Grinder's Grumblings

  What a ride! This past weekend we transformed the Ennotville Historical Library into Handlebar Dan's House of a Old Wives, a Sarsaparilla Saloon and the setting for one of the largest shows we've ever staged in this intimate little venue. This "Gay 90's" melodrama drew capacity crowds at both performances, enthralling audience members young and old (and I really mean that - some of the biggest reactions I saw were from the "too cool for old school" teenagers).  I'd like to thank everyone who took part in this play, with a special thanks to my assistant director Mya, who stepped into the role of Sally Simple at the 11th hour, and of course to Jules, the world's greatest stage manager and world's greatest wife, who stepped into the role of Gertrude Gretchen Gwillimbury at the 11th and a half hour, performing through injury.  This is the sort of play that I hope is done somewhere again. It already has had a staged reading in Georgia, in additi...

The Cast of Electra Calista Alison - Chorus: Normally starring in backstage crew roles, Calista is beyond thrilled to be making her stage debut in Electra! She is so grateful to Eric, and Grinder Productions for this opportunity, mentorship and trust. Big thanks to the cast for their kindness and support! Gareth Roberts - Orestes:  Gareth is a recent graduate of UTM’s Theatre and Drama Studies joint program with Sheridan College, now enjoying taking opportunities to branch out across acting, writing and plenty of new artistic challenges. He hopes you’ll enjoy tonight’s performance, and asks that theatre audiences always continue to push themselves in their engagement with art; being curious, making connections, and of course letting it change them! Credits include  Twelfth Night as Sir Toby ; The Devised Project: The New Dress and Miss Milan/Ensemble; The Alchemist as Lovewit; The Play that Goes Wrong as Trevor. Cassandra Hunt - Farmer, Old Man, Messenger, Clytaemnestra, Ca...

  Introducing the Cast of Dirty Deeds at Handlebar Dan's House of Old Wives: Looking innocent, but really not, is John Dibben, playing the dastardly villain, Munro "Moneybags"  Maclean. The Villain. Again. Type cast or great acting? Only his family knows for sure. Villains: Mr. Potter, Scrooge, Shylock, Big Daddy, Malvolio, Hermann van Daan… Just to name a few. Nice Guy’s: Selsdon Mowbray. That’s it. Not so Nice Guys: Capt. Frank Burns (Mash), Paul (Hayfever), Paul (Murder at the Howard Johnson’s), Father (Having Hope at Home). He's sure there’s more but he's out of space. Wondering who farted (but pretty sure it was John) is Michelle Salmon, playing the feisty French Maid Fifi. Michelle has been involved in theatre in one way or another, in the surrounding community for over 35 years. Her passion is acting, specifically taking on comedic character roles. She is thrilled to share the character of Fifi with you. A few favourite lines from the show (only one of whic...

  For the past few months my go-to bedtime reading was the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. As part of my decades-long quest to slay the demons from my misspent youth, ploughing through this weighty tome has been on my to-do list for quite some time, and I’m pleased to say that I’m finally through with it, and have moved on to books that are much lighter (Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, at the moment). However it was an moderately-good cure for insomnia, and even good exercise - the book was so heavy that my wrist muscles seem stronger just from holding it all every night for months on end.  But as much as I did not enjoy the book, I did learn a lot from it. And one of the things that I am learnt is just how important the literature of ancient Greece (be it poetry, prose, or drama) is to the entire canon of Western literature. Basically, everything we write today is built off of the writing of the Greeks, or more accurately the misinterpretation of the writing ...

The 2026 Grinder summer season at the Ennotville Library kicks off with Dirty Deeds at Handlebar Dan's House of Old Wives (or how Sally Simple saved the Sarsaparilla Saloon) July 17th and 18th. Thanks to cast member Nick (aka our hero Joshua Jehosephat) for the poster: I thought for this post we’d have some fun, and give you a quick primer on how to enjoy a Gay 90’s Melodrama. These kinds of plays are perfectly enjoyable just as they are, but they’re a lot more fun if you know a little bit about the conventions that shape the genre. So here we go! First, by the term ‘’Gay 90’s’’ melodrama, we mean the 1890’s, and we mean gay in the sense of the term that it meant at that time: happy, silly, and carefree. No offense to anyone who thought it meant something else. This is the "girl-tied-to-the-railroad-tracks" genre, in that there is almost invariably some reference to a train, a railroad, or a railway company of some sort. Some plays feature trains more than others. Acting...

