Have you ever wanted to write a play, but didn't know how?

There's great course being offered at the Foote Theatre School (Citadel) that could help you get started.  The stage needs different voices, maybe yours is one that would benefit from this course. It's a Beginners Playwrighting course (although I suspect that with these two teachers a playwright at any level would get a lot out of it) that should give you some tools to get you started. I've worked with both Conni Massing and Tracy Carroll before and they are people I trust enough to go back to. 

So, check it out:

PLAYWRITING 101 
at the Foote Theatre School
MONDAYS: MAY 4 - JUNE 15 (NO CLASS MAY 18) 6:30 - 9:00pm $225+gst INSTRUCTORS: Conni Massing & Tracy Carroll

This active, hands-on course introduces participants to the fundamentals of writing for the theatre: dramatic structure, character, conflict, and dialogue, utilizing diverse creative approaches to trigger the theatrical imagination. The instructors will guide participants through writing exercises over the 6-week course, which will culminate in a presentation of monologues and scenes created in class. For absolute beginners. No experience needed!

CONNI MASSING is an award-winning writer working in theatre, film and television. Recent projects include The Invention of Romance, produced by Workshop West Theatre last spring, and the premiere of her short film Voila! in September, 2014. She has taught playwriting for the National Theatre School, University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Alberta Playwrights Network, Theatre Alberta and the Citadel Theatre.

TRACY CARROLL has worked as a director, dramaturg, youth theatre programmer and producer for many years in both Ontario and Alberta and spent six years as Artistic Associate, North for Alberta Playwrights’ Network. Recently, Tracy was dramaturg and director for Conni Massing’s new play, The Invention of Romance for Workshop West Theatre, and director of That’s Danger! for the Alberta Workers’ Health Centre. She also adjudicated the 2014 ADFA Provincial One-Act Festival, and directed the annual Sprouts Festival at Concrete Theatre last spring. 

Phone 780.425.1820 • Fax 780.428.2130 • 

Please call Diana Stevenson @ 780.428.2120 for more information

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!

24 Hours in Which I Write a Play and Get Silly... And the Follow-up Event Where I Get to See if it's a Winner! Play in a Day - Fringe 2013

So I just finished Play in a Day 2013.  It's a 24 Hour Playwriting Competition in it's second year of operation held in conjunction with The Edmonton International Fringe. I like 24 Hour Playwriting Competitions.  There is something about the tightness of the timeline, combined with actually having space and purpose to write that fuels me to get a play done.  It might not be fabulous, but it's a first draft with a beginning, middle and end and I can hopefully take it away and make it better.  I never enter these things worrying about winning.  For me I accept the impossibility of the task and say, "Let's just do this!". It's about getting the draft done.  If I manage to craft something good, that's a bonus.  Getting it good is about re-writing and editing.  This event is just about writing. This year the room was more intimate and several of us were on twitter so we filled the online air space with jokes and silliness and it made for a very fun day.  I finished at 20:35 and only grabbed about 2 hours of not very good sleep (not counting the 45 minutes I think I also got on my keyboard).  I'm happy with my work as a starting point and now comes the waiting to see if I win (again, I am not holding my breath!).

When do I find out? Well, on Tuesday Night! Where?  Well, at a Fringe Forum! The fringe is combining a reading of the successful script with a Forum on How to Be a Successful Playwright.  All the information is below!  I will be late because I screwed up and thought this was on Wednesday (I think at one point it was and they moved it... or maybe because it was on Wednesday last year I just assumed... Anyhow...).  So I have to rush from my show to catch what I can.  I should only miss about 45 minutes of the evening.  You can catch it all! And it's Free!

PLAY IN A DAY

24 hours. 12 plays. One winner.

Culminating in the
How to be a Successful Playwright Forum

PCL STUDIO AT THE ATB FINANCIAL ARTS BARNS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2013

7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Returning after a triumphant inaugural year, Play in a Day will put twelve new playwrights through their paces in an epic competition, featuring copious amounts of coffee and sleep deprivation. The winning playwright will be thrust into a year-long process of play development with the help of local professional artists.

The winning play will be announced and read publicly for the first time in conjunction with the How To Be a Successful Playwright Forum. Join professional playwrights and publishers as they discuss the process of play writing from development and workshopping through to performance and publication.

