Grinder's Grumblings

Last post before the holidays - have a good one everybody, and I'll talk to you again next week! Merry Christmas!

Not much to report today - things are slowing down a bit for the holidays, I guess. A lot of stuff is coming down the pipe, though - we're getting ready to announce the 2010 season on January 1st, so I'm furiously working through what I need to do in order to get that ready. Watch for big things to be coming soon.

Happy solstice to my pagan readers! It's almost the end of the year - time to get a few things finished up. My posts this week will be brief, since many of you are already gone for the holidays, but also because I'm going to try my best to end 2009 the way I'd like to start (and stay) in 2010 - on track. I've got a lot of work to do!

I'm renovating the bathroom right now. More witticisms to report next week.

I don't think that I suffer from Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) yet it seems that with the onslaught of bitterly cold weather my personal outlook has taken a nosedive. The persistent cold certainly has a lot to do with it, as well as the inanities of actually trying to work outside in said cold. But I think more than that it's the realization that for me this is going to be another long, cold, isolating winter, one that I'll simply have to wait out before I can do a lot of the things I want to do with my life and Grinder Productions. Or perhaps its more sinister then that. Perhaps, just perhaps, I'm feeling so poorly at the start of this long winter not because of what's to come but because of what's already transpired. It was a very long year for me, with a few ups and a lot of downs, including a few cheap shots below the belt. What hurts the most though are the things that go unspoken, and the people who stay away. It's going to be a long winter, an...

I've tried to come up with some organic content to share with you this week, but I'm afraid that in the early morning fog I'm drawing a complete blank. Suffice it to say there is more and better material on the way - I'm writing at a furious pace in my more lucid moments. I want to take this blog higher in 2010 (and maybe actually start earning some revenue from it) and I know that it will start with creating a lot of witty, informative and entertaining content for you all to enjoy. Here's to next week!

Just a quick reminder that we still have Gift Certificates and Grinder Cards on sale - they make the perfect last-minute Christmas gift or the gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. Call 519-780-7593 or e-mail grinder@grinderproductions.org and get yours today!

Another Helium article that's proving popular - just click on the title to go to the aricle.

Since this is what I'll be doing most of the winter I decided to write an article about it for helium. Just click on the title of this post to read it - it seems to have struck a bit of a chord with the Helium audience.

Well folks, it looks like we've brought the curtain down on another season here at Grinder. With the final performance last Saturday night of Grinder and Friends we're now down until our open auditions in March. Congrats to everyone who was involved in this production for a fine performance. Now what will I ever think of to write about tomorrow....

This story will be published in 12 installments in the newsletter in 2010, as well as on the blog: Mackenzie Kern is a skinny 18 year-old with a Grade 12 education, a bookkeeper mother and a lay preacher father. At the end of her last year of high school her best and only friend Bethany moves to the city with her boyfriend, leaving Mackenzie all alone in her whistle stop hometown of Sheridan's Falls. Bored, broke and completely unsure of where to take her life next, Mackenzie gets a call from the Technical Director of the summer stock theatre troupe that has moved into the Lion's Hall for the summer. He's heard that Mackenzie helped out with the community theatre's production of The Grapes of Wrath last winter - would she like to come and be a part of the crew for a professional show? Thinking she's just been given a job offer Mackenzie readily accepts, but soon realizes that she's just a volunteer, and that these "professionals" aren...

Get your tickets at the door or here on the blog. So many people have worked so hard on this, so if you're looking for something to do this weekend we'd love to entertain you with this light-hearted family show.

Click on the title of this post to go to the December 2009 newsletter - chock-full of information about what we're up to this winter at Grinder

Refresh your browsers to see the latest version of www.grinderproductions.org. Please let me know thoughts, feedback, etc - and if you like what you see there's even a place to buy me a coffee! Click on the title of this post to go to the new version of the site.

It's Friday. I'm not very coherent by Fridays anymore - these 5:20am starts give my night owl brain a headache. So I'm trying to push things a little harder Monday to Thursday so that I can relax a little on Fridays, at least in the afternoon. I still won't be able to give up working completely - this is no mini-vacation - but if I play my cards right maybe I won't be caught trying to complete my hardest tasks on my weakest day. With that, it's Friday, and I've got way too much work to do. See you on Monday!

Grinder and Friends opens one week from today. Get your tickets by clicking on the "Buy Tickets: link in the sidebar.