Coming this summer to a windshield near you.. . It's that time of year again. No, not the ''spring is sprung, grass is rizz'' nonsense, though we've got that in plenty around here right now (the copious pictures of cute baby animals will have to wait for another day). I'm talking about all things Grinder. Loyal readers of this blog will know that this is the time of year where the posting usually trails off, as I get overwhelmed by the operational demands of shows in production. I'm determined not to let that happen this year, but this post is already over two weeks behind schedule, so it's not looking promising... However, I am looking forward to this year's productions - they're completely different from what I've ever done before. Both shows are almost cast (I know, right!) and there's a level of excitement around the productions that I haven't seen at this early stage in a long time. I daresay I might even be starting to get e...

Attentive readers of my previous post may have picked up on it, but last month we did something that we haven't done in several years - we went on a vacation. Ephesus. The Library. It was a glorious trip, not without its hiccups, but well worth the long period of saving and preparing (ours is not a get-up-and-go lifestyle). We were in need of a break, and we got it. Windy day at the Acropolis. And as is usually the case whenever I'm away from home the creative energy, and the time to indulge it, seem to come forth, and I found myself filling more than a couple of notebooks with material. There are some short plays that, admittedly, still need some work (Vampire Cowgirls, anyone?) and some ideas for longer works that coalesced on the waves into some concrete plans, some of which I've subsequently started on since coming home. Not everything I wrote will end up as a finished play - I know that, and I would be surprised if there's another gem hiding in the rough notes, but...

  We were there Happy World Theatre Day everyone. Each year, on March 27th, we rally around all things theatre, and the power it has for good in our lives. If you're interested, here's the 2026 World Theatre Day Message, delivered pithily by Academy Award Winner Willem Dafoe:  https://youtu.be/gg15aPydLbE?si=2o2iiR1qrUFjKuM- But for me World Theatre Day isn't about aging celebrities and their words of wisdom, however inciteful. It isn't about the global force that theatre was, is, and will be, nor about its power to transform societies. And it isn't about politics, or even peace, justice, and human rights, vital as all those things are. For me World Theatre Day is, ultimately, a time of personal reflection.  I spent the first fifteen years of my life not knowing why I was here, or what I was supposed to be doing, and that caused me quite a few problems. I've written about the bullies of my childhood on this blog once or twice before, but I don't get into too...

  Actors suffering for their art... I recently got a series of text messages from a friend of mine about an article she'd read entitled "Community Theatre Audition Red Flags." She didn't send me the link, so I can't share it, but I'm actually kind of glad she didn't. It sounds like something that was written by a director who's been burned by bad actors one too many times, and has finally taken to social media to vent their frustrations.  I get it. I understand. I have been hurt, badly, by many actors in my time in community theatre. I've been hurt by actors mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, and in lots of other ways I'd rather not mention. I've had my name dragged through the mud, my artistic decisions, competency, integrity, and even my sanity called into question by actors with whom I failed to connect with in a positive way. Actors have destroyed my scripts, my productions, my entire company (a few times over) and have mad...

Should we try to go back again?   It's been a few weeks since my last rather maudlin post, and while I do want to thank everyone for their kind words and encouragement, and while I have to admit that many of the tribulations I laid out (and many that I didn't) remain unresolved, some things have changed, for the better. We are in a slightly better place, and it's time to return my focus to more enlightening matters. First off, some good news - a script of mine was accepted! I can't say when or where yet, except to say that it's just a very modest staged reading of one of my short plays. It's not going to make me more than pocket change, if that, but it's still a win, and I will take it.  Casting for the summer shows are also underway. This year I'm working with an assistant director for Dirty Deeds at Handlebar Dan's House of Old Wives, and splitting the workload is proving to be a great choice for getting things done. Definitely more enjoyable being...

  The harsh glare of the supervisors I'm often unsure of how much of myself to share in this space. Is this a marketing vehicle for a company, a carefully curated personal brand, or an authentic snapshot of a given place and time in my life so far? I'm never really sure, and whenever I try to make it one thing or the other something else inevitably creeps in. Perhaps I should just quit trying to force this to be something that it's not, and simply let it live, as it is, where it's at. Sometimes that might be telling you about the awesome thing that I have coming up that I want you to be a part of. Other times it might be about my evolution as a writer, director, or whatever else in the world of all things theatre that I'm working on. And sometimes it might just be an authentic snapshot. I think tonight's post is one of those times.  Baby goats baby goating This has been a tough month. We're spending a lot of time in the barn right now, and it's been a di...

At least these two seem well-prepared It's been a long, long time since I tried rehearsing a play in January. It can be done here on the farm but it's not easy, and you have to have actors with some very steely resolve. Not that anyone would be able to get up the driveway right now anyways - even the four wheel drive isn't enough to tackle the drifts.  And it's also a busy time at the day job (annual maintenance) and on the farm - January is kidding season for us, and while things got off to slow start today was another day of multiple births, with many more definitely coming in the hours and days ahead. Apologies for the lack of pictures - there just hasn't been time.  But even with no rehearsals, lousy weather, long days at the top of a ladder and long nights in the barn I still have room in my thoughts for the summer, and getting ready for the shows that we're planning to do. It's something to think about after I'm tired of pushing through all the str...

