It’s been a while… and what a while it has been!

Posted onJuly 30, 2013
Blog

So it has been a while….

It has been an intense Spring and early Summer with all the shows and projects and while it is supposed to calm down in the summertime and I generally look forward to that – it really hasn’t happened this time around.

To kick off the season we decided to spend some time in New York City. I registered for the Broadway Teachers Workshop and we visited with friends from the Art of Combat Workshop. It was a super time with lots of shows and lots of exploring the city. We did have a little dampener on the whole trip when our car broke down on the way to New York and for some strange reason New York mechanics could not (even given a full week) figure out what was wrong with it to repair it. (More on that later – details and such)

We saw some great shows including: Once, Peter and the Starcather, Pippin and Alan Cumming in Macbeth. We explored a number of Muppet related locations in the city and that was delightful. Also, we met with some friends from toughpigs.com and it was pretty cool to meet those folks in person – next time we will have to plan for a longer visit!

After making it home (that was an adventure with the car) I had a short, but lovely trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake with my Mum to see more shows. Still an adventure, but a lovely time. This was after another puppet building workshop at The Palace Theatre, which was another great time with more lovely monsters coming into the world!

And now… I’m deep in the process of building puppets for the City of London. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about the project at this time, but I’m sure they’ll be making a scene around town seen enough, so you won’t have to wait too long to see what they are about.

And next week, I’m off to the Puppeteers of America Festival in Philadelphia. I’ve never been there – and I really hope that my car makes it there and back with no troubles this time. It’s going to be an intense, busy and exciting week. I just hope that I can take it all in and savour the experiences.

It’s been anything but a slow, sedate summer. But what are you gonna do? Take what life brings and make the most of it all, right? I know I’m certainly lucky to have all these experiences, so I’m taking it all in and savouring it. It goes by fast.

I love musicals.

Posted onNovember 20, 2012November 20, 2012
Blog

I really love them. I love all theatre, but I really love musicals – almost all of them. It’s pretty darn rare to find a musical that I don’t really enjoy on some level. Even some of the rougher ones – cause let’s face it, there are a few old chestnuts out there that are rough around the edges, or new ones that are lacking in substance. But, I can generally find something I like in pretty much any musical.

I like watching them. I like listening to them. I like learning about them. I like reading them. I like directing/choreographing them – boy oh boy, do I like that, and of course, I like performing in them.

Right now I’m watching the lovely Dame Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria. I love this show. I only know the film and little bits of the Broadway show that I’ve seen on YouTube. Some of that inspired my choreography for FOLLIES that I directed and choreographed a little while ago.

It’s a funny thing with musicals, when you grow up performing in them you dream of getting a larger role than the chorus gal – the 2nd last Snow child in Carousel, a Jet Girl in West Side Story, etc., and then you actually start getting roles. Like all theatre, you start to find your niche, where you fit in the pantheon of roles. I generally get cast as the comedic lead – not the real lead, the romantic lead… nope, that’s not the part I get. And that’s okay, cause usually the comedic lead is much more fun than the romantic one, but you never get the guy – or at least you never get the scene that shows the romance of getting the guy. So, you always wonder what it would be like to get that role. There’s not a lot of shows where the funny girl gets the romantic scene. Funny Girl, sure. Gypsy, maybe… and Victor/Victoria… how I’d love a chance at that role… or any of those roles.

Anyone out there want to direct something like that? I promise, I’ll be directing something that’s perfect for you sometime soon.