One of the nice things about not having a lot of shows on the go right means that I have more time for focus on writing. Not as much as I'd like, of course, but for the first time in months I'm finally starting to feel like a writer again. My process is improving. I've abandoned the keyboard and returned to pen and paper for the buil of my creative work (though I still type most non-fiction work directly). It may be difficult for some people who think I'm quite immersed in modern technology to believe that I write with a ball-point pen and paper, but for me it seems that it's only when I put pen to paper that brain and hand work in harmony. I have to admit that my wrist is a little sore, as often happens when I've been away from writing for a while, and I'm flipping back and forth between messy printing and messy cursive writing. All the same it feels like I've come home as a writer, and that after much searching I've once again found the conduit...

I'm working on a few new opportunities to engage our members in 2010, to get more of the people who audition for us involved in more shows with us more often. Next summer we'll be adding three new series of programs to our Ennotville Season. The first will be a series of Children's shows, ten one-act plays for young audiences, using our younger members whenever possible. These plays will run on Saturday mornings throughout the summer. The second will also be an addition to our Saturday line-up with some short plays and musical entertainments, starting every day at noon. The lunch-time series will be a chance for our members to showcase some of their more specialized skills and talents. Finally, for selected weekends only we'll be offering an "after hours" series, with shows starting at 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights. These shows will feature language and content we wouldn't normally be able to bring you in our mainstage shows. So as you can see the...

The thoughts are difficult this morning - I'm on my second cup and I'm still search of this week's posts. I do have lots to tell you about the preparations for our upcoming season, but at this point in the process what needs to be done more interal than external, so there's only so much of interest that I can tell you right now. I should (and perhaps I will) give you some links to my recent articles on Helium, as I've put up a lot of good stuff there recently. Click on the link in the sidebar to go to my About Me page on the site. The Fergus Grand Theatre users collaborative meets again this week, so there could be some more good news on that front as well. No shortage of things happening, yet my creative juices abandon me. I guess I'll just have to meddle on through as best I can - check in tomorrow to see how we do.

In case you haven't heard there's an awful lot of theatre going on in Centre Wellington at the moment. The Elora Community Theatre, The Main Street Players, Climing Vine Productions and the Not So Grand all have shows coming up this fall, and the Vision Theatre's annual Agatha Christie play is going into rehearsals. And those are just the shows that I know about - there's probably a lot more. And yes, Grinder is conspicuously absent from the party. Sadly this is a necessary part of our revival, a retreat to the Ennotville Library, by far our most forgiving, most reliable venue and audience. With the economic situation being what it was there was just no way we could have afforded the Grand this fall, or taken a chance on more shows beneath the dancing elephants at the Elora Centre for the Arts (as we lovingingly refer to the ballet classes full of four-year-olds that practice in the room above us during our rehearsals and shows). But in a way we are there, at least i...

Give the gift of theatre this holiday season! Once again Grinder Productions is pleased to offer Gift Certificates for sale from now until December 24 th . Gift Certificates for a pair of tickets to any show in the Grinder season are just $24, a savings of $6 off of regular-priced tickets. Good for any show or any venue in the 2010 season. And for the true theatre lover on your list why not get The Grinder Card? $100 will get eleven admissions to any show in any venue at any time – a savings of over $5 per person per show! E-mail us at grinder@grinderproductions.org or call 519-780-7593 to place your order!

Do you have a band? A magic routine? Some trick-performing dogs perhaps? I'm looking for people who are interested in showcasing their talents in a series of lunchtime shows on Saturdays this summer at the Ennotville Library. I'm hoping we can do some short plays in that space as well, but I'd also like to give our members a chance to show the world their unique abilities. Have you been looking for the chance to let everyone know how talented you are? This could be the opportunity for you! E-mail me at grinder@grinderproductions.org and let's talk.

This story will be published in 12 installments in the Grinder Productions newsletter in 2010, as well as here on the blog: Mackenzie Kern is a skinny 18 year-old with a Grade 12 education, a book keeper mother and a lay preacher father. At the end of her last year of high school her best and only friend Bethany moves to the city with her boyfriend, leaving Mackenzie all alone in her whistlestop hometown of Sheridan's Falls. Bored, broke and completely unsure of where to take her life next Mackenzie gets a call from the Technical Director of the summer stock theatre troupe that has moved into the Lion's Hall for the summer. He's heard that Mackenzie helped out with the community theatre's production of The Grapes of Wrath last winter - would she like to come and be a part of the crew for a professional show? Thinking she's just been given a job offer Mackenzie readily accepts, but soon realizes that she's just a volunteer, and that these "professionals...

