The Lights Go Out But Not the Show!

So yesterday I wasn't feeling well, so I made the call to stay home and miss the show, and MISS THE SHOW I DID!  What happened was apparently an AMAZING Night of THEATRE!  About 15 minutes from the end of the show, the theatre lost power and the show was stopped.  When the tech determined that it was not coming back on he made the announcement that the space would have to be evacuated into the Lobby.  The audience cried out, "But how will we know who wins?!" and in less than 30 seconds the cast and band moved the show into the Lobby and performed the rest of the show there.  Luckily there was a piano in the lobby and two of the musicians had portable instruments (no drums, but our drummer air-drummed along with the rest of the show).  The audience sat on lobby chairs and stood and some even sat on the floor and they were rapt.  The cast adjusted their choreography and blocking to the new space and just went with it.  They all describe the evening as magical.  How I wish I was there!

It is a true testament to The Show Must Go On!  I know that it worked because they all knew their characters and stories so well that it didn't matter where they were when they told it, but only that they told it truthfully.  Where you might except a potential train wreck, they were graceful and fluid - going with it.  It was described to me by someone in the audience as follows:

"It was an amazing moment of "the show must go on" -- congrats to everyone involved, it was a fantastic production & a beautifully committed ending!"

They are truly inspiring to me!

"Woah! Slooooooow Down There Lady!" - What my body is telling me...

We were returned to the audience last night after our 10 day hiatus and it was a fabulous show.  The emotional energy in the space was the best and other than a few issues with mics, it was another awesome show.  So pleased and proud.  A friend of mine, who has seen almost 50 shows this season, was there and she related the following on FB:


"I just had the best experience I've had all season at the theatre. And since I've seen nearly 50 shows, that's saying something.  I laughed a tonne, I wept for the pain of childhood. And I was blown away by the incredible performances - on stage and off.  Congrats, Kristen Finlay and the rest of the 'Bee' participants - you are all T-A-L-E-N-T-E-D!!"

She's also someone who wouldn't just say that to be nice, so I was very touched by her post.

I hope that people make it out.  It has been selling really well though, so I recommend getting tickets in advance.  But I have lost count of the number of people who tell me they can't believe it's a community theatre production, and these are people who see a lot of theatre.  I think the community aspect is merely in that we are a community of players, friends as well as performers, many of whom will be life-long friends after this.  I think there are quite a few people in this cast who on the basis of their training and talent should be working in theatre. There are people in this cast that are just as good, if not better, than some professional actors I have seen over the last few years.   I feel honoured to have been able to direct them.

For my really good friends, I really do not want to hear you say to me next week or the week after that, "Oh I wanted to make it, but I missed it." Even thought I am not onstage myself, I am so very proud of this, that I will be a touch disappointed if you don't try harder.

Anyhow, tonight I must stay home.  I am glad that I went last night and saw it again with an audience, but I wasn't feeling well then and it has gotten worse today.  It's that bone-aching exhaustion thing that tells me I really need time off, and since I want to be up for Closing Night, I figure I better rest now.

Photo Credit: Janine Hodder

And Rain Will Make the Flowers Grow...

This day has been up and down for me... mostly because I finally did a few of my personal errands that I have been putting off because of a lack of time.  And these errands/tasks were both very expensive.  The first thing was arranging for Oliver's Orthodontists appointments for him to get his braces.  This will cost us between $8000-9000.00 when all is said and done.  I also had to do a little money moving from long term savings so that I would have it in place to pay for the teeth-work... ugh... It's times like these that I wish I was working for a school board somewhere with a nice dental plan and benefits instead of paying it all out of pocket... Sigh...

The second thing I did was book Summer Day Camps for the kids at the U of A.  The four weeks I booked will cost me around $1650 and those are just the sports camps.  I still want to book in a drama camp and an Art Gallery camp and those are generally more expensive. Why do I do Day Camps? I could theoretically keep them home, but then I would be fighting for them to go outside and be active and these camps are really good.  The U of A ones were phenomenal last year and I like it when my kids are worn out from a day of doing things. The Art Gallery and Drama camps are generally very good too and add diversity to their summer.

Anyhow, these are good and bad things - good because they are done and will be good for the kids in the long run, but bad because of the cost, so it was up and down.

I will end the day on an up with the Second Opening of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  I have missed the show and look forward to seeing it again tonight with an audience! I know a lot of people coming tonight so I am excited to see what they think of the show!

Photo Credit: Janine Hodder

Back to the Bee... What the What!?

It's when I do a show like this that I truly feel spoiled. I felt spoiled at the audition when these amazing people came out and offered themselves up to me for the show.  I feel spoiled whenever I get to work with Sally Hunt, Music Director Extraordinaire. I feel spoiled when I have Kim Stadelmann in the booth calling the show and setting lights with me.  I do not know why I get to work with these amazing people, all I know is that I am eternally glad that I do.  I am glad that they return to work with me more than once.  I hope it never ends...

Today we returned to The Bee after a 10 day hiatus.  The show they did for the four of us in the audience showed very little signs of being away that long.

They blow my mind...

I am so lucky...

Have I mentioned that?

An Accident... Forgiving Yourself and Moving On...

