Grinder's Grumblings

Just a quick reminder that you too can own copies of the original scripts that have been produced at Grinder Productions over the years. Just click here to go to our storefront at Lulu.com, where you can purchase both downloadable and paperback versions of such works as Home Farm, Muzzle Blast, and All My Sins Remembered, as well as our newest addition - Farmer's Daughters. It's also the place where you'll find Tech Theatre 101, a comprehensive technical manual for production managers and anyone else charged with the task of making incredible theatre on incredulous budgets. As time goes by I'll add more and more scripts to the store, including some that we have never produced at Grinder, but are great shows nonetheless. Just one more way we make theatre that dares to be different.

I haven't been linking you to as much stuff as I was before (shady copyright laws, and after all, isn't this blog supposed to be where I spout witticisms?), but some people in the theatrosphere (blogosphere of theatre blogs, for the uninitiated) seem to think this guy has a point. Do you think so? Personally, I think he's oversimplifying things a bit - it's not just about making art or making money, and there are several ways that the creative process can be monetized. Nonetheless, it's given me some food for thought. Check it out here .

I have a confession to make. I was at a show (the title of which shall remain anonymous) a little while ago, and when I was there I did something that I've never done before - I went home at intermission. Yes, that's right, I did the rudest, most inconiderate thing you can do when you come to a show. It may look like a victimless crime (you've already bought your ticket, and really, who's going to notice one empty seat after intermission), but the fact that you can insult the production without the production even knowing about it is, in my estimation, one of the most cowardly, uncouth insults you can hurl at a given show. It means that you've formed an opinion of the show without even giving it a chance to play out (who knows, maybe the second act was much better than the first), and since there's little time to count how many seats are still full after intermission the producers of the show will likely never realize that you were disappointed enough to lea...

Check this out, click here . Very, very cool indeed. It seems they have discovered Shakespeare's original playhouse. Not the more famous Globe Theatre, but the original building, simply called the "Theatre," Thus establishing the name "theatre" as a place to put on plays (the word itself is from the Greek, Theatron , which simply means "seeing place." Now, if only they could un-earth a copy of the Mauritanian King Juba's multi-volume history of Greco-Roman theatre that would be something spectacular indeed!

It's not a Grinder show, but we're helping out on it! An important show for Remembrance Day. Check it out. http://www.eloracommunitytheatre.com/Season/Lucky.html

Well, I'm back. It was a very long week, with two shows in production simultaneously. I'm proud to say that we came through both shows relatively hassle-free: kudos to all the people working on both shows who put in the time, effort and professionalism required to make these two events happen. While neither The Innocents nor A Bench in the Sun played to packed houses I'm happy to report that the combined box office returns of these shows means that Grinder will continue to live to bring another show to the stage. I'll have more to say on our upcoming shows in the days and weeks ahead, so stay tuned - the Grinder odyssey continues - and there's something even bigger coming around the corner...

I won't have a chance to get online to post next week because things are so busy, so I thought I should let you know now what's coming up: A Bench in the Sun: October 23rd, 24th and 25th at 8pm, 2pm matinee October 25th. Elora Centre for the Arts Tickets available by calling 519-780-7593, or clicking on the "Buy Tickets" link here on the blog. The Innocents: October 23rd, 24th and 25th at 8pm, 2pm matinee October 25th. Fergus Grand Theatre Tickets available by calling the box office at 519-787-1981. Note that both shows go up at the exact same times! That's why I'll be too busy to write blog posts. I hope to see you at both - but how can I be in two places at once!

I'm used to melancholy. I have no problem admitting that my life has been more failure than success, and that my early years were a very uneven time in my life - the usual joys of childhood coupled with inexplicable despair. I'm sure that were I child today I'd be quickly jacked up on ritalin or whatever other quick-fix pharmaceutical they are throwing at whatever I might have. In any case, if I did suffer from any ailment (a good chance of it - apparently over 70% of people working in the arts have a diagnosable mental condition - go figure) then I was left to suffer through it as best I could. Hence, I got used to melancholy. Fast-forward to adulthood (whatever that is) and suddenly I find that I can move beyond the things that made me unhappy when I was younger. Indeed, I have accomplished much: an education, published works, a career (albeit not a lucrative one as of yet), and I wake up every morning with no one to answer to save for my audience. All that, and the...