Another Monday morning, another batch of unexpected optimism. The world's greatest wife is heading out on a road trip this morning, so we actually got to sleep in a little bit. She's gone overnight Wednesday-Thursday so I don't know what I'll do to fill in the hours then, but for now it's actually light out while I'm writing this, so I guess that's helping me get this week off to a good start. Lots planned for this week, including a major component for the 2010 newsletter (more on that tomorrow) and the first step in a comprehensive clean-up and re-organization of the rehearsal hall. I also hope to make major strides in my writing this week, and finally get back up to where I'd like to be at Helium. But my biggest goal this week will be fleshing out the 2010 season. Once thought to be largely complete a number of new opportunities have recently come to mind that have me searching for suitable programming once again. These new opportunities have come ...

Grinder and Friends at the Ennotville Library Grinder Productions is pleased to present Grinder and Friends, a holiday variety show for the whole family December 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th at the Ennotville Library. After a long spring, summer and fall Grinder Productions will close its 2009 season with a show filled with music, laughter and plenty of Christmas cheer. “I’ve wanted to do a show like this for a long time,” says Eric Goudie, Grinder Productions Creative and Executive Director. “Variety shows are a lot of fun, both for the actors and the audience, because you never know what’s going to happen next.” The show consists of about a dozen members of the company performing in a variety of acts, including singing, dancing and story-telling. Two short plays will also be on the bill – August Strindberg’s “The Stronger” and an adaptation of O. Henry’s classic Christmas story “The Gifts of the Magi.” Rumour has it that there will even be an appearance by a jol...

Do you have what it takes to be a director? Have you directed other shows with other companies in the past and are looking for a new challenge? Do you want a unique opportunity to be a part of something amazing and help take Grinder Productions to new heights? If so, I want to hear from you. E-mail grinder@grinderproductions.org and let's talk about you directing a play for us in the 2010 season.

The world's greatest wife and I went swimming the past Sunday. I'm walking for about 90 minutes every weekday morning now. Lunch has become what used to pass for a 9pm snack and our suppers are looking more and more like culinary homages to portion control. Somehow, I'm on a health kick. It's not at the prodding of the world's greatest wife, oddly enough - she's from the fill-em-up-until-they-explode school of farm-table cuisine, so while she eats very sensibly herself she does sometimes worry that my plate isn't exactly heaping (or that when it is, I can't clean it). Sadly, as per every other health kick I've ever been on, this improved diet and exercise is having a negligible impact on both physique and energy levels - no "Biggest Loser" dramatic results for me. My only hope is that these incremental changes will, over time, make a quantifiable difference. Pass the soy burgers (not! - I'm going healthy, not crazy).

Another week begins and with it comes a flurry (0f new activity, that is). Here at the homestead we're busy getting ready for winter: putting up the bird feeder, putting away the lawn furniture and roto-tilling the garden one last time. the world's greatest wife tells me her citified co-workers marvel at her stories of country living - driving over snow-covered roads and feeding the chickens and other mundane minutiae that she and I take for granted. On the Grinder front two important projects are under way. The first one, obviously, is Grinder and Frinds, out holiday variety show. Rehearsals for the short play "The Gifts of the Magi" that will be a key part of the show are now going on, and this week much of the promotional aspects of the show will begin in earnest. The other big thing I'm working on are the preparations for our 2010 season. I' ve pretty much got the summer shows picked out and now I'm solidifying our plans for the fall, when I home ...

Yes, you too can be one of my tweeps! You can find me under the handle grinderpro Cheers!

The Actor's Toolbox

Here's a ton of links to my Helium Articles on Theatre - there's something here for everyone - enjoy! Articles on Acting: How to Create an Acting Resume Steps to Success in Acting How to Become a Broadway Actor Is show business in your child’s future? Are Great Actors born Talented? Articles on Shakespeare: How to Study Shakespeare The Importance of Excellent Diction when Performing Shakespeare Designing Sets for Shakespeare’s Productions Sexuality in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare The Performance History of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Effects of Shortening the plays of Shakespeare Theatre in Shakespeare’s Time Articles on Community/School Theatre: Theatre: Supporting your local arts scene Getting Involved in Community Theatre Why Theatres should join Community Organizations Key ways for teachers to Direct successful plays Why it is Important to Introduce Children to Live Theatre Articles on Theatrical ...

