Memoirs of a Theatre Junkie

A New Year - a New Me?

2011-01-20T21:12:00.001-08:00

I'll right, I'll admit it, I've been really terrible about blogging. I know, I know. Not that many people read it. Whilst out tonight with a certain fabulous local blogger, slam poet, writer, actor and all round sexy gal, She said "hey you haven't blogged in a while". Duh. Correct. hmm maybe I should. I guess what happened is life -- I got so busy casting my September show, rehearsing it, producing a BYOV Fringe venue, moving on to ADing for GCTC/NAC on Vimy, taking a vacay then getting back to work where it's been super busy that I had no time to breathe.

I am remedying that and I had thought I would change my focus a wee bit - I will still talk about theatre but I am toying with changing the name and focus of the blog - not sure yet. I found myself at a crossroads of sorts this last half of 2010 going into 2011. I still love doing theatre - and am pursuing more professional avenues and training especially for Directing, but I've found somethings that have pulled my focus - YOGA and a journey towards Minimalism and Mindfulness.

In terms of Yoga I was on a great path - I had been practicing Yoga on and off very sporatically since 1997, but had finally this year go up to practicing up to 3 times a week and making progress in my flexibility, breath and focus. The one major problem I've come across in the last few months trying to focus on a steady practice and ensuring I also practice at home (and I know I've hit a practice when my body ACHES to do a downward facing dogs, or Happy Baby, and I sigh in contentment doing one), i have developed major feet issues - not from the Yoga, just from...who knows. Trying to work through it so I can commit to a deepening practice - I find i want to strive to be a better person practicing yoga, and I can't stop smiling after yoga. As I do it more and more I am extremely happy and positive. That is a good thing.

This in turn has lead to thoughts and starting to put into practice a small form of Minimalism. In the last few months I felt the weight of all the "stuff" we have, making me feel like I was drowning in a sea of consumerism. I loathed it, I loved it, I had to get rid of it. (sounds like Barb in Swimming in the Shallows doesn't it?). So by some fate one morning I was talking about this weight to a friend of mine and he said, have you read about Minimalism and admitted he and his spouse were practicing it. I hadn't but through him found these amazing blogs - www.missminimalist.com and www.zenhabit.com - now I know this is going to be a long long process, but once I started culling my kitchen , and I have a long long way to go , I felt happier - gleeful even. And with that comes the wonderful thought "I don't need all this STUFF", so if I am in a store I think "Do I need that?" The answer is usually "No" and in fact I rarely go in a store now (except for groceries, and wine of course!)...so it opens a whole world of SAVING MONEY BIG TIME! I always find I have money in the bank these days because I don't spend it as much. In terms of the Minimalism start - The key is not to get overwhelmed and go room by room, slowly knowing that it is a long process. I took YEARS to get "stuff" it will take a while to get rid of it. Last week the Diabetes Foundation came by and picked up 5 boxes of "stuff". it was Good riddens to good rubbish that will help someone else. I got more. I got a bunch of stuff I want to sell by the way.......or give away....interested?

Along with Yoga and Minimalism comes Mindfulness. I made a "resolution" this year that I am trying to really be aware of what a say - it too will be a long process, but I am working on it through baby steps. Just really thinking before I speak, especially if what I will say might hurt or speak badly of someone, trying to be in the Present - even though it's tough and I may only realize I am a few minutes of every day. Again, this will take time. The Yoga helps!

All this to say - I think this year is going to be different. I am still going to do the theatre projects, but right now my focus is on cleaning house - literally and figuratively. I am sure I will stumble along the - I am going to Toronto in Feb for a Directing Workshop, and have to shop for a Dress for the wedding of the year. But other then that, here is to a clean and mindful 2011. Come along for the ride - I'd love to have ya on board with me.

Kicking Dogs, and Raising Fists to Women is NOT COOL

2010-05-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my bad last night that I took my dogs out sans leash for their last pees of the evening. I've been kind of doing this for almost 9 months now with no issues because there is never anyone around that time of night and only once did they run off briefly to chase a cat. I can walk them completely around the block with them prancing behind or beside me. My dogs are very good off leash, following me around (except for that one cat issue). In fact, they are better off leash then on leash - especially Abby. She has been known to be cranky on leash. Anyways, I know I am not suppose to do that, but I've seen others in my hood do it so I am not the only one...anyways...

Now, my dogs have been attacked by other owners dogs - and the most I did was yell. NEVER in my LIFE would I EVER kick or hit a dog (unless blood was being split) nor would I raise a fist to the owner. Last night as I walked my dogs for their final pee I noticed a man coming out of the apartment across the street with a little yorkie-type dog. I immediate went to rally my dogs to bring them home. I had Abby a good chunk of the way, and viewed Guinness standing "Wire Fox Terrier" like curious as usual. The man walking his wee dog had attitude from opening the door to the apartment. He viewed my little cute fuzzy dog off leash looking curiously at him and his doggie, he mumbled something aggressive, then Guinness - curious little cuse that he is - ventured over to sniff dog. He let out a wee growl because of vibe the man was giving off but stood a good 3 ft away. The Man then attempted to kick Guinness, who immediately , maybe grazed by his foot, wandered back to me.

The man then proceeded to chastise (and swear at me) that my "aggressive" dog should be on leash. If you know Guinness - well you know that is utterly laughable. He is the sweetest, most non-aggressive, sweetheart of a dog. Oh of course as soon as he "kicked" Guinny boy, Abby was wandering over since that is her son. She went over with her usual, "I am going to growl, a bit then sniff your dog before I ignore it" yet she didn't even have time. In one swift movement the man KICKED Abby in the head. KICKED her. She backed away. He yelled at me, saying "you have two aggressive dogs on one dog", which was laughable as Guinness had clearly moved away scared. I moved in saying "I can't believe you just kicked my dog!" He RAISED his fist as if to hit me. I recoiled, shocked. Grabbed my dog as he swore "fuck you" at me. And I returned that phrasing in shock and horror.

It all happened so fast I can't remember everything that happened after that except a few f-words passed by him, then by me because I just was in shock at him having kicked my dog. Then I think I yelled something about "i should charge you for pet Cruelty". I picked up Abby and walked home.

Not sure what Tim will do when next he sees this guy - but he was PISSED. But what I couldn't believe, and what I still can't believe - kicking dogs aside - is that the man RAISED HIS FIST to STRIKE ME. ME, in glasses, a girl, just yelling that I couldn't believe he kicked a dog. Makes me think this guy is a wife beater or something.

I think next time I see him (with my dogs on leash of course) I am going to yell "Kick any dogs, or beat any women today ? "

Any suggestions on what else I should say to him?

EODL Success and the Reformed Theatre Snob

2010-01-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

It has been one busy fall/beginning of winter in the Ginley/Plante household. First off, between Tim and I we were working on 3 shows at one time at the end of October early November, as we prepped for the Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival in Perth ON with Tim’s original show Deliever’d From NoWhere, and the remount of The Soldier Dreams for Tototoo. As well, I cast and started directing my OLT show Drinking Alone by Norm Foster.

The EODL was very fruitful for both Tim and I on the November 14th weekend. We knew our show was strong and our actors lovely but our adjudicator, John Lazarus showed us proof in the pudding. Our show The Soldier Dreams won 3 awards and 2 of them being the most coveted of awards (sorry I have to toot the horn as the show was very good) Best Production and the People’s Choice Award for Best Production (voted by the audience). We shared the People’s Choice in a tie with another Daniel MacIvor play done by More Theatre. Obviously the masses like MacIvor as much as we do. And why wouldn’t they – he is freakin’ AWESOME!!!!!

What was great about this EODL experience though was seeing Tim’s play come alive. The actors we put together for this show worked really great together and really moved the play. I couldn’t have imagined a better Murray then what Sterling Lynch did. And I just adore watching Chris Ralph on stage. Together with Geoff Gruson’s direction not only with the boys on the stage but in shaping the script they came out with a Best Director award for Geoff and a nomination for Tim for Best Original Script. The adjudicator actually said Tim’s show was like “Waiting for Godot on Speed” and that Tim’s writing was reminiscent of Sam Shepard. Awesome!

But enough about that! The news of the day is that Drinking Alone is a hit! It is selling well, getting good reviews and buzz. This past weekend I got to meet the playwright Norm Foster. Now I’ll admit I was not a fan of Mr. Foster’s work. I guess you could say I am now a re-formed Theatre snob. I think a lot of theatre Purists would say his work is predictable and cliché. Maybe some of it is, but working on Drinking Alone I discovered the FUN in theatre again - well it started with directing Soldier Dreams, continued with Oreo and this just solidified it. I also came to realize why audiences flock to see his work and why do people go first and foremost to theatre? To be ENTERTAINED. That is one thing Norm does well. He creates recognizable characters in recognizable situations. With his plays, if done well with good actors, you can laugh one minute and cry the next. I found a comment Norm made Saturday night very interesting – someone had asked him about how to get more people to go to theatre and he said “they should talk to these people at the OLT because they are doing something right”.

The thing I found that I loved about meeting Norm is he’s so unpretentious. He doesn’t pretend that his work is anything that it is not. He is comfortable in his own skin and he keeps doing what he is doing because it makes him happy and he loves doing it. As well, and let’s be honest, he makes a shit load of money doing it. And honestly the man is great with modern dialogue that rings true (well not all the time but for the most part). He admits there are scripts of his that he’d love to burn (he actually admitted he hates his first play), and that he doesn’t read other playwrights work nor does he pretend to know other Canadian playwrights work. Nor does he rely on Grants to work. He has never applied for one in his life. He never studied theatre. And he knows his niche market and is happy with that. He feels the only people who see theatre as High art are theatre people – not audiences. Audiences just want to see a good play. If it teaches them something or makes them think great! If it doesn’t but merely is there to entertain, this as I mentioned above is why theatre the majority of the time is put on the stage, fantastic.

What do you think? Should theatre first and foremost entertain but also educate or probe – or can it just be there to entertain? What do you think most audiences want? From what I’ve seen in the last year at OLT – they want to be entertained – because house numbers and money rolling in NEVER LIES. (Throw in a Norm Foster and Agatha Christie in your season is GOLD for ticket sales)

We did some quick math on Sunday morning at breakfast– on January 1st of any given year, Norm wakes up with a salary of $50,000 to start with just his Royalties from his plays for productions set to go that year. But calculating quickly we figure he rakes in about $100,000 per year. Can any other playwright in Canada say that they take that in? What other playwright in Canada can boast that he/she has a translation of there play (Drinking Alone) being done at the famous Moscow Art Theatre running for 5 years in Rep? Or has plays that have been produced around the world?

I can be honest and say, I prefer plays by the likes of MacIvor, or ones that might make you think more or be able to be more visually represented – but that is my theatre side seeing the creative challenge, and what I just like to read. But working on this piece, hearing the crazy laughter from a full house and the vibe that that creates and hearing the wonderful comments from patrons coming out of the theatre, I see the benefits and draw of Norm’s works. We all want most times to be just entertained. We all want to leave our everyday selves for a few hours to laugh and cry and someone else’s fictional life. It doesn’t have to be rocket science; it just has to be good, committed, entertaining fun. SO - Here’s to another SOLD OUT weekend of Drinking Alone!

A Decade in Review - Theatre, More Theatre and a whole lot of THE BOSS!

2009-12-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

It's been way too long since I blogged. But bah, I have been to busy. However I was inspired by my friend Nadine’s posting on her blog and wondered if I could remember what I did in the last decade. I decided to do my own Decade in Review 2000-2009. Boy I saw BRUCE a lot.....kind of sad actually.

2000
My Grandfather passed away suddenly in the spring however this was a good year besides that. My good friend Maureen Smith and I started our own adhoc theatre company to produce The Drowning Girls for the Ottawa Fringe Festival. Not knowing what to expect, it was an amazing experience, in which by the end of our run we sold out and made money. Maureen went on to do shows at GCTC and NAC due to her reinstating Equity Status. My brother got married, and Tim and I got engaged. Saw Bruce Springsteen for the first time on the Reunion Tour. Finally understood what Tim and his friend gushed about.

2001
Tim and I travelled to Europe for the first time going on a cruise in Mediterranean (Greece and Italy) and passed through New York City for the first time. We didn’t get to see much of the town since we were just flying out from JFK airport but noted we had to go back. We booked the wedding and started planning stuff and bought our first house in the ‘burbs leaving our great Sandy Hill apartment behind (sigh, I loved that place).

2002
Got into Fringe again and started working on original show with Mo, Tim, and the fab Teri Loretto, but due to script not coming fast enough we cut our loses. But it was The year of love. Wedding planning – it was a theatrical event including posters as invitations, programs done in theatre style and for our guests to get us to kiss, they had to act out small scenes. People still talk about our wedding and what a great time it was – a brunch and a big party at our house and we spent minimal amount of money. Honeymooned in Stratford and Williamsburg Virginia. My cousin Geoff got engaged. Was called in last minute to fill in Thirdwall’s Julius Caesar. Saw Bruce Springsteen that year for The Rising Tour. (Cleveland) Wasn't great but you could see the tour would blossom.

2003
Started off the year with my first leading role in Moo for Sockin’ Buskin. A fun part. Living in the suburbs turned out to suck and we slowly kept thinking there is no way we could survive out there. Researched dog breeds, and waited for a litter of puppies to finally come and got our first dog Abby (a very needy Wire Fox Terrier), it sure was a lot of work. Tim wanted to give her back numerous times but I kept talking him out of it. Springsteen concerts this year = 2 (Rock-cha cha, and Ottawa – both STELLAR)

2004
Started Dog obedience with Abby, and discovered I loved being a crazy dog person. Joined Agility classes in the summer. Performed the lead in Hide and Seek at OLT where I met Jerome Bourgault for the first time.

2005
Busy busy year. Performed in the multiple award winning OLT production of Proof with Jerome again, in which I played Catherine (to which Alvina called my performance beautifully nuanced and I was nominated for multiple acting awards). Went to Belleville for Theatre Ontario Festival with the show. We also moved to Manor Park in the house of our dreams. I continued to do Agility with Abby, and by the end of the year joined another dog sport called Flyball. Abby loved to show off. Was disappointed to learn later that year that the breeder was not going to breed her. We were so looking forward to not having to deal with the “heats”. Travelled to Nova Scotia and New York City. Saw Bruce twice solo (Ottawa, Albany). Not a great year for our very good friends though as their son was diagnosed with Cancer. We were often worried about them all.

2006
Abby was finally bred to a beautiful male Wire Fox in Orangeville and we made the 10 hour return trip to pick her up. She had her litter of 7 at our breeders and Tim and I picked out Guinness the first week as he was cuddling up to his mommy. The puppies made me squeal. So cute. I continued to do Flyball, but found it hard to drive out to Carp for our 7am practices. In the fall got cast in what was to be a turning point role for me, it was Vision Theatre’s The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine. When saw the posting I said to Tim “that is MY part, it’s MINE”. And it was. Saw Springsteen twice with Seeger Sessions band in outdoor venues – Saratoga Springs and in Boston.

2007
Great year theatrically and friendship wise as I did the amazingly FUN show that I mentioned above with Vision, met Riley, Marsha and Sam. Got called 3 days before a play opened at New Edinburgh players to fill in for a sick actress and was on book. Was also rehearsing and performing in one woman show, Jewel at Ottawa Fringe under Maureen’s and my company. Quit Flyball as it was too much work. Took Guinness to Agility class and discovered as much as I loved it, it was too hard for me to do well. Got involved volunteering with Tototoo Theatre. Celebrated our 5th yr wedding anniversary with a 3 week trip to France in Paris and then south of France. Went to New York city Again to see….a Springsteen tribute at Carnagie hall in which the man himself showed up and I heard Rosalita live for the first time. It was awesome. Saw him again with Magic tour in Ottawa. Seeing a trend here and discovering we have a Bruce addiction.

2008
Got a squealing call from Maureen that I, the show (The Anger in E and E) and the director had been nominated for the first ever Rideau Awards. Got to do the very fun one acts at Fringe with Vision Theatre where I met the very talented Ken Godmere and cast him in a show Tim and I were directing for Tototoo Theatre, The Soldier Dreams (got to meet Daniel MacIvor). Also performed in Playing Bare with Evolution Theatre. Travelled to PEI for first time to do an acting intensive but fell in love with the Gentle Island. Tim’s photography started to take off with me as his pimp. Asked by Nadine Thornhill if I would direct her upcoming Fringe show should she get in. I was scared. I’d never directed an original show but I really liked Ned. Saw Springsteen in Rochester on Magic Tour.

2009
Performed in Life After God with Vision Theatre. Approached by Ottawa Little Theatre to direct the January show Drinking Alone (opens in a couple of weeks by the way). Nadine informed me she got into Fringe and sent me first draft of Oreo, to which is said “I’d love to direct this”. Met my new friends Sterling, Robin , the aforementioned Nadine, Colleenand got to get better acquainted with the lovely JP Chartier – then got to meet Wayne Current. Oreo went on to some success and Team Oreo had a blast! Did Birth fundraiser and new Laramie Staged reading. Convinced Tototoo to submit remounted Soldier Dreams into EODL One Act Festival – got Wayne on board. We won 3 awards. Got Sterling to do Tim’s original script – they won an award too. Joined the Artistic Committee at OLT under revamped theatre as co-chair of Learning and Special Program committee, got offered another show to direct for 2010 season opener. Now the EODL One Act Festival 2010 Chairperson. Saw Springsteen twice – once in State College PA , and the GREAT STADIUM show at Giants Stadium in Jersey!

2010
My show I am currently directing opens January 12th. Planning a trip to PEI again this summer. Organizing EODL festival at OLT for Fall, as well as staged reading with Peter Hinton for Play competition winner (being announced Jan 30th). Directing this summer – Crossing Delancey. Don’t think Springsteen is going to tour which makes me sad.

Ottawa Theatre Renaissance - VOTE NOW!!!!

2009-10-29T12:57:00.001-07:00

Be a Part of Ottawa’s Renaissance: Vote Now, Vote Daily, Tell A Friend
Do you care about Ottawa professional theatre?
Do you want to help the Ottawa Theatre Network and the Great Canadian Theatre Company make a lasting contribution to Ottawa professional theatre?
Here’s you chance! It will only take a few minutes of your time. We promise.
To find out more, click here:
http://ottawatheatrenetwork.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/be-a-part-of-ottawas-renaissance-vote-now-vote-daily-tell-a-friend/

Educate before you Vaccinate Part II

2009-10-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

A small update:

I asked the question of my Breeder/Vet who works at Health Canada and reviews such drugs as H1N1. When I posed the question this was her response. Keep in mind she actually has reviewed this file at Health with her concerns:

"The vaccine includes an adjuvant, which contains squalene. Squalene may belinked to various health issues, and is not registered for use in trhe USA. There are only 2 vaccines that contain squalene, both are only approved in Europe. So the bottom line is that although the vaccince has undergone acertain amount of testing, it contains an adjuvant of uncertain toxictry.