MODERATOR: Mieko Ouchi (Playwright and President of the Board, Playwrights Canada Press)
PANELISTS: Anne Nothof (Play Editor, NeWest Press), Marty Chan (Playwright), Nicole Moeller (Playwright)

Over Halfway Through Hell Month! And it's not so bad...

Well, I have made it through the toughest part of the month... having both shows Open and up and running.  Spelling Bee is a resounding success so far with audiences leaving with aching ribs from laughing so hard.  I have gotten so many wonderful comments from people on the show.  I hope that you all find the time to make it out to the last part of the run (May 29th - June 1st).  It's an extremely high caliber show in terms of the talent onstage and even if you are not a musical theatre fan, I dare you not to enjoy it.  The script itself is so smart and sharp and funny. From what I have heard tickets are going fast for the remainder of the run so I would advise people to pick them up sooner rather than later. For me it's a weird feeling to be in the middle of a run but technically on a break from a show.  I miss them all!

Last Night From Cradle to Stage opened on Walterdale's stage.  All the pieces were in place and the shows themselves ran very smoothly.  It was great to have an audience there reacting and laughing.  I hadn't realized how funny the second show was until the audience came in.  But to be honest, I was worrying about my set and props and other details of the production.  The best thing for me was to see these brand new works up on our stage.  Because one play was written by three playwrights, that meant we actually helped four young playwrights get their work onstage!  It remains a point of pride for me that Walterdale continues to foster new, local playwrights in this way.  The Festival just started and there are 5 more shows (we run to Saturday, May 25th) and for those of you who wanted to know more about playwriting, there is a Playwriting Workshop on Sunday, May 26th that is free to all Walterdale Members ($25 for anyone else and we throw in a membership!).

But the hardest part of this was getting to Opening Night.  It's opened and it was well received and now I can relax a bit before Strike and the next Opening of Spelling Bee! I don't know if I will pile as much into one month again, but it is nice to know I can handle it!

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.

New Work at Walterdale - From Cradle to Stage 2012...

This past Saturday and Sunday I checked out the work being presented at Walterdale Theatre for their annual new One Act Festival, From Cradle to Stage.  It is the first year in a while that I have not been involved in the Festival as I had hoped to submit and then didn't and then with Nine on my plate on one end and my University work on my plate on the other end I didn't have time to contribute in another way.  The Festival holds a special place in my heart, as it is one of the few ways that 'late emerging' playwrights can get their work produced.  The formalized system in place to work with dramaturges (Tracy Carroll and Brian Dooley) has also meant that those playwrights selected for production can get real, concrete help with developing their work. It's a fabulous experience (I went through it a few years ago when I submitted Pieces in 2007) and for someone over 30 who doesn't qualify for Nextfest or who might not be ready to self-produce at Fringe, it fills a gap in the development process.

The two produced shows were quite different from each other, as is often the case. The first, Apocalypse, Saskatchewan by Dion Huel, was a funny piece about three elderly men in a small Saskatchewan town who get carried away with the idea that Zombies are attacking. There were many laughs, and although I feel the piece as written was actually a two-act play (it ran at about 95 minutes) it was well-received.  The second, The Carrying by Jennifer Robinson, was a fascinating pieces about two women carrying mysterious bags to an unknown location.  An somewhat abstract piece with movement and intentional repetition, it was well-directed and performed and it was one of those plays that you think a lot about afterwards. I quite liked it.

On the Sunday afternoon, the festival wrapped up with readings of the four other finalists.  There were 6 finalists selected from a pool of 37 entries.  The afternoon demonstrated the wide variety of the submitted plays.  Ostensibly staged readings there was also a wide range in the degree of the staged component.  The four plays ranged from being pieces about relationships (The Loneliest Number and Magpies) to a  modern fable about abuse begetting abuse (Poor Defenseless Creatures) to an historical piece (Mary!).  All in all, they were four works in development that will be interesting to watch for in the future.

* These two events mark #21 and #22 in my theatrical goal for the year 2012

A Great Opportunity for Edmonton Playwrights of All Levels...