For Immediate Release The Grinder Productions/Stage 4 season at the Elora Centre for the Arts is back for another year, this time with a delightful romantic comedy about falling in love and aging gracefully—or something like it. A Bench in the Sun opens October 23rd at the Centre, and runs to October 25th. It features two “grumpy old men” Burt and Harold, living at Valley View Gardens, a retirement home with “No valley, no view, and a lousy garden.” Burt is the loveable curmudgeon, quiet, moody, dressed in pajamas, and happy to be simply left alone to read his newspaper. Harold, on the other hand, is flamboyant, impeccably dressed and can’t go a minute without doing or saying something to get Burt’s goat. The two men both have a history behind them, something in their past that they have to get cleared up, but neither one of them is quite ready to confront the other just yet. Luckily, into the picture comes Adrienne, a once very famous actress, now retired, but still very attractiv...

It's a bit of a stretch to make it through the week these days. You see, the world's greatest girlfriend works a fair distance away, so the only time I really get to see her is on the weekends. We tend to charge each other's batteries, and I'm always feeling pretty good by Sunday night. But then she's gone for another 5 days, our contact reduced to strictly professional (rehearsals) or just a brief phone call, so as not to use up too many minutes on the cell phone. Usually by Friday I'm not a pretty sight. It's had an effect on the company operations too - I find I now tend to be at my most productive earlier in the week, and after about noon on Wednesday (which it is as I write this) I don't find I come up with anything particularly profound, and I'm better served by tackling the more mind-numbing aspects of this job (re-arranging the office drawing is likely next on the list). This has been one of those phone call only weeks. It reminded me o...

I found this posting on the Theatre Ideas blog out of the US. A must-read for anyone who thinks that the only reason to be in theatre is to become a famous star. Politically, it's a little too far to the left for me, but still, please check it out - this is a much more reasonable, rational post than some of the other diatribes I've been reading lately. http://theatreideas.blogspot.com/2008/09/teaching-alternatives.html

Grinder Productions is assisting with the Elora Community Theatre production of Dr. Norman Craig's You're Lucky if You're Killed this November at the Fergus Grand Theatre. On Saturday, October 18th at 1pm we are have a set building and painting day at the barn. I would love to have as many Grinder people as possible out to this event, as well as several ECT people from the cast, as this is a great opportunity for members of each group (and some people are members of both groups) to get together, get their hands dirty and build a cool set for a very important community project. No experience necessary of course, but if you have power tools feel free to bring them along. There'll be plenty to do, don't be shy. Saturday, October 18th. At the barn. 1pm. E-mail grinder@grinderproductions.org for more info if necessary.

There's days I wish I were wealthy enough to play the stock market. These are not those days. No matter where you look, there's more and more doom and gloom about our immediate collective financial future. Now I'm not a financial expert, and I don't know exactly how bad things are going to get, or what outcomes we can expect from a prolonged recession. I do know that we have a business to run, one that is, at least on the surface, particularly at risk of falling through the cracks of a crumbling economy. I thought it would be a good idea to let all of you know that we do have a plan for ensuring Grinder Productions can weather the financial storm, and to tell you a bit about the strategies we are undertaking to ensure we continue down our path. Our plan consists of many things that we have already been working on. We'll continue to look for ways to reduce the number of male roles in our shows, so as to capitalize on the substantially larger talent pool of women...

There's an election going on in Canada right now, in case you hadn't heard (I don't know how its possible not to see it, but I guess some people miss it). Somehow, in an odd twist of events, the arts community (and its funding) is on the political radar this time around. All I want to do is to make sure that you are aware that funding for arts and culture is a significant component of this election, and I want you to examine for yourself the policies proposed by the various parties. Each party has different views and ideas, and this election represents a choice for those of us involved in all levels of the creative industry, about not just what we will receive in the way government support in the months and years ahead, but also the exact framework that such support will be delivered in. It is not now, and has never been, my perogative to use this blog as a forum for political discourse. If I want to espouse a political viewpoint, I'll start a political blog. So I...

Some years ago I read a review of a one woman show, the name of which long escaped me, about a ballet dancer and the incredible physical toll a career on pointe took on her body. Act 1 featured the writer/performer in her tutu, and her tales of a life in ballet seemed genuine enough. In Act 2, however, the costume was removed, and the audience was confronted with the naked form of a woman who had given her life to her art, and was able to see, in horrific, graphic detail, the scarring, the deformities, the anorexia and many of the other quite disturbing health problems this particular form of dance can give rise to. (I don't know whether or not this particular ballerina's experience is the exception or the rule, so please don't colour your view of the ballet based on my admittedly limited experience with it - perhaps the sort of issues that were allowed to develop twenty years ago are no longer tolerated today) Theatre is much like that poor dancer. She is old (older tha...

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