Grinder's Grumblings

How I spent my Saturday Night - rockin' out at the SPARC Conference in Prince Edward County, Ontario with "That's What She Said" A few days ago I realized that I'd missed last month's posting window - I usually try to get something out around the middle of the month when I'm not in shows. So it's been a while since my last post, and it's been a while since I last actually wrote anything of any substance.  It's not that I haven't written - I have - just not as much and not with nearly the reckless abandon that produces some of my best work. I've been in a bit of lull since the summer, and the ideas haven't come as thick and fast as they usually do. Into the void has stepped, well, life, and I've been busier than ever doing a lot of things that are really important, but that don't always leave time or space for my own creativity. Time to change that, I suppose. I am pleased to report that ideas for t...

It's taken me a couple of days longer than it should have to write this post - I had intended to post this Sunday night, but the stifling heat had other plans, making things like sleeping, eating, and thinking in complete sentences very difficult. Today the heat finally broke, and with the cooler temperatures my ability to be productive, however tenous, has returned once again.   Regular readers of this blog will recall that when I started this year's journey we were in yet another lockdown. I hated those days, as I'm sure many of you did too, but the one thing I had too look forward to, naively so or not, was the chance to get back to making some theatre this summer.  Preparing for an event that you aren't sure is going to go ahead has become a soul-destroying leap of faith for people in our industry, but this summer many things that were planned to happen actually happened, and you could almost hear the sigh of relief coming from producers as patrons arrived. Yes, the...

It's been a lonely couple of weeks in the rehearsal hall since the end of my last play. Devoid of actors, sets, etc, I've been playing to the barn cats (who are the most fickle of critics) as I try to do something I've never done before. It's been an interesting process to say the least, not simply due to being alone in what is usually a collaborative space. This show is all about digging up bones.  I knew this might happen when I wrote this play. For all my ability to look back now and laugh at all of the stupid things that I've done over the years, and laugh at myself about all the things that I thought were so important, it has still meant disturbing a lot of things that were buried in my past: shamings, regrets, missed opportunities, and times when I simply failed at life. And it's not just the stuff that's in the play that tortures my mind - there's some doozies that actually didn't make the cut, things that will only ever come out in the "...

Ennotville 2022 is a wrap! We had a great summer at the Library - just what I needed. Thank-you to everyone who came out, actors and audiences alike, for helping me bring a little magic back into my life. Last summer it was just about doing what we could, in spite of the pandemic. This summer it was about moving on, and setting the stage for the future. I'm not quite sure yet what shows I'd like to bring to the Ennotville stage in 2023, but whatever I do I will be starting from a better place, artistically, than I have been in a long time.  So my attention now fully turns to my solo project, "Have You Flogged Your Crew Today?"  I've just come in from a much lonelier, much hotter rehearsal hall than I've been used to, after an intensive night of turning the words on the page into words (and playable actions) in my head. That's right - even if you write the show you still have to memorize your own lines, and do the work to bring your own script to life. It...

We're almost there. This week, after eleven months of planning, pining, and pulling what's left of my hair out, we return to the good old Library for another installment of this... thing... that we do. The set is mostly finished, the props are mostly done (as is Jules' patience with them), the actors mostly know their lines (for whom Jules' patience is infinite, and unwaveringly creative). Even the audience is starting to fill up, so if you haven't gotten your seats already please let us know as soon as you can. Even Clementine seems to want us to get this show on the road: Even so, I still find myself running through nightmare scenarios in my head. There's the elephant in the room, of course - one positive rapid test and we're doomed. The 7th wave is now well underway - will mask mandates be back by Friday? Public health measures aside, there's also the weather - rain for the load-in is a problem, rain for the strike is a safety hazard, or a punishing h...

The summer of changing plans continues - if last year was all about the art of the possible when it came to my Ennotville shows, this year it's all about the art of the limitations. I know, I promised myself (and you) that from now on I was making theatre without limits. And I tried. But the thing about limits is that they're not all self-imposed. There are physical, structural, mathematical barriers in place that inhibit my ability to make limitless theatre.  So therefore, it is with a very heavy heart that I've been forced to cancel the second week of shows this summer at the Library, because I simply don't have the time, the money, or the actors that I need in order to pull it off.  My first week of shows remains unaffected - in fact rehearsals are going great...  ...even if some of the plays are coming into focus a little better than others... but as much as I wanted to do the second week of shows there's just no way that I can make them happen. I had attempted ...

  The rehearsal raccoon is back. Our old nemesis is helping himself to the garbage cans, opening the securely-fastened compost bin, and licking his lips as he peers into the pen of three week old chickens. So far the stellar acting (and the ever-on-guard cats) have kept him far enough away from rehearsals to be no more than a minor distraction, yet he remains, lurking in the background, ever-ready to throw a wrench into our methodical, carefully-timed plans.  It's been an excellent run of rehearsals to date, all furry critters considered. The cast are coming together well, and the five shows are starting to take on a life of their own, beyond simply what's written on the page, and it means that the actors are finding meaning in (and taking ownership of) their characters. I can hardly wait to see what they look like once the lines are down.  I, unfortunately (or fortunately?), have been the weak link so far. I've been fighting a bitter cold for most of the past week, and i...