Category Archives: Theater

Red Cedar and Perilous Prickles! (33/365)

Posted on June 4, 2018 | 2 comments

What a wild and crazy day today! Up early to work on a freelance writing assignment, then off to rehearsal for the Canmore Summer Theatre Festival (bonus – it’s a SUMMER festival, so rehearsals are outside!!!!)

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Ran home mid-dance choreography to take part (virtually) in the Red Cedar gala hosted by the Vancouver Public Library (Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet was a nominated title this year!!! Woot! Woot!). Thanks to Skype, I was able to deliver a super-quick talk and say hello to everyone… shared a story about my favourite tree, the one that saved my life in the BVI a few years back when I climbed the boulder on the right…

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only to discover that once I’d made it to the top I couldn’t get back down again! A tree growing up beside the rock over on the back side saved my bacon, as they say… though it was a perilous descent through prickly branches and over a massive termite nest before I was back on sandy land once again…

Then, raced back over to rehearsals and more dancing… and then home again for more writing! Head. Exploding.

I’m almost done now… still need to do a bit more writing (after the blog, that is), then have a quick peek at the Canmore Ghost Walks scripts (stay tuned for more on that project!) before crashing hard into bed!

Wherever you are, hug a tree when you next see one… That special tree which saved my life? I was hoping for a reunion and a quick snuggle when I was back in the BVI recently, but the tree (along with many others in the islands) was gone, ripped out by the roots when hurricane Irma blasted through last year.

 

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The Tree of Life by Marc Chagall, 1948

 

Sorry to leave you on a saddish note, but never forget that nothing lasts forever. Appreciate those special connections you have today – with trees, your cat, your folks, your kids… They matter.

 

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Memory Lane… (28/365)

Posted on May 29, 2018 | 1 comment

Sometimes it seems that my life is a series of different digressions, fascinating side roads that are way more interesting than the whatever the main road was supposed to have been.

Those side roads are braided, looping back and around themselves like Celtic knots, leading to familiar corners rounded and re-encountered when least expected.

At the moment I’m exploring a theatre cul de sac where the familiar and the new are sending me back to the very beginning of my acting career. 

 

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Wow! Look what I found online in the archives of the Banff Centre! That’s Dad (holy smokes he looks so young!) in about 1970 teaching a student… (reference #A 05 01 09, no photographer listed). 

 

Back in 1969 when we first came to Canada from Australia we moved to Banff in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Dad was the first Artist in Residence at the Banff School of Fine Arts (now known as the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity).  I was all of 8 and determined to perform my way onto the stage. I took ballet classes and enrolled in an acting class for kids. I landed a small part in a play. The director of that play and my teacher was a dynamo called Shirley Tooke.

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The Banff School of Fine Arts (c 1970)

I’ve thought about Shirley many times over the years. She was the first person I had ever met who took theatre seriously. And, more to the point, she took me seriously, even though I had pigtails and could barely see over a table I was so short.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I ran into Shirley at the 40th Anniversary gala event hosted by Pine Tree Players the other night. Turns out Shirley has been working her magic, directing plays, mentoring actors, and making theatre happen here in the Bow Valley for decades! Everyone in the room had a connection to Shirley, a story about how instrumental she has been in terms of nurturing and developing all things theatrical around here!

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I remember going to this production of the opera, Hansel and Gretel back in 1970. We were so lucky to be able to attend performances – ballet, modern dance, opera, music (I saw Oscar Peterson live), authors (Farley Mowat comes to mind), and theatre… And, of course, art shows. I never thought much about it at the time, but how lucky were we as kids to have access to so much art in our back yard? 

It was pretty cool to see my first acting mentor from so many years ago. Though she remembered my parents (she and my dad would have crossed paths at the Banff Centre), of course Shirley didn’t remember the earnest little kid with the big dreams. But that little kid never forgot her! I’m so happy we ran into each other again and I was able to say a long overdue thank-you for the kindness, support, and enthusiasm she offered so generously.

I wish I’d had my wits about me and had someone snap a photo of us together, but I confess I was so flabbergasted it never crossed my mind to do so!

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All My World’s a Stage (27/365)

Posted on May 29, 2018 | Leave a comment

A looooong day today of rehearsals, set design meeting, mask design meeting, choreography, and then pulling together the first section of Romeo and Juliet.

 

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Masks, masks, and more masks… Who is dancing with whom at the Capulets’ party?

I’m doing a few things – assistant director (mostly soaking up information and working with super-talented people with waaaaay more experience than I have… Yes, Amanda Cutting, I do mean you…), understudy for Nurse (oh, what a juicy, juicy role!) and possibly playing Lady Montague – final decision on that front will be made in the next few days). I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and not get too confused at this point!

 

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Romeo and Juliet by Konstantin Makovsky, 1890

 

Because part of our cast comes out from Calgary, rehearsals have mostly been consolidated into two very long days each week, which is why my Sundays and Mondays have pretty much been swallowed up until after the Canmore Summer Theatre Festival is over July 8.

We are setting our version of the classic in the early 1970s… very colourful and most excellent music!

