Filed under: sbux, toronto, video | Tags: 30 rock, artists, femfest, honey&jupiter, meryl streep, steve martin, tarragon, who's afraid?, winnipeg
FemFest Final Night…aiiieee…I left Winnipeg outrageously excited about what I have created and inspired to make it even better. And I know with effort, time, and patience something magical is bound to happen. The hard part about H&J is how physical the show is…me sitting at my laptop typing and re-re-re-re-reading away isn’t the same. But that’s ok!! More workshops and time and money, plz!
I was e-mailed some audience feedback (these were all done through answering survey questions):
“good acting, good topics, media literacy oriented”
“the actors were excellent and the play was meaningful“
“it was great”
“The performance was excellent – really well done”
“definitely a topic that is affecting MANY families in Winnipeg“
“very well acted”
““Honey and Jupiter” should be shown in High Schools for grades 8-12″
(to which i say, can you fund it please????)
I saw Meryl Streep speak at the ROM 3 weeks ago…pretty effing dreamy…”if you’re lucky [the audience] feels with you, and that is the great miracle of empathy. we want to feel that somebody feels how we feel.”
You said it, M’Streep.
2 weeks ago I saw Steve Martin w/ The Steep Canyon Rangers at Roy Thompson Hall, which was incroyable, and his final encore was a blue-grass version of KING TUT, so life won about 9 million points that evening for being so delightful.
LOOK HERE IT IS:
I was hired back to my old Sbux mere seconds after walking in to ask for my job back. I know it’s only coffee and only a part-time job but I am so happy to be back there…I covered a shift on Sunday and it felt good. Today was my last crummy shift as a busser and I nearly ran out the door once I clocked out. Adieu, job that makes me want to Virginia Woolf myself!
Speaking of…saw “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at SoulPepper last week. Favorite play. So much to watch. It wasn’t satisfying so I re-read most of it the next day. But I saw Fiona Reid play Martha so I’m a picky lady. Plans to direct this show in about 20 years remain. Stay posted in 2 decades for details.
HOWEVER…“The Drowning Girls” at Tarragon is probably the best thing I have ever seen – highly theatrical, visually and scenically appealing, strong and charming and intense and fascinating and funny and sad and epic and light….amazing. No words.
Alright…I have to sleep, gym, lunch, write, clean, laundry, and screenwriting class…so farewell. I leave you with this:
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL INTERACTION WITH A MAN!!
lemon, out!
Filed under: halifax, toronto | Tags: artists, beginnings, femfest, halifax, luna/sea, magnetic north, mauralealee, mirv, vulnerability, win, winnipeg, work
This afternoon I had a very unique and interesting experience. I sat in on a forum discussion/focus group between what I believe to be many prominent Winnipeg theatre artists and Ken Cameron of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. It opened up my eyes to how similar Winnipeggers and Haligonian writers, directors, creators, feel. We’re from small cities that DO produce great work, yet are clearly underrepresented when our country’s theatre world is being defined. The sense I gathered was, artists feel isolated and unappreciated by larger cities. Example: If something amazing happens in Toronto, everyone knows about it. But what about exciting things like FemFest (did you know women can write plays, too??) which is all Female, Canadian work (not just Peggers) or Luna/Sea’s BRILLIANT “To Capture Light” in May 2008? Ask someone in Toronto about THOSE!
I’m not meaning to point fingers at the Tdot because I live there now and I thoroughly enjoy heading out to shows and festivals there. It is an inspiring and exciting city. I am pointing all of my fingers at all of us, I guess? I had no idea the theatre community in the Prairies so closely resembled the one by the ocean’s shore…because I have never been here obviously and have never met anyone from here in Halifax, or Toronto. (Save Hope, AD of Sarasvati Productions, who pretty much rocks my world for giving me the yes my show needed and bringing me here and putting on a kick-ass festival…OH and Lee and Mauralea who taught me in Halifax, but by the time they taught me they had been away from Winnipeg for many years and living in NS.)
