Building a Fabulous Festival - Audition Time!

Just a quick mention about what I am up to these next few days.  Auditions for From Cradle to Stage 2013 are being held tonight and tomorrow at Walterdale Playhouse.  More information about these can be found here on my other Blog. I am Coordinating and Production Managing this festival and we have created an enthusiastic and talented team to bring the two new works to life on our stage. There is a trickiness to coordinating multiple productions within a festival but having been involved in 5 of the past 7 of them in a variety of roles (actor, playwright, director, etc...) I feel like I understand what is required. Edmonton also does Theatre Festivals well and this is a feature of the Walterdale Season that I am especially proud of. There are still spots open tonight (later in the evening) so feel free to contact me to book one or walk-in and we will fit you in.

Your Home is the Place Where your Heart is - Summer and Smoke at Walterdale

Tonight I was at Walterdale to work FOH for Summer and Smoke and to see the show.  I try to work FOH at least once for each of the shows and because my time this month is so full I did Coffee Bar because I could see the show at the same time.  I am not sure what I will do when my Proserve expires as I actually do not love doing Coffee Bar but that's for the future so I am not thinking about it much now. I worked with Joan Hawkins who co-designed and painted the gorgeous set and I always love a good visit with her so all was good.  It always feels kind of weird to be there working for a show that you didn't work on, but Walterdale has been my theatre home for a few years now so there is also a feeling of home when I am there.

The show was sold out, actually it oversold, so that was great for the theatre and the show.  It's the 6-Pack show and it's Tennessee Williams so it is hard to argue with the extreme saleability of the piece. In that light, I recommend getting your tickets in advance if you plan on going. Otherwise you might be disappointed.

I was quite impressed with Erika Conway who played the lead, Alma - the repressed minister's daughter in love with the wild boy next door.  She was outstanding a few seasons ago as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and this show proves that her talents are not limited to Shakespeare.  She has a vulnerability and an electric quality that is mesmerizing and she handily kept the audience engaged for the entire 3 hours.  She was offset nicely by Justin Deveau as John Buchanan.  Justin is able to play the cad and still make him lovable and sincere. The two of them played their juxtaposed arcs nicely against each other and it was quite easy to believe in their spiritual connection.  The show is also gorgeous to see.  Geri Dittrich's costumes and Joan Hawkins' and Alli Ross' Set are pitch perfect.  I am intent on finding a place to keep the Angel Statue that watches over all. It's amazing.

I was a wee bit disappointed not to hear Oliver in the prologue recording.  He had been asked to come in and record a piece and I guess they tried a few different things and he wasn't in the one they decided to use in the end.  I understand that as a director.  You make choices based on what works and what doesn't work.  As a mom, I was just disappointed not to hear him because I hadn't heard that they'd made a change. I was also a little disappointed that he wasn't in the program as I had planned to bring one home to him, but perhaps because he was cut from the track they decided to use they had felt it might be confusing to acknowledge him. He won't know the difference, it's just the Mama Rose in me that was sad.

#10 in my 2013 Theatre Goal

A Ticket to RIDE - NLT Delivers Another Thought-Provoking Piece

Last night I caught RIDE at the PCL Theatre in the Fringe Theatre Adventure Arts Barns.  The production is the latest from Northern Light Theatre and I was looking forward to it.  When you see as much theatre as I do, you want to see not only good work but also work that challenges you expectations.  I can usually depend on NLT to shake things up - at least in the kinds of scripts they choose. RIDE was no exception.  The story begins simply - two people wake up together, naked in bed, after an evening which neither can remember - what follows is not predictable or anticipated.  In fact there is a strange but cool surreal quality that slides in and out of the realism created by Director Trevor Schmidt.  Schmidt, by the way, is the only person I know in town who can stand by the door to the theatre saying to everyone who goes in: "Read this sign, the whole thing, and do what it says or I will lose my Sh%t." and have everyone laugh and do what he says with good humour.  (Based on the sign in question: I think some shows have been plagued with ringing phones and people needing to leave to go pee - which would no doubt ruin the extreme intimate quality of the show). Anyhow, I digress... The Show... It's sad, and real and Cole Humeny and Sereana Malani do a great job zigzagging through the emotions of the awkward situation as they try to reconstruct the forgotten evening.  As a whole, the show is more of a commentary on both the emptiness of the casual encounter and the layers of real need and want underneath as people search for closeness with other human beings.  It's not about either glorifying or condemning the one-night-stand - it instead seeks to deconstruct it.  It does so in a fascinating way.  You hope for a happy ending, but although there are many laughs, it is not a romantic comedy - it is exactly those hopes that fuel it.

A Few of My Favourite Things... Days of Wine and Roses...

Next week, Trunk Theatre presents the Canadian premiere of  JP Miller’s Days of Wine and Roses in a new version by Owen McCafferty at the Varscona Theatre from February 14^th-23^rd, 2013.  

A young Belfast couple moves to 1960s London, where they fall love with life, each other and drink.  Their exciting new life spirals out of control as alcohol takes its grip.  Why am I excited to see this? Well, because  Days of Wine and Roses stars two of my favourite local actors - Cody Porter (The Weir, This Lime Tree Bower) and Elena Porter (The Tudor Queen: A Burlesque, Lend Me a Tenor, Hamlet) and is directed by multiple Sterling Award nominee Amy DeFelice (Dying City, A Number) who directed This Lime Tree Bower  at the 2010 Fringe, which I loved.  Trunk Theatre is also the company that produced one of my 2012 Fringe Highlight shows - Mojo Mickybo. 