Alberta Playwrights’ Network is proud to announce the start of the:

Edmonton Playwrights’ Gym
Want a creative workout? Want to kick-start for a new project? Or maybe you’d like to take a chance and try some new approaches to your writing process? Playwrights’ Gym is unique opportunity for playwrights to exercise their crafts via a series of in-class and take-home writing exercises, weekly discussions and sessions with senior Canadian playwrights and dramaturgs. Topics and writing assignments will give participants creative workouts in crafting dialogue, building characters, using structure, driving dramatic action, unlocking intuition and editing. There will be homework each week, sharing, and timed exercises in each class. Playwrights are encouraged to work on a new short piece or use the class to enhance something they are already working on, but this is not necessary. Playwrights at all levels as invited to participate.

Classes will be convened by Director/ Dramaturg Heather Inglis with special guests, Daniel McIvor, Colleen Murphy, Mieko Ouchi, and Brian Dooley. See below for more information on the special guests.

When: Classes will be held Mondays 7-10pm
Where: All classes will be held in the Workshop West Theatre’s 3rd Space*.
Fee: $250.00

Course dates are:
1. November 14th, 2011
2. November 21st, 2011
3. November 28th, 2011
4. December 5th, 2011
5. December 12th, 2011
6. January 9th, 2012
7. January 16th, 2012
8. January 23rd, 2012
9. January 30th, 2012
10. February 6th, 2012

Participants will be given a complete syllabus at the start of the first class.
Please note: The maximum number of participants for this class is 10, so register now to avoid disappointment!

For more information or to register, please email Michelle Kneale at dramaturg@albertaplaywrights.com <mailto:dramaturg@albertaplaywrights.com>
*APN gratefully acknowledges the support of Workshop West Theatre for this program.

---

Heather Inglis is an award winning director, dramaturg, producer, and educator whose career has taken her across the country. Over the past 15 years Heather has worked with countless playwrights and lead over 100 play development workshops and staged readings. Heather has formerly been both the Dramaturg at Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre and the convener of the Playwrights Development Centers of Canada. Some of Heather’s recent dramaturgical credits include serving as guest Dramaturg/Director for Scripts at Work in Red Deer (2011) and as guest Dramaturg at Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre’s Annual Playwrights Colony in Sackville New Brunswick (2011). Heather currently leads the Citadel Theatre Playwrights Young Company and is the Artistic Director of Theatre Yes in Edmonton.

Daniel MacIvor is playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. For 20 years, he and Sherrie Johnson ran da da kamera, an internationally respected company that toured his work to Australia, Israel, Europe, the UK, and extensively throughout Canada and the United States. With Daniel Brooks, he has created the solo shows House, Here Lies Henry, Monster, Cul-de-sac, and This Is What Happens Next. Daniel’s play In On It garnered him an Obie Award and a GLAAD Award. Daniel is a recipient of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and the Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize for Theatre. www.danielmacivor.com

Colleen Murphy is the 2011 Canadian Playwright-in-Residence at the Finborough Theatre in London. In 2008, she was shortlisted for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. She is currently working on four plays: Deliver Me (National Arts Centre), Armstrong's War (Banff Centre), The Birthday Boy (Shaw Festival) and Pig Girl (Factory Theatre). She has also begun work on a new chamber opera with composer Andrew Staniland. Her play The December Man (L’homme de décembre) won the 2007 Governor General Literary Award for Drama Winner of 2008 CAA/Carol Bolt Award for Drama, the Canadian Authors Award/Carol Bolt Award, the 2006 Enbridge playRites Award and was nominated for Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play 2007. Other plays include The Goodnight Bird, The Piper, Beating Heart Cadaver (nominated for the 1999 Governor General’s Literary Award), Down in Adoration Falling and All Other Destinations are Cancelled. As well as being a playwright, Colleen is also a filmmaker. Her distinct films have played in festivals around the world and garnered a total of eight Genie nominations. They include Putty Worm (’93), The Feeler (’95), Shoemaker (’96), Desire (’00), War Holes (’01), Girl with Dog (‘04) and Out in the Cold (’07). Colleen is 2011 Writer in Residence at the University of Guelph and a writer in residence at Factory Theatre in Toronto.

Mieko Ouchi is an actor, writer, and director who works in both theatre and film/TV. Her plays The Red Priest (Eight Ways To Say Goodbye), The Blue Light and The Dada Play have been produced across the country and in the U.S. and have been short-listed for the 4 Play Series at The Old Vic in London, the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award and the City of Edmonton Book Prize, winning the Canadian Authors Association Carol Bolt Award. The plays have also been translated into French, Japanese, Czech and Russian. Her documentary, narrative and experimental films have played over 30 festivals and aired internationally. Mieko is a co-founder and Artistic Co-Director of Concrete Theatre and was the inaugural Faith Broome Playwright in Residence in 2009 at the University of Oklahoma. Mieko’s new play Nisei Blue premiered at ATP playRites Festival in 2011. It recently won a Betty Award for Outstanding New Play and has just been nominated for the 2011 Carol Bolt Award.