Blather, I am rambling. YES we all need to embrace our individual cities, cultures, provinces, etcetera. But my GOD it is just THEATRE can’t we all get along, and be friends?? Our challenge now is finding a way to perhaps tour more shows, or generate audiences from across the country, bringing people to where they would love to be, …or maybe more time can be spent workshopping and delving into pieces, brightening them up, polishing them off and getting scripts mounted across the country…
‘Hey Ottawa, check out this cool show out of Sackville, NB! Hey Calgary, check out this amazing Toronto improv group! Whaddup Winnipeg, here’s a pretty rad show from Halifax. Oh hey, St. John’s, have this new-age technical experiment piece from Vancouver.” ETCETERA ETCETERA.
How, how, how can we stop pitting cities against each other, and instead transfuse theatre from one place to the next? To CONNECT our whole COUNTRY, to stop feeling immobile, or like we all have to be in Toronto, or shunning out other cities or isolating ourselves to one spot like an angsty teenager who locks themselves in their room? IT’S ART, IT’S THERE TO MAKE LIFE LESS BLAND AND DULL AND HORRIFYING. Do we not create theatre to connect, to escape, to reflect, to FEEL LESS ALONE? I felt today that the artists in Manitoba want to share their work with other people (not just other artists) the same way the people of Nova Scotia do, the way many small-but-mighty groups probably feel. And shouldn’t we be open and welcoming to the things that come from far away?
Dear everyone in Canadian Theatre,
treat others the way you would like to be treated.
Dear Winnipeg,
you guys rock my world.
Dear anyone who read this,
I realize it’s just a lot of questions and pretty non-sensical. I’m running on tofu and peanut butter m&ms and so not enough sleep.
Filed under: video | Tags: adventure, artists, family, femfest, honey&jupiter, me, video, vulnerability, wi, winnipeg, work
THEY. NAILED. IT.
Kerri-lee Smith, who directed? Mother Effing Genius. GENIUS.
JUPITER – Hailley Rhoda, you are wonderful, you were divine. this girl is BRAVE beyond words. she rocks!!
AUTHORITY, Erin Hammond…still thinking about her in the ‘circus’ scene. Blew my mind. And she captured the last scene between mom&Jupiter so well…gorgeous.
HONEY, Amy Groening, is a fucking STAR. I want her in everything I write. She is SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL. & an INCREDIBLE dancer. She’s brilliant!
Ahhhh. Tonight I am going with my notebook and really listening to the words. It’s a work night for me, but that’s ok. It’s important work, work I am passionate about. This feels really, really right.
Filed under: video | Tags: adventure, artists, beginnings, femfest, food!, honey&jupiter, video, vulnerability, work
So I just woke up to day 2 and it is freeeezing and “the sky is as white as a clean piece of paper.” I am in major search of breakfast, and things to do in this city…I am so scared to wander around because I think the ‘bad’ part of town is nearby but I don’t know which way it would be. Blerg. In any case I have time to kill before 7pm when I see a workshop presentation at the fest called Quite An Undertaking by Veralyn Warkentin.
Then at 8:30?HONEY AND JUPITER
82 QUESTIONS ABOUT SOMEONE FAR TOO MICAELA-ISH.
1) What’s their name? Micaela
2) Does he/she have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Mais oui
3) Do you get along with this person all the time? Pretty much always and whenever, except when I don’t mention her in one little vlog so I have to dedicated a whole blog entry to her face.
4) How long have you known each other? 4 years.
5) Has he/she ever cooked for you? OH BABY OH BABY OH BABY.
6) Is this person older than you? Nein.
7) Have you ever kissed this person? On the cheek!
Have you ever swore at him/her? All the fucking god damn time mother licker.
9) Are you related to this person? In our hearts.
10) Are you really close to him/her? Si, but not physically 
11) Nickname? Mica. She-Sheppard.
12) Do they have a nickname for you? She calls me lady a lot. I wonder if she knows my real name
13) How many times do you talk to this person during a week? As much as I can.
