You Are Here – details

Hey all – First off, I’d like to point out that the You Are Here page now has details on the show and info about ticket reservations. Check it out.

Also, I’d like to celebrate the fact that this is the 100th post on Alumnae’s WordPress blog. Yay us! Yay WordPress!

Stay tuned for more adventures in scenic painting this week as I head to the theatre tomorrow night to help set/lighting designer Ed Rosing, along with a few other intrepid brush jockeys, get some colour onto our stage. All I know right now is it won’t be anywhere near the workload we had for Hay Fever last season.

One last hurrah!

Hey all. I’m writing this now while still in recovery from acting in a weekend-long marathon of workshopping Alumnae member Cate Frid’s play GuineaPigging (which had a fully staged reading at Alum last night), a birthday party and – of course – the closing night party for Hay Fever.

The show was sold out on closing night! In fact, when I arrived at the theatre after the birthday party, there were still quite a lot of folks milling about as the gang packed up to go. I schlepped to Ken (who played Simon) and Leete’s (who played Sandy) house with Ken, Tina S. (who played Myra) and a friend of Ken’s (Tony?), where we were greeted by their adorable little cat and a few folks who arrived ahead of us with Leete.

It was a nice, laid back sort of evening – and I chatted with various folks, all of whom I hope will come back to Alum for future productions. Costume designer Charmaine Huculak and I talked about tattooes. I showed her the lotus and circle of Brigid on my lower back and the unicorn/crescent moon on my right calf – then promptly got the leg of my pencil thin pants stuck just under my knee (much like the Ross and his leather pants episode of Friends – but not nearly as dire). I went up to the washroom and, thankfully, managed to right myself.

This was a great group. Kevin, our director, was missed – still feeling under the weather. Kaitlyn (who played Jackie), also missed, had family in from out of town and a very early morning the next day, so had to say goodbye at the theatre. Scenic artist Ed Rosing had a prior engagement – I’ll have to catch up with him later (and I’m sure we’ll be working together again soon). Special big love to SM Margot “Mom” Devlin, who was also unable to join us.

Thanks to the cast for the sweet card and dark chocolate – and for being so awesome.

Up next: Alumnae’s New Ideas Festival 2010 in March and The Queens in April. Please stay tuned for more on these upcoming productions.

Hay Fever cast curtain call photo courtesy of ASM Valerie Lemieux.

Hay Fever face time

Caught Act III of Hay Fever yesterday after running some afternoon errands, and stuck around for the post-show talk back, where the cast came out and answered audience questions.

Some folks – apparently Alum first-timers – were amazed and astounded that the actors have day jobs, and the theatre and shows are run by volunteers. Yep, that’s right, folks, we’re doing this in our spare time – for no money. Think we may have found a few more friends, not to mention some future audience.

SM “Mom” Devlin was wearing her sparkly blue Crocs – a nice way to dress up the black, I thought.

The barometer continues to behave itself and the audience numbers are getting better.

If you haven’t seen our production of Hay Fever, there are four more performances left: Wed – Sat this week. Or see it again. I’ve seen it 2 1/3 times and there’s always something new to notice. Sat, Jan 30, we’re done. Then, we party! Apparently Leete and Ken have offered their house for the closing night festivities. Silly boys.

Once again, with peeing

Saw Hay Fever again last night – and that cast is cookin’! And they made me laugh so hard, I … you know.

Before the show, I had a chance to chat with SM “Mom” Devlin. It’s a different show every time, with the actors honing and discovering new things – even in moments where they have no dialogue. And that’s excellent. I also gave “Mom” a hand with a few props/set piece repairs; one of the artificial candles had toppled off its secured spot on a plate (and Krazy Glue just wasn’t doing the job). I found a glue gun – and Bob’s your uncle! There was also concern about the table cloth on the breakfast table – that “Sandy” would pull it down accidentally as he does his dive under the table. Nothing like packing tape – we taped the back edge of the bottom layer to the back of the table.

