Using Stress to Get Things Done...

Last night I stared at the mound of unopened Christmas cards that sat on my table and I started to feel the stress of not having started my cards. You have to understand, for years I have been the Christmas Card Queen. Even when I was in University I sent out at least 40 cards. This surged to over 80 in my heyday. Since we moved, or even since we had Gibson, I have faltered and this inability to keep up with the past causes me stress every Christmas. Some years I stalled the activity until January and called it a letter for the New Year. I still felt guilty about it. I know I shouldn't. I know some people send no cards out at all. But I like doing them. I just haven't had time. Anyhow, I stared at those cards and started opening them and reading them and the letters that accompanied them. And the stress that started to well in me cause me to scrabble together my 'year at a glance' and print off 40+ of them. Today, I started with the envelopes and in just 3 hours I completed 37 cards. There will be more to come, but at least I have written a card to everyone that sent me one and also to those who I usually get one from and those that I feel need an update (like Grandmas and Aunts and Uncles). I feel good as I look at the stack of cards.

Now I need to buy stamps.

Visit

This weekend my sister came to visit. It was a quick one, but it was good to see her and chat since we have been playing telephone tag for the last 2 months and we actually resorted to emails just to catch up. I know she reads my blog so I am sure she had some information on me, but I needed my Annie-fix! The visit coincided with my show, so she and Mom came Saturday. The cast requested that she be invited every night since her laugh is (like mine) very loud and spontaneous. There were other loud laughs that night, but I could definitely hear hers. I am blessed with close relationships with my siblings. I know that not everyone has that. Sure, there are the things that drive us crazy because we know them so well, but as distance and time interferes with seeing them on a more regular basis, those little quirks actually become more endearing. I was just thinking about that today. Thanks for the visit, Sis!

Half Way Through the Run...

Well, we are 5 shows down and 5 to go. Things are going well. The strength of the show really rests strongly on the character and size of the audience. Opening, Thursday and Saturday nights we had larger and more enthusiastic audiences so those shows seemed to have more energy. I think, for me, Saturday was my strongest show. Everything worked and maybe it was because my sister and Mom were in the audience because I was just feeling it and I think it played on stage. Friday and Sunday we had smaller and more subdued houses. On Friday almost all of the theatre jokes fell flat so we had to re-gear for making the rest of the jokes work. In any case, it is a lesson in how you have to keep the energy even if it isn't coming from the house. I am glad for the day off to recuperate.

Why Do I Feel Insulted?...

So yesterday evening before the show I got there early. As I was getting my make-up on I overheard the other two 'early arriving actors' talking about doing an radio interview about the show. I was excited about the idea that we would get more press so I piped up "Oh! Are you guys doing some kind of interview?". The two of them suddenly looked very nervous and sad for me and they averted their eyes as one of them said, "Uh, yeah, uh, Scott set it up, but, uh, they only wanted the ghosts... uh, sorry, but, uh, I guess the ghosts sell.". I replied with a chipper "That's cool. Great to get more press for the show!" - because that's what I thought. But later, I felt insulted. NOT because I was not invited to the interview, but because they were keeping it a big secret (not just from me, but from the rest of the cast) because they think we are all a bunch of babies who would be more upset that we weren't in the interview rather than happy about the show getting publicity. I never think secrets contribute to a better working relationship, regardless of how you think people will react. If someone is going to be a baby about why they aren't in an interview and someone else is, then you call them on that when it happens. Don't assume that I won't be a grown-up and insult me in a different way.

Another Opening, Another Show...

I can't believe how many shows I have done since moving to Edmonton. I remember, before we moved, feeling anxious about what the opportunities would be. I could not have predicted the amount of projects I have worked on in the last 3 1/2 years. I tallied them when I was updating my resume for a position I was applying for (I have an interview on Dec 21st - cross your fingers!). I am up to 12 shows (ranging from set painting, to acting, to directing, to writing). This does not include the University course and the additional writing I have done when I can fit it in! I might have accumulated that many shows in twice the time in Fort McMurray... it's hard to call, because I would have likely had more kids had I stayed there.

So, last night we opened Black Hearts in the Green Room at Walterdale Playhouse. It went off swimmingly! The Opening Night audience was full of those appreciative of the melodrama. They booed and hissed and oohed and aahed at all the appropriate times. I was a bit worried in rehearsal about the cheesiness of some of the bits, but the audience embraced the fromage with gusto! We need an audience like that every night!

A Proper Frame of Mind...

Tonight is our first 'Tech Dress' for Black Hearts in the Green Room. We open on Wednesday, December 10th, but we have our first audience on Monday night for the director's Preview. We are ready, I think. Well, I know I am. It is a funny little show. Nothing earth-shaking or anything and it really blends melodrama and farce. There are times we break the 4th wall and times we don't. So there is a bit of inconsistency of form, but I just play it all with conviction and intention and I hope it sails out the right way. I think I thought that the playwright would be more involved in the process of mounting his show, but he has been very hands off. There are places I would have liked him to be there to maybe tighten up the writing. It you come and see it, we can chat about that! In any case, it is time to get focused. My drama class is blessedly done so other than 'family life' I only have the show to worry about. That's a good thing.

Right now I feel sick to stomach over the proposed Coalition government for Canada. To me, I see this as a total disregard for democracy in Canada. If this was really in the best interest for Canadians and respecting of their desires, then ethically, the three parties in question would have joined together prior to the election (held only 6 weeks ago) and let the population make their decision then. If the Canadian people were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction the current government was going, then the minority government would have been smaller, not larger. It is clear to me that Canadians do not have confidence in Stephane Dion as the leader of our country. Perhaps in another time, but not now, or else the election would have had a much different result.

I write to you as someone who affiliates with no particular party, as none of them meet my personal beliefs exactly. I do, however, vote in every election. When the elections come I weigh my choice carefully. I look at the promises and plans made. In this past election, for the first time in a Federal election, I voted Conservative. Prior to that I have voted NDP and Liberal (I considered Green, but I find it's mandate too confined). I am angry that a small group of men and women want to disregard the way in which our government has been organized in an obvious power grab. You cannot say that this is best for Canada. It is abhorrent. There has been no transparency, and if the people involved were really being honest with the Canadian public, then they would have joined together prior to the election, out in the open, not in this back room dealing.

These men and women should tread cautiously. Just because you think you can do the job better, doesn't mean you should have the job. The way I see it, they failed the job interview when they lost the election.