I totally agree about the hype thing, this has been blown way out of proportion. And it is interesting to note that the squalene which we areallowing in our vaccine, the USA is NOT including it in their vaccine, due to unknown toxicity. It is definitely being pushed through, especially considering that the Health minister ordered the vaccine before the safety review had been completed by Health Canada. I also had to do some review work on the vaccine, and I didn't like everything that I was seeing, and included all of my concerns at the end of the review. The bigger concern will be a year or 2 down the line, when and if the virusmutates (as they often do); at that point it will cause a more virulent anddangerous infection. (This vaccine would not be effective if the strainmutates)."

She's not getting this Flu shot.

H1N1 and Propaganda - Educate before you Vaccinate!

2009-10-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ok I haven't blogged in a long long time. YES alright I admit I am a bad blogger obviously.

However I have something I want to share before the stupid propaganda swine flu vaccine is out for public consumption.

I have never gotten the Flu Shot and have never gotten the flu. I am one who likes to go natural. I take my Greens Plus Multi - granted that is not uber natural but it is made with all natural products, and it works. I do nasal irrigation (Nettie Pot) which keeps the snot away and keeps the nasal passages nice clean (good for allergy suffers!), I take cold FX or Mucco Coccinum- again not super natural like just eating food but natural enough. I also eat well, drink water etc. I rarely get a cold and when I start I admit I take my steroid puffer as I have asthma, and that helps make my cold very managable (no infection).

This year is no exception. I will not get the flu shot AND I wasn't planning on getting this H1N1 either because I think the media is OOC. But my feelings were solidified after speaking with my friend who is high up in PSEP (Public Safety - Canada's verison of Homeland Security). She said there was no way she'd get the vaccine and she is working on the H1N1 file ....she said "NO WAY, I don't trust it". She has Top Secret Clearance. when I know someone voice a concern like that who has Top Secret Clearance on a file like that....it makes we wonder and worried. A poll also suggests 50% of doctors won't take it either.

Why am I posting this. Because I wouldn't want to see anyone have bad adverse reactions to this fast tracked vaccine. I've attached some handy video links below - although there are many more to be found. Check out the creepy 1976 Propaganda vid on getting the Swine Flu shot.....

Creepy Ad

60 minutes report

Dr. Ron Paul pipes in on Out of Control Panic

I would wait personally until the first round has been implemented or maybe don't take it at all. My high up friend even admits it hasn't even been properly tested and has been pushed through. I mean have you noticed all the Purell stations all over now? Guess who makes it/owns it? Pfizer and TIME WARNER.......big money, I hear big money! Big Pharma stands to make billions from this panic.

Another red flag for me is that my mother in laws husband has Gulf War Syndrome. He is from England and when he went over to Iraq for the First Gulf War in the 90's he was vaccinated against chemical warfare. Those vaccinations have since lead to him developing a form of MS. He hardly can walk now. I won't go into his sordid details.

Here are some Truths that I have found out :

1. The flu is mild, so I don’t need to worry about getting a vaccine.
This is TRUE. The H1N1 flu is mild compared to the seasonal flu which kills some 30,000 people per year in the US alone. There has been no indication that more people than usual are getting the flu or dying from it.“It’s mildest in kids. That’s one of the really good pieces of news in this pandemic,” Dr Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University told a meeting of flu experts being held by the U.S. Institute of Medicine last month. In Canada too, the virus does not seem to be spreading quickly, a fact that has prompted the country’s top public health official to put the brakes on an early rollout of the H1N1 vaccine.The virus could still mutate into something worse, but if it does that, the current vaccine will most likely be rendered obsolete anyway.

2. Since my region was hit hard in the spring, there won’t be a big reemergence this flu season.
TRUE The New York Times itself reported on the fact that doctors and health officials in areas that were subjected to H1N1 flu last spring are seeing very little evidence to suggest that the virus is returning in a much predicted “second wave”.It is the theory of Dr. Thomas A. Farley, New York City’s health commissioner, and the doctor cited in the Times’ debunking piece, that up to 40% of the city’s population may have developed immunity to the virus.

3. The vaccine will be available too late to do any good.
Somewhat true. In Canada there are legitimate concerns that the vaccines are simply going to be too late to stop any spread of the virus. These concerns were published in the peer reviewed journal Science.The vaccine may not do any good anyway because it is based on “mock up” vaccines that were produced in 2007 and 2008 for the H5N1 strain of influenza, not H1N1.Even if the vaccine produces antibodies, that’s not the same thing as real-world immunity from a live virus, especially if the virus mutates.As Mike Adams has pointed out in a recent article, statistically speaking the average American is 40 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to have their life saved by a swine flu vaccine.

4. The vaccine is unsafe, it could have dangerous side effects.
The inserts to the H1N1 vaccines all state that it could cause all manner of adverse effects, including guillain-barre syndrome, vasculitis, anaphylactic shock and even death.Why would the drug companies put that in the insert to the vaccine itself if it was a “myth”?If it was a myth that the vaccines could cause side effects then why would the government waste time establishing an extensive tracking system to watch for side effects?

5. I can catch flu from the vaccine.
The first available vaccines, in the form of nasal mist, contain live H1N1 virus. Their use could actually spur the spread of the virus where there is otherwise little activity, according to some medical experts. A Canadian study led by Dr Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and Dr Gaston De Serres of Laval University, Quebec has also found that seasonal flu jabs could double the risk of developing swine flu. The World Health Organisation has dismissed the research as inconclusive, however some provincial and territorial public health authorities in Canada, including those in Ontario, have expressed great concern, leading to threats to delay or cancel mass vaccination programs.

6. The vaccine is untested.
Manufacturers rushed the production of the vaccine to get it to the market. The vaccine has been fast tracked. The pharmaceutical companies themselves admit that there is “no clinical experience in the elderly, in children or in adolescents” with their new vaccines.

7. The vaccine contains a dangerous adjuvant, a chemical added to enhance the immune response.
Both the Novartis and Glaxo-Smith Kline injectible vaccines will contain squalene adjuvants to boost immunogenicity and dramatically reduce the amount of viral antigen needed, meaning more vaccines can be produced. Again, the New York Times itself reported on this last month.There will be non adjuvanted H1N1 vaccines available, but there will not be enough for the projected number of people who have said they will get the vaccine. Experts on Gulf War Syndrome have pointed out that the official, Congressionally-chartered Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses found evidence of a link between squalene and Gulf War Syndrome which warranted further study. Micropaleontologist Dr. Viera Scheibner, who conducted research into the adverse effects of adjuvants in vaccines, wrote the following about squalene, as highlighted in researcher Stephen Lendman’s article on the adjuvant:Squalene “contributed to the cascade of reactions called “Gulf War syndrome. (GIs developed) arthritis, fibromyalgia, lymphadenopathy, rashes, photosensitive rashes, malar rashes, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, abnormal body hair loss, non-healing skin lesions, aphthous ulcers, dizziness, weakness, memory loss, seizures, mood changes, neuropsychiatric problems, anti-thyroid effects, anaemia, elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjorgren’s syndrome, chronic diarrhea, night sweats and low-grade fever.”As vaccine expert Dr. Meryl Nass has pointed out, since none of the US trials have so far used novel adjuvants, they fail to provide any information about the safety of adjuvanted vaccines. Senior neurologists have also voiced concerns over the adjuvants in the vaccines.

8. The vaccine contains a dangerous preservative containing ethyl mercury
Again this is not a myth. As the Washington Post reported in the Summer, “Some of the vaccine will be stored in multi-dose vials containing thimerosal, an antibacterial additive that contains mercury”.The vaccine inserts also list thimerosal in the vaccine’s ingredients.Scientific studies have shown a direct relationship between thimerosal in flu shots and neurological disorders.Cases of the neural development disorder autism amongst children have doubled since 2003, in line with an increase in the amount of thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines. Epidemiologist Tom Verstraeten and Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado, both concluded that thimerosal was responsible for the dramatic rise in cases of autism, however, their findings were dismissed by the CDC. Further studies have shown a decline in neurodevelopmental disorders after the removal of thimerosal-containing vaccines.The science needs further study, that is clear, but to outright reject that the vaccines even contain the questionable substance is the stuff of farce. Why are we even having the debate if this is a “myth”?

9. I can get medicine if I do get sick, so the vaccine is not necessary
It is up to the individual or parent to choose whether to get the vaccine for themselves or their child. Saying that people who feel it is not necessary for them and their kids are wrong doesn’t make it so. It is beyond the authority of a school or the government to surreptitiously teach a child that vaccines are necessary.

Educate before you Vaccinate!

In Awe - Hollywood Endings Really do Happen in Real Life

2009-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

I just got back yesterday from a week in Lake Placid. We were there to cheer on my friend Jason in his first ever Ironman Event. I wrote last time that I couldn't get my head around what he was about to do. Well I still can't get my head around what he just did DO. Jason Billows....YOU ARE AN IRONMAN - 13hr9min of sheer pain, endurance and perseverance.

There are a few stepping stones here in this post to the ultimate in Hollywood endings come true to real life.

The first is Jason's story. This time last year he was attending the Ironman, not as a competitor like he had registered as but in a wheelchair having suffered very bad lower back herniation. This is also after a personal loss, some knee surgery, and also shin surgery. He had his back surgery in late fall, was off for 6 weeks, was then addicted to pain meds (I think i can confess that on his behalf since he mentions it..his doctor probably should not have given him the meds he had in that dosage). At any rate, he started his physio recover, then started in late December early January to train for the Ironman. Granted he had started training the year before, but he only had about 6 months. As I mentioned in the last post the IRONMAN is 2.6 Miles swim, 112 Mile bike followed by a full marathon.

One has 17 hours to complete it. Jason got up at around 4:40am or so the morning of the race, and we all followed afterwards around 5:45am to get a good spot around Mirror Lake to watch the start of the swim. It was pouring rain, but we had our "Here for Jason" shirts on (even the dogs had bandannas on) and we lined the Lake. At 6:50am the Pros were off. They were a small buzz of a group and fast! At 7am the gun went off for the Age groupers. Now if you have never seen the start of this race it is a sight to behold. Not only was I nervous for the sheer fact that Jason had at least a 12 hour day of physical pain ahead of him (and this was his strong suite and the running was his...well apparently he was told "be scared of the run") but I also thought of all the bodies close together. And for good reason too! As soon as the gun went off, boom, there was kicking in of heads, people panicking, or swimming , or....it was a MASS of bodies moving together ...like a swarm of bugs the whole time.

We then moved on to where the swimmers come out of the water, having half their wet suits taken down, then they run to the transition area in the Olympic skate oval to get their bikes. We saw Jason come by and he was right on time! 1 hour and 5 minutes. We ran over to where the bikes come down this scary hill to start the course - and saw Jason again, 6 min later - again on his time. We then had about 3 hours to wait to maybe see him again. When we saw him again at the 3 hour mark after the first loop he looked great. And again on time. Then again we waited to spy him on the start of the Marathon portion at around 2:30pm. Tim got a great picture. He looked great, in great spirits. I was still so nervous for him. It had gotten quite warm, and although Jason has done the full swim, and bike loop he had yet to actually run a Marathon and who knows what mind games go about out there. Although Jason has done so much yoga and meditation and is usually such a calm cool guy part of me knew he'd be fine.

The rest of the day was a waiting game - but finally at around 8pm, I saw Tim posed for photography!!! He had decided he would go down near Canada Corner and catch Jason in the final miles of the run to shot pictures. So he ran a large chunk with him shooting his final moments. As Tim made his way to the Oval for the finish line, we knew Jason still had to run up past Mirror Lake and around back to the Oval. I was with his lovely gal Tracy for the final moments. It was FANTASTIC seeing him look so good and crossing that line with such power. He then told us later that his legs started cramping on his second bike loop, and he had to run the whole marathon (and sometimes walk) with these cramps. This is a guy who has been through the wringer this last year and to see that special moment......I am so inspired by him. JASON - you are my hero!

But his is but one story. Throughout the day I caught glimpses of dispare, of power, or athleticism, and Hollywood stories galour. The second story is a short one. For the Ironman, they shut down each portion at a certain time. The swim was shut down at 9:30am. If you did not finish at 9:30 you could not continue. At 9:40 am there was this mass cheering on someone at the end of the course. I was not close enough to see for myself . Now this person would not be able to continue, but a man on the shore told me that the man in the water finishing had suffered a stroke years before and had entered the Ironman and was swimming with one arm as he was paralyzed on one side...SWIMMING WITH ONE ARM people! Again, awe-inspiring.

This final story makes me weep with joy and wonder. This is the true Hollywood story come TRUE! There should be a movie about this guy. So my third story is this: Matthew Long. It was after 11pm. The Ironman ceases at Midnight. If you are not at the line at Midnight, you are not completing the event. So we had hung out at Canada Corner where there is this HUGE hill marking the last few miles of the Ironman. People looked dead, tired, seized up, and in sheer agony. Of course others just looked determined. We had decided to head back to the oval to the finish line to cheer those we coaxed up the hill at Canada Corner to the finish line. If you are around Canada Corner after 11:15 or so, you may not make it. On our way to the Oval, we spied a massive group running. Wondering what it was I asked our newly crowned Ironman Jason Billows, "what is that". He then told us there was this guy, Matt Long, a NYC firefighter, who had been a multiple Ironman hitting his record time just four years previous in 2005. He was riding his bike in December of 2005 when he was hit by a NYC Transit bus, and was given a 5% chance to live. His whole right side was crushed and shattered. He came out of his accident as a miracle and amazingly telling his therapist that he would complete an Ironman. His therapist then said "if you enter and do it, i will run with you". And so the "I WILL" group was born and that was who was running with Matt Long - apparently the whole day! So we see him coming up the street and my head is thinking "oh god I hope he makes it, but it doesn't seem so". Flash forward to 11:57pm we hear chanting and the oval breaks out into a frenzy as we see Matt Long's group heading our way. There was banging, and yelling "Matt, Matt, Matt..."....he rounds the corner limping the whole way, and crosses the line at 11:58pm...with 2 minutes to spare. I had tears streaming down my face. Hollywood could not have scripted this moment better.

My experience with the Ironman is this: I am awe-struck by the determination of these athletes. I personally can't imagine doing what they do, but I have resolved to better my physical program by signing up for a Running Room Clinic and would like to try a road bike. Will I try an Ironman someday? - probably not, my swimming is very very sub par. However, every time I open my mouth to complain, I will remind myself of Jason from his wheelchair to Ironman story, the man who swam with one arm, and Matt Long who came back from the brink of death and kicked the grim reapers ass!

IRONMAN at Lake Placid - Many Many Miles to Travel

2009-07-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

So Tim and I were down at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid NY the other day when this fine washboard specimen of a man comes sauntering past. Tim says "close your mouth buddy". Oh yes, many many fine bodies are to be seen this weekend in Lake Placid as the race day comes closer.

The Ironman is a grueling race that starts at 7am and ends at Midnight. It involves a total of 140.6 Miles of work - starting with 2.6 mile swim, followed by a 112 Mile Bike, followed by a FULL marathon at 26.2 Miles. For you Canadians out there just to put it into perspective - All told almost a 5km swim, 180km bike, and 42 km run. OH MY GOD! I've been trying all week to wrap my head around what my friend Jason is going to do tomorrow. I've seen some of the course in our travels around the area - a lot of hills since this is a mountainous region. At this point all his training is done and it's a total mental game. You have to understand, this is a guy who last year was suppose to do his first Ironman but was in a wheelchair at Lake Placid watching and couldn't even walk. He then went through major back surgery in late fall, then started physio and then training just this January. And after all that he is ready. Last month he did the Epicman training - which was almost a full Ironman but only Half the run.

So 2 days ago Tim and I went for a hike. It was really tough and very very steep climbing part of the last mile - and the whole time I kept having to tell myself, "jason is doing an Ironman, jason is doing an Ironman, this is nothing, you are getting a really good workout". Only a 4 hour 9km hike, and yet I can't fathom what Jason will have to endure over 12 to 14 hours tomorrow. I am very humbled and proud of his work and hope that he kicks some MAJOR ASS tomorrow.

At any rate, we must all leave the house at 5:45am to get a good spot at the starting line at Mirror Lake tomorrow - I've seen pictures of the start and seriously I would totally panic! (see attached). Luckily Jason is super confident in water, but man I couldn't do it. See above shot.....yesh!

Did Nano Thermite Take Down WTC 7?

2009-07-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't stirred the conspiracy pot in a while and don't have much to write about theatrically - although I suppose this could be considered "theatrical" in sense I would suppose, but here goes. This interview with a leading Scientist is too important not to share. I know lots of people scream "conspiracy theorist" but you know what, he is a leading scientist and knows a lot more then the regular joe out there - do you say he doesn't know his job? I dare you to prove him wrong if that is the case if you are a trained scientist. Any logical person that has had any science education should be able to form serious questions concerning the provided chain of events which culminated in the fall of all buildings located within WTC plaza on Sept. 11, 2001. This is an interesting and enlightening interview.

Plus I love a controversy! Enjoy! http://russiatoday.com/Best_Videos/2009-07-09/Did_nano-thermite_take_down_the_WTC.html

The original study was published in the Open Chemical Physics Journal recently by 9 scientists from all over, including the gentleman in this interview above. Here are the exerpts for you science nerds out there:

INTRODUCTION
The destruction of three skyscrapers (WTC 1, 2 and 7) on September 11, 2001 was an immensely tragic catastrophe that not only impacted thousands of people and families directly, due to injury and loss of life, but also provided the motivation for numerous expensive and radical changes in domestic and foreign policy. For these and other reasons, knowing what really happened that fateful day is of grave importance. A great deal of effort has been put forth by various government-sponsored and -funded investigations, which led, in large part, to the reports released by FEMA [1] and NIST [2]. Other studies of the destruction have been less well publicized but are no less important to the outstanding obligation that remains to the victims of that tragedy, to determine the whole truth of the events of that day [3-10]. A number of these studies have appropriately focused attention on the remaining physical material, and on available photographs and video footage, as sources of evidence still in public hands, relating to the method of destruction of the three skyscrapers.

