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.

Back but Busy....

I got back from Minnesota on Wednesday. I left the previous Wednesday with my Mom, Oliver and Gibson and we took just over 2 days to get to Duluth. The driving went well. The boys were good for the majority of the time with sporadic flare-ups when they got tired or bored. We tried to minimize these by finding lunch spots with Play lands and when that was not available we played 'run around the car'. There were two main purposes for the trip. First, I wanted to see my Grandma Strand. She is 91 this August and I wanted to take the time to see her and to take the boys to see her now that they would be able to remember the visit. When we are dealing with 90+ there are no guarantees. I also wanted them to see her while she was still in good health. They were great with her and with my Aunt Sharon, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Tom. Lots of hugs, easily doled out, card games and dice games in the evening. We would go out in the afternoon so that Grandma could have a rest. The second purpose was to show the boys Minnesota and Beaver Bay. We drove up Saturday to BB and we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house (now Uncle Bob's and Aunt Janet's). We walked down the hill. The intention was to go to the Rock Shop but a newly installed play park sidetracked us. After playing it was too hot to go on to the Rock shop. Just as well, that would have cost me. We also visited the Split Rock Lighthouse and took a trip to Grandpa's grave site. We were only in Minnesota for about 3 1/2 days. We headed back on Monday, leaving at about 11 AM. We arrived home at 3 PM on Wednesday. When I have time I shall post photos.

Upon return I did laundry and settled in. Then Thursday I was off to rehearsal for Cinderella - still bone tired from the trip but rising to the challenge. Tonight I am off to Dramaworks for the beginning of a weekend workshop. Maybe I will rest next week....