 

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Here’s where Salvador Dali went with his idea for set design for Romeo and Juliet in 1942

 

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Here is Christoper Wood’s set design for Diaghilev’s ballet of Romeo and Juliet in 1925

I don’t have a drawing to share with you to show you what we will be doing (maybe I’ll try to do something in the next few days…), but what I can say is that there will be a treehouse!! For anyone who knows me at all, you will know how happy treehouses make me! (and for those who don’t, just let me say that I lived in a treehouse for a while… when I was a teenager… fond memories, indeed!)

 

 

 

 

 

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Z is for Zombies (AtoZChallenge2018)

Posted on May 1, 2018 | Leave a comment
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Be careful who you hang out with …

You known how it works… you get nibbled on by a zombie and, some time later (I think that part depends on the zombie variety) you develop symptoms. Itchy spots, heat, swelling, palpitations followed rapidly by open wounds, limbs falling off, brains spilling out of your ears… Actually, I don’t really know (which will be clear as blood to the legit zombophiles out there…)

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Despite the fact I don’t know much about how it works, I recently took part in a day of zombie shooting with Theatre Canmore… not as in loading up my weapon and taking aim at the living dead but becoming one with my inner zombie and being shot… by a camera.

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The initial intent was to create a zombie-themed #getconsent series of public service announcements, but the client decided zombies were too scary and we won’t use the footage for that after all. Stay tuned for a Canmore Town Halloween Special at some point… The talented Candice McMullin has reworked the scripts, which now involve mountain climbers instead of zombies… the hair and makeup should be much simpler! I’m hoping I’ll be able to take part in that shoot, too (kind of a dream combination of activities… climbing and acting).

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As for Canmore Town – the launch of the pilot and the web series will take place later this month. If you haven’t already (and if you are cool, you should) please sign up to the CanmoreTown YouTube channel. That way you won’t ever miss an episode and, when the time comes, you can watch the zombies in action!

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The worst part of the zombie experience was not eating a bunch of brains (frozen Jello) or making awful retching noises or dodging hostile Canmorons who were fighting back… the worst part was trying to bush my hair later (ow!). That was bad, but even worse was peeling off that wound. It looked so cool (hats off to the talented creative crew behind the makeup!), but oh my, it was really stuck on there well and I hadn’t realized that was going to be part of the makeup/costuming so I didn’t prepare by shaving all the fine little hairs off my forearm or prepping my skin with some sort of lotion that might have made removal a bit easier. As it was, when I ripped that sucker off it took along all my arm hairs and brought tears to my bloodshot eyes!

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Theatrecanmore.com is where you’ll find all the latest info about Canmore Town… I don’t think zombies will be regulars on the show, though they have been around in film for a long time, apparently. White Zombie dates back to 1932 and was directed by Victor Halperin – I feel like I should track it down and watch it to see where all this began What’s your favourite zombie movie? As a zombie newbie, what are your must-see recommendations?

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T is for Theatre (AtoZChallenge2018)

Posted on April 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

Well, I was going to write a lengthy post today about the theatre and travelling and how both are acts of transformation, but I have been utterly bogged down with work and have been staring at the screen for most of the day. So, this will be quick as I am ready to fall over.

Instead, here are a few photos from recent theatrical experiences…

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This little theatre in Paris is where I went to see How to Be Parisian in One Hour by Olivier Giraud. The show was lots of fun to be sure, but I was just as delighted by the theatre itself (Théâtre des Nouveautés). One of the oddities was the numbering system of the seats (which is perhaps why there were actual ushers taking showing audience members to their designated places). In the center of each row the two middle seats were 1 and 2. Then, moving out toward the aisles were 3 and 4 (3 beside 1 and 4 beside 2).  It would be lovely to have a place like this in Canmore (though perhaps not with the wacky numbering system)!

 

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At the Theater by Mary Cassatt, 1879. Sitting in my plush velvet seat, I could almost imagine a child like this watching from the balcony at the little theatre in Paris. 

 

Not that there is anything wrong with Black Box Theatre at Artsplace (that’s where we did Sex With Strangers earlier this year).

 

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Beginning to dress the set for Theatre Canmore’s production of Laura Eason’s play, Sex With Strangers. 

 

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But neither the theatre at ArtsPlace or the Opera House has quite the same vibe.

 

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Working with Deborah Ariss on Strong as an Ox for the 10-Minute Play Festivus was a ton of fun. Can’t wait for next year! (Photo by Toomas Meema)

One of the things I like best about the theatre is the way one can transform yourself into completely different characters.

 

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Here, Allegra of the usually-transluscent skin and perfect makeup transformed herself into a homeless heroin addict and I had a go at being a grumpy old woman (and Ally’s silent bus-stop companion in the play My Higher Power by Melissa Klein). This was also performed at the 10-minute Festivus at the Canmore Opera House.  

This passion for acting goes back for as far as I can remember – here’s a photo of me when I was not much older than Ally is now, getting ready for my role as Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream… 

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I’m not quite sure how I feel about this next one…

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Monochrome red (theater) by Yves Klein, 1954

 

My version…

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Yah This is Red (Except for the Curtains)

 

And that, dear readers, is what happens when I sit down to write a post when I should be placing my weary head upon my pillow…

 

 

 

 

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