Click on the title of this post and get your tickets now!

I'm on a brand-new internet connection this morning! Thanks to the world's greatest wife needing a telecommuting option for the snowy days in the winter I'm working this morning on a new something-or-other stick that's much, much faster than dial-up. I have to be careful now not to go over our montly data amounts (or else it starts costing us more money) but the freedom to work anywhere (no phone line to hook up) and the luxury of actually being able to do things online without waiting all day has put me in a pretty good mood (oh yeah, and the extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning didn't hurt either). Newsletter will be out tomorrow, for those of you who may be wondering. This week I'm also working on updating the website - going to take another stab at the photo gallery (again, much easier without the dial-up) so if there's anyone out there who's got some pictures from a past Grinder Productions show and doesn't mind sharing them I would love to i...

No post today - Happy Halloween! And get ready for the bombardment around Christmas to get underway as of November 1st, with "Grinder and Friends" being front and centre.

I've been working on building the summer 2010 season over the past few weeks. Every time I think I've got it figured out I walk away from it and then come back to it and change my mind about something. I know that sooner or later I'll have to commit, but right now there's a lot of indecision. And there's plenty to be indecisive about. Last summer was (almost) a total disaster, with only the shows in Belwood amounting to anything approaching what I needed them to be (in terms of bums in seats - creatively it's a whole other ball game, one that sadly has little do to with play selection). It's absolutely essential that we avoid what happened in 2009. I've spent a lot of time analysing the causes of our collapse, both internal and external, and my preparations this year have been couched in making sure that as many of the factors that caused last year's failures do not happen again. I think I've got those specific problems taken care of, but as ...

Just a quick note to let you know that tickets are now on sale for "Grinder and Friends" our Christmas show at the Ennotville Library. Click on the "Buy Tickets" link in the sidebar to go to our site at Ticketleap.com and get your tickets today!

If you've been to see the new and improved www.grinderproductions.org (and I know you all have) you may have noticed the new "Actor's Link" that takes you to a page called "The Actor's Toolbox," a place where you'll find all sorts of information on being an actor, both theoretical and practical. I see The Actor's Toolbox as it stands right now as a first step, a rough draft. I'd like to add more information to it as time goes by, as well as adding other Toolboxes for Directors, Stage Managers, Designers, Technicians, Publicity People, etc - something for everyone who gets involved in the business of live theatre, amateur, professional or anywhere in between. Do you have a resource you'd like to share? A good website, blog or directory? I'm looking for quality information of a general nature, things that would be of value to all of us working in the business. I'm starting with acting, but I'd welcome anything else for consi...

Creativity is a fickle thing. If you're a regular reader here you may have noticed that it's been a while since I trumpeted my articles on Helium. It's been about a month since I put up much material of substance on the site, and after the hectic pace of things since the end of the summer season I haven't had as much time to write as I would have liked. I THINK that's all changed now, though I've said the same thing before. It seems that life is finally slowing down to break-neck speed (as opposed to super-sonic) and maybe, just maybe I'm starting to get ahead of a few things. Over the past few weeks I've finally gotten to a few nagging jobs around the homestead here, as well as some projects in the shop that I haven't had time to work on since the spring. Last week at the company I put up a major revision of the website (go to www.grinderproductions.org and check it out!) and the "Production Workbook" project is once again underway afte...

It's finally Friday. The first week "back to normal" has proved, as usual, to be exhausting. With the world's greatest wife still leaving for work so early (and it looks like once winter hits she'll have to leave earlier than ever before) it seems my usual day-by-day pattern of becoming increasinly less able to function as the week goes by is still intact. So I'm not likely to come up with much brilliance on Fridays. In fact I should consider myself lucky that I can post at all, as this is usually when, as it is this morning, that a good old-fashioned headache comes to ruin my day. Here's to the Advil, I guess. So what of Grinder this past week? Quite a lot, actually, though pitifullly little of it had much to do with our next show. Yes, I did get a little work in on Grinder and Friends, but the bulk of my time this week has been spent on the website, in the shop, and on a "Production Workbook" I'm creating for future directors. In the m...

