, highly recommend checking out one or both nights of this Festival. For $10 you can see 3 brand new plays written by future Daniel MacIvors or Judith Thompsons. If you can't make both nights or even a whole night, I highly recommend you check out The Playmates, which goes up on Night B (Fri 9:45 p.m., Sat 4:15 p.m., Sun 9:45 p.m.). I am quite proud of it and would love if you came and checked it out.

http://www.facebook.com/events/255274744545973/

#4 and #5 of my theatre goals for the year.

A Plethora of Theatre Options...

The next few weeks offers up a lot of choices for the Edmonton Theatre goer. If you can't find something to see in February that you want to see then I think you'd have to literally be a rock. I have plans to go to at least 4 shows in the next few weeks and there are others that I would love to catch if I can squeeze it in.

First up - I will be seeing the show I directed for New Works and the other shows that are playing in the Festival. New Works is an annual theatre festival at the University of Alberta where University of Alberta student can submit and if selected have their work dramaturged and produced. For the most part the teams on the show are all current students or staff of the university. There are occasionally exceptions when a particular skill set is required, but usually an alumni is located to step in. There are 6 shows - 2 nights with 3 shows each night. It is a great opportunity to see new work by the next generation of Edmonton theatre artists. I have directed Bevin Dooley's work, The Playmates which features Katie Orsten, Kabriel Lilly and Jordan Sabo. We open (night B) on February 8th at 7:30 p.m. I am quite pleased with the production thus far. I think that Bevin is a gifted writer who constantly strives to make her script better. She has a strong voice and a gift for creating mood and believable, compelling dialogue. The entire festival opens on February 7th and runs to the 12th.

Really first, but listed second - I am lucky enough to be able to catch a Preview show of Edmonton Opera's The Mikado. I actually know the music for this one as I was in a modified production of The Mikado a few years a go. It's a G & S so it should be a lot of fun, AND the pictures of the costumes are amazing. They are going with an anime kind of aesthetic and it looks very cool. The Edmonton Opera always seems to have very high standards, but this will no doubt be a more accessible production for most audiences because it will be in English. I am pretty sure it is going to be a fun night!

Third, I will be attending Albertine in Five Times at Walterdale. I am a bit biased on this one because the cast contains 5 of my very good friends and although I don't know the 6th as well, I do know she is a strong actress and a lovely person. The entire cast is strong. Any one of those women could anchor a show by themselves so I will be surprised if this is anything less than wonderful. It's also a Canadian work by Michel Tremblay and I do love supporting Canadian theatre! It opens February 8th and runs to the 18th.

Fourth, I MUST SEE Wishbone Theatre's Waiting for Godot. I really like everything I have seen this company do and to get the chance to see them do Waiting for Godot just tickles me. I remember reading the play in grade 10 and thinking, "What the - ?" and then I saw it a few years later and it suddenly made sense (in the way that it doesn't...). Such a tremendous pieces of work and looking at the assembled cast and production team I think I will be in for a good night of theatre. It's directed by the delightful Chris Bullough (who I always love onstage, and who directed the brilliant Shimmer 2 Fringes ago). I am really looking forward to it.

My next few weeks will be packed!

And then the snow came...

Funny how the weather can change your perspective on the week. It looked busy on the page but then the snow came and made everything more challenging! It's swirling around out there and that's what the week felt like!

Sunday Night I started off the week with a bang! Caught The Rocky Horror Show at the Citadel and had a BLAST! It's not my favorite show, because it's hard to do 'right', but they certainly did it up proper! I love Camp when it's done well and everyone was on top of their Camp Game! To do the show you can't show fear, you can't apologize for it's ridiculous, you just go for it and they certainly did. It was enhanced with the controlled audience participation. Just enough to keep us all in the game but not too much that it got annoying. We could get up and Time Warp and sit back down for the show (everyone was so well behaved - but having fun!). There were a few people who really know the shout-outs and they kept it up in just the right amount. Special kudos to John Ullyat as Frank-n-Furter (is there anything he can't do?!?!?!?) and Julian Arnold as the Narrator (his interaction with the audience was inspired!). All the voices were fantastic (how does Robert Markus do that with his voice?!?!?) and the whole thing was fabulous!

