Grinder's Grumblings

Greetings from Grinder Productions! On behalf of Julie and myself I want to wish all of you all the best this holiday season, and to say thank-you for all that you have done to help us make Grinder Productions such a glowing success over the past year. We've come a very long way, with 16 productions in 2008, over four venues. The next year promises to bring even more productions, with new and exciting challenges, including our newest division, Hopeless Romantics. I hope you'll join us again in 2009, be it onstage, backstage or in the audience. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays, Eric Goudie Creative and Executive Director Grinder Productions

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this show a success! We played to one of the largest total audiences Grinder has enjoyed in a run at the Grand in quite a while, and that was due to the hard work and dedication of the cast and crew, who went above and beyond both onstage and off, and ensured that busy schedules, a fridgid rehearsal hall, no production budget and chronic casting maladies didn't get the show off-track. Everyone worked hard to get the word out about the show, sell tickets, and they were well-rewarded for their efforts. On behalf of myself and the world's greatest fiance, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you everyone.

Just a quick reminder - you can get Gift Certificates and Grinder Cards directly from me, and books and plays at our online storefront on lulu.com. Also, I'll be offering up Acting Lessons in the new year to anyone who's interested, as well as teaching an improv course at the Elora Centre for the Arts. Give the gift of Grinder this Christmas, and let someone else know how great it to dare to be different!

Just a quick note to let you know that Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates, opens this evening at 8pm at the Fergus Grand Theatre, and runs Friday and Saturday at 8pm, with a 2pm Saturday matinee. Tickets are $15 adult, and $5 for children, and are available by calling the Fergus Grand Theatre box office at 519-787-1981. This is a show the entire family can enjoy, so come one, come all and take in a little bit of holiday magic.

Never let it be said the Canadian Theatre business is as backwards as the Canadian Telecommunications business! After many days of wrangling with the powers that be Grinder Productions is now connected to the outside world once again. We're now comfortably ensconced in the tiny 19th century farmhouse on the property, and it is from here that I will endure the painfully slow speed of dial-up to bring you most of my posts from now on (sorry, the vblogging is going to have to wait until they get DSL out here). While I've been offline the company has been very, very active, getting ready for Hans Brinker, our holiday family production. Tickets are moving quite well for this show, but please, please do try to make it out to see it at some point this weekend if you are able. The cast and crew have really worked hard on this one, and we've gained a lot of fresh faces to the company that I hope we can work with again on future shows. On top of that, the show itself is a lot of f...

I've been reading Benjamin Johnson's What's the Deal with being an actor? posts over on the Theatre is Territory blog, where he tries to give professional English-speaking thespians some tips on taking their chances on the Tokyo theatre scene. He is quick to point out the "culture shock" that us over-coddled Westerners should brace ourselves for, and there's definitely a twinge or two of dismay in his voice when he talks about some of the working conditions over there, and how ordinary Japanese, for the most part, simply seem to sit there and take it. He takes particular issue with the "the culture of unfair business practices towards artists (and employees in general)" and that particular phrase was enough to toast my cookies (as the world's greatest fiance is so fond of saying). As my Grade 8 French teacher, an immigrant who had escaped the poverty and political oppression of his native Haiti, was so fond of saying to us - Who said life was ...

Just a quick note to say thank-you to everyone who came out to help us with this year's Santa Claus Parades, and a big thank-you to everyone who came out hear Poverty Anonymous at the Elora Centre for the Arts this past weekend. Every little bit truly helps!

The Grinder Card – A Great Gift Idea for the Theatre Lover on Your List! The Grinder Card is a perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list, and for anyone who simply loves live theatre. It works just like a season ticket, but instead of being tied to a specific venue or series of shows it is tied only to the person holding the card. The $100 card is good for ten admissions to any Grinder show, in any venue, at any time. You only come to the shows you want, when you want, where you want. Come alone and use one admission, or bring a date and use two, it’s up to you. The Grinder Card. It’s fast, easy and it never expires. Available by phone at 519-780-7593 or via e-mail at grinder@grinderproductions.org. Gift Certificates – Yes, we still do gift certificates! Available for a pair of tickets (or more) to a show, event or season these start as low as $30. Available by phone at 519-780-7593 or via e-mail at grinder@grinderproductions.org. Scripts and Books – Grinder main...

I'm starting off this week with the most important news of all - Hans Brinker is going great! The cast are getting their lines memorised, the technical apsects are finally starting to come together, and best of all, wait for it... tickets are starting to sell! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have a show that makes lots of advance sales. Even when it's just orders waiting in the drawer it's a great boost to the confidence and enthusiasm of the cast and crew (not to mention yours truly) to know that there are people out there who've made a choice to take time out of their lives to come and see the show that we are working so, so hard on. Thank-you to everyone who has purchased their tickets already. But if you haven't gotten the tickets yet, what are you waiting for! Why put up with the rush at the box office at ten minutes to curtain, when you can phone in your order to the box office at any time (the phone number is 519-787-1981). Walk-in hours at...

Audition Information As promised, January will bring another round of Open Auditions for the company. The next newsletter will have more comprehensive information on times and places (we’re still trying to confirm availability), but nonetheless I would like to toss out the information to you here and now so that you can begin to think about taking the plunge with us in 2009. These auditions are divided into several categories, based on age, past experience with Grinder Productions, and the sort of shows you are interested in auditioning for. General Auditions – These are open to newcomers to Grinder Productions of any age who have not auditioned for us before, or worked with us on a show. We will audition in age-divided groups of about ten people at a time, and these will be “cold-read” auditions – ie you will be given a monologue or partnered with someone else for a short scene and asked to deliver it. We’ll also play some theatre games to break the ice, and maybe an improvisation o...

Winter 1-Acts As many of you are likely aware, rehearsing in the wintertime presents a few challenges for us at Grinder. Without a year-round rehearsal facility it’s very difficult to put on large plays over the winter months. In response to that this January we’re going to put on several smaller “1-Act” plays that can be rehearsed in smaller locales and then brought together the week of the performance. One-act plays are unique shows unto themselves, and are often a chance for new actors or directors to sharpen their skills. It is a chance to bring some rarely-performed works to the stage, ones that we normally couldn’t consider for production. Things are still early, so watch for more coming soon.

I've had a just a few "issues" pulling this one together, but it is finally ready. It's changed quite a lot from what the format I originally set out to do - it's gone from a spiritual meeting to a Toni Robbins-type personal power tape: a one-act radio drama. What hasn't changed, though, is the substance of the piece. It's full of gentle satire and my very weird vocal characterisations, and will hopefully make us all a little more thankful for our relative financial good fortune, even in these difficult times. It runs this weekend at the Elora Centre for the Arts, admission is by donation, and the whole show should only last about 30 minutes, so it's a real "quickie." I hope to see you there!

Here's the December newsletter . Don't worry, this is the real deal this time - we've fixed the bug in website that was causing you to get the page with last month's newsletter on it. This month's edition is chock-full of information about shows near and far - and some audition information as well, so make sure you check it out!