Grinder's Grumblings

One of Canada's greatest playwrights is Dan Needles, author of the "Wingfield Farm" series of plays, made famous in thousands of performances by one of Canada's greatest stage actors, Rod Beattie. I was fortunate enough to see all seven plays during my years as a technician, and I count my experience with those plays as amoungst my most formative as a writer, director, and actor (not that I act all that often, but...) The second play in the series is called "Wingfield's Progress," and the third is called "Wingfield's Folly." They relate the further adventures of Walt Wingfield, a stockbroker-turned-farmer, after his tumultuous first year on the land. In "Progress" things go pretty well for Walt, but in "Folly" he lets the pressures of being a farmer get to him, which leads him to do some rather drastic things that he later regrets, and which very nearly cost him his farm, and everyone he holds dear. But since it's a ...

It's been a busy month since my last post - the cold persisted bitterly, and we only got around to tapping the trees yesterday. Looks like it's going to be a very short maple syrup season this year. I haven't had a chance to get anything done in the shop since early January. Otherwise, I'd be showing off pictures of my new Front-of-House display board that I just managed to get started on before the cold weather shut me down. Maybe next month.  And no, I still can't announce that mysterious 3rd project in the Grinder season - but I promise you that there is one! I'm really looking forward to it, so once I have the all-clear you're probably going to get sick of me going on about it.  I'm pleased to report that last month I successfully completed the "28 Plays Later" challenge, and did manage to write a play a day in February, however cringe-worthy some of them might have been. Most of these plays will never see the light of day, and I'm okay...

Will this bitter cold never end?  I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of winter. I really don't mind the cold and snow, until I'm knee-deep in it, trying to get my truck out of a snowbank during an extreme cold weather alert, after a long and exhausting day in the cold, and right before I desperately need a good night's sleep in order to get an early start on another long and exhausting day in the cold... but I digress.  Another month in and I still can't announce the third project in my Grinder 2022 season, but I promise that I will, as soon as I can. I've been working on the script for it little by little in my spare time, but it still needs some further rewrites before it's ready for to see the light of day, so maybe the enforced waiting to reveal it is actually a good thing.  For the plays that I have announced preparations are coming along well - prompt script is printed and bound, rehearsal schedules have been made (which are harder to make than y...

Now is truly the winter of our discontent. Shall we make it a "glorious summer," even without a "son of York" to lead the way? I certainly hope so. I had hoped to be in a position by now to announce the third project in the Grinder Productions season, but alas I still need to keep it under wraps for just a little longer. Despite that, and despite all the doom and gloom of a plague that just won't quit, this is actually going to be an optimistic post, where I talk about the plays that we're planning to do this summer. It's hard to find much to smile about right now, but looking foward to directing these plays definitely lifts my spirits and puts me in a better frame of mind. Theatre is truly good for the soul. This year I've rented the Ennotville Library for two weekends, and I plan to stage five thematically-linked 1-act plays each weekend, for a total of ten unique shows. I'd like to build a small acting ensemble for each week's production, ...

Happy New Year - I'm back!  It's been over a decade since my last post here on Grinder's Grumblings. I thought that my blogging days were behind me - I'd wasted enough time (and inflicted more than enough self-harm) trying to blog my way to fame and fortune, and had nothing to show for it. It was definitely time to hang things up and move on.  But a lot has changed in my life over the past decade - a steady income, a few dozen new plays, even a couple of productions by companies other than my own, and I'm still married to the world's greatest wife. I don't have everything I want out of life, obviously (and the pandemic has set us back more than most of our friends and family) but I'm a lot happier now than I was when I made my last post all those years ago.  I no longer try to make a living with Grinder Productions, or even try to make it a profitable side-hussle (ask me about the 200+ goats we've got for that). Now Grinder Productions is something t...

Eric Goudie’s Creative Resume Phone: Available upon request  Email: grinder@grinderproductions.org Summary I am a creative professional with a large and diverse skill set, seeking contract employment in a wide variety of fields. While the bulk of my experience has been in the live performance and freelance writing industries there are many different types of jobs that I am qualified to do. I believe in building positive long-term relationships with my clients through hard work, excellent communications, and an ongoing commitment to our mutual success. Employment (selected) Theatre Owner/Operator          Grinder Productions               Sept 2003 – Present Professional Lighting Design      Touchmark Theatre               March 2009 Freelance Writer a...

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