Grinder's Grumblings

[Insert Press Release and reh photos from Dress Code] Upcoming Shows At the Ennotville Library: Commedia! - A Comedy A scripted revival of a scenario from this hilarious Italian genre July 23rd—August 8th Vaudeville - A Variety Show Join us for this throw-back to the show-stopping comedians of yesteryear! August 13th—August 29th At the Belwood Hall: 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress *A comedy by Alan Ball, Directed by Stacey Ingham July 30th, 31st, August 1st Dress Code A new play by Eric Goudie, Directed by Becky Branton August 20th, 21st and 22nd All shows , dates and venues subject to change. *Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Just a quick reminder that our held-over production of 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress re-opens tonight for 3 shows only at the Belwood Hall. If you missed the chance to see this great show the first time around don’t make the same mistake again! Call 519-780-7593 for tickets, or get them at the door. Upcoming Shows At the Ennotville Library: Commedia! - A Comedy A scripted revival of a scenario from this hilarious Italian genre July 23rd—August 8th Vaudeville - A Variety Show Join us for this throw-back to the show-stopping comedians of yesteryear! August 13th—August 29th At the Belwood Hall: 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress *A comedy by Alan Ball, Directed by Stacey Ingham July 30th, 31st, August 1st Dress Code A new play by Eric Goudie, Directed by Becky Branton August 20th, 21st and 22nd All shows , dates and venues subject to change. *Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

Tomorrow night at the Ennotville Library I’ll be launching into week two of Commedia, my solo version of a classic scenario from the Commedia Dell’Arte. Please come and see it. I’d love to actually see if I can perform this play, and there’s only one thing that I need in order to do that – you! Upcoming Shows At the Ennotville Library: Commedia! - A Comedy A scripted revival of a scenario from this hilarious Italian genre July 23rd—August 8th Vaudeville - A Variety Show Join us for this throw-back to the show-stopping comedians of yesteryear! August 13th—August 29th At the Belwood Hall: 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress *A comedy by Alan Ball, Directed by Stacey Ingham July 30th, 31st, August 1st Dress Code A new play by Eric Goudie, Directed by Becky Branton August 20th, 21st and 22nd All shows , dates and venues subject to change. *Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

We are still in desperate need of people for our upcoming productions! Between summer, the economy and a whole host of mysterious factors it seems that people are shying away from getting involved like never before. Help us stop the bleeding! This is your chance to shine! At Grinder Productions it never matters whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a fresh-faced rookie – all are welcome. But there’s never been a better time than now to get involved in a show with us, as there are many, many parts that must be played. It won’t always be this good – take advantage of this excellent chance to show us what you’re made of. Interested? Call 519-780-7593 or e-mail grinder@grinderproductions.org. Upcoming Shows At the Ennotville Library: Commedia! - A Comedy A scripted revival of a scenario from this hilarious Italian genre July 23rd—August 8th Vaudeville - A Variety Show Join us for this throw-back to the show-stopping comedians of yesteryear! August 13th—August 29th At the Belwood Hall: 5

The August Newsletter is now available – a bit early, but chock-full of important information on upcoming shows. Check it out right here! Upcoming Shows At the Ennotville Library: Commedia! - A Comedy A scripted revival of a scenario from this hilarious Italian genre July 23rd—August 8th Vaudeville - A Variety Show Join us for this throw-back to the show-stopping comedians of yesteryear! August 13th—August 29th At the Belwood Hall: 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress *A comedy by Alan Ball, Directed by Stacey Ingham July 30th, 31st, August 1st Dress Code A new play by Eric Goudie, Directed by Becky Branton August 20th, 21st and 22nd All shows , dates and venues subject to change. *Produced by Special Arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

In keeping with this summer’s themes of abandonment and unfulfilled obligations I’m now pleased to invite you to the original monodrama entitled Commedia, opening this Thursday at the Ennotville Library, and running until August 8th. After the few people who had committed to this project decided to drop out I was faced with a conundrum – how could I produce a show without any actors? More importantly, how could I maintain what little momentum that I had going this season in Ennotville, and stave off a financial disaster that would almost certainly force the company into insolvency? Well I did what I often do whenever I’m faced with a seemingly impossible situation – I went for a long, long walk. When I see the open road roll out before me like a an empty draughtsman’s table I begin to see the totality of whatever it is I’m dealing with. Away from the phone, the e-mails, and the resources on my hard drive I begin to see the problem as it exists in my mind, as opposed to anyone else’s