CONCLUSIONS
We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in significant numbers in dust associated with the World Trade Center destruction. We have applied SEM/XEDS and other methods to characterize the small-scale structure and chemical signature of these chips, especially of their red component. The red material is most interesting and has the following characteristics:

1. It is composed of aluminum, iron, oxygen, silicon and carbon. Lesser amounts of other potentially reactive elements are sometimes present, such as potassium, sulfur, lead, barium and copper.

2. The primary elements (Al, Fe, O, Si, C) are typically all present in particles at the scale of tens to hundreds of nanometers, and detailed XEDS mapping shows intimate mixing.

3. On treatment with methyl ethyl ketone solvent, some segregation of components occurred. Elemental aluminum became sufficiently concentrated to be clearly identified in the pre-ignition material.

4. Iron oxide appears in faceted grains roughly 100 nm across whereas the aluminum appears in thin platelike structures. The small size of the iron oxide particles qualifies the material to be characterized as nanothermite or super-thermite.

5. Analysis shows that iron and oxygen are present in a ratio consistent with Fe2O3. The red material in all four WTC dust samples was similar in this way. Iron oxide was found in the pre-ignition material whereas elemental iron was not.

6. From the presence of elemental aluminum and iron oxide in the red material, we conclude that it contains the ingredients of thermite.

7. As measured using DSC, the material ignites and reacts vigorously at a temperature of approximately 430 °C, with a rather narrow exotherm, matching fairly closely an independent observation on a known super-thermite sample. The low temperature of ignition and the presence of iron oxide grains less than 120 nm show that the material is not conventional thermite (which ignites at temperatures above 900 °C) but very likely a form of super-thermite.

8. After igniting several red/gray chips in a DSC run to 700 °C, we found numerous iron-rich spheres and spheroids in the residue, indicating that a very high temperature reaction had occurred, since the iron-rich product clearly must have been molten to form these shapes. In several spheres, elemental iron was verified since the iron content significantly exceeded the oxygen content. We conclude that a high-temperature reduction-oxidation reaction has occurred in the heated chips, namely, the thermite reaction.

9. The spheroids produced by the DSC tests and by the flame test have an XEDS signature (Al, Fe, O, Si, C) which is depleted in carbon and aluminum relative to the original red material. This chemical signature strikingly matches the chemical signature of the spheroids produced by igniting commercial thermite, and also matches the signatures of many of the microspheres found in the WTC dust [5].

10. The carbon content of the red material indicates that an organic substance is present. This would be expected for super-thermite formulations in order to produce high gas pressures upon ignition and thus make them explosive. The nature of the organic material in these chips merits further exploration. We note that it is likely also an energetic material, in that the total energy release sometimes observed in DSC tests exceeds the theoretical maximum energy of the classic thermite reaction.Based on these observations, we conclude that the red layer of the red/gray chips we have discovered in the WTC dust is active, unreacted thermitic material, incorporating nanotechnology, and is a highly energetic pyrotechnic or explosive material.

(emphasis added)
Complete Article: http://www.bentham-open.org/pages/content.php?TOCPJ/2009/00000002/00000001/7TOCPJ.SGM

The Xtreme

2009-07-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ok if I wanted to go to the extreme, I would try out for a part in a play that is so not "me", or submit to direct a very challenging show.

My brother posted this to his blog and I just had to share this EXTREME. I felt sick as I watched this....but if I had real guts, man this would be fun!

The Extreme

Responsible Doggies and Owners and only 14 more sleeps until Lake Placid

2009-07-06T13:59:00.001-07:00

I am a responsible dog owner. Hence my frustration when I can’t walk my dog any place I please. I have to say I am pretty fortunate in that I live in an area of Ottawa that has at least 4 off leash dog areas that are very lush, woodsy and pretty. But not everyone has that luxury and there really is not that many areas in town to take a good dog off leash.

I understand people who are afraid of dogs, or don’t trust dogs off leash, but I can essentially walk Abby around the block with no leash and she walks beside me. Now this did not come without a lot of work. My husband and I spent over a year with her on a long 50 foot lead, and countless hours of training, Agility and flyball etc to get her to where she is now. She is a dog that pretty much comes when called every time. Guinness followed suite as soon as we got him. He saw that mummy didn’t stray and figured out pretty quick that his owners are the ones with the “goods” whether they be treats, or in his case his Ball with Chuck-it Launcher. Case in point – I was at our Soccer pitch/park the other day (it’s not an off leash park but everyone brings their dogs there when there are no kids playing soccer and it’s empty most of the time anyways), and I was standing by the side of the road talking to a couple who stopped me to ask about my dogs. The lady was a former Wire Fox Terrier owner and we were gabbing about the breed, how great they are, how funny and fun they are etc. Then she looks at me and then the dogs who are off leash and just sitting on the grass and says “wow, your dogs are good, they just sit there and wait for you – my Beaner would have run off”. I proceeded to tell her my training details, that Abby used to bolt out of the house in jubilant freedom (short version). Fox Terriers are known to run off as I pointed out about Abby in her younger days, but if you spend enough time training them that YOU are the best thing in the world, and to leave You is just plain stupid, then you are Golden! The only time Guinness’ staying with us becomes questionable is in the Fall when the squirrels are busy collecting their winter food, but generally now all I have to do is bellow out a warning "GUINNESS'...and he hesitates (but he still takes off...LOL but always comes back)

The reason for this blog entry is this: Tim and I are heading to Lake Placid in a couple of weeks, and every time we take a trip with the dogs we have to do (well I do) a lot of research to find dog friendly places to take our dogs and general most places are not that friendly. In this particular case a beach, or hiking trails since it's summer and we will be in the mountains. See our dogs are better off leash – Abby in particular. She is generally a much nicer dog off leash as she feels less threatened, and she likes to poke around and dawdles. So imagine my excitement when I discovered that Mirror Lake and the beach in Lake Placid is DOG FRIENDLY – woot woot!!! See dog friendly beaches RARELY happen my friends. When we’ve been to Provincial campsites their “dog beach” is a scrap of crappy rocky ledge. Lake Placid hiking trails are also going to be great for our dogs. They love hiking off leash. And being the responsible owners that we are we bring baggies for poop, and also put them on their leash should they get out of hand, or little kids or unfriendly dogs barrel our way.

I guess I am writing this because I am also really excited about our trip. And I know the dogs will have a great time because of the dog friendliness of the place - since "mummy and daddy" will be happier too. Our friend Jason is doing the Ironman on July 26th and we will be there to cheer him on. He loves our dogs and was more then happy to have them come for the week leading up to his big event. There will be hiking, and eating, and running, and playing and drinking and yoga up top of Whiteface mountain. Only 14 more sleeps.

Post Fringe Blues = Purchases and Booze

2009-07-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

I think I have Fringe withdrawal, or at least theatre withdrawal. One reason could be how I just JUMPED at the chance to do our "Sid's" (robin) fundraiser BIRTH which I hope is going to happen. Not only is it a nice and good script, it will be a good bonding women's adventure and great fundraiser for a good cause (Breech Birth).

Another reason I can tell is I have some free time so I am buying things - my defense also is that the weather has been really crappy. Granted I have not bought much in the way of clothing in a while and I do try to buy local or at least Enviro stuff. I did not do so yesterday when I purchased a brown linen skirt from Winners (made in China but on SALE) or the two items at Apple Saddlery last night ( a functional black summer dress and brown cool, capris - BOTH ON SALE). However the purchases I made are ones I will wear a lot and are "classic" items - meaning in my books they will go with a lot of other items I own. Today I redeemed myself by making Eco purchases.

I found a new Fav store. It's called Adore It, and it's on York and Cumberland . I bought this cool one of a kind tank top made from recycled pieces of clothing, stitched with Canadian thread, and totally MADE IN CANADA. Also bought a Fair trade blouse designed in Canada but made in India. Everything in the store is either local, or Fair Trade or used. It's a great store with some really cool items for ladies. Check it out.

I also made my way down to The Workshop which is another one of my favorite stores - supporting local or Canadian designers and crafters. They have fantastic stuff. All be it pricey but I think really worth it. I didn't buy anything due to the above purchases I just made and the fact that I have a husbands birthday next week.

Now it's on to a Team Oreo party at Nadine's house. I miss my cast a lot and it's only been a few days - another sign I have Fringe Withdrawal. But the plans are happening. I have squeezed some limes, we are all on the search for Mint, JP is bringing the Rum, I have icing sugar , all we need is soda water and we are good to go! Bring on the Guitar Hero and Apples to Apples - it's gonna be a good night!

Ottawa Fringe : My Reviews Late but Done

2009-06-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

So ya, these reviews are a little late as Fringe and life were busy. Unlike SL who blogs like a madman, I can't seem to keep up with that speed dude! So in total of fringe shows I am a light weight. I saw 7 shows, plus I saw OREO a bunch of times (but I am not counting that).

First up in Fringe adventures was Catgut Strung Violin. WoW these guys are amazing performers. Their mime technique and little "lazzis" were well executed, full of energy and skill. Great performers. Some of the story I found very effective but some was lost on me in between. The end I did not understand - if someone knows can you tell me? I know it seems to encompass "everyman" at war which I thought was really cool - the innocence of going into war and the brutality all done with humour. I highly recommended this to people as it really was fun to watch and I was engaged up until the end (again I was a bit lost).

Next up was Spiraldive. The sad part about this production was not enough folks saw it. It is a 90 min Fringe show in a Trilogy of shows. This was Episode one. The theatrical convention used of talking to the audience, the bare set of 3 chairs , some paper mache planes, and the large metal contraption that was the Spitfire is perfect Fringe staging. Simple yet very effective. This seemed like something you'd see at the GCTC (although at GCTC I suppose the set would be more involved) it was so polished and professional. The actors were really wonderful and shifted easily from character to character. The only actor that was in the play that didn't seem as grounded at some points in the show, was the taller of the trio. Small quip as he is obviously very talented. Anyways, I was taken in by the story, and want to see more of this trilogy.

The next day I was suppose to see No Exit Upstage, ON Second Thought, and then Enter Screaming. I got one of those on my list that day done. I had heard so much about Countries Shaped Like Stars, that I didn't want to miss it and that night (wednesday) was my only night I
could see it. Good thing I went when i did. This show was always SOLD OUT. And I was NOT disappointed. It is such a simple tale, full of whimsy, fun, music, and heartbreak...just the perfect little package. Congrats to Emily Pearlman ...she's my new hero and everyone - including my - Fringe Crush. I think I was ruined after that to see anything else at Fringe. I certainly hope they get to do this show again and not change A THING! I don’t want to tell the story just in case they remount it.

Next up was Enter Screaming. I think Richard is very clever and smart, and the script is dark and humourous, but I have to say I was not blown away by this show. I had friends in it so hope they aren't offended by that statement.

Closing day, I saw Satanic Panic. Now I like Black Comedy and there was some really good dialogue in this show - I just didn't care for it as a story. I don't know why and can't explain it. Also, I think if you are doing Black Comedy your actors really really need to committ to every line down to their toes to make it really funny. That committment ebed in and out for me. I found Zach Counsil really committed for me and enjoyed him a lot. The other actors are very talented and I had no problems with the direction of the piece. I just think commit more and maybe they would have had me. Maybe it was the smallish audience. Also the main male character spoke so fast I couldn't understand him a lot of the time.

After a snack and meeting up with my hubby it was, No Exit Upstage. Now this is a start of a very clever concept. I am not sure if the general public will be able to relate to the Theatricalness of the show (theatre talk etc.) but I love the looping theatrical convention idea that Nancy incorporated, there is some really clever dialogue. I did find that there was an unevenness in the casting. Nancy is a strong natural actress. Her scene partner did not seem to have the experience Nancy had. They are taking this along to Winnipeg and I wish them all the best for the run there. I think Nancy should keep going with this idea. I enjoyed watching the show
and she has something there. As SL said "a polished preview of a bigger play"

Saw the final show of OREO - well the final on the schedule since we got BEST IN VENUE (hells ya!). My cast were rock stars! Really fun show with a really nice big audience on a nice hot Sunday afternoon. I will miss Team OREO although I believe it's not over, just made some really good friends who I will work with in the future and hang with...YAY.

Went home to eat, freshen up, and back for the BEST in VENUE at Alumni - This is a Recording. I had heard so many good things about this show, and I'll start off by saying it's a start of a good honest production but it's still a workshop script. There does not seem to be, to my eyes nor my husbands eyes, a clear structure. Now he and I both love Virbateum Theatre, and the reason we were both a bit disappointed after the big build we'd heard about this show, is we've seen really amazing Virbateum theatre in Toronto and Vancouver by people I went to theatre school with or from my theatre school teachers, and this particular show was very rough and needs more clear structure. My hats off to the actors for very very honest real and heartfelt acting, but it needs a clear direction. I did like the simplicity of the piece which is what it should be. If they keep going with it and make a clear through line it can be a really lovely piece (there were some really beautiful moments).

One portion which confused me was the very end: I thank Kelly for revealing herself to the audience that way, and it was brave and committed and heartfelt and naked of soul, but I really didn't see why it is in the show when you add up all the other portions. And if she was confessing, I felt Simon should have as well. I know all of us as actors feel we are not good enough, but not sure it was the place for it. I know some people will probably shoot daggers at me for saying the above but as an avid theatre goer and one who has seen a lot of this type of theatre, I am just being honest. Again, hats off to them and they should keep exploring this as it is a really good start.

So all in all this was a great Fringe experience from directing, to my actors, to the shows I got to see. This year showcased the huge amounts of talent that is in this city right now. We have struck the set, and are moving on.....now I have to think of something to get Tim for his Birthday next week...YIKES.

Ottawa Fringe and Directing

2009-06-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

I directed a show at the Fringe. I was nervous going in, but during the process I realized “I can totally do this, trust your instincts”. Course I always tell myself that but there is always that small seed of doubt. But I think my work has paid off. OREO seem to be a hit with the audiences.

I have to say I believe I am a good caster of shows. When Tim and I did the Tototoo shows in the Fall…bang, great cast. With OREO…STELLAR cast. Now I hope to have a repeat performance in October when I cast Drinking Alone for the OLT. I trust it will happen.

I have to say, something that bugs me a wee bit about reviews of shows…if your show does well often times they do not mention the Director or if they do it is very brief. If it’s bad they go on about the director, and cast, if done well they don’t always. I mean not to say I did a perfect job on OREO. I didn’t. There I things that I see now blocking wise in the actual space from afar that I would totally change – as well as I would change some light cue choices I made etc. But we just didn’t have a lot of luxury of time for many adjustments in the space. AH the wonders and joy of Fringe. But I am very happy with the show. The DQ is great, she shines as an actress, her writing is smart and funny…but the whole cast, set, etc needs a director. It didn’t all get up there on it’s feet by itself. This is a small quibble I must say and I am saying it. I take it that the positive feedback means I am a pretty good director of comedy so I’ll take it.

I read a post recently from, as SL calls her, the DQ. She mentioned how you make friends for the time of the show but often not extend past that. I understand that and it’s true in a way because this special cocoon you made of your show will never be the same configuration. However I think she will be pleasantly surprised that we stay in touch. I have made some really wonderful quality friends doing this Theatre thing that I often hang out with outside the theatre. And this was a very special cast. I consider all these folks in OREO friends, whom I hope to spend time with and years with in the future. They are wonderful people – the whole package. Plus they LOVE what I love!

Anyways, I am ashamed to say I have yet to see a Fringe show. There are a few reasons why – I am exhausted after all the rehearsals and prep, my husband has a photography class every Monday night so I am on dog duty, we also had an audition and call back, and I have two dogs that need love and walks and attention. SO tonight I start. On the agenda tonight : Catgut Strung Violin, and Country Shaped Like Stars. I won’t be in the realm of Fringe Viewing stardom like NK or JR and the like, but I plan on those two shows tonight, 3 to 4 tomorrow, and a few on Sunday (I have a very busy weekend with other commitments). Next year I think I’ll just take Fringe Off so I can enjoy the whole thing and maybe even Billet. I have been concerned about Billeting only because of our dogs, but I think they will be at a decent age next year that they can handle it (well maybe not Abby…she hates any kind of change. She’s a strange dog)

On another note, Tim and I went for a call-back for STNY at our local community theatre. We just went cause 1: we’ve never acted in a show together, 2. we thought since we were married the intimacy portions required for the show are there already, 3. we would get to spend lots of time together. Tim also figured I’d be able to help him out as an actor. Now we have not yet heard from the director but figure we aren’t getting cast. Partially because we set ourselves up as a package deal and the director rather a different package. Also,perhaps the reason is the differences between Tim and I acting wise. I mean it’s no secret that I have a lot more experience then Tim and he knows that and accepts that. Not even sure if it was noticeable or not…so that could be a reason as well. Tim is also not as confident on stage as I am. I have some professional roles, and auditions and professional training under my belt so am much more confidante. Although I must admit I find I am not great at cold read auditions. I am much better at call-backs.

Truth be told, I am hoping we don’t get it (as Tim is hoping as well). It’s summer time. There is much socializing to do, camping and trips to take, wine to consume, and I have to sit down with my script for OLT and break it down and prep for the fall. Also I want to audition for Evolution Theatre’s next show so….would rather keep doing the professional stuff. Although I do plan on reading for a show at OLT that I love…and I love the director…so I will do community theatre when it’s something I love to do and a director I’d like to work with --- learning learning learning…it’s all about keep learning.

So,on to my first night of show viewing pleasure. Will report back with reviews and or comments tomorrow!!!

OREO and Fun Times at Ottawa Fringe Fest

2009-06-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well I know i know, it's been MONTHS since I blogged. Just been uber busy with new job. We went through this huge National training of over 5400 people across Canada for a new system that processes CPP, so it was and still is quite the undertaking. The system is in place, some hiccups happening but generally a HUGE success. Still have some training clean up and maintenance. Whether I get to stay in the group is another story. I can't remember what else I've been doing other then Fringe stuff. It just seems like a blur since January when I started my new job in all other aspects of life.

Other things are coming up : my hubby is in Happy Birthday for Tototoo theatre, we both plan on auditioning for a show together, we have plans to go to Lake Placid NY at the end of July to support our good friend Jason in the Ironman (he's NUTS I tell you, NUTS!!!), as well as build a deck, going to see Bruce in NJ Giants Stadium in the Fall.....I have a show to direct next season at OLT called "Drinking Alone"....yup stuff going on.