Brian Dooley is a Producer, Director, Dramaturg, and Actor. Mr. Dooley has participated in many workshops and development projects for new plays for a variety of organizations including Playwrights Workshop Montréal; Factory Theatre in Toronto; The Banff Playwright’s Colony; The National Film Board; and Le Centre des Auteurs Dramatiques (CEAD) in Montréal.Early in his career Mr. Dooley was Associate Dramaturge and Director of the Young Playwrights Program at the Playwrights Workshop and has been a guest instructor at various colleges and universities across Canada. Mr. Dooley maintains a long-standing relationship with the National Theatre School in Montréal having been involved as an instructor and coordinator for many years. From 1990-94 Mr. Dooley led the Directing and Self-Start Programs of the National Theatre School and was an Acting Instructor from 1983-94. Mr. Dooley has a diploma from the National Theatre School (’80; Leo Cicery Award recipient), and is a graduate of Bishop’s University (B.A. Honours, Drama ’77; O.B. Thornton Scholarship recipient). He is currently the director of Play Development at the Citadel Theatre.

Normal for me is always changing...

No really, it is. I move from project to project so it's always a little bit different for me. Fringe is done for now but that didn't stop me from going and seeing one of the holdovers (Giant Invisible Robot) with a friend this week. Actually that was the first time I have ever gone to a Fringe Holdover. Usually I am too exhausted to partake. The show was good - would have liked to have seen it in a smaller venue for the sake of intimacy (it was a one man show), but it was good. You could tell the guy had mucho Improv background.

Now I am knee deep in A Little Night Music. We incorporated Elizabeth into the show today. She did amazingly well! I think I called line as many times as she did! Really, the lines are perfect in my car when I run them... they will come... now we have a more focused and intensive rehearsal period before we open so it will all come. We did a Sitz Probe on Wednesday night and it was lovely to sing with an orchestra again (after so long...). I am really happy with this production. I like everyone in the cast and the play and music are so good.

Today I read about a contemporary deciding to quit their job because of the success and fun of her Fringe experience. These things worry me. I know they shouldn't worry me personally - it's not my life... but a Fringe show does not a career make. You have to pay the rent... don't you? It would be nice if life could be fun like theatre is all the time, but a fun life seems like a shallow existence. Who is paying the bills? The taxes? I have known others who have done this over the years to varying degrees of success... I know it is their life... but I worry about their children and spouses and the fact that while some of them had some talent, they weren't necessarily tremendously talented. Mark occasionally asks about my goals... I just want to create and tell stories. If I am fortunate enough to be compensated for it - then that's a bonus. It's too fragile a world for me to stop the work I do for the store and my family for it. All I can do is to try to do it better. On that note - I am excited to be going to Playworks Ink this fall - Daniel MacIvor will be there!

The Decade in Theatre... First half anyhow...

I did a lot of theatre in the last 10 years. The most significant shift was that I started to write and actually got some plays produced (I have had 4 plays produced - the first in 2003). For me, the playwriting has been the absolute coolest development.

It's funny to think where I started off in the decade. 2000 was a tough year at work. I had shifted into sharing the drama position. It wasn't the sharing that was hard it was working with someone who was clearly unhappy about having to share. I dealt with so many behind the scenes digs and jabs to my self-esteem. They were always delivered behind the scenes and one-on-one and thankfully I had wonderful friends to help me through that year. I also had wonderful students and a great show to direct. I guess The Wiz and One Acts saved that year. Those and the fact I was finally pregnant. Now, 10 years later, it is strange to look back on that year and where I was emotionally with regards to theatre. Dealing with that situation has taught me a lot about how to deal with where I am now, so I guess it wasn't all bad. I also did Jesus Christ Superstar at Keyano. Mark was also in the show playing Pilate so that was nice. JCS was one of those amazing shows where you know it is phenomenal (even if you are dog tired from being pregnant).