14) Will this person re-post this? NO
15) Do you live with these people? WE LIVED TOGETHER for 2 or 3 glorious weeks in July. There was much 30 Rock and J-Lo and Hippie Jugs and Nutella.
16) Why did you pick this person? To soothe her pain.
18) How long have you been close to this person? Like, 3.75 years.
19) Have you ever been to the mall with this person? Oh yeah, we both used to work shitty jobs there in grade 12.
20) Have you ever had a sleepover with this person? Many. One time I slept upside down in her bed…I was pretty illin’…it was my 1st 4:20.
21) If you ever moved away would you miss this person? I have and I do.
23) Have you ever done something really stupid or illegal with this person? ALL OF THE ABOVE APPLY a lot. Someday the Metric concert will be funny…some day…
24) Do you know everything about this person? Lots????
25) Would you date this person’s siblings? HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH awwwwkward.
26) Have you been to this person’s house? Yeah.
29) Have you gone skinny dipping with this person? And by skinny dipping, I mean SEX.
31) Is this person on drugs? I couldn’t tell you, I’m too fucked up for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SLUG!!!
33) Have you ever worn this person’s clothes? Sometimes.
34) Does this person wear your clothes? Sometimes.
35) If it was “freaky friday” would you switch bodies with this person? Oh hell yes, she be slammin’.
36) Have you ever heard this person sing? Yeah and me likey.
38) Do you and this person have a saying/word? Now I may be blind, but I can hear somethings loud and clear. Glug glug glug. Getchersexyon.
39) Do you know this persons Facebook password? No.
44) Have you and this person gone clubbing? Once. More times plz.
45) Do you know how to make this person feel happy? Pizza. Dope. Disney. Snuggles.
46) Do you and this person talk a lot? I wish more.
47) Do you like this person as a friend? Hate.
48) Has this person yelled at you? I think???
49) Have you and this person got into a fist fight? Not that I remember.
51) Do you want to be friends with them forever? PLZ.
52) When is the last time you talked to this person? Via fbook yesterday.
53) Do you text this person? Yep, probably too much.
54) Do you and this person talk on the phone? LONG DISTANCE
55) Descibe this person in one word – delightful.
56) Does this person like anyone? Me.
57) Have you ever played a sport or watched a sport with this person? IMPROV. Hahah wait…
58) Have you met this person’s family? Yeahyeah some of ‘em.
59) Has this person been to your house? UHYEAH.
60) Do you and this person have a special song? OOOH BABY DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S WORTH? OOOH HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH. … among others…<3
61) Have you told this person you loved them before? Yes.
62) Did they say it back? In her way.
63) Do you think this person still loves you? I do!
64) Can they make you laugh alot? Like no other…
65) Do you hang out with this person on weekends? When we are in the same city.
66) Would you consider this person your best friend? DEFINATLY one of them. If this was Myspace she’d be in my top 8. And by Myspace, I mean bedroom. And by top 8, I mean PANTS.
67) Do you miss this person? All the time.
68) Is there a song that describe the relationship between you and this person? Oh so many. WATERLOO KNOWING MY FATE IS TO BE WITH YOU
69) Have you danced with this person? oh fucking hell. We are made of dance.
70) Do you think this person is going to be surprised you wrote this about them? Tell your gay mom I said thanks.
71) How many siblings does this person have? 0.5
72) If so, brother or sister? 0.5 sister
73) Have you ever cried in front of this person? yeeeashhhh????
74) When is the next time you will see this person? in my dreams
75) Do you tell this person secrets? Sorta. Yeah.
76) Do you trust this person? so much!
77) Does this person trust you? Mehopes.
78) What is this persons middle name? Commonworthy.
79) What is this person’s full name? Kenneth Ellen Page.
80) Where does this person live? New Zealand.
81) Have you ever seen them cry? Probably????
82) Does this person speak another language? Body language.