Always new stuff to notice – and actors you already know to appreciate over and over again. Dinah Watts is such big fun as “Judith,” and the bickering between her and husband “David” (Hereward Pooley) is so hysterially real, you’d think they’d been married for years. Ken MacAlpine (“Simon”) and Tamara Lubek (“Sorel”) are equally engaging and believable as siblings, in one moment in collusion and in another sniping at each other. And Anne Harper’s put-opon, gruff “Clara” doesn’t cease to crack me up.

The cast of houseguests is a joy to watch – the ultimate “fish out of water” scenario for each of them, in very specific ways. The athletic “Sandy’s” (Leete Stetson) startled dive under the table at breakfast is hilarious – co-producer Tina McCulloch called it his “scared bunny” bit. I think it’s because he does this thing with his hands just before he goes. Cracks me up. Tina Sterling’s “Myra” is sleek, sexy and acerbic – and darkly funny – and never misses an opportunity to use her sex appeal to get what she wants. Jonathan Thomas (“Richard”) goes – hilariously – from being extremely dapper, charming and diplomatic – not to mention unflappable – to a nervous, shaking mess, never loses his sense of politeness and respect for the others. Kaitlyn Riordan’s journey as “Jackie” is quite the opposite; a scared little mouse at the beginning, she displays gumption in the end. And I burst out laughing when I noticed her spotting the stocking hanging from the chandelier last night.

God is in the details – and this cast delivers big time.

Speaking of – and too bad this didn’t read from the stage – a bit of props trivia: the book that “Sandy” holds in front of his crotch after he and “Sorel” are discovered making out in the library in Act II is none other than Moby Dick. I know!

A delightful opening!

Hello there! A great, big fun time was had by all last night at the Hay Fever opening night. It was a combination of relief that it was finally happening and a nervous excitement to be off and running.

And, apparently, a bit of drama accompanied our final dress/invitational preview the night before. The toaster set off the smoke detector/fire alarm and the fire dep’t showed up! And one of the firefighters was a bit embarrassed that they had a call at a firehall. Well, we’re not technically a firehall any more – but the building we call home was once Firehall No.4, until the early 70s when Alum took it over.

The toaster situation got sorted on opening night, though – and there were no incidents as the ASM made toast for Act III.

The cast was fabulous and the set looked great (Master Carpenter “Super Mike” Spence had been in to put up theatre posters all over the walls – all from Judith Bliss’s career). I laughed so much – and so hard – that I think I pee’d a little bit.

In addition to the performance, we did a door prize, with donations from Woolfitt’s Art Supplies and Roxanne Reads book store; we also had a framed Hay Fever poster, signed by the cast.

And Alum gal Sandy Schneider put out a great reception feast for us – very tasty!

Hay Fever runs until Jan 30. Come out and see this – it’s just the thing for the winter blahs.

Tonight, we open!

Hey all. It’s finally opening night!

I missed last night’s final dress/by-invitation preview as it was my only chance to catch Alum pals Martha Spence and Kay Montgomery in Conrad, which has a short re-mount at the GIT this week.

Here’s another gorgeous photo of our gorgeous cast (production photos for Hay Fever by Joshua Meles).

Looking forward to this evening. Hay Fever runs until Jan 30 – see the Alumnae website for ticket info: www.alumnaetheatre.com

It’s a miracle!

First with the mystery, now with the miracle.

When I arrived at the theatre around 5:30 p.m. last night to help finish painting the Hay Fever set, I found Ed and Natalie (who’d been there since 1 p.m.) had things well in hand – despite being in a state of wanting to kill each other. Good thing I showed up, otherwise, I would have had to add Ed and Natalie chalk outlines to the stage floor. No, not really – they just sound like an old cranky married couple sometimes. Then again, so do Ed and I. And Ed and SM Margot. Hmmm…

Anyway, there was a minor problem in that we didn’t have a corn husk broom to use for doing the hardwood finish on the floor. So off I went to Sobey’s on Front St., praying that they would have two corn husk brooms. And they did!