Check out the new and improved www.grinderproductions.org. I'm still working on some portions of the site (past productions, photo gallery the Grinder Store have not been updated yet) but I've given the rest of the site a sleek new make-over that I hope everyone will enjoy. I've also added a couple of new pages, one for Hopeless Romantics, and an "Actor's Toolbox" - a collection of resources to help actors learn lines, build characters, etc, as well as a starting point to learn more about the various schools of acting that are out there. Please take a moment and click here to check it out, and send me your thoughts and opinions!

In another couple of days I'll be publishing an updated version of www.grinderproductions.org. I'm giving the entire site a clean-up and make-over, so that it's easier to read, better optimized for SEO value and quicker to update, in addition to a sleeker, more contemporary look, one that actuallly hearkens back to an earlier design and improves upon it. The biggest thing you'll notice about the re-vamped site will be the "actors" page, where I'm compiling resources for actors at Grinder Productions and anywhere else. In addition to information about the various schools of acting that are out there there's also lots of information about the basics: how to learn lines, what you should do in rehearsal, etc. I hope to build on the actors page in future editions of the website, so if anyone has any good resources that for actors that they wouldn't mind sharing please send them along and I'll include them in a future update!

The final show in the 2009 season at the Ennotville Library is Grinder and Friends, our family Christmas Variety show. This is a chance for people of all ages to come out and be entertained with a show that's a mixture of music, dance, drama, laughter and old-fashioned fun. At this time some of the highlights include: A one-act play, The Gifts of the Magi, based on O. Henry's famous tale of Christmas giving Christmas carols from some of Grinder's most talented vocalists, including, for selected performances only, Elvis impersonator Peter Schofield The world's greatest wife has also promised to perform a reading of her award-winning short story "The Santa Suit" And much, much more! And we've still got room for a few more acts - please let me know if you'd like to join us for this event and we'll be sure to squeeze you in! Grinder and Friends runs December 3rd, 4th and 5th at 8pm, December 5th at 2pm at the Ennotville Library. Call 519-780-7593 for ...

It's Monday. A big thank-you to everyone who's helped us out in the past two weeks with both Philemon and Baucis (aka By Jove) and Marriage is Murder. It's been a long and at times difficult two weeks, but I'm now happy to report that both shows are in the bag and Grinder Productions is back to doing what it does best - entertaining people. I have to admit, over the past few months I've been going through a bit of an identity crisis. I've been struck by just how much of who I am is wrapped up in what I do, and after the way the summer season came to an end I was beginning to openly wonder if I was still even able to do what I do (and I wasn't the only one - I think the knives were out for me in a few places). I think I have a better idea now what laid-off factory workers and the well-paid middle-managers who've been let go in this economy are going through. It's made me realize just how much I am defined by what I do, but also just how much I do l...

I guess one of the hotter topics amongst the online content community these days is coming up with a working definition of success. On the surface it seems easy enough - success defines itself, you're either successful or you're not. But for bloggers, writers, and other people who live in an online world success seems much harder to define. It also seems to be much more elusive than for people of the "bricks and mortar set," something more like the Quest for the Holy Grail rather than The Hudsucker Proxy (for all you fans of mediocre movies from the 80's). I guess we all see success in a different, personal, ultimately selfish way. Honestly, how many of us define our personal success as the eradication of war, poverty, disease and general human misery? Is the creation of a world without AIDS a marker of success for anyone who doesn't have AIDS or wasn't directly involved in the research required to make it happen? Conversely, how many of us see the dea...

There's a reason why they call it "Hell Week." And actually, "week" is a bit of a misnomer - back when I started doing this we actually had the better part of a week from the time we brought the show into the theatre to the time we actually saw our first audience. Later on it dropped down to a three days of madness followed by a few previews - an extended tech week but one that by definition had to come to an end by that Thursday night opening. Now, thanks to the ever-decreasing value of a dollar it seems like such a luxury to give ourselves a whole 48 hours to go from load-in to lights up. And another thing that's changed about tech week since I started doing this - it seems like there's a lot fewer people around. Used to be that it was an "all hands on deck" call for a load-in, and you pulled in the cast, crew and all the extra bodies that you could. Yesterday it was just me slugging in the flats and risers, as it is the vast majority of t...