But enough about work and plans. In am now into the fun times of Fringe. In the Fall my friend Nadine asked me to direct her new show OREO which is somewhat autobiographical. At first I was hesitant since I've never directed a new script before. It ended up being a match made for both of us i think. She trusted me, I trusted her and together with our ideas and her lovely and funny writing, OREO has morphed into a wonderful happenstance. The cast is amazing - very talented acting styles of Nadine (our producer/writer/star), Robin Guy, Colleen Sutton, Sterling Lynch (the FIND of the year), and JP Chartier (my LAG alum buddy), and of course the super talented Iyono Ede (who is lead singer of the Hammerheads by the way).

The process has been super fun....with many a box joke to be had, Sex Ed videos posted which was a funny fluke that happened at a drunken cast bonding even. Yesterday we had a really good tech (frig that Nat Gisele ROCKS). and opening night house was friendly, and plentiful.

NOW i have to decide what to see. You have to see other fringe shows at Fringe not just stick to your own. Now there are the obvious choices of friends shows: Exit Upstage (Nancy Kenny), Enter Screaming (Sarah Hearn).,...I have seen JUMP at a GCTC reading last year by Bev Wolfe. Now I probably wont' see it again since there is so much to see but HIGHLY recommend others to go see it. Kate Hurman is directing so it's a win win. I'd like to see some out of towners like "On Second Thought" Paul seems awesome. As well as Cat Strung Violin - the gang from New Mexico, among others...have to see Sterling's show "satanic panic" - good cast going on there.

So much see - among other things have to hang at the fun beer tent at fringe too...but then there are the obligations of friends events - friend BBQ tonight, plus next week...how does one be in many places at once?

at the end of the day....I am here to say....go SEE shows at the Ottawa Fringe Festival...especially OREO by Nadine Thornhill. You'll be glad you did! Life is good.

Oh Blog, I am sorry I neglected you

2009-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

It’s been while since I blogged but I have been busy and busy times have come to an end. I just wrapped up Life After God with Vision Theatre. Although the old baby boomer critics seemed not to like it I know a lot of people who did enjoy the show. There were many opinions on this one. Ranging from I loved the acting not the script, to I loved everything about it, it spoke to me. The critics on the other hand are another story. I would not normally comment so long after a review, and really I get that a baby boomer would look at us and say “get a life” but one thing about one of the reviews which bothered me was a comment that Langston said about my character Julie. It says nothing about how I acted in the character but commented on a housewife who feels alone and distraught. This is what he said.” Julie (Chantale Plante) is a suburban housewife, although just what justifies her complaint that she's leading a "fictional life" is hard to say.” YA, only a MAN would say that! Need I expand on this point? As if being home in a life you didn’t dream for yourself as you have 2 wee kids screaming and shooting things, yelling, screaming at each other day in and day out would not make you feel trapped and like you are going nowhere. All the mothers/women I know got it right away. But that is all I will say about that.

I am both glad and sad that the show is over. Glad because I have my life back to read and cook and make sure my house is clean, but sad because I always enjoy working and playing with the Vision Family and the new people I just met were amazing. I know that I will work again with them in the future but it’s always sad to close a page on a show when you enjoy the people you work with.

So now I am theatre vacant. The only prospect I have is directing a Fringe show for my friend Nadine (I am excited about that). I mean I could audition for other shows but have made the choice to focus on my new job which won’t allow me much free evening time anyways. I had realized the reason I was doing so much theatre was that I was unhappy in my job , not working for the government per say, just I needed something new– I loved the people I was with, just it was getting boring and tiresome. So I needed to inject some new life in my day job. Now I am working in a new group of great people with a very busy schedule on a huge project with National significance. It’s fun. Have worked overtime already, and March and April are gonna be CRAZY with OT.....it's time in the bank I say. But should be good.

Saw THE BOSS play the halftime show at Superbowl on Sunday. To the uninitiated it was a fine example of how Bruce goes like that for 3 HOURS. He is non-stop. You saw 12 minutes of Bosstime fun. And speaking of Bruce,- yesterday Ticketmaster HELL is the talk of Backstreets.com (the Bruce Fan site). Seems that Ticketmaster has gotten into bed with a Broker (um scalper really), which doubles the price of tickets and seemed to have them even before Ticketmaster put the tickets on sale. How is that? Also it was such a mess yesterday. I kept getting these weird error messages about how they were doing Maintenance. My friend Steve managed to get us GA tickets for some obscure Pennsylvania town, but at least we will be able to see this new tour.

And finally, I am in recovery mode right now after having had a minor gum grafting yesterday after having put it off from December to now. It is annoying as hell for eating. Think of hot molten cheese from a Pizza having scorched the roof of you mouth. Then you have a piece a skin that was taken from that palate to you tooth and sewn on. Yup…sexy. I am friggin’ starving. I seem to be the only one who has problems eating with this. Tim had two teeth done at the same time in December and he seemed to just eat like normal….course that is Tim. The idea of any food stuff getting in my stitches area in my palate totally grosses me out. Hoping dinner goes better then it did last might with me mushing up my tortellini only to give Tim most of it out of frustration on how long it was taking me to eat. They say the mouth heals the fastest…so heal mouth HEAL!!!

Actors, and Writers and ROME - Oh MY!

2009-01-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Welcome to a new blogging year. Over this holiday season, I saw a few movies, read a lot, and watched a lot of shows on DVD from HBO.

Firstly – SEAN PENN is an acting GOD. Tim and I went to see MILK on Friday night and I was blown away by Penn’s acting. It is flawless. He embodies this person to the point where you forget it is Sean Penn. I mean Penn is usually amazing and he should have won for Dead Man Walking, but this just solidifies to all out there that he is THE Actor of our time. After I saw the movie I watched some You Tube stuff on Harvey Milk and again – was blown away. It was the actor I saw on the screen just a few hours earlier. How does Penn do it? Even Jamie Foxx in Ray wasn’t that embodied. It’s worth seeing the movie just for Penn.

Secondly – I’ve been reading a lot. Lately a lot of lite reading – the Twilight series, and then some sexy Vampire romance in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series I borrowed from my friend (which was actually not bad and I am looking forward the rest of the series). But then I decided I needed some literature. And I finally picked up THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy that has been sitting there waiting for me to pick up. WOW. What an amazing book. It is the type of book you wish you didn’t want to read as it is what you can only imagine human kind turning into should something apocalyptic happen. You’d have good guys and then the ones that will just do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to survive. It is amazingly scary, bleak, sad, beautiful, simple and yet complex book. I couldn’t put it down. He writes so lyrically and simply in terms of dialogue in a way I wish more writers would do. Less is more isn’t it? Within the first 10 pages I had tears from a simple exchange between father and son. It is gut wrenching but worth every turn of the page. I won’t say anymore except it left me haunted and thinking for hours afterwards. I was deeply affected by it. I only hope they do justice to it in the Hollywood movie version. I did hear that the director is not “hollywoodish” so I can only hope that it will be faithful, and simple.

Finally - ROME the HBO series kicks major ass. I have never seen so much explicit sex, violence, great sets, costumes and really good acting all in one place. I am only too sad to learn that it is only 2 seasons. We’ve also been watching Extras by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais…good I love those blokes. It’s not as funny as The Office (BBC version) but the fact that they have Kate Winslet miming giving a blow job in a nuns habit….PRICELESS.

Abby and We – Tales of the Worst Emotionally Damaged Dog

2008-12-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

I or Tim should write a book. I mean Josh Grogan did it about his dog Marley didn’t he? If you never read Marley and Me, you should – or go see the movie that will be coming out Christmas day. It’s a funny, heart warming book about a family and their supposedly “worst dog” Marley. They should have tried out a Wire Fox terrier name Abby for size and then they’d see what truly a “worst/best/emotionally damaged for no good reason” dog is!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the little bitch. She has personality like you wouldn’t believe…but for some reason she seems either that she is entitled to be royalty or that we beat her in our sleep without us knowing it - she does some weird shit. She’s really a tough audience. I think perhaps she was either a Queen or Princess of some sort in another life. Her perpetual glare seems to say “We are not amused”. Or my favourite expression of hers I am pretty darn sure she says to us all the time “Fuck off human”.

Since she was a pup from 8 weeks of age, she’s just been so damn serious and looks like she feels entitled to it all! We thought it was us! We couldn’t get her to play for any long length of time. But when she did like something it was a sickness – an Obsession (in case you don’t know Terriers, then tend to have obsessive compulsive disorder of some sort). At one point in the first few weeks I came home and Tim was LIVID and said “That is it, we are taking her back. I am damaging her”. I kept trying to reassure him that it had to be her , she was defective – I had met other dogs and they were so “normal”. We discovered only 3 years later getting her puppy Guinness that indeed she was abnormal, and that Fox Terriers are generally very goofy, fun and cuddly. As Abby got “older” we discovered how smart she is – maybe that is part of the problem, we are just too stupid to be her owners.

I then discovered a few ways to keep her entertained for longer stretches of time: Dog Obedience (so she is generally well behaved), Agility, Flyball, and walks in the woods/hiking. And the LASER pointer which we don’t use anymore as she was just too obsessed over it.

At any rate, it is hard to sum up all the “worst” events this Terrier has done. I’ll try and list a few here – and keep in mind, I laugh at all this, cause what else can you do?
- she’s destroyed a whole front hall of baseboards;
- she’s peed on the bed multiple times (she has to sleep on the floor now);
- she’s peed on the couch and chair this past weekend – did I mention she’s 5 years old - floor for no apparent reason;
- we have to put the baby gate up at night for fear of stepping into a pile of “something smelly” in the morning.;
- She eats the stuffing in any toy we buy;
- She cries for food – oh wait now she barks at us for it, but before she had her litter of puppies she would rarely eat – From one extreme to the other it seems;
- She beats up, mounts, obsessively licks her boy Guinness – he is usually too scared to move, and also she Tim – to dominate it seems;
- When we go to leave in the morning, and tell her to go upstairs she acts like we’ve beaten the crap out of her.
- When you groom her, she looks and acts like you are killing her
- She used to bolt out of the house the first year and a half – sending us into frantic mode – that Laser pointer then became VERY useful.
- When I take her out for her last pee, she looks at me like I’m destroying her spirit;
- She GLARES – OH BOY does she glare…See pictures here for details;

I could go on about this truly cranky pants dog, but I won’t. Now don’t get me wrong, I would not trade her for anything. I love her to bits. And if we had not gotten her, then we would not have a stunted, not so bright but such a good loving puppy Guinness. But this is what we vow…..we shall never get another female Terrier again – unless the breeder knows for sure she’s dumb and happy like Guinness.

I’d take a dumb Marley dog (or another Guinness dog) any day – at least he was happy and goofy, not a crabby serious Terrier.

OH but Abby…you do make me smile!!!!!

ACK, alright I'll Bite....Team Edward

2008-12-22T06:51:00.001-08:00

Finished the Twilight Series. Edward can bite me anytime.

Yup, it's official I have defected to team Edward. Perfect man (well some faults - a bit over protective) , hot, a vampire....powerful, and rich what else can you ask for?

Team Edward vs Team Jacob

2008-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I have just finished New Moon – the second book in the Twilight series. (all the rage with young girls every where in case you didn't know). It was not the best written book by any stretch of the imagination; however Stephenie Meyers books about a girl in love with a Vampire, and Werewolf are addictive.

After the first book I was both pulled in by Edward, loved him, and then pissed off at him for being so weak and brooding –running away from Bella. And then I started to read New Moon and fel in love with Jacob – so didn’t mind so much Edward was gone. I was hoping Bella would feel the same eventually and decide that the werewolf might be better after all – since he was sort of human and sweet, in a large, paw ripping sort of way. But then I ended up pissed off at Bella for her treatment of him. As soon as Edward was in trouble she dropped Jacob like a hot potato….bad girl!

I guess I am a Team Jacob supporter although by the end of New Moon I was sucked (ha ha) back in by Edward and his Clan. But to my mind I must be the gal who prefers the nice boy to the angry, brooding, hot guy who seems all consuming. Also what makes me prefer Jacob at this point in the series, is the fact that Bella did more fun things with Jacob, was more herself with Jacob, and could reveal anything about herself with him, coupled with the fact that he is her best friend. When one looks for a mate doesn’t one want that person to be her Best Friend? I know I do. With Edward, she is always touching him, and just wanting to stare at him, but I get no sense they are best friends. It just seems like a clear case of intense infatuation to me. And we know what happens to infatuation. It fades.

Now I can’t believe that I am actually writing about this in this fashion, but the books are addictive!!! I have read both books within a few days (and both are over 500 pages each). They are an easy read being Teen books. Harry Potter is a far better written series. But I see why teens love the Twilight series. I sure wish they had these books when I was a teen. Instead I read Judy Blume (she was great actually), Sweet Valley High, and those other stupid romance books until I got into V.C. Andrews – V.C. and Meyers certainly are no Rohinton Mistry or Michael Ondaatje. But, there was always C.S. Lewis whose writing was far superior to some of the teen fair out there.

What Meyers does well in her books, however, is create that true feeling of what it is like to be swept away by young love as a young woman, and also the intense pain that can come after a break up – coupled with the uber cool paranormal twist. Now granted her breakup pain went on a little longer then in real life, but I recall feeling that searing pain after a breakup. It’s brutal. I just hope that young girls realize that you don’t need a guy to make your life whole, and that eventually pain from that love or infatuation fades, and you move on. Also I hope girls realize that they shouldn’t cut out their friends for their boyfriend. I know at first when a relationship starts, you want to spend all your time with that person. Hell I think when Tim and I first started going together that was certainly the case, and even in the first few years. We always had friends about however, and have continued to build a large mutual friend base – both together and separately. Eventually we settled into making sure we hung with friends either as a couple or individuals and made sure we keep time for ourselves in our own pursuits. The great thing is though – I have a best friend, who I really love spending time with most of the time. Even after 11 years, I enjoy the stuff we do together. I found my Jacob after all. I don’t need no stinkin’ vampire! I got a Tim! I think Bella would have been better off with a Tim ….so until I finish the series of books I am on the Jacob Team. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind but for now it’s ---.GO Team Jacob!

NOTE: now I haven't seen the movie Twilight yet either ...but that Rob Pattinson who plays Edward....YUMMY -- maybe I'll be on Team Edward yet!

PPS - gee started Eclispe....Edward...hmmmmm..I'm coming around. I might be a fence sitter.
HOWEVER he is no Gerard Butler.

"Made in China" Makes Me Feel Dirty

2008-12-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

I hate Xmas.

Correction, I hate the Commercial Xmas – because I do love the family time/friend time Xmas. Why is it that parents or family have to lavish kids with useless crap that is covered in plastic packaging, padding the pockets of a communist human rights violating country, that the kids will pretty much forget about in a few days? Why do I sometimes get sucked into this vortex? I guess some habits can be hard to break and one can fall off the “wagon”, as I do live in the North American Mc-World. Tim and try to be responsible, and we don’t often buy excessive things for ourselves. We have stopped buying presents for each other at Xmas. It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense since all the money comes from the same pot. And we really really try to buy gifts from a good place. We also don’t tend to shop at malls, or buy clothes that often (I did buy some stuff last weekend for myself at Ladyfest but they are all made from recycled stuff). I mean we do sometimes go outlet shopping in the States but are always very reserved in our spending.

So I went to Waldo-mart yesterday after my office Xmas party to finish up the Xmas shopping. I only had one more person to buy for. My sweet nephew Aiden. He’s only 5 ½ and what do you get a boy that age? Something Boyish – cars, things that blow up, Pokemon etc. But where do you have to buy such things? Walmart, Zellers etc. Now where are these items all made? Human Rights violating China. I know , I know – last year I was good and I went to Tiggy Winkles and got a European toy for the boy. I felt good. Less money in cheap toyland hands. And so far this year, Tim and I had been good with the gifts we bought the “kids” – saving Child soldiers in Africa for the older kids, and some crafts that are made from recycled items at Ladyfest, then for Marissa - a beautiful quilt made with loving hands, and an organic bamboo/soft Lamby filled bunny – again made with loving hands all from the Wakefield Craft show. The parent folks will also have very thoughtful gifts. Not a “Made in China” stamp to be found. Until yesterday.

My reasoning is this – Aiden is still too young to understand giving to the less fortunate, or saving a child in Africa, and he loves to play with stuff. So why deny that? That was what I was thinking as I entered the horrific place called Walmart. (god that place makes me feel sick). I discovered a few items I know he’ll like, and walked out. Then I got home.

Tim: “Look at all that packaging. And it’s all made in China. I’ll go to Tiggy Winkles tomorrow and get him something made in Europe”. And he went on and on…the usual rant that we both have about these big box mall stores that we sometimes enter, but never feel good about entering.

Me: “ya but, Aiden’s only 5 ½, he doesn’t care that it’s made in china! And it’s a NASCAR…Jimmie Johnson! You can control it…it’s COOL”.

Tim” ya but, look, the packaging…oh that stuff makes me feel sick to my stomach”.

Me: ”But Buddy, Aiden is too young to understand – we can’t buy him stuff like “You saved a child soldier”, from World Vision yet. What does a 5 year old play with - cars, pokemon…fun stuff. Wait until he is older to get him something that “saves the world” ”

And on and on the conversation went, while Tim was flanked on the couch by two tired cuddly terriers. I threw a blanket over his head.
Me: “Ack, live with it Dude. I ain’t taken the stuff back!”

I hate to be part of the problem, as we often talk about, but sometimes I‘m just to tired to think about what the alternatives are. It’s Xmas after all. I promised that next year, would be different. Maybe I’ll start looking in September because right now, I still feel kind of dirty.

Do children run this country or am I dreaming?

2008-12-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

I live in a strange place......where children are allowed to run government.....

Well there is lots going on - both politically and theatrically. The hostage takings in Mumbai (read false flag oh ya for sure), the financial crisis, our own Canadian Government Circus– I actually am gleefully hoping they take the Neo Cons and get to form a coalition government. I think we need a shake up. I think we need to show that smarmy Harper he does not have a Majority to toy with. The one thing that pisses me off about this whole debacle is it could have been averted if 1) PEOPLE had gone out last Oct. 14th and actually VOTED. This year was the lowest voter turn out in decades, which is super sad. So we have no one to blame but ourselves…well I won’t blame myself because I actually got off me arse and voted.
2) If Harper wasn’t so blatantly ego maniacal and worked like he had a Majority which he does not! Hello Stephen, Love, you have a MINORITY. Last time I checked you have to actually WORK with the Opposition, not piss them and the rest of us off. He basically gave everyone the bird last Thursday and said “I dare ya”….well guess what Steve….they took your dare. Why do you play with us like that? Why don’t you just get to friggin’ work…ah too late now. I don’t think it’s in his DNA.