Filed under: halifax, toronto, video | Tags: 11:11, 30 rock, artists, beginnings, bicycle, falve, family, frederic, john, macivor, me, neptune, quessica, slane, tea, video, wine, work
Filed under: halifax, neptune, toronto | Tags: adventure, alice in wonderland, artists, brunch, dancing, family, femfest, honey&jupiter, hugs, joni m, kaypee, kelin, metric, neptune, shakespeare, sinclair, tea, vulnerability, winnipeg, work
life has been bundles of confusion, energy, mud, airplanes, pot, shakespeare, ginger ale and madness. there are not enough bicycle rides or journal entries or dance classes (yet!), but there are a lot of people to see and a lot of things to talk about.
biggest and best would probably be; Honey&Jupiter , my first play that I directed at the Atlantic Fringe Festival last year, is going to be preformed in Winnipeg this fall at FEMFEST. I am elated…first professional production at a festival run by the President of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada! I get to work on the script with a dramaturg and everything…so, so excited…and scared…and excited…
I am now home in HALIWOOOOD teaching me some Shakespeare. The students are two 15 year olds and four 14 year olds, all girls. They are all on very different maturity levels and theatre levels but they are all keen and hungry to learn, they make me well up with happy tears on an hourly (yep, hourly) basis.
I saw my favorite band live for free yesterday. METRIIIIIIIC. Yeah they are my favorite. I have been an anxious crazy the last week or so (lack of working out makes me want to cry all the time. No, but really…) and i feel like listening to Metric is one of the only things I can do to manage the blues. I love them bigger and badder than anyone else who loves them…yep, I went there. Unfortunatly me and Mic made some unwise choices we feel we’ll laugh about in 20 years before Metric played, so I spent the first half of their set paranoid, lost in the crowd, and with a ghost-white face&blue lip combination. But by the time Sinclair found me and we rocked our faces off together, I was rejuvenated by the magic that is besteverbandever.
tell me you aren't blown away by how fucking brilliant they are
Today I had brunch with Kim, who gave me a very Alice dress. This was perfect as I then went to dirty Dtown for a tea party at Kelin’s. Kelin is like every Joni Mitchell song blossomed into a beautiful blonde artist in a white dress and pearls, who gives the best hugs and makes the best cookies. Like that. I needed to see both of these ladies really bad, so it worked out well.
ANYWAY. I wrote a poem tonight called EDGE and it is going to speak for me now. Read and enjoy.
On the verge of on the verge of
Somethings on the verge;
Pain.
Words fester…
Silence,
Blank pages disguise pain,
It’s white noise.
On the verge of
Screaming tears.
I wish with all my made-up might
To uncloak the sorrow
Dig my nails in scratch off the mask
Uncover the words
Unbury the words
Scratching the surface
Where I sit so square
Play so safe it hurts.
Keep so quiet I choke.
Sit so still I ache.
Unable to
Get off the verge and
Dive in
Crash
Rinse refresh
Instead I let my mind rot
Words fester; Tangled language.
A rat’s nest sits where my heart used to wheeze.
Filed under: halifax, sbux, toronto | Tags: adventure, alice in wonderland, fosse, paper journal, red hair, shakespeare, skye, sparling, video, work
1. put gym membership on hold.
2. read more shakespeare than you could shake a speare at (see what i did there…!!)
3. see ‘awake and sing’ at soulpepper…and ‘the glass menagerie’ at red barn theatre and ‘school’s out‘ at the bathurst street theatre…
4. (re)learn original Fossee Choregraphy to ‘All That Jazz’ (I drunkenly tried to learn it when I was 15…)
finding these videos are making me totally into CHICAGO once more…15 year old Meghan is fangirling the hell out of Ann Reinking.
5. eat the most indian food as i can before going home to white old halifax.
6. debate getting tattoo…i kind of want something alice-in-wonderland-esque, which sounds SOOOO cliche and hipster and blahblahblah but alice is actually so dear to my heart, for so many nostalgic and psychological reasons…oh wait, do i sound like a crazy person? anyway i found my acting journal from 2005, and it;s an alice notebook with gorgeous illustrations and quotes inside. i stumbled on the following quote and it spoke to my heart so strongly i almost cried upon reading. (but didn’t…because the quote told me not to!!) one of those moments when the universe knows you need something, and so you get it:
Consider what a great girl you are.
