I had a blast performing my solo show SALLY LIVES HERE at the Gabriola Festival last weekend.
My venue was an old post office now used as the Women’s Institute.
Not sure what they do there but I think it involves a lot of baking and handicrafts.
At the tech rehearsal on the Friday night the local AA group showed up to have their usual meeting.
When they saw what we were doing they generously chose to hold their meeting outside on the lawn.
Saturday the place was packed. Standing room only.
The sound tech was in the kitchen at the back with the
sound board on a card table.
The audience was so close that they were more or less on stage with me.
The response was amazing and then after my curtain call–
when I made my final exit out the back door of the building–
there was no where to go but the parking lot behind the buiding.
So when the audience started to exit out the same door I ended up standing there
at the back door like the minister greeting the congregation–
pretending I meantto do that.
There I was shaking hands and thanking everyone for their attendance.
I wish I could have invited them all to coffee, dessert and fellowship.
It was hilarious. Fantastic. Wonderful. I think I will always do that.
I got tons of beaming faces and heart felt thank you’s and hearty handshakes and spontaneous hugs.
Immediate gratification Gabriola Island style.
Next I am gearing up to direct my fellow WET INK COLLECTIVE member
Loretta Seto’s show WHY WEIGHT
in the new Brink Festival coming at the end of September.
And I am super excited about the 10 week Playwright’s Intensive for women, that we are running
with Jane Heyman as mentor and facilitator.
Jane is a well known director dramaturg and teacher and a long time treasure in the theatre community.
I know it is going to be a fantastic journey for all the writers involved.
We will be missing a couple of our circle who are busy with shows and we will miss them–
but we sold out in three days.
We have an amazing group of women–all Vancouver professional theatre artists.
The idea behind the intensive is that every writer will emerge from the workshop
with a completed draft of something.
It can be a first draft a fifth draft a full length a one act.
It doesn’t matter. It just has to be a completed draft.
I have been so busy organizing the intensive that I haven’t actually
put much thought into what I want to spend the next ten weeks writing.
I have narrowed it down to three choices.
For me making a choice is–well lets just say I feel challenged to choose.
I have given myself this week to decide.
Do I go with a first draft of a new one act play?
Or the next draft of a project I have had on the
desk top for a while or do I dig right in with the final draft of a full length play
that scares the hell out of me?
I don’t know.
I am leaning towards scaring myself.
I am happy to say I have a busy fall ahead of me.
I love being way too busy.
I seem to either be too busy or just busy.
Tee hee.
