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Boy, Do I Have Some Catching Up to Do!

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What can I say? Between 2022 and 2023, I was so busy that I really didn’t have a chance to keep posting here. (As a writer, you’d think I’d be better at this.) So let’s catch you up on what’s been going on.

My Blue Heaven, Continued (Pivot Theatre – 2022)

Continuing on from my last post, Pivot did indeed win the wildcard slot at TheatreBC’s Mainstage Festival in Vernon. We were awarded Best Ensemble and the Backstage Cooperation Award, along with a certificate recognizing us as the “New Kids on the Block”. First road trip to Vernon, and recognition that we’re doing good work felt fantastic. And it also was an extra chance to work with these lovely folks again. (Plus snuck in a little camping trip afterwards.)

Twist (North Vancouver Community Players – 2022)

Bodies popping out where they’re not supposed to! (Credit: North Vancouver Community Players

Twist was another show that was sidelined by the pandemic, and originally assigned to a different director. But the fates handed it to me, and it was nice to be directing at the theatre that’s close to home for a change! This was a logistical challenge, with people hiding in chests and dumb waiters, not to mention an actor who ended up having to do almost the entire run on crutches.

Rumors (Vagabond Players – 2023)

These guys had way too much here (Credit: Vagabond Players)

Rumors is a Neil Simon classic, and due to a scheduling issue, we had to turn it around in four weeks (which is about six less than I like). Thank god for great actors, and an even better stage manager. Working with friends old and new was therapeutic, and I loved every second of it.

Perfect Arrangement (Pivot Theatre – 2023)

A masterpiece in every way. The Canadian premiere of a script to die for, and actors who made my job incredibly easy. We won the Fraser Valley Zone Festival, and got to go to Mainstage for the second year in a row. Didn’t win there, but won Best Ensemble (again, second year in a row). I miss working with these ones, because the work was so rewarding.

Doin’ Time at the Alamo (North Vancouver Community Players – 2023)

Checking out the surprise prison boyfriend (Credit: North Vancouver Community Players)

Finally, a trip down to Texas with this play by Mary Hanes. This show is one of my favourites, primarily due to the people I got to work with on it. My second at NVCP, I’m really proud of how this cast bonded together, and that we had so much fun together.

And Finally, a Break! (Sort of…)

The way that the current season shook out has given me a break from directing for a few months, which I’m really enjoying. But I also have been learning how to build sets, and have done two so far. They certainly aren’t masterpieces, but I’m definitely a member of the ‘how hard could it be?’ club, and they didn’t fall down during the runs, so I’d call that a win.

And that brings us up to date. Hopefully I’ll get better at keeping up. But I wouldn’t bet the farm on it…

Haven’t Done This in a While…

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I really need to get better at this blogging thing!

It’s blatantly apparent that I’m really bad at posting here on a regular basis. But a bout of COVID has sidelined me this week, and I’ve also had a pretty good excuse – I’ve been BUSY. Since restrictions started lifting last year, theatre returned with a vengeance. All of the shows that were previously cancelled and postponed came back to life, and having done nothing artistic for the better part of a year and a half, it was time to take hold of the reigns again. So let me catch you up on the goings on.

Happy Birthday

The cast and crew of ‘Happy Birthday’ (Photo: Metro Theatre)

First, Happy Birthday by Marc Camoletti (adapted by Beverly Cross). My fifth show at Metro Theatre. Luckily we only needed to recast one role, and we were able to start up relatively quickly. This one was an established British comedy filled with people behaving badly, but the same could not be said of the cast. A lovelier bunch of people you’ll never meet.

My Blue Heaven

The cast of ‘My Blue Heaven’ (Photo: Pivot Theatre)

The next show was Jane Chambers’ My Blue Heaven, the first show mounted by Surrey’s newest community theatre. While written 40 years ago, it still speaks to many of the issues that the LGBTQIA2S+ community today. Not only did it run in March, but it was invited to the Fraser Valley Zone Festival in May, and then won the wildcard slot at the TheatreBC Mainstage festival in July.

Moon Over Buffalo

The cast and crew of ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ (Photo: Deep Cove Stage Society)

Finally, Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig. Carol Burnett led this show’s Broadway debut in 1995, and it’s farce at its best, complete with slamming doors, drunken antics, affairs, and time crunches. It was my first show with Deep Cove Stage Society, and my return to North Vancouver after my last show there in 2018. This cast and crew were troopers, filling in for one another as we dealt with various COVID diagnoses. And they brought the funny every single night.

Now, you would think I’d take a break after all that, right? Not a chance. Twist opens October 20th at Hendry Hall in North Vancouver. Tickets soon go on sale at https://northvanplayers.ca/tickets/.

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Why I Direct

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I love directing. I’ve loved it since I took my first stab at it back in 1990something.

I started in community theatre, where I watched others in charge of the shows I was in and said, “Hell, I can do that!” A lot of chutzpah for somebody who was only 22 at the time, but I didn’t let that deter me. In rapid succession, I took on some of the most complicated and known shows in theatre. I even put the Titanic on stage. I loved every minute of it. Then I took an extended break, and when I came back, was surprised to find that I loved it all over again.

There is something about watching actors breathe life into a script that you’ve read fifty times before auditions even start. Or a script that doesn’t really seem that funny on the page, but you cast the actors who can make you laugh while they read for the part. It’s even more magical when, just before you move into the theatre, they can still make you smile. Then make your friends laugh. Then total strangers. And, hopefully, reviewers.

When it works, you feel like you can take on the world. When it’s tough, you buckle down and do the best you can for your cast to figure out how to make it work. And somehow, it always does. It may not be how you pictured it, but not only does it all turn out, sometimes it’s leaps and bounds beyond what you first envisioned.

And then you turn over the reins, and let them go to work in front of an audience, where they shine. And while my job is done, I love watching them perform, and to see how an audience reacts to them.

That’s why I do it. And I’ll do it as long as the theatre will have me.