The week continued with basketball, a snow storm or two (((we were right behind a very scary accident on Monday night))), a workshop reading of the script I am directing for New Works (auditions in two weeks!), and a skipped painting session for Wyrd Sisters (the snow and my back made me stay home!). I also had a major assignment due and spent 11-15 hours working on that. That got handed in this morning so I can relax!

This weekend I am off to see Daniel MacIvor's This is What Happens Next at the Citadel Theatre and ABBEDAM's Howl at the University of Alberta. I hope the roads are sanded!

New Educational Journey Has Begun!

Today was class three of my Fall course, Drama 257. I was a little leery (as usual) at the beginning, but I am really enjoying it. The 'kids' are nice and I like the style of our instructor, Donna Marie, and I think that I can get something out of it. I always worry about those things when I take classes at the Uni now. Being that I am 20 or more years older than most (read: all) the other kids in class and I might even be older than the instructor, I tend to worry about how I will fit into the dynamic. However, this group of students seem to like me and accept me as one of them (whew!) not just 'the old lady' in the class. The first two Projects that we presented I think demonstrated that I am not just a dilettante, but that I am serious about this and that I have something to offer.

I am anxious for script work. I understand the vocabulary of intention and specificity and choice and being present, so I want to apply that to some script work. I am curious as to who I will be paired with. As I have done in my previous acting classes, I am trying to work with as many different people now to get a sense of who they are. I can definitely tell there are stronger and weaker students in the class and students who will be easier or harder to work with (they unfortunately do not all match up). I think I offer a variety to scene choices for the instructor as I am older and that contrast in age and maturity will mean different situations to explore. I hope that she pushes me from where I am now, not from where the majority of the class is. I think that if I feel she isn't, I could easily talk to her about and she would be keen to do so. Anyhow, it is going well. Thursdays are like my Fridays and I am enjoying the rhythm of the Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Let's go!

Yikes - Overdue Fees

Sigh. I had a whopper of a library bill to pay today. I tried to renew them online but couldn't figure out how to do it so I took them back today and faced the music. Yikes. 5 books. 2$ a day. 7 days. You can do the math. The librarian was lovely. Told me that as long as the fees were under $50 I could take out more - so I got them down to $30 and took out what I needed. I will have to make sure I get my paper written in less than 2 weeks so that I can get those new ones returned. EPL is a lot cheaper for fines. Sigh. Oh well, I probably helped pay for more books for the library. Just doing my part!

Yesterday started so crappy. I basically lost the day waiting on my car and then getting Mark's so I could accomplish the rest of the day. This past week when you count the rental car and the repairs we spent almost $1000 on my car. I think it is time for a new one. Really. If you include the lost time for me it is even more valuable. Ggah!

The evening was better. I was able to keep my theatre date with Lindsey to see Love and Human Remains at the U of A. Great visit with the Linds. We could talk for hours. The play was interesting. It's a Brad Fraser play so there was a lot of nudity, sex and violence with a bit of comic book aesthetic. Some of the casting was questionable but you are dealing with a very narrow age range from the pool of actors in the program, so you do the best you can. The pace was also set at a very high rate to support the quick slides from scene to scene (it is really written like a screenplay) so it takes time to invest in the characters. The nudity was handled well, but I question it's purpose. Sometimes it distracted from other scenes. If the director is controlling where the audience is supposed to look we were certainly getting mixed messages. I did think it was interesting and a worthwhile night of theatre. Some fabulous lighting and one thing I love about the U of A shows is that the concept is always cohesive and complete.

So Much To See!

We are winding up October and heading into November and there is just so much to see! I will not and have not been able to get to everything. Part of that is financial and part of that is due to a lack of time. I did get to Any Night at FTA last week. I quite liked it. It was compelling and the movement and push to the piece was really strong. There are few spots where the script could be trimmed, but it's always hard to really make that assessment without the opportunity to see the piece with and without the sections. What I felt was extra might actually be essential in it's absence. In any case, if you like your 'thrills' more psychological than gory - it is a good Halloween bet!

Next week I will be checking out Love and Human Remains at the U of A. I am looking forward to this as it is a Brad Fraser piece and he is Canadian and he has a connection to Walterdale so that is cool. Plus the BFA class that is in their final year were all in my Canadian Theatre class last year so it will be nice to see them onstage again (I managed to see their R&J last year).