Year of the Blue Jay? Dear friends and fans of Grinder Productions, Happy New Year! As always, this is the day when I announce the shows that I'm planning to do in the coming year. Sometimes I have a theme, sometimes I don't. For 2026 there is no theme, just a couple of shows that I hope you'll enjoy.  Our first show is called Dirty Deeds at Handlebar Dan's House of Old Wives, or, How Sally Simple Saved the Sarsaparilla Saloon. This is a “gay-nineties” melodrama (think of it as the American version of a Panto, if that helps). It calls for exaggerated, over-the-top performances. Actors shouldn't hold back, or try to over-analyse characters, and the audience is encouraged to cheer for the heroes, boo for the villains, and have as much fun as the actors on stage.  Instead of our usual set-up, for this play we're going to transform the Ennotville Library into Handlebar Dan's, with the patrons seated at tables, cabaret-style. Maybe we'll even get Dan to serv...

Picking a season is like playing chess... against an evil master! This post is just a quick reminder that the Grinder 2026 season will drop, as usual, on New Year's Day. I'll be announcing the two shows that we will be doing this summer at the Ennotville Library, and maybe one or two other things that may or may not come along.  Have we got a story for you! Picking the season is something that has always been very important to me. Out of an infinite number of plays and an infinite number of dramatic possibilities I narrow my choices down to just a handful of shows. In this case there are two, but sometimes a season is only one show, or three shows, or three dozen shows. I don't think the actual number of shows is all that important, actually. What matters is why you chose them.  The Assistant Director fell asleep on the couch... And the older I get, the reasons why I chose them become more and more important to me. I find that odd, because I thought as time went on I would ...

Most of the time I devote this space to all things Grinder, but this month I'd like to take a small detour, and talk a little bit about my writing.  Writing is and always has been a primarily creative outlet for me, rather than a source of income. I try to write every day, and I can't go too long without writing, even if I try not to, or even if it's not convenient to do so. I always have a notebook in my pocket, so that I can write whenever I do get the chance. For creative work I compose exclusively by hand, pen to paper, writing in cursive (if you don't know what cursive is, ask your parents). Over the past year or so I've taken some steps to further develop the writing-as-business side of things, as I struggle, however slowly, to take my creative career to a new level.  One of the first things I did was to give in and finally start paying for a website once again. I hadn't paid for web hosting since the old Grinder era crashed back in 2010, but now I am the ...

Back to the blogosphere. It's been a while. The plan this year was to post at least once a month, and when I had a show in production, at least once a week. Needless to say that reality got in the way, as it always does, and as the Bard once said, Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of Resolution Is sicklied o'er, with the pale cast of Thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment,  With this regard their Currents turn awry,  And lose the name of Action  In other words, a lot of things didn't go according to plan this year, as usual. But out of that darkness, there came a lot of light. There was Maid of Stone, finally brought to life by these three fine actresses. This show was the rock upon which I was able to build a season.    And if the cast of Maid of Stone was my rock, then it was the next four ladies who were my life raft. I had planned to do a Greek Tragedy this year, but when that fell through and I put out a call f...

We're almost there. The Grinder 2025 season is almost upon us. This year, we have show posters: Sets, props, and even some sound are all in place - lighting and costumes will have to wait...    ... but the assistant director has given everything a good look over, and he seems to approve. While there's clearly more work still to be done, I'm very happy with how I've managed to turn things around this year. There are no guarantees, but with any luck this summer I won't be scrambling to build something at the last minute, figure out a major blocking problem, or waste time working on something that could have been done months ago. I hope, instead, to focus on other things, like rehearsals.  To do that, of course, I must overcome my greatest challenge, finding actors who fit my roles and are available in the summertime. Even there I've made more progress this year than in the past but still, with just a few weeks left to go before rehearsals, I have some roles that I...

Well, maybe not... The promise of spring on the farm has yet to materialize - this little one is actually a very late arrival from the winter season. The air is still cold and wet, as is the ground. The cattle are in mud up halfway up their legs if they dare to step outside (which they do). We didn't tap the maple trees this year, so aside from some buds on the willows down by the pond you'd be forgiven for thinking we're still in the middle of last winter. But despite the weather the calendar marches on, and I know that spring will be here eventually. If past years are anything to go by I think our spring will be very short, and the heat of the summer will soon be upon us.  Despite it still being too cold for me to get much done in the shop Grinder Productions prep work for the summer season is coming along well. Casting is underway, and while I'm not there yet I'm a lot further ahead than I was this time last year. As always, I'm on the lookout for new talent,...