“In Days of Wine and Roses, McCafferty shows us, with beauty and skill, the dark heart that beats within failed love, the twisted pathology of the alcoholic and the sorrow of the Irish immigrant experience.” (Culture Northern Ireland).  It is the story of two young people who like to drink and fall in love with the bottle even more than each other.  As someone who has never been one for big mushy Valentines Days, this seems like a perfect little piece for me to see!

Days of Wine and Roses runs at the Varscona Theatre from February 14^th (preview) - 23^rd, performances Tuesday-Sunday 7:30pm and Saturdays 2:00pm.   Tickets are available at the door (10329-83 Ave), the Varscona Box Office (780-433-3399) or through Tix on the Square 780-420-1757 tix@tixonthesquare.ca

It's Coming - the First SkirtsAFire, herArts Festival! Want to help?

So I got this information today!  Knowing so many talented women in the Edmonton Theatre community I was excited to see this come to my in-box.  I love the idea of this festival and look forward to seeing what's on the ticket!  They are looking for people to help out - so check it out if you are interested in lending a hand!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Until March 7, 2013

Volunteers Needed to Help Ignite the Spark!

Edmonton’s newest festival, SkirtsAFire, herArts festival is in need of helping hands to launch its first season! FromMarch 7 to 10, Alberta Avenue (118th avenue) hosts a celebration and showcase of women’s stories and the female voice in art.

SkirtsAFire is looking for help leading up to and during the festival. Whether you can volunteer your time at the festival, a few hours stuffing envelopes, or one of your many valuable skills … as a wise woman once said, many hands make light work.

SkirtsAFire creates a platform for women writing, directing, designing, choreographing, painting and putting music to their own stories. SkirtsAFire aims to bring women together from all artistic disciplines, as well as mothers, leaders, philanthropists, workers and students to share in our vision and stories.

For more information about volunteering, or for information about the festival itself, please visit skirtsafire.wordpress.com.

Great Meeting - Great People to Work With!

Today I had a great meeting with Tracy Carroll from APN.  I am working with Tracy in a variety of capacities.  She and Brian Dooley are dramaturges for Walterdale Playhouse's From Cradle to Stage Festival so I have been lucky to work with her for 3 of the past four years - primarily coordinating, but pleased none the less with getting to know her and having her work with the playwrights. I am also working with Tracy to coordinate a Partnership with APN and Walterdale.  Exciting stuff and I am really looking forward to the kinds of things we can bring to the membership.

Of course, we talked of many things.  These kinds of meetings are what I love about Edmonton and it's Arts Scene.  There are so many talented and skilled people who are so willing to share information and feedback and just talk about things going on.  Tracy is working with Skirts Afire on their upcoming festival, as well as with the ADFA (Alberta Drama Festival Association).  She was a great resource to hear information from and beyond the meat and potatoes of our meeting I left feeling inspired and grateful for the conversation. 

I have had this feeling in many places in the Edmonton Arts Scene.  The recent Edmonton Theatre Meet-Up during Canoe festival had that same spirit of sharing and community.  At the meet-up were people of a variety of different levels but everyone was welcome and everyone shared.  It made for a great discussion. I find this same spirit with the discussions we have on the Theatre Alberta and APN Boards.  I am so glad to be able to have these sharing and learning opportunities.

I wrote this because so often I feel very insecure and isolated when I am working on things and it is meetings like the one today that remind me that there are people that are very willing to talk to me about things.  That these people are also so incredibly positive and knowledgeable and talented makes it all the better. So I guess this post is just a reflection on gratitude for all the fabulous people I have met in the Edmonton Arts Community.  I hope that I can be the same sounding board and cheerleader and resource for other people.

Shots Go Wild... Evie's Waltz at Shadow Theatre

Yesterday I took in Evie's Waltz at Shadow Theatre.  It's a difficult play about a challenging topic and left me with much to think about - too much really.  The script (by Carter Lewis) is rhetoric filled with comments on parenting (good and bad), judgement, bullying, gun control, kids with guns, school shootings, dancing, vegetarianism, infidelity and a few other things.  I think it did a lot in terms of leaving you things to think about, but by focusing so much on the 'issues' it also had a lot of unbelievable dialogue which challenged the actors. They rose to the occasion, with Coralie Cairns (Gloria) being the most successful at consistently making the jargon sound like something a real person might say.  She also has the biggest journey and she is worth the price of admission as she moves from frustrated, angry and disengaged to regretful and desperate.  Doug Mertz (Clay) and Karen Mott (Evie) do their best with it, but are not as successful.  Clay is written as a bit of a one-note character and Evie seems so contradictory so that they just don't work as well.  Still, it was an interesting show and my date Kara and I talked a great deal about it afterwards. It would have been better to rely more on more basic wants and needs than on the philosophical arguments.  If that were the case it would have been easier for them to sustain the tension required under the circumstances.  As it is, the imminent threat ebbs and flows with the rhetoric which I think lets the audience off too easy. I would have far preferred to leave with my abs aching from the tension of what will happen?  instead of my brain aching from sorting through the points it was trying to make.