Marriage is Murder Opens this Week! Jules and I are thrilled to invite you to our play. Click here to buy your tickets online, call to reserve at 519-780-7593 or get them at the door. Please join us for this unforgettable event! Eric and Jules

Congrats to Grinder life member Sandy Lai, who's landed a role in an upcoming web-based comedy series. Sandy appeared in the very first play we ever produced here at Grinder Productions, and I've always been impressed with her work. If I had high-speed you can bet I'd be tuning in every week, but at least I was able to see the trailer:

It's been another long week here at Grinder, but rather than simply waste your time ranting and complaining about my sore legs and groggy mind I thought it would be a bit more productive to try and write something of value to both you and me. So here goes... Does anyone out there know much about Acai? I've got the opportunity to write an article entitled "The Truth About Acai" and the publisher is looking for both the medically proven facts about Acai and the internet myths and scams that have been propagated about it. I'm looking for anyone who might have stories or info, good or bad, and if you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about and have never heard of Acai don't worry - I'll post the link to the article here as soon as it's written. Acting Tools. I'm putting together a new page for the website entitled "Acting Tools." I'm hoping to include relevant information on auditioning, voice and movement work and characte...

Well, I'm here. Usually the morning after a show closes I'm not feeling quite this tired. Well, maybe I do, but since shows generally close on a Saturday and I'm usually not moving too early Sunday morning anyways I just don't feel it as much. I'm certainly feeling it today though. We got through By Jove last night without any major hiccups, thanks in no small part to the dedicated efforts of cast and crew. Thank-you everyone for all your hard work! This morning though has brought a lot of stiff and sore muscles and I feel almost as drained as I did last night. I guess this show took more out of me than I realized. But now on to the next one - Marriage is Murder. You are all going to be there, right? Right? Tickets are available on the website. Speaking of the website, if you haven't visited in a while you might now notice that I've made a few small tweaks to a couple of pages. I'm in the process of doing a complete site overhaul, and I'd be h...

Calling all directors and wanabe directors out there! Grinder Productions is looking to expand its pool of artistic associates - people who are ready, willing and able to take on high-level creative projects for the company. If you are interested in: Becoming a producer for a Grinder Productions show, season or venue Directing a play Working as an assistant Director on a play Working on a play as a Choreographer, Musical Director, Fight Captain or other creative specialist ... then I want to hear from you! Directing a play (or doing any of these jobs) requires more time, effort and commitment than most of the other things we normally ask of our members here at Grinder, so obviously they're not for everyone. But for a special few, it can be the most rewarding thing they've ever done. I can't direct every play we do, so I need more artistic talent for our 2010 season. If you've directed with us before and would like to do so again just let me know and I'll find yo...

Yes, theatre has finally made it to outer space. And a Canadian was the first to do it, no less. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8281253.stm

It's cold here at castle Grinder this morning - getting out of bed wasn't a lot of fun, and while I think the furnace is good to go the world's greatest wife and I are holding out as long as we can for fear of the exhorbitant cost of heating oil (though I actually think the price is quite reasonable at the moment, so we should probably place our order soon before it goes up any further). So here I sit, cold and alone (even the cats have left for the morning), finally able to digest some of what I have been through in the last few days. The last week or so of my life has been lived in more or less of a daze. I can't go into the specific details of what has occurred, except to say that a number of people have done a number of things of their own accords (and not in concert with each other) that when taken together served to push me over the edge. I snapped. I lost control of my feelings, shed the usual stoic optimism that I've found to be essential for surviving in t...

Sorry to keep leaving little teasers like this. The car broke down, and I've been all day fixing it. Between that and driving all over the place trying to get wives and actors where they need to be there hasn't been much time for me to collect my thoughts. Tomorrow, with any luck...

I'm writing this in the middle of an electrical storm, and I don't really think I should be online at all right now, so just a quick note to let everyone know that I'm still here, alive and kicking before I shut down the computer. Once the storm outside my door and the storm inside my head clears there's going to be one mother of a rant coming in the next day or two. A few things have happened in the past few days that need some sorting out....