I don’t think the coalition will actually work but hey, can’t be worse then the non action going on with the Conservatives. I love the fact that all the Neo Cons call this coalition stuff “undemocratic”..uh duh really…so have you taken Canadian Poli Sci 101 lately boys? Last time I checked, this was all constitutional law. What an attempt to claw their way from defeat…desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose.

On the theatre front - Monday was the big day for the Stop the Cuts Rally. At 10am artists from all over showed up at City Hall wearing black and bringing artists props, dance shoes or what have you to show the City that Ottawa does not want these drastic cuts to the Arts. John Reid demonstrated wonderfully the importance to arts to a city. Did you know that Ottawa spends the most in the arts – that is people pay out of their own pockets more on average then other cities in Canada, yet its municipal government spends the least on Arts and Culture….what is wrong with that picture???? A lot! But the Councillors seem to want to reverse their decision…they seemed supporting the arts after all the information that they have received in the last months or so….so here is hoping.

Last Thursday night I went to see Coma Unplugged at the GCTC. I did enjoy it. Some parts I was not sure about but I did on the whole enjoy the experience and quirkiness of the play, the set design, and acting styles. Also, it was a joy to watch Jeff, my former Studio classmate. He was amazing to watch. I could see the training that we were taught come together like a fine wine. His alignment was PERFECT, connected voice and body, relaxed, and nothing contrived. And FUN FUN FUN. It looked effortless. He was a standout. Anyways, it makes me sad in a way that I didn’t finish the program although I think I took the base work with me. I mean after 3rd term would have been 4th – which is performing and just building on the basics to make it even more solid. But it also inspired me that I should use my tools and give ‘er!

Currently I am in rehearsal for Life After God with Vision Theatre. So far it’s a pretty light schedule and my sections seem to be going well. Although I have to hit the memorizing.. Ya, that might be an idea. Maybe tonight after the Tudors...ah TV how I have missed you all these long months away…….sigh.

Dear City of Ottawa - My Ottawa STILL Includes Culture!!!!!

2008-11-12T12:27:00.001-08:00

I had my husband help write the following letter which i have sent to City Hall and various Representatives. This is ridiculous. Why do we still have to keep fighting this?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to Dumbed Down City, population –you.

Once again actions have preceded thought. One wonders at this fallibility for this century of advancements points towards an apex of human understanding. A good hoodwinking it is. While city hall execs get the boot with hundreds of thousands of dollars in payouts, the arts get the shaft once again. I am ashamed that we still have to keep fighting about keeping Arts and Culture alive in this town when it has been proven time and time again, that we pump money into the Ottawa system.

As an Ottawa Tax Payer, who pays over $4000 per year in Property Taxes, and one who has paid to use City of Ottawa Facilities to rehearse as an artist and who is one who enjoys all arts, from paintings, to theatre, to music, I DO NOT support the 100% elimination of funding for festivals and the 42% reduction of funding for the arts and I want that money reinstated before the budget is passed.

While City Hall has rarely been charitable with its arts community, the source of funding has trickled. Mayor O’Brien is now preparing to park his Benz on the trickle lest it become a flow.

Let’s be clear, no arts community expects blank-cheque charity. Any artist knows that art is only true art when hard fired in the kiln of the hungry. And while I applaud a politician whose intent is clearly stated, I find nothing to applaud in a community that believes zero means zero without knowing the cost of zero. The cost is always that which we see least, the easiest cut to make.

Unfortunately the cut and the cost will be a struggling arts identity that will continue to struggle for less and less funding. While not forced out of it their theatres and dance halls, artists will have to charge more, and work in worsening conditions. Audiences will have less and less choice, perhaps giving up the search all together. And let’s be clear, business will also suffer as a result. Easier isn’t just the purview of government as audiences drive instead to see American artists on boxy-big screens.

If the cuts continue, when and if the enlighten Ottawa goes searching for a piece of art outside of the mainstream, the cost will be made prohibitive by semi-professional or amateur art groups eking out meager existences. The beauty of art is its birth in a crucible of supportive attendance—give and take.

Don’t get me wrong I believe in the Ottawa Senators. I believe, however, that there cow palace was planned with business concerns in mind and not a search for a city’s heart. Mayor O’Brien’s search again for a zero tax increase (har har) will continue with an attack on the only other thing that remains to define a city’s heart--it’s art.

Paris was not romantic Paris until the artists invaded Montmarte. And Ottawa will never be anything other than dumb Ottawa if the artists have to lay claim to distant acres to get some funding attention.

To be perfectly crystal clear:

1. any cuts to festivals, arts and heritage programs and organizations are unacceptable;
2. any proposed increases to funding already committed should be followed-through; and
3. that the City of Ottawa consider a budgeting mechanism so that this does not happen again.

I urge you to rethink this obsurd proposition. Saying NO to culture is saying no to your city.
My Ottawa Still Includes Culture!

Respectfully,

Chantale Plante
Public Servant , Tax Payer AND Artist

It’s Opening Night!!!!!!!

2008-10-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

What is that song from the musicial The Producers...."it's opening night, it's opening NIGHT!!!!!"

Guess what, it's OPENING NIGHT! Our Tototoo evening of One Act plays opens TONIGHT. So finally Tim’s and my work is done. The show is now Linda’s, our Stage Manager, and we can just sit back and enjoy it with the audience.

Last night was a bit rough for all the actors in The Soldier Dreams - well for them rough is still GREAT - I was secretly hoping it would be. Is that wrong? The curse goes that if you have a smokin’ Dress rehearsal you have a lack lustre opening night. However, if you have the opposite then your opening will rock it! Hopefully that happens but only to the first one act, because Remembering Shanghai has really taken off and was great last night. It was just lovely to watch. At one point I stopped taking notes, held Tim’s arm as he held mine. I had tears in my eyes. The connection between Elyot and Victor was so beautiful to watch.

One thing I hate being a director though…is having the audience for the first time – and something happens that isn't what you directed – you feel helpless, want to yell at the stage….like last night we only had 5 audience members who were invited. Jesse, our young lad, finished his “Her Majesty” scene with Tish, with wine glass in hand, got confused as to what scene was next, proceeded to walk into the bedroom and move the chair and stand beside the bed with a wine glass…something he never does in the show. It took him a minute to clue in “gee why am I standing here with a wine glass in my hand?”…then he walked off. I wanted to calmly yell at the stage, “uh sweetie, you are suppose to exit Stage Right after your speech not Stage left”, but if this happened live I wouldn’t be able to do that. So Tim and I bit our tongues, then giggled to each other once he figured out he wasn’t suppose to be there. I might add Jesse is blonde..and oh so adorable.

I think I am getting better at this “letting go” business as a director though. Perhaps in maturity or experience. I recall directing my first one act play at Ottawa U for directing class. I was nervous as HELL as were my fellow classmates also with shows that night. We all went out before and got tispy to soften the nervous blow..then proceeded to hold each others hands. Tonight I can just hold Tim’s hand and he can hold mine with confidence, not nervousness. No matter what anyone says, we did a good job, we have two fantastic casts of actors who know what they are doing, and we can now sit back and enjoy the show with the audience for the rest of the week!

And tonight after the show is $5 MARTINI’s at THE BUZZ, the official Tototoo sponser! YAHOO!

A $300 Million Dollar Waste of money for an Ego Maniac

2008-10-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

After today I'll go back to some theatre stuff, but we just had an expensive few weeks FOLKS!What a wonderful day it is! The government pretty much looks like it did yesterday except Canadian Taxpayers are out $300 Million dollars. OH JOY!

"Let’s call an Election against our law and spend $300 Million of tax payers money for basically the same results!" Thanks you bunch of morons. The only positive thing that might come out of this election is a new Liberal Leader…..I say groom Hottie Julian, but put Rae or Ignatif in there for a few years, until Trudeau Jr. is ready to rule. Oh come on, am I the only who wants to see a hottie in the PM’s hot seat???….yummy Julian….

So riddle me this: only 58% of Canadians voted yesterday (SHAME on you and you know who you are) , The Bloc got 10% of the vote in Canada, and The Greens got 6%, YET the Bloc get 50 seats and the Greens NOTHING…what is wrong with this picture.
Harper’s Conservatives (or I should say Reform party cause they are NOTHING like the old PC’s) got LESS votes this time around but got more seats! Harper received 168,737 less then the last election. Our system needs re-vamping for sure.

To be a really representative democracy we need to update our elector system to be a bit more reflective of the percentage of the popular vote. And here is what it would look like after last night if this were the case:

Party Proportional Seats
CON 116
LIB 81
BQ 31
NDP 56
IND 2
GRN 21

Elector reform is needed.

In the mean time, the Arts will suffer once again because Harper believes Ordinary Canadians don’t do Culture….I’m sorry last time I checked most “ordinary” Canadians I know read books, listen to their IPODS and watch TV…um I hate to tell you Stevie-boy but that would be CULTURE and The ARTS. Chump.

I found this lovely sarcastic comment on CBC.ca...enjoy - next week maybe i'll talk about Tototoo!
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"I started voting Conservative in the election a few years ago. I think I am going to vote conservative from now on. Who cares about the future of the environment and the health of our children and there children? We won’t be around when they die of cancer and other pollution related disease. I buy two new cars every year so the cheaper GST helps me. It helps me a lot more then those lazy poor people who can’t even afford to buy things that GST is charged on. It helps the rich get richer and poor get poorer. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. All there other tax credits and bonuses are just so wonderful! Like the 1200 dollar a year childcare credit. I know I can’t find a daycare anywhere, but my wife doesn’t work. Furthermore, in bad economic times the conservatives make it easier for foreign businesses to take over Canadian businesses. Canada doesn’t need to own their businesses. We should not aim to be self sufficient. Those foreign companies can use there own manufacturers in China and Canada will get more service industry jobs. Even the working class can’t complain, because service jobs are WAY more fun then working in a factory. Conservatives are for here and now, and everyone gets nice little tax breaks. Cleaning up the world is for another generation!"

LOL that's funny eh?

Theatre Freebies and Extraordinary Canadians!

2008-10-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

I love freebies and generous people. THEY ROCK. So Tim and I have been very busy as of late rehearsing the shows we are directing called Of Their Reflection – An Evening of One Acts. And we’ve been quite the travelling gypsy group of actors, from rooms at the University, to Crichton Community Centre to Lawrence’s, or our living room to Nancy’s basement. You have to be creative when you do theatre, and this includes places that are cheap or FREE to rehearse and props to use (we’ve been known to substitute martini glass with Bridgehead take-out coffee cups or coke cans instead of Ensure).

That is what is kind of fun about low budget theatre. We still get the professional standards up there – hopefully – and yet we do it with little to no money, operating off freebies, what we have at home or generous supporters. Even the other day, there is a girl in my neighbourhood who goes to my gym. I know she’s a nurse, so I asked her about what our Nurse in our play would be doing with a Drip line. After the conversation she asked if we needed a bag filled with Saline and a real drip line….of course I said YES! Another freebie.

And Tototoo is great for getting connections for “freebies” or for borrowing. Trivoli is lending us plants, another sponser may lend us a bistro set, we are getting a Scrim and a VERY reasonable rental rate.

In life you have to go with your connections to get anything you want. If you don’t try or don’t ask you won't get. And isn’t free always better?

So Mr. Harper, I guess we are Extraordinary Artist since we use our creativity to save money – since we spent it all on those Galas, expensive designer dresses and Canapés you seem to think we Artists attend all the time – since we spend so much money on those things we can’t afford rehearsal space or props obviously! HMMMMMM, not being able to afford simple things sounds to me a lot like ORDINARY Canadians!

On another theatrical note, a bunch of us ladies met at my friend Riley’s house to start a collective theatre project called Virtue. Riley is writing the show on a smaller scene he did many years ago for the NAC Atelier. Based on our feedback and ideas about each character he’s assigned us, he will write scenes or we will improv them. It is going to be a very interesting and creative process. Hopefully by next year it will be good enough to do a staged reading and move on from there. If only Ordinary Canadians would do this...how much fun they would have instead of watching TV like Ordinary Canadians do every night.

Speaking in the Tongues of Brokers - The Bailout in Plain English

2008-10-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

I found this great article on Counterpunch today that I wanted to share. Written by Joe Bageant. It sums up exactly what is going on. I know we are now starting to feel a little of this over in Canada. I myself have been facinated by this all going on on Wall Street because. 1. I don't have money in any stocks, although I am sure my pensions are wrapped in this somehow, 2. I knew this would all happen like LAST YEAR, and have been watching the signs over the year leading up to this...but part of me didn't believe it or else didn't really care...but still it's facinating that my friend who go me on to this was SO RIGHT! Anyways, we are not immune here. We are only lucky that we are in Ottawa (lots of government which still has to keep chugging away), and at least we do have better laws about giving out housing loans (except for those 0% down, 40 yr loans lately...now that was STUPID of CMHC).

Anyways , read and enjoy.....and if you have some extra cash, might be a good time to invest...
I hate gambling so I won't be taking part in that, but fill your boots!
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The Bailout in Plain English
By JOE BAGEANT

Any number of cultural historians have noted the American belief that success is a sign of God’s favor. And over the past couple of decades he has had a downright love fest with the already-rich. So much so that the richest 400 Americans now have more money stashed away that the combined bottom 150 million Americans. Some $1.6 trillion bucks.
This was accomplished by selling off or shipping out ever available asset, from jobs to seaports, smashing usury and anti-monopoly laws, raiding the public coffers and manipulating the medium of exchange and blackmailing the peasantry regarding common needs such as heath care and energy to keep their asses warm … to name a few. The ultimate coup was to convince the entire nation that the well being of the rich, meaning the well being of Wall Street, was indeed the common man’s well being.
All went well for a while. People went into credit card hock up to their noses in order to provide 26% credit card interest to Wall Street, etc. And when that became untenable, flimsy mortgages were cranked out by the millions ensuring that every American who could hold a cray on could sign to purchase a home. To facilitate this all sorts of shaky ‘mortgage instruments’ were created – balloon, (sign here Jeeter, you’re gonna flip it in a year and make a hundred K on this house trailer) interest only, and finally negative balance mortgages where you only paid part of the interest and the rest was rolled back into the principal balance. And joy of joys you could refinance a couple of times while the inflated value of these houses was on the way up. Life was good for everybody. The bill was never gonna come due because, god in his wisdom, had deemed that capitalism would defy the second law of thermodynamics and expand forever. So every time a bank made a mortgage loan of say, $400,000, even though the debtor had never even made a payment yet, the loan was declared a bank asset and another $400,000 was loaned against it. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank yelled whoopee and printed another $800,000 in currency. Of course at some point the country had to run out of customers, so the loans got easier and easier. No matter that debt is not wealth. Wink and call it that and most folks won’t even look up from their new big screen high resolution digital TVs.
Problem was that all the jobs to pay for this stuff were stampeding off toward places in China with names containing a lot Xs, Zs and praying for a vowel. It was becoming clear that the entire economy was running on fumes. In fact less than fumes. It was running on the odor of paper. Mountains of the stuff. Bundles of mortgages and very strange securities and derivatives of unknown origin and value. Paper that stated its own worth and signed by some mystic hand no one could quite identify though the blurry signatures looked to read Greenspan, Paulson and Bernake.
But there was a rub. Things reached the point where there simply was not anything left to defraud the public out of, nothing left to steal from the nation’s productive capability, no matter how much paper Jeeter and Maggie signed for that trailer house, no matter how secure Brian and Jennifer out there in Arlington Virginia and Davis California thought they were. So the only thing left to do was steal from future generations of Americans and accept an I.O.U. which the government would happily sign on behalf of the people and enforce. By the wildest coincidence, under the Bush administration this I.O.U. happened to tally up to about $700 billion.
Seeing the oncoming train of financial disaster, the financiers just about wet their pants, and screamed “We want it all now! And if we don’t get it the “economy” will lock its brakes and crash. Remember, we control the medium of exchange. Nobody gets a paycheck if we don’t. Remember that it’s lines of credit from us that backs every working man’s and woman’s paycheck in the country. So pay the hell up”
Folks, they’ve got us all by the nuts and nipples. McCain knows that. Obama knows that. In the end, regardless of the so-called dissenters in the House and the Senate, we will pay up. It s election season and the dissent is for show. So it looks like we will get some “concession.” For example, we will get shares in these “toxic assets” that are stinking up the joint. The rich need to dump them and dump them fast. In another magnanimous concession, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will ra ise the insurance on “our savings” to $250,000 (how many readers have 250 K in the bank?). But it will be redeemable in even more inflated currency amid an inflationary environment. And, in case you didn’t know, the FDIC has up to ten years to pay up on that insurance. So don’t get any ideas about running off to Mexico, to which by the way, we are a net debtor nation.
We will pay. We will pay because the European banks holding all that bad paper we wrote demand that we make good on it so even more of their banks will not fail. We will pay because the Chinese, the Japs and everyone else will cut off the loan tap with which we pay the interest (not the principal) on our exploding super nova of national debt. We will pay because God loves the rich. We will pay because we will not be offered any other choice. We will pay because George Bush worked hard for all those Ds in school and became20the first MBA president. We will pay because our media has internalized the capitalist system so thoroughly they can only talk in Wall Speak. We will pay because the only language we have to describe our world is that of our oppressors because we have been taught to think in Wall Speak. We will pay because we hitched our wagon to last stage capitalism and even though the wagon has now two wheels over the cliff and roars forward, we don’t know where the brake handle is located. And because we don’t know any better or understand any possible resistance to the system because we have been kept like worms in a jar and fed horse shit.

And as we all know, worms do not rise up in revolt.
That takes a backbone.

Random Musings and Goings On

2008-09-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

I haven’t had the time or thoughts to blog as of late. I just finished Playing Bare with Evolution Theatre, and was happily surprised when I got a cheque! It was a small cheque but more then I anticipated.

Now Tim and I get hot and heavy into rehearsals as we direct the Tototoo theatre One acts. I am scared…..the one play we find easier to direct then the other and I am hoping inspiration hits us as we work on the second one.

On to random thoughts. The credit crisis in the US is scary. My friend predicted this last year even so far as saying September 2008 was going to be the month everything unravelled…well guess what????? Lehmann Brothers, Merrill Lynch == this is just the beginning folks. Even my old friend who works at TD Waterhouse said “hold on to your hats!” I am just glad I don’t have that type of investments.

And why if oil per barrel is trading at $97, is the price at the pumps staying the same? Things that make you go HMMMMMM….