I also have to get to Cabaret (have my tickets), Laramie Project, and Legion Blues next month. I am not quite sure how I will fit it all in. I will do my best to make it work. My rehearsal schedule is actually quite light and since I have heard absolutely nothing from ELOPE I am assuming that I did not make it into Into the Woods so I am not waiting around on that potential rehearsal schedule. Initially I was a bit disappointed, but I am getting used to the idea and I feel that things happen for a reason so I am sure there will be something else to fuel my creative juices in the absence of Into the Woods. It is too bad - I would have rocked it.

Spring Break... lifus interuptus...

Spring Break ends tonight. Tomorrow it is back to school, back to pre-school and back to activities. I enjoyed not having to drive around so much, but I really didn't find it much of a break for me. After picking up the same toys about 10 times in one week (note - more than once per day) I began to long for the school day. It also interfered with my accomplishing all my goals for the week. I did get some done. All requests for Rights have gone in and 2 are confirmed. Samuel French has received the other 3 requests but they say 2-4 weeks for review and approval. I am not worried about any of the requests, however, I do want it done so that the season can be announced and I can move onto the next phase of planning - budget!

I went to 2 plays this past week. DeathTrap at Walterdale and Roberto Zucco at Studio Theatre (U of A - The Timm's). Both had their strengths and weaknesses and they were two very different plays. As to DeathTrap, I enjoyed the evening. It was a bit slow to start, but once it got rolling I found it very engaging. Francie as the Dutch Psychic was a stand-out. I did wish for quicker scene changes as I found they caused the flow to start and stop, but it was Opening Night and usually those things get much faster as the run progresses. I worked box-office for the show last night and was very pleased to have only 10 tickets left as the house went in. Yay! Roberto Zucco was a completely different animal. You could tell the actors on stage were overall very strong (although not evenly so... some stood out as stronger than others - Blythe Haynes comes to mind), however, I really struggled with this one. The show is challenging in content and structure so it is hard for an audience to connect with it. I figure that is likely why there was no intermission in the 2 hour show. I think that if there was one a lot of the house would have left. It was violent and disconnected and strangely dispassionate. And I think that is exactly what the Director was going for. Not my cup of tea, but probably very appealing for some. I did love the set and the costuming and they used the set very well. There was also some tremendous physical movement, but all in all it was not something I would necessarily send anyone to.

Evaluation

This past week we received our midterm marks for my drama course. I was a little disappointed, but was reassured when I was informed that it is extremely rare to see an A in a first year drama class. I was also disappointed in the mark for my midterm group project. We didn't do as well as I had hoped. The comments and mark were likely valid, but I was frustrated because they were things we had cleaned in rehearsal but apparently regressed to in performance. This frustrated me, because I like to work to full potential and I saw those things and worked to clean them, but there they were. I don't anticipate the same issues with my group for Final as we have a much different dynamic. I find it hard to deal with evaluation in drama. It makes me second guess myself.

Trial Run...

Today I got the boys up and fed and dressed and out the door at the soon to be usual time and did a trial run of my Tuesday morning trip. Yes, it's Thursday, but on Tuesday we didn't get out the door early enough. In any case, we made it with time to spare. I circled the block so that I was leaving the bus stop at 8:06 AM and made it to the daycare by 8:27 AM and out of the daycare by 8:35 AM. I passed the Timm's at 8:40 AM. That would mean I would have 20 minutes to park and get to class. Completely doable. And if it turns out to be tighter (bus running late... etc...) then I should still have some buffer time. I will also ask the bus driver about whether or not I can put Ollie on the bus at an earlier (and closer to the University) stop. I feel better about the whole thing. And it will only be Tuesdays. On Thursday, I can take Gibson earlier and not have to wait for the bus.

After the Fall - All Fall Down....

Do not go to After the Fall at the U of A. It is too long, too boring, too pretentious and too much. Just don't go. Unless you want to be schooled in what not to do as a director. Did this guy not have anyone working with him on his MFA in Directing? I felt so bad for the actors to have to be in that play. Arthur Miller, what were you thinking? Had you never thought of cutting a few (20-30) pages of repetitive self-indulgent script? I mean, you write The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, you think you can do anything on a stage? Come on.

The girl who played Maggie was very good. Oh, and the girl who played Louise was strong, as well.

Am I too harsh?