You might think that the second half of 2001 would have been a slow year because I had a baby and all that, but being on maternity leave and running a drama program at a busy high school allowed me to get back onstage at Keyano. I played Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense, directed by Glenda Stirling and it was wonderful. First of all, I never thought I'd get that part, but it was the one I really wanted and second of all, that was such a wonderful group of women to work with (and Mike Eddy - Musical Director Extraordinaire!). A truly fabulous experience!

I returned to work in the fall of 2002 worried about my place in the department. I stuck to the One Acts and directed 3 shows, one of which (One Beautiful Evening) we took to Interplay as a fundraiser for the theatre department. The next year (2003) I stuck to the one acts at school, but I also wrote my first play, There's a Better Way, which was an anti-vandalism musical that toured all the grade 4-9s in the Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Very cool. It went up in early 2004. I also played Doreen in Girls in the Gang. It was performed in the Recital Theatre and replaced the small ensemble course at the college that year. Directed by Laura Glover. It was a bit uneven but wonderful music and the first time I really got to act with Russell Thomas. We had been in shows together before but never in any scenes together. He was a delight to act with. He was always very present. In the summer, 7 months pregnant, I stage managed and designed Jewel for Interplay, featuring Anne Marie Szucs, after her return from all her work in Vancouver. Designing was fun and confirmed for me that I could do it.

Gibson was born in the Fall of 2004, so instead of doing anything myself, I let Mark audition for the first Interplay Dinnerplay show and even took a six week old Gibson to the show. He nursed and slept through the whole thing. In the Spring of 2005 I got my chance to direct the Interplay dinner theatre, The Owl and the Pussycat, and worked with the fabulous Lisa Ruelling and Charissa Tremblay as designers. My cast, Anne Marie Szucs and John Gaunce, were great to work with and as this was my last show in Fort McMurray before the move to Edmonton, it was a good one to go out on.

Next ---> The second half of the decade - Hello Edmonton!

Overlap...

Busy getting ready for the final project in Drama 103. We have our big final rehearsal tomorrow and I am trying to make sure I have my things ready. I was Director for the project, by I also put together the slides for our projections and build the backdrop as well. I have been painting the edges of the drop so that it doesn't just look like a tea-dyed bed sheet. I hope the painting looks okay. There is no time to fix it. Of course, we can always do the *if we had unlimited budget...* thing in the talk back portion. I have been most disappointed by the talk back components of the presentations we have seen thus far. Only one of the groups really seemed prepared and cohesive with regards to production and discussion of concept. All of the productions had positive elements, but I strained to figure out why they made the choices they made. I hope we are clear.

I also took time to go to see A Year of Winter at Shadow Theatre last night. I ran in to friends which was nice since I had gone solo. One of them was the playwright. It was an intriguing show. I was involved in a Playwrighting Lab where this was one of the scripts so I had read two previous drafts so I was very excited to see it on it's feet and to see what had changed. I liked the major changes and I think it is a much stronger piece than I initially read (I liked it then, too, but I think it's even better now) I did spend some time wondering what the experience would be like for someone who did not have my knowledge of the relationships between the characters straight off the top. If you see it, let me know how it played out for you. It is a play I would love to discuss more...

Tonight I am off to The Rocky Horror Show at the Catalyst. It is one of my least favorite plays, but some great young friends of mine are putting it on, so I am going to support them and see what they have done. I admit, I am scarred by seeing a particularly bad production of this show. I am hoping this one will redeem the play for me.

It all matters... all the pieces are important...

I went to see A Pair of Threes last night out in Sherwood Park at Festival Place. My best friend and several other friends were involved in the show. The first act was a One Act called Three Viewings and the second act was a One Act called Three Hotels. In total the plays were comprised of 6 monologues. Overall the evening of theatre was good. There were lots of laughs and some poignant moments. However, the evening really showed how everything matters; the acting, the directing, the space and the playwrighting. Of all the components, the acting was the strongest, but there were challenges in the playwrighting that didn't necessarily serve the actors well. A bit stronger direction might have helped, and some better staging to deal with the lack of depth to the space. The shows were clearly well-cast, which is often 90% of the directing, but really the biggest challenge was overcoming some of the stilted writing of the first 2 monologues. In the second show, I was puzzled by the accent choice of one of the actors (I might ask about it the next time I see him, as I had trouble figuring out where he was supposed to be from), but the blocking issues that we experienced in the first show were resolved. The set was different and allowed for a higher positioning of the actors. But the evening showed, that not even really good actors can overcome flaws in the script. I am glad that they had a good turn-out. That was the benefit to the smaller space, even if it meant compromised sight lines.