On another note of things that make you go hmmmmm, and this some will find a controversial statement however I am allowed my opinion --- the 7th anniversary of September 11th came and went. There was a rally on Parliament Hill for Ottawa 9/11 Truth but apparently it was a sad turn out with only 3000 people. Instead what got major news was the sappy re-enforcing of “the Muslims terrorists did it” even thought there are more and more of us who have researched this topic to many ends with scientific scholars and high profile military folks, and airline pilots who now say it was an Inside job. I truly believe this to be the case. I hope someday the truth comes out. But by then it will be too late. I mean the truth about JFK’s assassination is there to be read, you just have to find it….does anyone care that his own government killed him and pinned it on a patsy named Oswald. NOPE. They turn a blind eye. Does anyone care either that Pearl Harbour was a False Flag and the US wanted and knew it would happen, just so they could get into the war? Same thing will happen in this case. Once the truth comes out it will be so far away that people won’t care to do anything about it. And the sappy two faced vigils or ceremonies will continue with the criminals behind it sad faced and acting as if they were not responsible, that they were part of the American public victimized by “terrorists”. It sickens me to know end that greed of money overcomes preserving human life of your own people. In the mean time, people are more discriminatory against those of the Muslim faith, children, families are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan with no end in sight. All because of money…which is turning down and crashing anyways…so what was the point? OH YA, so the powers that be can chip away at “democracy” and eventually control the population – done so slowly that we accept it as it goes. Don’t think it’s happening…? Think again.

I know there will be those who read the above and say – she’s crazy. Maybe I am, but if you have read the sources I have read from the much respected folks who wrote them and believe it too, you too might change your mind. I will not do the work for you though. But Steven Jones’ papers are a start.

However I am strangely optimistic. You know why? Cause right now everything is ok for me and I want to live and enjoy life one moment at a time. Might as well. This could be as good as it gets. I used to get stressed out about it, but what is the point? Just live moment to moment I say. That is why I am usually in a good mood I think.

But on to even happier topics…..I had a wonderful wedding Anniversary with my best friend and hubby – Tim Ginley. We had a beautiful brunch at Les Fougeres in Chelsea, followed by an afternoon at the Nordik Spa, and a nice dinner at my folks. I thought I was going to fall asleep at my parents house I was so relaxed – but wasn’t sure if it was from the spa or the fact that I had partied at the cast party for Playing Bare until 3am the night before. Maybe it was both. Anyways…so good.

And many projects in the fire. Rehearsing with Tototoo, working FOH for the new Gladstone theatre, play development project with my friend Riley, auditions coming up with Vision Theatre for the January show, and potentially another project I am not at liberty to announce yet…..but it’s exciting if it comes to fruition!!!!!!

I am also really really stoned right now on Sinus meds……I knew there was a reason why I hated taking them. I forget then I take them and wish I hadn’t. Damn you Golden Rod and Rag Weed. Damn you to hell!

Sometimes Happy, Sometimes not so much.....

2008-09-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Some things make me very happy. I just recently opened a show with Evolution theatre called Playing Bare, which has a great cast and crew – so come see it!! And the wonderful show that was The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine was nominated as Best Theatrical Production for Le Prix Golden Cherry (Saw Gallery), as well as my co-actor – the fabulous Riley Stewart. Also, the show I am co-directing with my hubby for Tototoo Theatre is going very well indeed. So theatrically speaking, all is super duper. Except I didn’t get that part at GCTC that I wanted even though I had a second call back (OH SO CLOSE). But that is another story.

On another note: You know what annoys me …Agents….talking FOR famous people without having had asked said famous person if they would like to do something we think they’d be willing to do for a wonderful Charitable cause….I can’t say more on that…but Agents irk me. Someday I will expand on this cryptic paragraph…but not today.

However, some things really really make me very ANGRY. I live in a beautiful, peaceful and quiet neighbourhood called Manor Park. It’s full of greenspace, the RCMP Musical Ride, the Aviation Museum, Rockliffe Airbase, lots of doggie walks, people can cycle on the parkway on Sundays…..HOWEVER, the NCC in its infinite wisdom (sense the sarcasm here) has decided for us that the best place to put the Interprovincial Bridge is right in front of my house in this beautiful area. Are they NUTS!!!!!! They are apparently letting the truckers decide where the best route is for them. Give me a break! What about the thousands of people who live there every day? What about the Long Term Care facility and Montfort Hospital right beside the Avaition Parkway (I can’t see HOW they’d be able to expand there with the hospital banking on one side and big beautiful homes on the other). It’s pure political pressure, not thought or consideration for the residents of this lovely place.

WE are ready to FIGHT! I am so angry right now this is all I can write. ARRRRGGGHHH.

Tom Welch, A Life Lived - 1942-2008

2008-08-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

There once was a man we called “Charlie” to our three Data Model angels here at work. His real name was Tom Welch.

I received this sad news this morning at work after having seen him Friday at the Civic Hospital knowing it would probably be the last time seeing this very special man, much admired co-worker, husband, father, grandfather.

“After a valiant 7 month and 1 day struggle in hospital to hold on to
his precious life with all those who loved him in this world, Dad
succumbed peacefully to carrying on with his journey onward and
upward at 8:45 this morning, Saturday August 23, 2008.

His heart was huge enough to encompass even those he did not
personally know. He will be dearly missed.

The memorial will be held in celebration of his life this Wednesday
August 27th 2008 at 10:00AM. St. Michael & All Angels Anglican
Church, 2112 Belair Drive, Ottawa Ontario, K2C 0W9.

Everyone is welcome,

With all the love that he gave instilled in me,

Maureen”

Tom was a man who knew so much – about his work, love, and life. He was a recipient of a liver transplant 10 years ago and every year would teach us at work about his “Life Day’ the day the transplant gave him life…and shared a big cake in celebration. He always celebrated that day more then his actual birthday. He taught us how important it is to sign and have an extra copy of your donor card. He got 10 extra years due to someone’s generosity in that regard.

He leaves behind a very loving family who I have had the privilege of meeting a few times.

Everyone here at work will truly miss this gifted, patient man, and great mind.

Here’s to you Tom…I hope you have found 3 new “angels” to show you around your special new place.

What I learned in PEI and at the PEI Conservatory

2008-08-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I found a new love. That is the Gentle Island of PEI. The rolling hills, the foggy shoreline, the seaweed, the endless walks on the beaches, the friendly people, the seafood. The Theatre. How does one describe the slower pace, the relaxation and the feeling of being in another country or different world with some aspects of home? I can’t. All I CAN say is I loved it and will be back very soon to that lovely island.

What PEI did teach me is try and be more relaxed. Let things roll off me. Don’t fret or sweat the small stuff. And I discovered I don’t mind “island time” at all…..

As for my Acting Renewal at the PEI Conservatory – I meet some wonderful artists who are very giving and nurturing. They taught me a few things – I knew but now seem older or more settled to let it sink in. I know I NEED Yoga, and want to continue Voice work if I can.

A few key things I took away:…which I already knew…but always good to re-affirm:

“You are enough” "What you need, you already have”

- Connect
- Act/Action
- Tactics/Strategies
- Given Circumstances
- Future Circumstances

Now to apply it!!

The Flat Tires of Life

2008-07-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes our tires on our bikes go flat, as in life not everything goes your way . Sometimes it can be really tiny things not going your “way”. Like this morning when I went to leave the house my front tire of my bike was flat. Dead. DAMN. Or one of your Terrier is “going through something” and acting out – like peeing on the bed while you are watching TV downstairs, or beating up on her boy (you can guess which Terrier I speak of).

Or you haven’t heard yet of a part that you wanted to get from a very prominent professional theatre company in town – not that you expected to get it in the first place, but it would have been nice. Or you get a $400 water bill….mostly because the City of Ottawa really low balled your estimates over the last year, but also because you have a friggin’ leaky toilet which both you and your hubby are too lazy to get fixed.

Or you go for an oil change for your car and it costs $10 then the last time due to the hire price of crude oil.

Regardless of the flat tires life throws at you, one must role with the punches, glide along and just go with the flow. If you don’t you’ll just go crazy.

I have lots going on, bills to pay, things to do, place to be etc etc. and am I stressed out? Remarkably not…just sleepy. I’ll just go Friday and get my tire fixed. Get that inner tube, pump up that flat tire on my bike and keep on rollin’.

Next stop ---- a hammock and a lobster to feast on in PEI!!!!!!!!!!

Aches and Pains at 35 and Memoirs of a SGWM

2008-07-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

OK first for the ACHES AND PAINS:
I can’t believe I am only 35 because sometimes I feel so much older – physically I mean (not mentally that is for certain). I have many aches and pains that have plagued me for sometime and seem to get worse as the time flies.

It all started many years ago when I was 17 when I was playing Field Hockey in High School. I started getting Sciatic pain radiating down my right butt and leg. So what does the doctor do – gives me muscle relaxants….if I only I knew what that and asprin does to your guts (can you say IBS?)…then when I was in the militia the back pain got worse, always on the right side, creeping up to my right shoulder blade, pain down my arm and neck. I was in physio for 2 years..didn’t work. Finally I had a boyfriend (his blog is here—a very very good artist actually) who said “why don’t you try a Chiropractor”? I’ve been going ever since – but not without its pitfalls.

When I started going to the Chiro in Orleans things seemed to go well…however one year my neck went out so badly he didn’t help. I was also tired of bussing out to Orleans from Sandy Hill. So found Dr. Mark DeGruchy. I’ve been with him for 10 years now and he is awesome – not only as a Chiro but as a human being and wellness coach (he gives me tips all the time). My back felt pretty good. Then I started really working out at the gym which was amazing to help the pain, and seeing a massage therapist and viola….relatively pain free manageable back!

Until 2 years ago…..the back is still really good, but the right knee started hurting with pulling pain on the inside when I did squats in Body Pump. Fine – I went to physio. And discovered my outside quad was stronger then my inside quad. It helped a bit. Of course I am very remiss on doing my exercises and I-T band stretch, which is not good. Then last year I did a show with Vision Theatre which was uber physical and now I have been living with Achilles tendonitis for a year now. I can only seem to wear custom orthotics in shoes, or sandals (that are very expensive). I have a lot of tense muscles….I have lots of joint pain….so lately I’ve been biking to work and feeling this knee pain, and still have this ankle pain (all on Right side though). And in the last 6 months my hip has pretty much has this small gnawing pain that I can’t seem to stretch out. There is a pattern I am sure is happening –as they say “The knee bone’s connected to the ankle bone. The ankle bone’s connected to the”…yada yada. My thoughts on this though are…if I hurt like this now, what will it be like when I turn 40? Is it because of my workouts that I have some of this pain?

I am still young. Now I can’t complain too much. I am pretty healthy, don’t get sick very much and my pain probably is no where near some of the people I know. But I have been living with this since I was still really young…so does not seem to bode well for the future. Especially since Fibromyalgia is hereditary. OH JOY. Can’t wait for that to settle in soon!

Tim and I always joke that he should take me outside behind the barn and ….well you know…”take care “ of me…..maybe I should just take him up on that offer now, save myself some trouble. Ah, and a few years ago I thought I was doing so well……

Second for the Memoirs of a SGWM : I'd say go see this show by Tototoo theatre , but then you wouldn't get tickets because it's sold out! I'll give my review next week when I see it Saturday (I know the producer). But this is the theatre company Tim and I are directing shows with. SOLD OUT..yahoo. That bodes well for our shows!

Panic ATTACK!

2008-07-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ok I think now I am starting to panic a little…..I don’t know what to start with, where to go etc. Do I look at that script I have an audition for Sunday? Do I work on my script for the show I am in right now (since I have to put in the Beats and my characters Actions which is work I really find difficult)? OR Do I re-read, for the millionth time, The Soldier Dreams and Remembering Shanghai (the shows Tim and I are directing). There is also that application Maureen wants us to submit for the Playwriting unit at GCTC (although I don’t fancy myself a playwright we do have a couple of good play ideas). There is starting to be too much going on, and I PRAY for my PEI vacation so I can lie in a hammock, drink wine, eat Lobster, walk with dogs on the beach, play boardgames with my folks, and act a little in a “spa for your talent” acting workshop at the PEI Conservatory. (although I’ll still have to memorize my Playing Bare lines, and go over the One Acts with Tim while there….we will find time….I hope).

In the mean time, I am looking at a potential schedule to start rehearsing our One Act Plays for Tototoo theatre and it’s sort of freaking me out a little. It’s tough enough scheduling a biggish cast with all the conflicts, but when you and your husband are directing, you have two active Terrier dogs, and another play on the go, a house to keep clean and all of lifes 'stuff'….it’s a bit stressful. Then I brilliantly decided to register for Ken Godmere’s OSSD Improv Summer Jam on Thursday nights – which is fine and will be fun, it’s only until the end of August but I will also have Playing Bare rehearsals, and a few Tototoo rehearsals to plan for. Also Tim and I have to break down the plays into beats (which seems easier at first glance then most plays I’ve tried). Ya, that is a lot…FREAK OUT.

THEN, I have 2 big auditions this weekend – one Sunday, and one Monday….if I get the Sunday gig I may have to bow out of directing for Tototoo..but it might work, and I’d have to take the paid gig as my priority so that is fine, but I’d feel bad. Especially since I adore the plays….and I wouldn’t be able to go to Hilton Head South Carolina in November. If I get the Monday Workshop (Shakespeare thingy) it’s a free workshop however will be Sunday Afternoons – I guess we have to rehearse the One Acts Sunday evening then.

Oh ya, and then there is my day job…….in which I hope to find enough time to do the stuff above…hee hee.

Then to top it all off I discover Tim’s Uncle Tony is staying with us July 23rd to the morning we leave for PEI…….

OK, can’t wait for Xmas to relax…..I only hope my blood pressure doesn’t go up and I have a heart attack before then!

Post Fringe Festival Blues

2008-07-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well Fringe came and went quickly and it was certainly a lot less stressful then last years fringe. but I was still nervous before EVERY show. Probably because the first show I blanked or screwed us up....anyways, I so wish I had seen more shows then I did. I saw a couple of really great shoes. One was Shadows in Bloom by Gemma Wilcox. This young woman is an amazing performer and story teller. She only has a piano bench as her one prop/set piece and uses her body to do the rest – even become a plant or two, a pair of lobsters and have two or three people conversations. If you can catch her in another town (like Toronto Fringe) do yourself a favour.

The last day of Fringe Tim and I saw a friggin’ phenomenal show called Die Roten Punkte – Super Musician. This is a couple of actors from Austrailia who put on an amazing show that was a cross between Clown, White Stripes on Comedy Central, and a mix of Hedwig spinning musical monologues. They are doing a cross Canada Fringe tour SO CHECK THEM OUT. They are just hilarious, and the music is pretty good too!

We saw a few duds at Fringe. I won't mention them cause some people I like very much, or else I think they are very talented just missed the mark on this one.

Our show at Fringe did quite well and we received great reviews on the production. I bonded more with the group, and met a really cool guy that I want to work with next season so it was fruitful all around….but now, I wait…I wait for my next round of rehearsals for Playing Bare with Evolution Theatre…and count the days until my trip out to PEI…..only 13 more working days….SIGH……

On a real bummer note, now I have to clean my house now that all the shows are over for the mean time……Tim and I started on the first floor…tonight we tackle the second. I hate friggin’ cleaning! Part of my post Fringe Blues for sure.

Vision Theatre at the Ottawa Fringe Festival - June 19th to 29th

2008-06-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

Fringe is fun! Well when you are doing an esemble fun comedy it can be a BLAST. Last year was lonely as I performed in a One Woman show – which was more done as an exercise to stretch my acting abilities and see if I could do it. But this year, I wanted FUN FUN FUN…and that is what I got. I am doing a show with Vision Theatre called – 4Play – One Acts by David Ives. COME OUT AND SEE IT. It is such a fun crew to work with. We are like a little family. And the audiences have been great! I think we have now hit our fun stride and we are just playing.

We have 3 shows left, In Arts Court Theatre:

Thursday at 9pm
Saturday at 6pm
Sunday at 1:30pm

Read these reviews we gotten below – and you know if Alvina from the CBC laughed you will too!!!

FROM CBC Radio 1 - Alvina :
"4Plays Vision Theatre created near pandemonium with 4 short one-act plays by David Ives. It features 6 actors who morph through all these performances with the greatest of ease. These are all comedies based on language…very different from the Austrailians who like their bodies who do things with their bodies. These are all twisted uses of English, and reminds a bit of George Carlin actually, running jokes, word plays, everday situations made strange and hilarious and lots of verbal gags. Best of all I liked the 4th segment, based on 4 plays by David Mamet all squashed together in 15 minutes, you got to know his works to get this but it was quite funny I loved it! This one directed by Greg Wysynski what we come away with are the basic themes of Mamet’s theatre – male bonding, women are dangerous, and lots of F-U words, which Im not allowed to say on air either. So for me however there was a bit of deja-vu in it all, but they still pulled it off very well, and the staging is excellent and the audience loved it again…packed packed packed, their packing the houses its very good."

From a Audience member posted on the Ottawa Fringe website:

Saturday night, I spent my money well with this one! Or FOUR as it turns out! Four Plays by David Ives.The elevator doors opened at Arts Court Theatre to a packed lobby and a crowd eager to see what Vision Theatre has produced this year! Last year’s craziness with the 3 one acts were wild and pushed the envelope. This year, they’re treating us to 4 tightly knit shows that may not have the EDGE but most certainly have the entertainment value. Picture 6 cast members woven into shows (some, as I’ve read the scripts) adding actors where they wouldn’t normally be, duets becoming foursomes and finishing with an ensemble piece. The packed house on Saturday night roared with laughter and applauded with a want for more! All six actors are STRONG and know what comedy is about. Their understanding of that allows the audience to just sit and enjoy every single moment of it. The facial expressions of Jennifer Scrivens are priceless. Shaun Toohey’s hysteria balances Sam Awwad’s subdued manner in The Philadelphia. Stewart and Laplante’s deadpan in the difficultly maneuvered Sure Thing allowes the audience into "what if we could take back what we said" moments, and Marsha as the male roasting David Mamet in Speed-the-play does a great job keeping the scenes running with an "F-U if you don’t like it" attitude.I HIGHLY recommend spending your money wisely and entering the world of Vision Theatre. This is a talented young theatre company that, if they continue to fire out the hits, will soon become a company in the ranks with GCTC and NAC.Go see their shows. You won’t be sorry you did!

Grandmaman Plante - Marguerite Plante 1922-2008

2008-06-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is a poem I found that I read at my grandmaman's funeral on June 6th.

I Remember YOU

I find an old photograph
and see your smile.
As I feel your presence anew, I
am filled with warmth
and my heart remembers love.

