Too Hot to Handle: Grinder Productions 2023 Season

Happy New Year!

It is with great pleasure that I announce today the threee projects that will make up the Grinder Productions season this year. Each project is outlined below, along with how it makes use of "my 25" - the name I've given to the group of people who will make up the Grinder ensemble in 2023. 

Project #1: The Dark Lady of the Sonnets

Okay, so this one isn't technically a Grinder show, but I'm including it here anyways, since it's going to take up a large chunk of my time, and I'll be bringing in company members to work on this project with me. The play, written by George Bernard Shaw, is an imagined conversation between William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, one night in 1599, about the pressing need to establish a National Theatre in England. We will be presenting it at the Fergus Grand on Monday, March 27th, as part of a larger event to mark World Theatre Day.  

This project will require the first 9 of "my 25," four actors and five crew. Some of these positions are already filled, but I'm still looking for a couple more people, onstage and off. Rehearsals will begin this month. 

Project #2: It's Getting Hot in Here!

This will be the signature event of our season. As per tradition, this summer we'll be going back to the Ennotville Library for a weekend of shows, but this year we're going to sell tickets. If you've been to one of our shows in the past you may remember that it can get a bit stuffy in the Library on those warm summer nights. This year the Ennotville Library Board has begun a process to replace the building's aging oil furnance with a newer, greener, more efficient HVAC system, ideally a "heat pump" that will provide warmth in the winter, and some measure of cooling in the summer. It's not air-conditioning, but it's something that would make our shows a lot more comfortable, and it's a cause I'd like us to support. Therefore, with the Library Board's approval, we're staging a weekend of shows with ticketed admission, with all profits going towards the purchase of the new equipment. We will be presenting plays from a book of 1-acts that I've pulled directly off of the library's shelves. 

This project will require the next 12 of "my 25," seven actors and five crew. Only a couple of these spots are already filled, but there are lots of opportunities to get involved on this one, and I'll take as many people as I can get. Please help us give a badly-needed and long-lasting gift to our summer home, so that the entire community, including ourselves, can enjoy it for years to come. Rehearsals for this show will  begin the last week of May, with performances taking place the middle of July. 

Project #3: Her Stories

The last project is the smallest, but it is a special one. In 2022 I wanted to present a second weekend of shows at the Library that featured all-women casts, but we simply didn't have the time or resources to bring it together. This year I'm determined to make it happen. I love writing roles for women, and I love watching women bring the roles I've written to life onstage. The first two projects in this season are sure to be a lot of fun, but they are ostensibly for the benefit of others. Her Stories is for me, and what I need to do in order to grow as a writer and a director. I haven't really given myself the space or the permission to do that in a long time. 

For this show it will be back to the usual Ennotville format - several small plays, ensemble cast, invite-only audience, tickets are free but donations are welcome. I need three women between the ages of 18 and 45. They, along with Jules as my stage manager, are the last four spaces in my 25. Rehearsals will run concurrently with the other Ennotville Show, also starting at the end of May. 

So that's the Grinder 2023 season, at least for now. As always, I remain open to additional projects, collaborations, and other opportunities to put on plays, and I can think of at least two things that might happen that would warrant putting on another show, though I need to be careful not to stretch myself too thin. That being said, the rehearsal hall is calling...

Interested in getting involved, and being a part of the 25? Shoot me a message at grinderwriting12@gmail.com, and I'll find you a fit!

Happy New Year!

Eric