They’re coming ba-a-ack…..! 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress , the hit comedy by Alan Ball that took the Belwood Summer Theatre by storm is coming back. Grinder Productions has secured the play for a limited three-show engagement July 30 th , 31 st and August 1 st at the Belwood Lions Hall. 5 Women has played to rave reviews the world over, and last weekend’s production was no exception. From the raw, powerful emotions of each of the characters came joke after gut-busting joke. The play’s universal themes of love, faith and the need to reach out struck a chord with so many people that Grinder’s Creative and Executive Director Eric Goudie felt he had no choice but to bring the show back. “Pink! Pink! Pink!” yells Goudie enthusiastically. “I don’t know what it is about this show – maybe it’s the girls, maybe it’s the guy, or maybe it’s the dresses, but something about this show has gotten through to a lot of people. We’ve faced a lot of difficulties this season,

Because of the confusion surround when the kids go back to school this September I've decided that summer will last for one more week. On September 3rd, 4th and 5th at the Ennotville Library we'll be presenting a one-week run of a very special pair of shows. They are called Hitchin' at the Junction, and The Heart of Eden. These are two shows that I have been wanting to bring to the stage for a long, long time in full-blown productions. Heart of Eden has had a few tentative starts as a staged reading (and I've made a few tweaks to it along the way) but fate has conspired against us whenever we have wanted to bring these shows forward. Now the time is right to do them. I think you'll really enjoy these two little shows. Hitchin' at the Junction is a "gay-nineties" melodrama-type show, with lots of cheering on the hero and booing the villain. The Heart of Eden is a heart-warming romantic musical comedy. Both of these shows are part of a larger projec

It's finally here! 5 Women has been the most talked about show this season in Belwood, and I can't think of a better way to get our season there rolling. Director Stacey Ingham and her cast have put together a wonderful show for you, and it's only running for three days, so please make sure you get out to see this one before it's gone. Call 519-780-7593 for tickets, or get them online at www.grinderproductions.org. You can take your chances at the door at well, but hopefully not for too much longer!

Just a quick note today to let you know we're just one week away from Commedia, the third show in our Ennotville Summer Theatre season. I'm really looking forward to this one - it will never be the same show twice! Call 519-780-7593 for tickets, or get them online at www.grinderproductions.org.

The third and final show in our Belwood Summer Theatre season is a Grinder Productions world premiere. Dress Code is a play set in a totalitarian future, where all forms of personal expression through fashion have been banned, and everyone is forced to wear the same generic, government-approved clothing. A few teenagers form an underground resistance to the Draconian dress laws staging fashion shows in secret, learning from each other about the clothing of days gone by, and guessing at what uses these strange garments might have had to the people of the early 21st century. Hanging over their every movement is the threat that The Fashion Police, the armed gangs of thugs who brutally enforce the Dress Code, will come barging through the door and arrest them at any minute. If George Orwell had a sense of humour, this is the play he would write. It's light-hearted and, at least by today's standards, incredibly innocent, but it carries some important messages about tolerance, div

The second show in our "Dress-up" Season at the Belwood Summer Theatre is a bit of an enigma. I've avoided talking about it too much as we're having issues with the royalties people getting back to me (for some reason they aren't picking up e-mails sent to multiple different addresses - now I'm playing long-distance phone tag), but here's the synopsis from the website, just to give you a hint about what this play holds in store: The Lovejoys have named their sons "Jesse," "Francis" and "Vivian," because Mildred's Aunt Jessie doesn't like boys. Aunt Jessie lives in England, so it has been easy to deceive her. She must never know that the "girls" who are to inherit her money are boys—very real boys. They "scrap" with Chester Wattles, are accused by Mrs. Wattles of breaking her windows, and act as other boys do. Each will receive $5,000 on his sixteenth birthday, and more when he comes of age. Vivian

Finally Friday. After what has seemed like a long, perilous and exhausting week we are finally rolling over into the weekend schedule. Both the world's greatest wife and I are feeling the pinch - she was so tired that she staggered out the door this morning with tears in her eyes - and they're making her work so late tonight she may not even be back in time for the 8pm curtain. By the sole virtue of her predicament, I look like I'm doing a little better (consumed though I am with the guilt and sadness of being unable to alleviate her suffering), but I find myself barely able to keep up with the day - I can only think a few seconds ahead, and it's hard to form any sort of coherent thoughts for an extended period of time. My morning cup of java is certainly helping, but I think it will be about 5pm before I roll out of bed on Sunday - if I decide to get up at all. And all this in the middle of July. This should be a time to relax a little, spend some time with friends