I read an old card
sent many years ago
during a time of turmoil and confusion.
The soothing words written then
still caress my spirit and bring me peace.

I remember who you used to be
the laughter we shared
and wonder what you have become.

Where are you now,
Where did you go,
When the body is left behind
and the spirit is released to fly?

Perhaps you are the morning bird
singing joyfully at sunrise,
or the butterfly that dances
so carelessly on the breeze
or the rainbow of colors
that brightens a stormy sky
or the fingers of afternoon mist
delicately reaching over the mountains
or the final few rays of the setting sun
lighting up the skies edging the clouds with a magical glow.

I miss your being
but I feel your presence,
In whatever form you choose to take,
however you now choose to be.

Your spirit has become for me
a guardian angel on high
guiding, advising, and watching over me.

I remember you.
You are with me
and I am not afraid.

Proud Theatre Parent and other parent stuff

2008-06-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. I've been busy in theatre of all kinds but mostly at the Ottawa Little theatre as of late. So after the last few days this is how I feel......

Directing is like being a parent. You nurture and guide the play and send it on it’s way to fly on it’s own. Last night I felt like a proud momma watching her baby bird fly. Mind you I am not the director of The Ladies of the Camellias (which opens on Tuesday June 10th by the way), but I have been a close part of the development of this production helping with the casting, blocking, elements etc. Sarah listened to me, and found that I had some good ideas as did some of the actors. I gave the actors some very good guidance which is showing through. When I see them with that energy, that commitment and that fun it makes me proud to be apart of this production.

Granted there are things I would change about the show – but not a lot. I think the movement works well and everyone looks really great and committing to their roles. I wish Eddie the scenic painter at the OLT would actually do the job he gets paid for and paint the backdrop he was suppose to paint, and that The Girl actually have a second skirt for Act II so she can come in as she is suppose to – soaking wet….and then there are Sarah Bernhardt’s “feathers” on her costume……suppose to be ostrich, looks like she’s a dead seagull…but the rest of her looks GREAT. At least the actress is not letting it get to her and rising above the dead bird around her neck.

Nope, I feel other then those minor things (and maybe some lines and blocking change that are minor that I would change) , the show is getting tight and the actors are ready for their audience. I am so proud of them. They still are making me laugh with there small touches and reactions, and they are definitely ready to fly and take the audience on a fun ride.

Break a leg Cast and Crew of the Ladies of the Camellias. I’ll be watching a cheering for you from the audience on Opening night.

On another similar note; which is dog related, I am a proud “parent” of the cutest Wire Fox Terrier --Guinness. We are done Level 1 Agility. Though he’s not the brightest dog on the face of the Agility planet (and neither is his handler – ME) he LOVES playing on the field and when he gets a sequence or obstacle he really remembers and gets it. He’s a little too Handler focus (meaning he watches ME all the time instead of the obstacle he’s suppose to concur) but he’s smart and funny when he gets things…..I am proud of that little cutie pie. I just love that little dog.

Bloggers Block and other Musings

2008-05-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing as Bloggers block? I think that is what I have. I mean there is a ton of things going on, I just don’t know how, what or why to jot it down.

Maybe it is because I am a bit overwhelmed after staring at my calendar from now until about mid June. I do not have one night off…not one. Ok MAYBE one. The thing is I cannot help myself when it comes to theatre, and to think about what could potentially be my theatre season with the play prospects is very very exciting to me. Now that my name has sort of gotten “out there” and I am being asked to audition for stuff…I have to take the rings and go as who knows how long that will last. If I don’t go, and it seems I have a good chance of getting these very good roles, then basically I’d start back at square one. That is how it is in Theatre unfortunately. You have to take the opportunities as they come. And if I am in demand, I should embrace that.

On a very exciting note though, I am patiently waiting for that phone call that says that my new niece/nephew is on her/his way. I was asked by my sister-in-Law if I’d like to be a part of the delivery with my mom and her mom (an aunt Monique…but I think Monique is going to pass…or pass-out if she went). Everything will be dropped for this once in a lifetime event for me. Looks like the wee babe will be forced out of the womb, poor lamb. I don’t like leaving a nice warm shower or bath, so I can just imagine the baby’s head is close to the exit point and he/she saying “ya know what…you gotta force me outta hear ‘cause this is WAY too comfy and warm”. I hear ya kid, I hear ya…sometimes it might have been better to stay in the womb with all the adult “stuff” one has to deal with.

But I can’t wait, and I am hoping it’s a nice easy birth for Lisa….she deserves it after the pregnancy she’s had. And I hope Aiden isn’t to jealous of his new sibling. I know Marc wanted to give me away to any one who looked my way….but I think he loves me now….I mean if it hadn’t been for me he would have gotten in so much trouble for all those parties he threw because he wouldn’t have had me to clean up! So siblings are really crucial if you want to party.

WOW I'm Busy!

2008-05-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

Haven’t written for the blog in a bit so I’ll fill it what is going on. I am the Apprentice Director for the last show of The Ottawa Little Theatre’s season, The Ladies of the Camellias. We just replaced the young guy who was playing Ivan so had to get him up to speed (and man can this guy learn fast which is fantastic). It is going pretty good. If I was directing I’d now focus on bits that are slower/sloppier then others, then go back to running Acts but I am not the director.

Tonight I start Level I Agility with my young Wire Fox Terrier Guinness (my little cutie pie) and his sister Lola is in the class as well. She likes to harass the Guin-man so I am curious as to how the class will run….should be pretty funny. But then I have to run off to OLT for rehearsal.

Tomorrow I finally start rehearsing with Vision Theatre for their Ottawa Fringe Festival show, One Acts with David Ives. It’s going to be very fun, and their new Season is fantastic! And some of the OLT rehearsal conflict with the Fringe rehearsals…so now have to negotiate that.

Tim and I have auditions for our One Acts with Tototoo in June as we have to get in before summer vacations. We want to at least cast one of the shows so people can just go off and research, learn lines, figure out characters (well, one hopes they do that).

Then Tim and I have to go out to Alexandria very soon so he can see the Wedding site of my friend Deanna – whom he is taking pictures for. And I am in the wedding party which is in June. Plus, Tim has started assisting Mark Webster from Tototoo on some weekends doing his Sports photography, and Tim continues to write his play, and now will start researching a Memoir about Stewart MacDonald (a very very interesting chap who actually found some new species of birds in the far north, plus a bunch of other things.). Plus he wants to get involved in some Flickr photography group (with his snazzy new Nikon D300). Anyways this summer, and year could prove to be very very very busy.

I am also going to be workshopping a new play by my friend Riley with Vision Theatre, and maybe getting an audition with Evolution theatre for their September show, as well as a 2 week vacation in PEI – which includes a 6 day acting workshop. God I can’t wait to hang in the hammock in July…..Calgon take me away!

Doggy Tail...or Tale

2008-05-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting doggy story....

My neighbour Ron, who just lost his 6 yr old Golden Retriver to cancer 4 weeks ago, adopted a 6 year old retired breeding female and picked her up last Saturday. Seems all was going well. Papillon, or Pappi for short, had always lived in a kennel with straw in a barn on a breeding farm to those who only bred Goldens. She’d never been housetrained, never slept in a bed, never climbed stairs, never met another dog breed other then Goldens, never been in a car etc etc. How happy was she to meet Ron….I met her onTuesday and she adores her new owner. She’d listen to him and wag, and rub up against him affectionately waiting to be told what to do and be petted. And why wouldn’t she, he is so nice and you can tell he adores animals.

“Well all was going well” he said when I met him Tuesday with Pappi, but he said she was acting strange, digging, etc. Abby (my usually cranky terrier) seemed to like her and was sniffing her "thingy" (or doggy vajayjay) and I asked if she was coming into heat, as Abby knows these things having had heats and a litter of pups herself. He said he didn't think she was. But he thought, she acting strange today digging a lot and just being off.

Well I dropped off my pooches today at doggy daycare where they know Ron, as they used to groom Riley (the one he lost recently) and I was telling the doggie daycare lady about his issues with the new dog. I was saying how he has to treat her as if she were a rescue, be patient etc. Well she said "she's doing fine now". I said "why....."

Well turns out Pappi had 2 puppies last night .....they were born April 30th...hence why she was acting weird and digging the other day (she was nesting, getting ready to give birth). And ...funny Abby knew......that was why she was sniffing her so intently.

Anyways, apparently the puppies are doing well, and Pappi is a good mommy. Ron, her new owner, is dotting on her and babies. And he's keeping all 3 dogs. Apparently the breeder didn't know she was prego...GIVE ME A BREAK...she either knew and didn't want to deal with it, or she/he are TERRIBLE breeders. They just lost a WAD of cash through their stupidity. I mean, I had a pregnant dog in my house you KNOW they are pregnant. I won’t go into details why you know, just trust me that you figure it out. And being breeders with experience you’d think before they sell her off as a retired dog, they’d check her over…HELLO not hard to tell at that point.

Well at least he is getting his money's worth eh? Now he has Pappi and two wee wriggly little puppies...many laughs await him!

Now, can I rant about backyard breeders (which this one must be in this case) and puppy mills. They make me sick to my stomach. That is why when we bought ours or were looking into buying ours we not only researched the breed, but also where to buy. If a breeder says “yes, come right away I have many puppies right now”, or they say “I sell Goldens, and Bichons, and Yorkies, and this and that and that…” walk away….they are either backyard breeders or puppy mills out to make a prophet. The poor dogs live in terrible conditions and all they do is breed in small enclosures…..NEVER buy from them or pet stores (who get their puppies from puppy mills etc and JACK UP the prices). Do your research. Not only will you get a more healthy dog who will probably live longer, but you will be supporting those who truly care about dogs. If a breeder is grilling you and interviewing you and deciding if you are worthy to have one of their dogs, THAT is a good breeder.

The breeder of my dogs is an amazing woman. We went through that process with her Wire Fox Terriers, and she even admited to me that if she doesn't like a person, she will try and stear them away from wanting a Fox Terrier. (that is nice of her, some will actually say "no you are not worthy to have one of my dogs")

When my dog Abby had her litter of 7 puppies a year and a half ago, my breeder took a week off work (she raises the puppies in her house). One of the pups was lame for a time, and would have normally died. My breeder got up every 2 hours and personally held him to my dog Abby to make sure he fed. She’d mix up pablum with evaporated milk and water at 4 weeks to transition the puppies to food. She’d get into the room on the floor and play with them on the floor. She kept saying how she’d just love to keep all of them (of course you can’t that would be madness). And she treated my dog with so much love and affection as if she were her own, I thought Abby wouldn’t come home – Abby wanted to come home, still even though she does like to go visit my breeders house and gets all excited…YAY she loves us. Anyways, that is the way it should be done…with care and love, and health and all.

I am glad I met my breeder…..she’ll be my dog supplier until she breeds dogs no more….plus that means Tim and I will always have a wee bit of Abby in our lives for years to come even after her time has come. That is pretty rare and special actually.

So the lesson today boys and girls...do your research, don't buy from backyard breeders, petstores, or puppy mills...lets put those bad people out of business!!!!

One the many reasons I love Theatre, and starting Acting

2008-04-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this by saying the Ottawa Public Library is amazing, and if you want to see some good stuff or hear good music without adding to your clutter at home…go there! Get a card. This is why…..

Last night I was watching American Idol….I thought David Cook, and Carley Smithson were awesome by the way, when Tim yelled down “are you watching anything?” and I said “no”, I said guiltily as I kind of wanted to watch Dancing with the Stars…for lack of anything better on….TV is pretty much crap…but there I was watching it. SIGH

Anyways, I said “why, what do you want to watch?” “A Documentary on Eugene O’Neil I got from the library” Tim said. My first reaction was going to be, yuck, but I immediately thought, ya I would like to watch that. Then Tim brought it down and I realized it was a Ric Burns documentary on Eugene O’Neill and then I thought FANTASTIC!

If you don’t know who Ric or Ken Burns are….they are brothers for one thing, but both are amazing Documentary film makers. Ken Burns did the New York City Series and the Jazz Series…both are AWESOME - all of which we've gotten at the library. Anyways, I knew it would be good.

I had forgotten how interesting Eugene O’Neill’s life was, and how sad. He was haunted by ghosts. His mother had lost the brother he never known, Edmund, to the measles when Edmund was 2, before Eugene was born, which pretty much set the stage for the older brother James Jr.'s demise in life as a philanderer and alcoholic (read Moon for the Misbegotten, a play he wrote about his brother). When Eugene was born, his mother felt she was being punished and Eugene grew up with feelings of nothingness, and lonliness. His mother became a morphine addict, his father sold out to make a buck , after a promising potential career as an actor – well he did very very well as an actor playing the Count of Monte Cristo, but that was his sell out moment when he could have been a great Shakespearean actor and not be just known for that melodrama part of the Count. Eugene wandered amlessly, to South America, drinking, abadoning his wife and children, but ultimately becoming a celebrated American playwright in the process -- aren't all great artists tormented by their lives?

At any rate, I was watching this documentary and they had various actors doing scenes or monologues from plays like The Iceman Cometh, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night – two of his most famous works. Then I saw Al Pacino doing something from Iceman and both Tim and I said “Oh SHUT UP AL….god he pushes and trys too hard, he’s acting too hard and milking it” As an actor who has studied a lot , I can see it. But when Jason Robards did the same part in a clip from an old film version of the Broadway production…wow, magical.

Then the documentary went into his most famous play. Christopher Plummer did that speech from Long Day’s Journey into Night about how he sold out as an actor, what he could have been, the pain, etc, I wept (luckily Tim was sleeping). The language was so beautiful, and said by Plummer so simply I said “wow, that is why I love the theatre, and acting – what it can do to the audience if just done from the gut, simply – the beauty of language, how personal it can be”. Of course if you know O’Neill’s life you know this was an autobiographical play that nearly killed him to write. He actually sealed it at Random House and told them only to open it 25 yrs after his death and never have it performed. Both of which were ignored once he died….thank god. Anyway, it was stunning.

At one point Robert Sean Leonard (if you watch House he plays Wilson…he was also in Dead Poets Society when he was younger...I love him), he did this speech as Edmund in Long Day’s Journey…and the end went something like this..... "It was a great mistake my being born a man. I would have been much more successful as a sea-gull or a fish. As it is, I will always be a stranger who never feels at home, who does not really want is not really wanted, who can never belong, who must always be a little in love with death!" That was Eugene from the depth of his soul and said by Leonard, so simply, so grounded – painful, wonderful.

I love to act, and often it’s so hard to ground yourself to remember to listen, to “let it land”, but when it happens, or if you are a witness to such a performance, it can change your life – at least for that period in time. That is why I keep going back on stage, to catch that feeling, to be in the moment however hard it might be – even though it should be the simplest of things. Maybe that is selfish in a way, but it’s also the love of conveying the playwrights words to an audience, to share it with them. And when it is done right, affecting lives – touching people….a playwrights whose words can move people is a very special thing. It’s personal. And we as humans need to connect.

Eugene O’Neill was a most gifted and special artist. Thank you Mr. O’Neill for leaving us your words, and for inspiring us to convey your secret life to the world. And thank you Tim for having that library card....keep them movies and documentaries coming my friend.

Earth Day Moment

2008-04-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth day…..does it really matter?

“What we have lived through, the 20th century, has been like a great party. Adults now have had the best time humanity has ever had. Now the party is over and the Earth is reckoning up.”
James Lovelock

Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do?

If you read James Lovelock, he predicts if you want to get some idea of what much of the Earth might look like in 50 years’ time then get hold of a powerful telescope or log onto Nasa’s Mars website. That arid, empty, lifeless landscape is, he believes, how most of Earth’s equatorial lands will be looking by 2050. A few decades later and that same uninhabitable desert will have extended into Spain, Italy, Australia and much of the southern United States. With that, comes mass migration North.

“We are on the edge of the greatest die-off humanity has ever seen,” said Lovelock. “We will be lucky if 20% of us survive what is coming. We should be scared stiff.”

"It's just too late for it," he says of going “green” and conservation "Perhaps if we'd gone along routes like that in 1967, it might have helped. But we don't have time. All these standard green things, like sustainable development, I think these are just words that mean nothing. I get an awful lot of people coming to me saying you can't say that, because it gives us nothing to do. I say on the contrary, it gives us an immense amount to do. Just not the kinds of things you want to do."

If you don’t know who James Lovelock is, he’s the high ranking scientist guru that discovered CFC’s were burning a hole in the ozone – he kind of knows what he is talking about.

So should we be scared? I suppose so, but in reality and if you think about it in a common sense way, we are not the be all and end all of civilization and the earth as we know it. There were other civilizations and life forms on this planet way before us, and there will be after us when we finally destroy it. No other life form has ruined the earth so quickly quite as we have (I’d be kind of embarrassed if I were us …oh wait I am)……We are pretty egotistical to think we are IT and we can stay the course. So why get depressed when you have come to terms that this universe is much bigger then all of us….no point stressing about it really.

Lovelock thinks that we are way too late to do anything about it and that we should enjoy life now while we can - he says this all with a smile and a shrug…what else can you do?- Regardless of what Lovelock says, and even if he says there is no point now going Green since it’s too late, I still don’t see why we can’t TRY though. It’s easy to cut things out –everyone just has to make a hard effort.

All this to say, with Earth Day upon us, a lot of people wonder how they can do their part for the environment. Thinking of our modes of transport, is crucial. A third of the emissions from Canadian households come from transportation -- the gas our vehicles burn. This is more than the total emissions of all utilities needed to power and heat our homes. Does that make sense?
Every additional car creates more traffic congestion which means more stops and starts, more idling and terrible fuel economy -- greater emissions. It also means more damage to the existing roads and creating more new roads. New roads mean destruction of farms, forests and wetlands, and increased demand for petroleum products for their construction and repair.

Let's not forget the energy needed to manufacture each car and the minerals, rubber and other components that have to be harvested from nature to make its component parts. That's a partial list of environmental considerations for operating car.

And we always forget that the oil that runs or makes our cars, also makes our clothing, delivers our food, makes our plastics, carpets, and pretty much most of the 1st world conveniences.

Our thinking has to change…because maybe, just maybe Lovelock is wrong…let’s prove him wrong. Re-use/ re-cycle as much as you can. Conserve as much as you can, and try to keep the buying to a minimum, plan your day so you only have to take the car out once to do all you need to do (if you need your car at all to do so).

Can you imagine if we all decided at once to not spend a dime on anything (other then food – and bring our own containers to buy only non packaged items) for just one month world wide? Or don’t drive any cars for 1 week……I bet we’d be shocked at what would happen.

Too bad humankind are such idiots, she says with a smile.