Years ago, someone very close to me was driving on a dark winter's night.  She was not driving recklessly or fast, but it was winter and a little icy and dark.  She rounded a corner in a subdivision and a black object flew onto the road in front of her - it looked like a black garbage bag - she braked and tried to avoid hitting it but it came out too fast and she hit it and slid down the road with it under her car for a few metres. It was not a garbage bag.  It was a 10 or 11 year old boy who was tobogganing into the road from a snowbank alongside the subdivision street.  There wasn't anything she could have done other than being psychic to avoid it.  Thankfully, he was ultimately okay, but he did suffer a head injury and was hospitalized for some time until he recovered.  Until he was okay, it was a part of her - a constant piece of her mind was dedicated to worry and a feeling of responsibility and a need to be engaged in active thought towards his recovery. I imagine it still is today...

I thought a lot about this after seeing Northern Light Theatre's production of An Accident.  Things happen, accidents happen, we do not intend them to happen.  They happen when we are not even being careless.  They are not intentional.  They are accidents.  But we own them.  We dwell on them.  We feel responsible.  We need things to be okay. And on the other side, when we are damaged by others, however unintentionally, we want redress.  We want someone to be responsible.  We want it not to just be an accident. We want to assign blame and have an answer for the why did this happen? This production so beautifully articulated these zig-zagging feelings of responsibility and blame and of the connection between those who are injured and those who have injured.  Michael Peng and Melissa Thingelstad play injurer and injured respectively - neither completely blameless or responsible - both angry and sad and tied together. Trevor Schmidt's direction and their performances are heart-breaking and ultimately cathartic.

I have had the extreme pleasure of seeing a lot of theatre this season due to my good fortune and winning that awesome prize.  Based on the quality of the work and the thought-provoking and  engaging theatre I have seen at Northern Light Theatre this season I will definitely be buying season's tickets for next year.

My Harshest Critic... Me

Well, we wrapped up From Cradle to Stage for another year.  Overall things went really well.  I think the playwrights were happy with their plays and from the feedback from the rest of the production team everything ran very smoothly.  We finished up with a super fast strike and had a great turnout in terms of audience.  And then today, as a finishing touch to the festival, in conjunction with APN, Walterdale hosted a playwriting workshop facilitated by Tracy Carroll that ran smoothly and was very well received by the participants.  I am also extremely confident that we are well under budget which is never a bad thing! There were several times in the months leading up to this festival that I wondered if I could get it all done. Luckily I had a great team who understood my time situation who rose to the occasion and did the work fabulously. So I am glad that I did not resign months ago, when it could have meant a much less stressful season for me.

So, as I drove home, why couldn't I just enjoy it?  Why? Because my mind was running through the 4-5 things I forgot or didn't do as well as I wished. Instead of being content and happy about all the success of the production and festival,  I was thinking of the three people I forgot to offer comps to and the prop that I realized was still at the theatre that needed to be returned to the person who lent it to us.  I was thinking about the branches I never actually put on the trees on the set. I was dwelling on the stereo I forgot to lock up and turn off and the incomplete cleaning job we did because I felt the incoming group was in a rush to get in the space since they moved in 20 minutes earlier than I expected. I know.  I should be thinking about the kudos and thank yous, and those good things are definitely there, but I also was thinking about a couple negative emails I received from people who should have been working to help me not criticize me, and things beyond my control like a website that with wrong times and emails sent out to the membership with limited and incorrect information. Things I had no control over, but that I felt responsible for.  I constantly go over in my mind - how could I have prevented this or that? Sometimes there is nothing I could have done, but it still bugs me.

Theatre is one of the places in my life where I consistently have this desire to be perfect and yet never feel I am.  I'd like to get over it... Maybe someday.  But maybe not. Maybe it's what pushes me to do better work.

I don't think I am alone in this.  I think a lot of people over-assess things.  I also know that one of the reasons I have grown to feel this way is because very often the only time people give any feedback is to report something gone wrong, and perhaps they are not always the kindest or most diplomatic about it.  So now I sit, waiting for the feedback about the things that weren't perfect... Things I have already accounted for in my mind.

A Play Writing Workshop! This Sunday!

So, I have been working on From Cradle to Stage at Walterdale Theatre Associates this year.  One of the cool things we are doing is holding a play writing workshop - facilitated by APN's Tracy Carroll.  It's free to Walterdale Members, so if you aren't a member and would like to take it, it will only cost you the $25 Walterdale membership fee.  A totally amazing deal!  And we provide lunch! That's a steal of a deal.  It's for any level of playwright, so don't be scared. 

The Nuts & Bolts of Playwriting – An APN Workshop

Sunday, May 26th

10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

(Lunch provided)

Walterdale Theatre – Glenfield Rehearsal Hall

Facilitator: Tracy Carroll

By creating mini-production companies with participants, we’ll look at some of the building blocks of developing a new play from the writing, acting and directing point of view.

A fun, hands-on session for all participants of the From Cradle to Stage Festival and members of Walterdale Theatre.

This workshop is free to all Walterdale Members, contact Sarah Van Tassel at walterdalead53@gmail.com to reserve a spot.  Space is limited.

I'll be there - I hope to see you there too!