Well, I've made it to Thursday - almost. Woke up with a pounding headache this morning - undoubtedly due to sleep deprivation and stress, even though yesterday's very productive meetings have proved to significantly decrease, not increase, the stressful items on my plate. Nevertheless, it's still too early for the Advil to kick in, so I'm just struggling through it as best I can. Tomorrow will, with any luck, be the last of my "real-time" early morning posts. Next week I'll hopefully have these written ahead of time, and I can speak in more eloquent terms about our new marketing staff, updates from the rehearsals of our various and sundry shows, the opening of 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress, and a very special announcement about what's coming to the stage in the not-too-distant future here at Grinder Productions. So I hope you'll forgive this week's foggy musings - I'm really not at my best in the mornings. Now I think I might go and lay

This morning's grogginess is all about Belwood, and our first show of the Belwood Season opening next week, Alan Ball's 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress. Our performance weeks in Belwood are unlike any other in the company. Situated in one of the farthest reaches of Centre Wellington, Belwood is a bit "out of the way" for both actors and audiences, and we have to work especially hard to make sure that our out-of-town patrons make it to the show on time. Even for many locals, making the "trek" out to Belwood is something of an event. It's all enough to make for just a hint of the exotic in the air. And visiting Belwood isn't just about coming to a play. When we're out there it's too far to go home for supper, so we quite often wind up at the Belwood Super Snax or the Highland Pines in between shows and rehearsals. We'll go for ice cream at the general store and the go and watch the teenagers diving off the bridge, the boaters racing up

The real-time posts continue this morning, as it's 6:47am and I've already been up for over an hour. It's a very good thing I'm very much in love with my wife. If there were ever any doubts about my faithfulness, I should think getting up at 5:30am after a 25 years of being a night owl should lay them to rest. I have all the respect in the world for people who are productive at this hour of the morning. I am not one of those people, nor am I likely ever to be. My body clock is so hard-wired to be at the top of my game for an 8pm curtain that these past eight months have comes as shock treatments to my system. So with that caveat, I launch into my musings for today. This time I'm going to need your help. I'd like to take greater advantage of the woefully under-utilized comments feature here on blogger, and get some of your opinions on the casting conundrum that seems to perpetually plague our company. If you were in my position, what would you do to "get

Eric Goudie is a freelance writer and theatrical entrepreneur enjoying a rich, diverse and fulfilling career as a creative person in the arts. As a teenager, Eric had a poem published by the Poetry Institute of Canada, and was a recipient of the Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Award for Fiction. He wrote, produced and directed his first play, "To Be a Friend" while still in high school and participated for two years in the Lions Club Effective Speaking Contest, each time advancing to the pronvicial finals in his age category. After earning his undergraduate degree in English and Drama from the University of Guelph Eric started Grinder Productions, realizing his dream of running his own theatre company. His first play was an original production called Seeing Red, or the story of Little Red Riding Hood your Mother didn't tell you, which was subsequently published as part of the Canadian Amateur Playwrights Catalogue through Questex Consulting Ltd. Since then Eric has g

It's a real-time blog post this morning - no carefully pre-written articles today, just me and my groggy, caffeine-slurping self at 7:04am on a Monday morning. I have to admit, last week was a bit of a wash-out. I wouldn't go so far as to call it the worst week in the history of the company, but it came pretty darn close. Suffice to say it wasn't pretty, and I was in a pretty foul mood by Saturday night, and it's been only thanks to a week of TLC from the world's greatest wife that I have been able to drag myself out of bed this morning and get back to the grindstone. So by virtue of last week being so bad, this week almost certainly must be better. If nothing else I feel a bit better about it already, and that has to help the entire process along. But with any luck this will be the week that a multitude of smaller projects that have been on the go for some time will finally coalesce into some larger results - results that will both make my job easier and increa

I'm seething with rage this morning. I've just lost another actor. One who had already committed. One who was in it for the long haul. One I was starting to trust. One who would have stayed if there had been more actors around him, more people who had said "Yes - I want to be in this play too." Can I blame the guy? Well maybe, maybe not, but I won't. I'm not mad at him. I'm mad at myself. I'm filled with hatred for the way in which I can't seem convince people to do something that they already love to do. If I could torture myself, coerce my being into forcing out of me whatever this defect in me is I would do it, no matter what the pain. But I've been through that pain. I've searched deep within myself, and I have found many answers, just not the one for this particular problem. I'm tempted to lash out, to simply throw my hands up and scream "What is wrong with you people!" but I know that isn't the answer. After

We need an audience. Check this out - it's a great piece of reader's theatre - something you won't get to experience very often.

... I'm spending it with the wife! More witticisms coming tommorrow - I'm sure of it. Grinder