My Playwrighting Lab

Tonight I started my Playwrighting Lab (with Marty Chan from the APN). It was primarily a "getting to know you" type of thing. There are 10 of us and Marty, but one woman didn't show up. It is really great to meet other playwrights and talk about playwrighting and I hope we will talk about producing plays once they are written. We also got our assignments. I have bought a bit of time because my project is primarily conceptual right now. I have about 2 months to get a first draft put together. The cool thing is I had to tell the group what I was writing about so I had to articulate it, aloud, so they could hear me, and this made me think about the script much more concretely than I have been. I have been having trouble writing what I want to write, but when i spoke about it, it pushed me somehow. So I came home and wrote about 5 pages. That was good. And I worked on the outline. I am using the "get the crap out" method and I will take out stuff later. I just need to write it all down first. If it gets too convoluted or unfocused I can focus it later. I can't sit around and wait until the perfect words come to me. I know that I will definitely need multiple drafts of this baby so I should just start with the raw material and then I can start moulding it and taking away the waste. It was an inspiring night.

The other thing that pushes me is that I could tell from the round table sharing that mine was the least complete play. Most people have their first draft and are working on the second. Some are further along than that. I think it suggested to me that I needed to kick my own butt and start writing! Good thing I am so competitive.

I also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that all 9 of the plays were so different. It will be refreshing to read them and give feedback. I think that everyone will offer different perspectives on the writing and hopefully it will add dimension to the script that I write. I know it is far more ambitious than anything I have done so far.

Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad at the Roxy

Friday night I went to see Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad at the Roxy. I went with AM and my Mom. Overall it was a good show, but there were some problems with it. The problems were primarily with the script. I think it would have been better as a one act and more interesting/realistic if the focus had not been on the "romantic relationship" of the two characters. The program talked a lot about violence in youth sport and its connection to parents encouraging it and I think that was the more interesting issue. I think it could have been explored even if the two hockey parents were friends, not necessarily lovers (were they or weren't they?). The other major problem was the ending. It felt like it just needed to end a scene earlier and the actual end was unclear. I think that was a script thing, too, but it may have been a directing thing. The actors were really good, especially "Donna", but she had the character that 'grew more' so she was given more to work with.

As a playwright, I am really paying attention to how the story was crafted. I think i have always done this, but I am more aware of it now. I remember seeing "Good" at the U of A years ago and laughing where no one else did because the script was so good, even if the actors were not. I can still remember the director asking me if I was sitting in (I was ushering) and looking hopeful because he knew I would laugh at the right places.

Crying - Still Fat

Okay. So I haven't had the best week. This is primarily because I have been sick all week and that has been in combination with one or both of the boys being sick at the same time. So the "illness" factor has really messed me up. And it hasn't been a "just the sniffles" cold. I feel CRAPPY. So, in an effort to feel better in at least one part of my body, I ate poorly (my mouth was happy for a bit of time). I knew it would have an impact. Intellectually I was not beating myself up, but I knew that when I went to the WW meeting my number would be up and not down. So why was I crying when I was up 1.4 lbs? ... I think it is because I had made this committment to myself about eating and exercise. That I was going to make it a priority, and the first 2 weeks were good (not spectacular - but good), but the rest of my life keeps getting in the way of my priority. Whether it is having social engagments that revolve around food, or M being late at the store because of computer troubles so I don't get on the treadmill, or a cold/flu that completely destroys me for a week --> I feel like there is something in my way, and it feels like a COSMIC THING. I really hate being as heavy as I am. Never mind other people judging me, I judge myself. The excuses sound lame, even to me, and they are MY excuses, but there they are. I find it so much work, and I am tired, and I know that even when (not if - when) I do lose the weight, the work doesn't stop. Because if I stop working at it, I will gain it back like I did the last time and I will feel like a double failure. It is sad that I feel worthless overall in my life because of this one thing. It negates so many other things that I am that are positives. It shouldn't, but it does.

On a positive note (ha ha), I found out that I did get into the Playwright's Lab with Marty Chan. I await instructions eagerly. I hope that I can get what I need out of it.