Well it looks like we've made it through another week. Unlike many of my previous posts, this one is in real-time, at 7:08 am on a Friday after a long, hard, exhausting week. This week was filled with much the same things as every other: insomnia, intermittent illnesses and more highs and lows than a lithium factory. Sometimes I think I'm living in the twilight zone. But through the usual fog this week has also come something a bit different, I think. Something that says to my "wait a minute. Something has changed." I finally rid my to-do list of the backlog of work that had been piling up since the wedding. Yes, there are still things to do, but for the first time it doesn't seem insurmountable. It looks as if it actually is possible to get through the day, do what needs getting done, and not fall asleep worried sick about everything that didn't get done. It's possible, just possible, that I might be getting caught up once again, or maybe for the f...

Here's a few of my latest articles on Helium - please check them out! How to use your blog to keep customers informed Recovering from a business failure The Negative Side of Blogging As you can imagine, these are topics that I've had a little experience with over the years... Would you like to write for Helium? If so, just send me an e-mail at grinder@grinderproductions.org and I'll invite you through the site's "Invite a Writer" feature. And as always, you can check out my all my articles and my newly-revised bio on my "About Me" page, available here .

It’s going to get a little intriguing in Ennotville this October. Grinder Productions is pleased to present Marriage is Murder, a mystery-comedy by Nick Hall as the first show of the fall and winter season at the Ennotville Library. This murderously funny comedy is about ex-spouses Paul and Polly Butler, two murder mystery writers that penned a few bestsellers when they were married, but have failed to make much use of their talents on their own. The secret to their success (and perhaps their marriage) was that they tested out the murders in their books… on each other! This play is filled with comic twists and turns right up to the very end. It is part murder-mystery, part farce and part reality, with both characters walking an extremely fine line between “acting” their murderous ideas and actually carrying them out. Starring in this show are Eric and Julie Goudie, in their first show together as husband and wife. While they may not share Paul and Polly’s animosity towards each o...

For Grinder and Friends, our Christmas show December 3rd, 4th and 5th at the Ennotville Library. Bring your talents and we'll work you in! Call 519-780-7593 or e-mail grinder@grinderproductions.org if you are interested in being a part of this event.

I went in to the Parks and Recreation Office the other day to request our dates for the 2010 season at the Belwood Hall. It's imperative that I get those bookings in well in advance so that we get the dates we want - even one year out there's still no guarantees that we'll get the dates we want. Yes, we will be back at the Belwood Hall in 2010. We'll also be at the Ennotville Library, with both a summer and a winter season to boot. We'll be back the Elora Centre for the Arts on October 6th for "By Jove!" a one-act dinner theatre show we'll be doing in conjunction with the Sensational Elora Festival, and I hope to book some more dates at the Centre for shows next year. With any luck we'll even be able to bring a show back to the Fergus Grand Theatre in 2010 (though I'm not ready to commit firmly to that just yet). It's true that Grinder has taken quite a few body blows over the last few months. We've weathered the worst of the econ...

Stole this off of a Facebook Profile. It's old hat to me, but nice to know The Technician's Bible is still being taught in post-secondary institutions the world over: Theatrical Logic: In is down, down is front Out is up, up is back Off is out, on is in And of course- Left is right and right is left A drop shouldn't and a Block and fall does neither A prop doesn't and A cove has no water Tripping is OK A running crew rarely gets anywhere A purchase line buys you nothing A trap will not catch anything A gridiron has nothing to do with football Strike is work (in fact A LOT of work) A a green room, thank god, usually isn't Now that you're fully versed in Theatrical terms, Break a leg. But not really.

It's been a rough few days here at Grinder. The world's greatest wife has been off sick all week, and she's not exactly a model patient, so I've spent a great deal of time looking after her and not nearly enough time looking after the company, let alone the blog. And now that she's just started feeling better I'm coming down with a variation of whatever it is she's had for the past few days. While I doubt my illness will be nearly as severe as hers (a few winters in a cold, cold rehearsal hall does wonders for your immunity) it is shaping up to be a week of trying to work through the congestion, runny nose and vomitting of your run-of-the-mill seasonal affliction (and no, we're not talking H1N1 here - I'm sure we'll get that the week before Christmas). And to top it all off, unlike the world's greatest wife, I don't get to call in sick, and if I don't work I just fall farther behind. So, there's a lot to be done this week; By Jo...