The End of Suburbia

2008-04-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

“It’s the end of surburbia as we know it, and I feel fine….” Not exactly the REM song but close enough…..

This website is really interesting.....in Breaking news he posts articles in mainstream news as well.
Check it out.... Life after the Oil Crash

There was an article in the Ottawa Citizen yesterday about the end days for Suburbia…I laughed…I’ve been reading about it and talking about it for years….and most people didn’t believe it. Years ago no one heard about Peak Oil when I asked if they knew what it was. I have a friend at work who luckily is a “the sky is falling” kind of guy (and does his research) and he told me many years ago that oil was at it’s peak and things were going up up up in price and to get out of the suburbs ASAP – I believed him (he predicted Oil at $2.00 per litre years ago..and it will happen as we can see from the $1.20 it is now) Luckily at the time, I loathed suburbia anyways, and wanted to move closer to downtown. It was the best move I ever made. I believe my house is a gold mine. It is not too big, I don’t bother watering my grass (why bother…what a waste), we rarely put on the AC, it’s a mere 5 min bike ride to any type of store you want, 10 minutes to work or the Byward Market, or the theatre area in downtown Ottawa. I breath a sigh of relief at the move we made 3 years ago (we couldn’t afford the price of it now that is for sure!) And I have a spare room in my house that is always open for family and friends in times of need.

Tim and I decide once we saw the price of gas going higher and higher, we would leave the car in the driveway unless necessary (like weekend running errands out of the urban area). It’s so easy to ride the bike in the Spring/Summer/Fall and I even bought a Chariot for my dogs to ride with me – which I plan on getting them in this weekend. I realize that the winter poses problems (I don’t ride my bike in the winter) and it’s harder for me to walk to work because of my ankle problem, but we figure if we save now by not driving as much, will off set in the winter time once the snow starts flying. I must admit it is difficult at times, because I too am part of that addiction to oil, but I've started to change habits slowly, and my mind set as it takes time to break of habits / addictions. But I can see small changes happening in my thoughts as I purchase, drive etc. Baby steps they say.

The long and the short is this -- the way North Americans live, and our hunger for oil cannot be sustained. People have to wake up even though now that it’s in the mainstream media it might be too late. (although still no one seems to be listening). So for all of you people who think I am crazy when I tell you certain things, maybe now you will listen…or you can go on your merry little way, and suffer when the shit goes down. I, myself will be happily biking to work, walking for groceries, and living my life with money in my pocket. Will the majority of the population, in their useless 5% car or Hummer, heating their oversized natural gas guzzling 3000 sq ft houses be able to survive? (I mean SERIOUSLY who needs that much car or house space???? My mother grew up in a one bedroom apartment then small house for gods sake and my grandfather didn’t get a car until she was a teen…and then he stored it away during the winter -- she turned out ok).

Buy a used small vehicle and get rid of that gas guzzler, move OUT of the suburbs into a smaller place if you can, before your house is not worth much if anything! If you can’t do that TAKE THE BUS, or bike (bike=in shape) Buy as Locally as possible to help the situation, or plant a garden. It’s still not too late, but soon it will be as people start panicking and massive sell off ensues. . People will wake up in the ‘burbs, and feel trapped. Trapped in their depreciating homes, trapped at home, and essentially trapped outside the urban areas rapidly escalating in cost. (Urban = where I LIVE).

Plus, Keeping up with the Jones’ is so passé…get over it!

A Sad Day for E-Street Fans

2008-04-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

I really don’t know how to feel right now. Well I do. Sad. I just found out that Danny Federici , one of the original, original E-Street Band members and long time friend of Bruce Springsteen died yesterday of his 3 year battle with Melonoma Cancer. Whether you knew it or not, he was instrumental to Bruce Springsteen’s vibe and signature sound.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years -- he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together," Springsteen said.

Danny, I hope you are playing your Organ wherever you are. You will truly be missed.

Danny Federici
1950 - 2008

The 1st Annual Rideau Awards

2008-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, the 1st annual Rideau Awards have come and gone, and what a night it was….now let me just say it would have been quite nice to have heard my name called out as the winner of Best Female Performer, and I could have used that Physio for my Ernestine pained ankle, but it was not to be. Would have been nice though – we all in the show certainly worked our asses off, and might have launched a remount. Anyways, here are the winners (note I am NOT one of them...GRRRRRRR):

The winners of the first-ever Rideau Awards -- covering theatre presented in Ottawa during the 2007 calendar year -- are:

BEST PRODUCTION
Greek (Repercussion Theatre)

BEST DIRECTOR
Kevin Orr ( Greek, Repercussion Theatre)

BEST PERFORMANCE -- FEMALE
Kristina Watt ( Top Girls, Third Wall Theatre)

BEST PERFORMANCE -- MALE
Peter Froehlich ( Merz, New Theatre of Ottawa)

BEST DESIGN
Rebecca Miller (Lighting Design, Top Girls, Third Wall Theatre)

BEST NEW CREATION
The Churchill Protocol (Gruppo Rubato; original script by Patrick Gauthier and Kris Joseph, directed by Natalie Joy Quesnel)

EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Michelle LeBlanc (Actor)

24 professional theatre productions were juried by a team of 11 local arts professionals during the 2007 calendar year. Nominations were submitted by secret ballot and tallied by local accountant.

That being said, It was a lovely evening though – well organized, chic, dapper, everyone looked cleaned up nicely, and some connections made.

My only beef has to be, regardless of how good Greek by Repercussion Theatre was, why did a remount done by a Montreal Company win? How did it get approved to be involved in the process? It was originally done in April 2005 by Thirdwall Theatre (before the Rideau Awards) and had original cast, but it was adjudicated in 2007......curious ........

But now that it’s over we can concentrate on getting the Vision Theatre Season out there (coming soon! And it’s exciting!), a play workshop over the next year and the Fringe show as well, which will reunite my Ernest and I in one of the shows -- Riley kids around that we are the new Kat Hepburn/Spencer Tracy of our generation -- with one minor exception, and if you know Riley you know why that is! LOL

Other exciting happens – Maureen and I (Let it Land Theatre) are discussing a potential play project– so if anyone out there knows of any women in the Canadian Military who just got back from Afghanistan, or has served there please direct them to us.

Extending Birthday Wishes

2008-04-10T06:29:00.001-07:00

Today I would like to extend very happy birthday wishes to my older brother Marc!

Happy Birthday Bra!

I love you.

Today I Climb the Soapbox

2008-04-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

I can't in good conscience keep quiet after all these really good documentaries I've seen lately, so I do apologize for this soapbox type post. But I have to at least spread the word about the way "democracy" is going. Maybe we can make a difference?

"The Road to Guantanamo" - it's a re telling film, done in documentary style….Frig. Sickening. I don't care if people at Guantanamo are guilty or not (only 10 of the 775 have ever been "proven") No one should be treated like that and not given access to a trial and held indefinitely. It's modern Concentration camps à la US style. It is becoming pretty awe inspiring to witness fascism happen right on our door step.

Other important documentaries that I've seen lately ( you can probably rent most or stream online) is "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" which asks the question Can Lies become Truth? ,on how the media has manipulated us to believe things that aren't true or twist the truth. IE: Saddam was part of 9/11, Iraq has WMD's. etc.
Very well done. Did you know that in 1979/80, the planned release of the Iran hostages were to be 6 months later after the elections so that Jimmy Carter could be defeated all this brokered by the Regan election camp (the October Surprse) ? They were held longer to be released on the day Regan got sworn in….….just one example.

"Taxi to the Dark Side" the Academy Award winning documentary about treatment of detainees (in Afganistan, Abu Grab - Iraq etc.) , including one innocent taxi driver who was tortured by Americans and died at their hands.

Also see "No End in Sight" …although I think that documentary was funded by some Democrats, as it never says the Iraq war was wrong, just mangled in planning…it's sickening as well, but well put together.

Most can be streamed on Google Video. (Orwell, Guantanamo, and Taxi). Rights of all are being taken away slowly in the name of "security". I know most of these are American documentaries, but we are so influenced by them, that it is slowly trickling in. Plus, remember what happened to Mahar Arar?

For a Canadian turn try “The Corporation”.

There are all mainstream, truthful documentaries. If you rather something fictional there is the most excellent 1976 movie -- Network (Starring: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall)

Lets not turn a blind eye anymore and say "it won't happen here", because it has started……

"In times of universal deceit telling the truth will become a revolutionary act"

George Orwell

On another note, it seems world food prices are hugely on the rise – corn (for ethanol), wheat, rice. This article on CBC is worth the read.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/08/food-prices.html#storycomments

Ok, my soapbox will be put away for a spell. Peace out!

I am de-shoe-flated!

2008-04-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am attending the first annual Rideau Awards next Sunday and so went shoe shopping to get a snazzy pair of shoes to go with my fabulous dress. I felt that since Ernestine was nominated for an award, I would take her shopping to update her look from those terrible Red faux snakeskin loafers (which caused me, the actress, much pain in the heels) to some sassy red high heels. I bought these really nice shoes yesterday at Frou Frou in the market – after I already bought another pair of really cool shoes. But I decided that these were better. Both were candy apple red patentleather and sling backs….let me tell you something about sling back shoes, they don’t stay where they are suppose to. They slide down the heel. And one must keep having to fix them, but they just fall down again. I found this out whilst trying to break in this new pair. A few days ago this very thought kind of past my mind when I tried the ensemble with the other red shoes for my hubby – with Nylons….these seemed to slip on the right foot. I didn’t think much else of that. Until I brought the new ones to work today….I was all proud, until I walked to the kitchen then back to my desk at my work and they were slipping.

I’m pissed.

I even bought some of these Dr. Scholl’s silicone heel thingys and seemed to work with barefeet….they still don’t with nylons and I am doubtful they will truly work with barefeet.

So now I have to not only bring back BOTH pairs with head down, but I have to start from scratch…..I really liked those shoes too.

I’m pouting…..I think I might try double sided tape as a last ditch effort.

Moving onwards and upwards

2008-04-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Decision has been made and is solidified

I had a very busy theatre year last year (2006-2007). I did some community theatre, and some semi-professional theatre. I wish at the time of doing the community theatre projects I would have known they were my last community acting so I could really enjoy them. But somehow I knew in my gut they were to be my last. I can’t learn anything acting wise from it anymore – well haven’t for a long while. Thus my decision has been made. Not that I will never do community theatre again in my lifetime, it’s just I am at the point where I want to stretch my talent and training, challenge it and learn more and have fun doing it. Once I am done with that and just want to rest on it and have fun I’ll go back – maybe.

When I did Proof by David Auburn at the Ottawa Little Theatre in 2005 I think what happened was that the training that I had had at Studio 58 in Vancouver had finally settled in after many years. Perhaps it needed a maturation period. Or maybe it is just because I am older. Regardless, I know I did excellent work and that something had changed, maybe it was the fantastic material– and it was solidified with the Best Performance Nomination and the fact that our wonderful director and the show won numerous awards (including the 2005 Capital Critics Award). I should have left it at that.

I went back the following year, feeling unfulfilled, then again the year after. It had nothing to do with the director, nor the institution, but it was me. I needed more, I needed to be challenged and do something different. Luckily I had auditioned for Vision Theatre and had pestered Sam Awwad for reading me for The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine.

Good thing I did. Things have been happening……it’s be a GREAT theatre year.

It was one of the best if not the best theatrical experiences I've had. Linda B. let us explore and play and use our training and create our characters/environment but still guided us to her solid vision. I never laughed so much, and I met some great people who now I consider good friends. And we will move on to do some interesting professional theatre projects very soon (see Vision Theatre website for more details).

And the icing on the cake – I was nominated for a Best Female Performance Nomination for the first ever Rideau Awards for playing Ernestine (a part I wanted to play for 10 years).

Then I put on Jewel by Joan MacLeod with my own theatre company- Let it Land Theatre. It was also very challenging and again realized that Maureen and I have something; a great chemistry that requires further exploration of our own ideas/creative work. And the production was great to get noticed, and finally people in the professional community seem to know my name….so I say “bring on the offers”….. I am soliciting, and emailing and yes…..god forbid…doing some schmoozing. I am just glad my name is finally getting out there. I worked many years at this, and feel I sometimes know what I am doing.

So when I was offered a role for an amateur production the other day (which I hadn't solicited), I graciously said “Thank you , but I am pursuing some other options at this point in my life”

It feels right, so there it is. I will still have doubts and feel like I don't know what I am doing. But I feel that is the challenge: to face things that scare me, and put myself out there - to grown, fail, succeed, learn, develop, change, and maybe become more and more confident. Less the "good student" I was in theatre school...hmmm maybe that is what changed in 2005.....is was shedding that person?

At any rate….any one out there have offers for paying (or prospect of paying if profit) acting parts????

It’s Official! I will admit it…

2008-04-02T05:45:00.000-07:00

I am an IDIOT!

Normally I would not admit such embarrassing things about myself but this story of my idiocy is too good not to share….if I am going to laugh at myself, why not let the world laugh with me.

So, Tim and I go out for dinner on Saturday night to my friend Janet's in New Edinburgh...lovely evening. Good food, nice people, tasty wine, we celebrated Earth Day by candle light. We go home....I look for my house key. No where to be found. I emptied my purse, looked in all my pockets, the right one, the left one, the inside pocket...NOTHING. Tim doesn't have his key. So we drive back to Janet's. Thank god she doesn't live far! We looked where we parked and on the path to her house. I went in her house, backtracked. NOTHING. So I say "what do we do...OH my folks have a key, I'll call them on my cell". I start to dial. FRIG. My parents are in St . Sauveur for the weekend....well I think to myself what the "F" are we gonna do now...I call my brother Marc, because they have a key for my mom's house, and just get them to call my aunts place in St. Sauveur to tell us where the key is (turns out they don't have a key anyways).....no answer. FUCK.

So we call a Locksmith. 40 min later and $141 we are in the house......Yay, the puppies that are stuck in the upstairs bedroom are saved as their owners are home and they are happy. They don’t realize that one of their owners is really a huge dumbass. (well they probably do. I am pretty sure Abby thinks both of us are complete idiots, but that is another blog story).

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and we are still swearing and cursing and laughing about the expensive loss. I am wearing the same jacket I wore the night before and we are running errands. We are in the car and Tim says " you should have just put the key in that little side sleeve pocket that you have there"......I suddenly flashback to Saturday evening when I locked the door, put the house key IN the side pocket saying to myself in my inner monologue “Boy I sure hope I don’t forget I put the key in this side pocket” (which I failed to check when I was looking for the key Sat. night when I thought I lost it) ....then I start laughing....and I say to Tim " OH MY, you are never going to believe this" ....Laughing, I dramatically unzip the wee pocket and HEAVENS there is the key!

I'm an idiot. But now we have 2 extra cut keys!!!

The Rubber Chicken - Ottawa Theatre Challenge

2008-04-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday March 27th was World Theatre Day. Our theatre company (Maureen Smith and myself- Let it land theatre), won the Rubber Chicken award for the 8th Annual Ottawa Theatre Challenge hosted by A Company of Fools last week. The Challenge,-- show up at Darcy McGees Pub on Tuesday March 25th at 7:30pm with a newspaper headline and something wrapped. Your company then picks a headline, and a wrapped item and you have 48hrs to write a 5 minute piece of theatre. Our Headline was “There will be blood pressure” and our objects were an empty Tampon box, empty roll of toilet paper, an elastic, an HB Pencil and a note “What would MacGyver do?” Our script was a madcap, wacked out “24” a la Jack Bauer in Lululemon skit in a fitness class.

I am still giggling.

We backed out twice, we went up with scripts in hand, Sarah and Kate were coming, then not coming, so the Barbies were the replacement actresses, once Scott Florence convinced us to just come and read it, then Mo’s kids ran a-moke during rehearsal so we only had two runs at it, then both Sarah and Kate came near showtime, so we didn’t really rehearse any of it at all and the Barbies just became window dressing…..it was all very surreal, funny, and on the fly.

I am certain all the other companies out there are saying “how the hell did they win?”
I’ll be honest and say, I haven’t a clue.

Now, we figure we won because of a few factors:

- we had the fabulous Kate Hurman with us;
- we had great energy, and lets be honest between the 4 of us have probably 80 years of theatre experience ;
- it was funny, and pretty wacked (COME ON- Maureen was doing high kicks and karate chops, and there was a Barbie in a downward dog, on a blue “yoga mat” made out of construction paper, and Kate was "stretching" her boobs) ;
- we were so un-prepared they felt sorry for us.

Or maybe, just maybe, we were the best crew....who knows.

Regardless, we won, the others didn’t. Tits up t’y’all.

Introducing, from deep in the heart of Manor Park East, my first Blog Entry!!

2008-03-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

So welcome to the first entry of my blog. What an exciting first sentence! I bet you can’t wait to read on. I never thought I’d write a blog until I was purging items in my house a few weeks ago and happened upon a very old journal I kept for 3 years. It was hilarious to read, as I realized how much I :

-Grew up
-Obsessed over things (well that hasn't changed!)
-How young and foolish I was

But that is all apart of growing up I suppose. So I wondered how different would it be now and what kind of interesting things (or not) I could write about. I mean, I have a very busy life…maybe not interesting but certainly busy and entertaining. So here I am . Hope it’s as interesting to others as it seems to be to me.

So, what to write about? Well how about how I felt reading that old journal of mine and reminding myself how far I’ve come, and how silly some things were. What I found to be truly amazing was the muscle memory (those of you in Theatre know all about that) and the emotions reading some of that envoked. For example, I started it when I had just met my first love, although didn’t know he’d be my first love at the time, Christopher Lloyd Jack (wonder where he is). It progressed to our funny teenage courtship, then to the break up (GOD I was so heartbroken, just an absolute mess), then to my obsessive crush on this guy Jamie who I met at a party who is a guy I barely remember. There were even references to some guy I met at the ‘Nox at Ottawa U and I laughed as I read it because I said out loud “who the hell was that??”. Memory is a funny thing. But as I read about Chris, then a bit about Steve G. in Petawawa during my Militia years, it’s funny how the emotion is kind of still there. Part of me will always love these boys (well Steve was more mature manly then his years at the time and I still hold him in great regard) and I always hope they are happy, and living good fruitful lives. But what was really funny was just how young I was. A lot has changed, and so it should.

Then I found my Studio 58 journal while I was going through books, and am so glad I kept that. It has so many acting notes that I can keep, but it also brought back the emotions and great memories I had going there , which doesn’t seem that long ago but really was – so Journals can be very emotional still, and helpful. I just find it amazing how much I remember, but also what I forget.