Consider what a long way you’ve come today.
Consider what o’clock it is.
Consider anything, only don’t cry!”
-The White Queen (fr. ‘Through the Looking Glass & What Alice Found There.)
The universe has been offering lots of things I really need the past 2 or days. A night out dancing to sixties music with Skye, many a jolly jaunt with my visiting Ginger sister, late-night playground adventures, lovely people to give free cappucinnos and crispy marshmallow squares to, hugs and kisses galore, I’M BACK IN FILM CLASS uuuuughhhhh and will miss the hell out of it all summer….and two other huge exciting things that are not official or the details are not finalized yet so I shall not broadcast them on the world wide web yet, but let’s just say, my soul is going to melt and my mind is going to explode.
7. MAKE REAL TO DO LISTS THAT I DO INSTEAD OF POSTING ON THE INTERWEAB.
Here is something I will miss about Toronto, a huge amount:
Rexie, KCan, Ryan, Fletchface, &Edder. I will not miss looking like a tipsy baby dinosaur in photgraphs with them, though. Oh heck, yes I will!
Filed under: halifax | Tags: adventure, amanda carol, artists, beginnings, family, party, quessica, slane, work
this summer i will be teaching for 8 weeks at theatre school!
these are my classes;
SHAKESPEARE (Ages 14-18):
Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed. Students will learn the skills to make classical text come to life in this intensive two week camp. Using scenes from the Bard’s scripts students will gain an understanding of classical verse and how to bring it to life. Join us and make the world your stage.
CENTER STAGE (Ages 14-18):
This advanced theatre camp is for students who want to perform. The two week camp will consist of morning voice and body warm-ups, exercises in acting technique and ensemble building. Afternoons will be spent rehearsing a play which will be performed for family, friends and the rest of the camp on the last day. Get ready to take centre stage!
GIRLFRIENDS (Ages 7-9)
In this camp we will use theatre games, art, poetry and a whole lot of fun to explore the world of being a girl. Using collaboration and imagination we will create a short play to share with family and friends on the last day of camp.
THEATRE JAM (Ages 7-9)
In this camp students will create an original piece of theatre in a collaborative setting. Students will become actors, playwrights and directors as they jam on ideas and are guided through theatre exercises, creation, rehearsal and the presentation of their very own performance project which will be shared with friends and family on the final day.
Expect updates of hilarious student quotes, exhausted and emotional me, and PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE of how amazing the summer will be.
Filed under: toronto | Tags: adventure, AGO, artists, degas, dion, do ho su, gigi, honey&jupiter, kelin, magic, magna doodle, mirv, N.E. THING CO, paper journal, richter, roald dahl, sparling, vee, warhol
“I like everything that has no style: dictionaries, photographs, nature, myself, and my paintings (Because style is violence and I am not violent).”
-Gerhard Richter
Loved that quote in a nook of the AGO.
Also a big fan of Mark Dion’s polar bear photographs (mostly because I am a polar bear fan.)
Do Ho Su’s bathroom was also amazing. Complete 3-d lavatory from nylon.
N.E. THING CO was my kind of art…fecicious and whimsical and ribbons and sodas and call-back jokes and, well, it was the sixties, man.
Here’s my stream of consciences that I wrote post-visit, in the gift shop:
I am at the AGO right now thinking about Andy’s Elvis, Roald Dahl books I wish weren’t in my attic somewhere, Degas’ ballerinas on my show’s poster thanks to the World’s best dramatury c/o my [step]sister, TO CAPTURE LIGHT and lost, under-appreciated artists, finger paints, how my lower back hurts, wanting Kelin to teach me to paint, my relephant necklace, “world’s first twitter”, tarp art, how poor I am, my scene study, etch-a-sketch, magna doodle, those filmy-scratchy books, Gina’s paint by numbers…
Spur of the moment magic –> You can’t plan magic, if you do, it’s just trickery.