Is it wrong that I belted out Defying Gravity on the way back to the theatre?

We finished painting at 10 p.m. And we could hardly believe it.

In other news, it appears that the Booze Elf left something for fabu SM Margot “Mom” Devlin on the production desk last night. Never heard of the Booze Elf? A not-so-distant cousin of the Tooth Fairy, the Booze Elf distributes favourite bottles of  alcohol to hard-working, brilliant stage managers. The weird thing was, there were several of us there – lighting, painting and props crew – at various points in the evening, so someone was always there. And no one saw the him/her make the delivery. A sneaky one, that Booze Elf.

Clearly, I’m rambling from sheer exhaustion (and perhaps a lack of alcohol), so I’ll close now.

I wonder if the Booze Elf ever visits hard-working bloggergals…

One week to go!

Hey there. The set painting is nearing completion (and, boy, are my arms tired!) and the cast is looking fabulous!Actually had a night off from painting last night (needed a night off to work on other stuff – like laundry and the mounting pile of dishes). And prep for my New Ideas audition (more on that at a later date).

Very exciting – if not somewhat terrifying – the prospect of opening in one week. And I’m here to tell you miracles do happen. Scheduled work gets behind, finding a suitable (and cheap) moving van to schlep the furniture from Marty’s turns out to be a nightmare, folks are drag-ass tired – but, still, it happens. Theatre happens.

Look at this cast – aren’t they gorgeous? Come see them in the flesh, starting next Fri, Jan 15. You won’t be sorry.

It’s bloody cold outside, come out for a good laugh.

That was a marvelous party!

Hey there!

I’m very happy to say that last evening’s Noel Coward birthday party and Hay Fever presentation was a great success – and great good fun too!

Noel Coward cake, made by Victoria Shepherd.

Guests and Alumnae members were treated to champagne as they arrived, then ushered into the main stage theatre, where Producer/Marketing Director Tina McCulloch was joined onstage by the Hay Fever cast and a fabulous birthday cake (created by Alum member Victoria Shepherd), complete with an edible ink photo of the guest of honour printed on the icing. Tina then introduced our surprise guest of the evening: Mr. Coward himself (stunningly portrayed by Hay Fever cast member Jonathan Thomas). Mr. Coward gave a lovely and amusing speech, then joined the cast to perform the party game scene from Hay Fever.  The scene was followed by birthday cake for the assembled party.

All in all a marvelous time!

And, rumour has it that it’s director Kevin John McDonald’s birthday today. Happy birthday, Kevin!

Till next time, enjoy the holiday festivities…

See how they run

Hey again. So, upon reviewing the previous post, I guess I wasn’t so brief after all. Well it is Noel Coward, after all, so maybe his mercurial energy is having a comparable influence on my typing – however posthumously.

Sat in on a run-through of Hay Fever yesterday afternoon. Loads of laughs, despite missing our Jackie (most ably covered by director Kevin John McDonald). And he was adorable as the anxious young flapper. Thankfully, the gang returns to the warmth (and spaciousness) of the main stage on Wednesday, after being re-located to the chilly studio space for about two weeks.

In addition to celebrating our return to the main stage, we are also looking forward to our gathering to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Mr. Coward’s birthday on Wednesday – an event which coincides with Alumnae’s annual December social/potluck for the membership. We are promising a special guest, along with cake and champagne (the latter of which I hauled to the theatre yesterday), and a scene from the play. At this point, organization has been challenging – esp. in regards to co-ordinating with the membership potluck – but seems to be working itself out as we get closer to the date.

Now, I just have to figure out how to transport an enormous slab cake to the theatre.

And make sure to not forget to buy candles.

Or else I’ll ruin Noel Coward’s birthday for everyone.