Celebrating Alberta Arts Days and Walterdale Theatre!

This past Saturday we held an Open House and our AGM. Both events were well-attended and went very well. The combination of the Farmer's Market (Art's Barns) and Earth Day Celebrations (Gazebo Park) created a lot of foot traffic through our community. As well, we had several dedicated members in costume going out with fliers to bring people into the building and then leading tours through our backstage areas. We estimated 100-200 people through the building, asking questions, finding out what we are all about and signing up for shows.

The AGM was also well attended. We had over 50 members in attendance. I am excited to announce the new Board of Directors:
President - Eric Rice
Vice President - Justen Bennett
Treasurer - Dave Wolkowski
Secretary - Prudence Olenik
Artistic Director - Kristen M. Finlay
Director of Public Relations - Marissa Loewen
Director of Productions - Kimberlee Stadelmann and Jim Draginda
Membership Director - Ruby Swekla
Building Director - John Henoch
Technical Director - Brent Jans
Directors of FOH - Catherine Wenschlag and Annelise Coutu

The second half of the evening was a lot of fun. Thank you to crew who helped present the season in music (Sally Hunt, Erin Foster-O'Riordan, Kimberlee Stadelmann, Ian Corry, Kristin Johnston, and Maria Harman). The Fun Awards were handed out, as well as the Outstanding Season Contribution Award (Kimberlee Stadelmann) and the Jack Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award (Pat Eyford).

Lend Me a Tenor - A Fabulous Cast

After 2 nights of hilarious auditions and a few days of contemplation of personalities, skills, and schedules, Lend Me a Tenor is cast. I am excited! This is a great cast if the auditions are to be trusted and December is going to start with lots of laughter!

The Cast:

Tito - Gerald Mason

Max - Kris Loranger

Saunders - Andrew McCready

Bellhop(s) - Devin Bruce and Stan Woo

Maggie - Elena Porter

Diana - Kristin Johnston

Julia - Jan Streader

Maria - Erika Conroy

Understudy Maggie/Diana - Nicole Smashnuk

So we have a wonderful mix of old and new members, as well as some people who we haven't seen on our stage for a few years. I love the potential for new chemistry when you mix people up.

I hope that those who didn't get cast come out for other auditions. There were many, many fabulous auditions on Tuesday and Wednesday last week and I now that Elizabeth and Sarah agonized over the casting. They had the luxury of knowing they would get a great cast, but they also knew they were saying no to some amazing performers.

Open House this Saturday... Followed by the AGM in the Evening...

I hope to see you all out at one or both of these events!

Jimmy Dean Update - I am hearing great things...

I was talking to members of the cast and the production team for this show and I am hearing great things. I am excited to see it. I am debating stepping in to see a rehearsal because I don't want to interfere with the positive energy that I hear is being created and also because I want to wait to see it when it is all put together. I will think on this. If I thought there was a need for me to be in there, I would be in there in a flash, but from all reports things are moving along smoothly. The set is exciting to me. Very economical but wonderful! The Set Designer, George, had the bulk of it done in no time flat. This has given the cast a wonderful gift because they have been able to play on it a lot more than they might have been able to otherwise. It will be fun to show it off at the Open House this Saturday!

Anxiously Waiting for News...

What terrific Auditions! We had two lovely nights of auditions for Lend Me A Tenor this week. I do not envy Elizabeth Day and her team the challenge that faces them as they cast this show. Not only do they have more than one option for each role, but they also have the challenge of matching schedules to make the project work! I went through my list and there were roles I had a list of 10 possible people for. It's a jigsaw puzzle - casting. Casting one role will lead to the next and so on. No matter the outcome, I am excited to hear who she decides on, and excited to see the show in December. If the audience laughs as much as we did during auditions it is definitely going to be a fabulous show! Stay tuned for the cast list which I hope to get and post some time next week!