Grinder Productions is a member of the "Users of the Fergus Grand Theatre," a collaborative organization that has been brought together to oversee the application of the grant that was applied for and received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation this past summer. As a member of that group we are expected to undertake a share of the activities that are required to achieve the grant's outcomes, as assigned at regular monthly meetings of the collaborative. This month we have been tasked with generating a list of all the theatre groups in Wellington, Waterloo and Dufferin counties. This list includes community theatres, semi-professional groups, senior's drama groups and high school drama clubs and departments, in addition to other community-based organizations with a live performance component. Our reason for generating this list will be to ensure that the entire region will receive information about the extensive series of workshops that we are offering as part of thi...

Available here , folks. I've included a couple of wedding pictures this month as well, because apparently people want to see some. Enjoy!

It's that time again. Time for the most momentous un-official non-holiday of the year - the first day back to school. While few recognize it, and even fewer are willing to admit it, there's a societal sea-change afoot once the kids go back - routines become more established, the frenetic pace of summer fun is replaced with the mindless drugery of home and work, and families spend a little less time together. Even if you don't have kids there's an adjustment to be made - no more dropping by your buddy's place for a beer at 9pm - the kids are already in bed. So what does the return of mediocrity and subservitude mean for theatre? Well, for one thing it signals an end to the summer season, theatre's busiest time (at least in this country). While a few companies do spill their seasons over into September most are now gearing up for their fall seasons, a time that can be quite lucrative, or quite slow, depending on the venue. Most everyone will be looking forwa...

Yesterday was a day of quiet reflection. The world's greatest wife was home with a headache, so I spent most of the day tending to her and trying to keep the flood of worried callers pacified (she has quite a loyal fan base). I didn't really want to do too much work for fear of disturbing her, so it wound up being a day for some forward-thinking about where I'd like to go from here. And think I did. I'll spare you the fantasies - they were fun to indulge in, but ultimately well over the line into technically impossible. But once I got that out of my system I did manage to come to some fruitful conclusions: It's been a rough year. I can't stand it when other people blame the economy for their woes, and I don't feel right in saying the Great Depression of the 21st Century has been the cause of our malaise these past few months. Nonetheless, I am forced to admit that it has played a part, if only in people's mindsets. In 2010 though I don't thi...

Fall Line-up I’m pleased to introduce our fall line-up of shows here at Grinder Productions. While perhaps not as ambitious as some of our previous seasons, the three projects that we’ll be bringing to the stage between now and the New Year are key components in our economic survival and recovery plan. Philemon and Baucis By Audrey Haggard, based on a passage from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a part of Sensational Elora Directed by Eric Goudie One show only October 6 th at the Elora Centre for the Arts Marriage is Murder A murder-mystery comedy by Nick Hall Featuring Eric and Julie Goudie October 15 th , 16 th and 17 th at the Ennotville Library Grinder and Friends A Holiday Celebration December 3 rd , 4 th and 5 th at the Ennotville Library

I wrote this in a darkened Belwood Hall during Act 2 of Dress Code on Saturday night, the capping performance in our summer season: What a summer. I don't think I'll go into all the gory deatils - if you read this blog you're probably well enough aware of them. I keep looking for a fresh start here at Grinder, a new beginning, a Phoenix just waiting to rise from the ashes of this season. But it's on nights like this that I seem to understand that we're not on a simple yes/no track here - there are no fresh starts, just a single, multi-faceted, bifurcated world that is my life and the history of this comppany. A lot of old frineds came out of the woodwork to see Dress Code, but it wasn't like it was old-home week in Belwood. Things have changed. People have changed. I have changed, and as the run progressed I found myself filled with a pround sadness, an understanding that the shows that brought us all these old friends are now long gone, and with them the t...

The lights might shine a little brighter from now on at the Fergus Grand Theatre, thanks to a $41, 500 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The funding will be used over the next two years to address health and safety issues at the theatre through the delivery of workshops and volunteer training programs, as well as the replacement of aging stage draperies and hardware. Funds will also be awarded for marketing to support the development of a vibrant theatre community in Centre Wellington. This grant will be administered by a newly-formed collaborative, the User Groups of the Fergus Grand Theatre. The group, comprised of many of the Grand Theatre’s largest users, has come together in a spirit of cooperation, and seeks to improve not only the quality of the theatre itself but also the quality of the individual shows each group puts on stage. At this time, the members of the collaborative are the Elora Community Theatre, Wellington-Waterloo Playhouse, the Not So Grand Players, th...