Canadian girl out and aboot

I have already seen and reviewed six plays, and I have a few thoughts and comments about the experience. I am reviewing in the Transalta Cabaret Lounge, which is possibly the perfect venue for me. Since there is alcohol on the premise, everything is for a more mature audience. There is an actual stage, so I can sit at a table and the performers don't have to rush by me, or wander out and touch me. (I hate it when performers touch me when I am watching a play)

I'm only given 100 words to write my reviews, which is challenging. Our editor told us that we shouldn't write anything that we wouldn't say to the director's face. I'd never thought of this before, but I think it will be my new mantra for reviewing. I can be critical, and I can be honest, but I try never to be deliberately mean. I know what it feels like to get mean reviews.

I seem to rate most things in the middle. I have not given a five star review, and think it would take a lot to make me give one. I'd recommend a four star show to my friends, and would encourage them to see it if it came to their town. It would take me weeping or something amazing to give five stars. I'm not sure what would make me give out one star either.

My other note is this- All actors, and I know some of you reading this are actors, should speak clearly and slowly. I think actors have a tendency to get nervous and rush when they get onstage. Sometimes the jokes seem to go by too fast. You may know the lines and what you're going to say next, but the audience sometimes needs to be able to catch the joke and absorb it. Take a breath!

So far, the first play that I reviewed remains my favourite. It was written by a local playwright named Justen Bennett. The play called "Addition- an unconventional love story" told the story of a gay couple who decide to have a threesome. They go in search of a third, and then must deal with the complications that arise from their actions. I loved the pacing of this script, and it was really and truly funny. The characters talked like me and my friends- there were discussions about roleplaying games, Buffy and Joss Whedon, references to Twilight and Star Trek, and language play. It was cute. The story kept you intrigued and interested, and it was truly sweet and unconventional. I only gave it four stars because I thought the actors needed to work on their comedic timing.

However, I got to meet the director after and tell him how much I liked the play. I was chatting with a lovely audience member and we were both curious about which actors in the play were gay. It turns out that only one guy was. The audience member and I thought this was a mark of a good production. We believed that all the men were gay. In many ways, this was really a story about relationships and unconventional relationships, not mainly about queer issues.

I also enjoyed another factor that occurred as a result of a casting decision. One of the men, who was seen to be the love interest, was half Chinese. I enjoyed this because I know that many Asian looking men are not always seen as objects of desire. I also liked it because the character was supposed to have grown up in a small town and was the son of a farmer. The director told me that a past audience member had argued that this wasn't right and that the half Chinese guy couldn't be a farmer. However, I thought this was great as I've met half Chinese farmers before. The director said that he just cast the best people for the part, but it added another dimension to the play and its politics.

Also, I should add that the half Chinese dude was very, very pretty. He stripped down to his boxers during the production and I had to wipe the drool off my chin. He's a dancer and fight choreographer and the director and I both concurred that he is in fact, gorgeous (and straight). I mentioned him to several theatre friends who were at a show with me later that evening, and found that I am not the only woman to have swooned over his beauty. Anyway, I loved "Addition- an unconventional love story" and you should see it if it comes to a theatre near you. I really liked this play and would definitely go see another play written by this director.


( second and third plays )

Plays 4,5,6

( Read more... )

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I've got lots of things planned.

1. Folk fest with visiting friend from August 6-9. This is my first Folk festival and I'm pumped to see my friend.

2. I'm reviewing plays for the Edmonton Fringe Festival from August 13-17. I will be seeing 11 plays in 4 days.

3. I head up to the Peace country on August 21 to attend the Grand Opening of the new Grande Prairie Public Library.

4. I travel around the Peace country visiting friends and doing stories for my job.


Somewhere in all of that, I will be turning 33.

Yesterday, I had quite a horror filled day. I went to the Farmer's market, then biked down to the library to attend a workshop on writing horror and sci-fi. The workshop was free and was hosted by a local speculative fiction magazine called "On Spec". It was supposed to be aimed at teens, but a few adults attended as well.

Basically, we went over a bunch of story "dos and don'ts" which was pretty darn interesting. The facilitators talked a lot about avoiding cliches, writing real characters and common mistakes that beginners make. Very interesting stuff.

Two of the kids from my writing group attended, and I got a chance to talk to the instructors after the group.

Then I went home for a bit before heading over to my friend's for a tofu dog roast. My friend has kids, and invited more people with kids, so it was a bit of a child fest. We ended up making a crazy fire, and I smelled like smoke for the rest of the evening.

Mari and I then went to see a great new theatre piece called "Nevermore". It was based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe, which was pretty horrific. It was a musical theatre piece, with gothic costuming, fantastically creepy sets, and horrifying imagery. All in all, it was both creepy and excellent. I felt it had Tim Burton type elements, and the costuming was to die for. Seriously, I wish I could have taken pictures of some of the costumes- big hoop skirts, elaborate corsets, stripey tights, black eye makeup. The piece actually embellished on some of Poe's visions. There were freaky crow characters that chased him around, a large black cat with huge claws, and many coffins. I loved it and encourage you to see it if it comes on tour to your Canadian city.

Afterward, we visited with the actors. Mari knows everyone and knew quite a few people in the cast. Unfortunately, the room was severely hot, and I was falling asleep, so I spent most of the after party actually standing in the doorway.

Last night I took B* to see "Terrible things", a play that is currently running at Performance Works on Granville Island. I've been wanting to see this one ever since I heard about it, since it was reportedly based on the works of Edward Gorey and looked like it might be somewhat gothic in theme. Plus, we've been talking bout going to a play for a while. We like to plan actual dates, and now that I don't work evenings any more, we are free to do so. Yay!

"Terrible things" was written by a local dramaturg named Adrienne Wong, who has also been covered in Ricepaper (or something). It's the story of the terrible Stipple family, and their horrible secrets. There were a lot of wonderful thing about the play; the stylistic dark acting, the costumes, and the general mood. I was impressed by how the actors were able to tell stories using only their bodies and faces and very, very few props. There were many scenes where the Gorey influence was obvious and quite amusing. There was one homage to the alphabet "N is for Neville" etc, that was quite brilliant.

B* also liked a rhyming couplet in which "asylum" was rhymed with "phylum."

Still, neither of us thought it was entirely perfect. B* was annoyed by some of the story structure, and my mind wandered off at one point.

One other positive thing that we noticed was a fine example of colour-blind casting! One of the family members and the maid were both played by Asian actors, even though the other characters in the play were white. That was pretty cool.